Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 4.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

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[216] charged with the duty of opening the passage from an opposite direction. Grant by the precision of his instructions tried to diminish the risks attendant upon this double enterprise. Hooker received orders to take with him the Eleventh corps, commanded by Howard, and Geary's division of the Twelfth, to cross the Tennessee on the 26th, reach Shell Mound, Rankin's Ferry (at the mouth of Running Water Creek), Whitesides, and to come down through the gorge of Murphy's Hollow into Will's Valley. Once there, he should turn to the left and proceed to Brown's Ferry via Wauhatchie, having, like a curtain to cover his march on the east, the secondary ridge of which mention was made in the preceding pages. Slocum, with one division, was entrusted with guarding the railway from Nashville to Bridgeport. It was necessary to cover the rear of Hooker, secure the navigation of the Tennessee, and reopen to the trains the direct road from Jasper to Chattanooga. General Palmer, with two brigades, was assigned to the duty of following this last route as far up as Rankin's Ferry, and occupying Shell Mound and Whitesides on the 28th. The opening of the bridge, fixed for the 27th, was entrusted to Smith. For this perilous operation the two strong brigades of Hazen and Turchin were given him: adding thereto the soldiers of the engineer corps, he had about five thousand men under his orders. It appeared to be natural to bring the pontons across the isthmus far from the reach of the enemy's fire, and to launch them in front of the point which it was desired to reach on the left bank. But this would have revealed that spot so clearly that Longstreet would no doubt have come in time to interrupt the proceedings. Smith determined to have all his boats, loaded with troops, descend from Chattanooga to Brown's Ferry, to do which they had to run more than six miles under the fire of the Confederate pickets and batteries. But as the current must carry the flotilla with a speed much greater than the movement of the troops which would have tried to follow the boats, Smith was assured not to find any hostile concentration at the moment when he should land. The rest of his troops, hidden in the woods in front of Brown's Ferry, had orders to wait till the boats had deposited their first load before they took their turn to embark; the flooring of plank, which was also concealed