Edward Porter Alexander, Military memoirs of a Confederate: a critical narrative

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[472] of the most foolhardy adventures of the war. A Court of Inquiry in the 11th corps was held, which found that Krzyzanowski's brigade had halted without authority and against the orders of the division commander, when under orders to go to Geary's assistance.

These operations left Rosecrans with free communications by the shortest and best roads, and at liberty to receive all the reenforcements coming to him. Besides the 11th and 12th corps, under Hooker, already near at hand, it was known that Grant was bringing up a large force under Sherman from Memphis, and it was clear that within 30 days a force would be concentrated against us sufficient to overwhelm us. Rosecrans had now converted Chattanooga into a citadel, impregnable to assault by storm, within which he could confidently await the accumulation of whatever force was needed.

The burden of the attack was upon us. We must promptly take the aggressive, and meet and defeat, either Grant and Sherman approaching from the west, or Burnside, near at hand and threatening on the east, and be able then to reconcentrate our army against the other adversaries. President Davis had recently paid a visit to the army, which, it was known, was dissatisfied with Bragg as a commander, but after some investigation had decided to sustain him. Bragg, accordingly, had the decision of the question what should be done.

On Nov. 3 he issued orders for Longstreet's corps, with Wheeler's cavalry, to attack Burnside's corps at Knoxville, which was to be assailed at the same time by a force of perhaps 4000 men under Ransom, coming from southwest Virginia. With the remainder of his army, Bragg proposed to hold his present lines, in front of Chattanooga, during the absence of Longstreet's division. As these lines occupied a concave front of fully eight miles against an enemy concentrated within four, they were necessarily weak and unable to quickly reenforce threatened points. Longstreet pointed out their disadvantages and urged a withdrawal of the remainder of the army to a strong defensive position behind the Chickamauga River, and that his own force for the attack of Burnside at Knoxville should be increased to 20,000 men, to insure quick and easy work, and