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00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 638

By Thursday, August 20, 1863 General William Rosecrans’ Union Army of the Cumberland neared the Tennessee River west of Chattanooga, Tennessee.  A separate force of Union troops at Covington, Kentucky also was poised to assist Rosecrans’ renewed offensive.

Opposing these forces was the Confederate Army of Tennessee which was headquartered at Chattanooga and commanded by General Braxton Bragg.  Bragg, a West Point graduate and career soldier, was known as a strict disciplinarian and had a reputation throughout his career for arguing with insubordinate officers; Rosecrans, also a West Point graduate, possessed a brusque, outspoken manner and willingness to quarrel openly with his superiors, a characteristic that had adversely affected his career. 

These two, controversial officers would soon engage at Chickamauga, the bloodiest battle of the western theatre of war.