Page:Cambridge Modern History Volume 7.djvu/544

 512 Battle of Chattanooga. [ises All Grant's plans and preparations being ready, Sherman with four divisions, on the night of the 23rd and morning of the 24th of November, crossed the Tennessee three miles north of the city, and attacked the northern end of Missionary Ridge, with the intention of sweeping south- ward along its top, to take the enemy's entrenchments in flank; but, having proceeded about a mile, he found his progress barred by a deep depression in the ridge, which he had hitherto supposed to be continuous. Here he entrenched and held his position against heavy attacks. The next day, the 25th, he attempted to continue southward, but found the enemy heavily massed against him, and made but little progress. Simultaneously with Sherman's attack, on the previous day (the 24th) Hooker from Lookout Valley had crossed Lookout Creek, and attacked the enemy on the northern slope of Lookout Mountain, driving them from their works eastward round the northern point and into Chatta- nooga Valley, so that by night he held a firm line of three-quarters of a mile from the northern point of Lookout, to the Tennessee river. On the next morning, the 25th, Hooker sent several parties to scale the extreme heights of Lookout, which they gained with but little opposition, and at daylight planted the stars and stripes on the northern summit, greeted by the cheers of the whole army. Following up this advantage, Hooker continued his triumphant advance around Lookout, across Chattanooga Creek, and through Missionary Ridge at Rossville Gap, the extreme left of Bragg's position on the ridge, four or five miles south of Sherman's position at the enemy's right. The topography of the place was such that General Grant, with Thomas and other principal officers, on the top of Orchard Knob, mid- way between Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge, had the whole great panorama in view, from Sherman's movement on the north to Lookout and Hooker's advance on the south. Seeing the progress that these generals had made against both flanks of the enemy, Grant now, at about three o'clock on the afternoon of the 25th, ordered Thomas to make a direct advance, by capturing the rifle pits at the enemy's centre, along the west base of Missionary Ridge. At the agreed signal of six guns, two divisions of Thomas' Army of the Cumberland sprang from their trenches, and formed a line a mile in length with such order that the enemy from the opposing height thought they were about to execute some military parade. To them, the idea of an effort to storm a line of thirty guns on the summit of an abruptly steep and rocky face of a ridge, 500 feet high, with two advance lines of rifle pits below, seemed preposterous; as indeed it was, even in the mind of Grant himself. But there now happened one of those extraordinary battle incidents which it baffles cool judgment to explain. As if animated by a single impulse, this magnificent line swept over the intervening space, and drove the enemy pell-mell out of the first line of Confederate entrenchments,