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

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[287] foot of these slopes, some twelve hundred yards from the crest of Indian Hill; the reinforcements are posted upon the side of the mountain, with the line of battle upon the crest near to the large artillery force which has crowned it for the last two months. Breckinridge's division, commanded by General Bate, occupies the centre in front of Truman's house, General Bragg's headquarters, which commands the entire country, and is situated about twenty-six hundred yards to the south-east of Indian Hill. Two isolated brigades are on its right—Reynolds', which Stevenson had not taken to Lookout Mountain, and the brigade with which Buckner remained after the departure of the rest of his army for Knoxville. Anderson, with Hindman's division, is on their right, extending his lines to Cheatham's. Stewart is deployed on the left. Thirty-seven thousand infantry and three thousand artillery thus occupy a line nearly five miles in length; for the left wing, to avoid being turned, has been obliged to stretch out as far as the Rossville defile. Nevertheless, the uncovered slopes of Missionary Ridge, crowned with a hundred and twelve guns, appear so difficult of approach in front, and terminate on the north in a manner which renders them so favorable for a defence, that Bragg may yet flatter himself to hold out against his adversary until nightfall. He cannot expect anything more, because, if his position is strong enough to give battle on the defensive, it is too weak from a strategical point of view to face an army as powerful as that of Grant. The Confederates, who in the month of September could not retain Lookout Mountain when Rosecrans threatened to turn it by the south, would still less be able to maintain themselves on Missionary Ridge in the presence of a like manoeuvre.

However, daylight has come; a bright sun shines upon the mountains which surround Chattanooga. To the northward of the Tennessee, whose meandering course is enveloped in mist, rises the great bulk of Walden's Ridge, a silent witness to the struggle which is about to take place. On the east the ridges and slopes of Missionary Ridge are bristling with bayonets, for the entire Southern army is under arms, watching, not without anxiety, the Federal battalions, which, becoming more and more numerous, cover the plain below. On the west the rocky formations of