Correspondence from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis over Chickamauga highlighted the confidence, or lack thereof, which both men had for their respective army leaders.
On October 3, 1863 Davis wrote Braxton Bragg, citing the differences of opinion between Bragg and General Leonidas Polk and noting, “opposition to you both in the army and out of it has been a public calamity in so far that it impairs your capacity for usefulness…”
Abraham Lincoln, writing the following day to Rosecrans at Chattanooga, wrote, “If we can hold Chattanooga and East Tennessee, I think the rebellion must dwindle and die. I think you and Burnside can do this….” While Lincoln optimistically offered the beleaguered Rosecrans his support, Davis seemed both pessimistic and critical in his dealings with the victor of Chickamauga, Braxton Bragg.