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Reed's Bridge

bdtex

Administrator
Staff member
Looking across Chickamauga Creek to where the Civil War era Reed's Bridge stood. It is south of the modern bridge that crosses the creek entering the NPS Chickamauga Battlefield.

2016-06-08 08.27.20.jpg
 

bdtex

Administrator
Staff member
When we were at Reed's Bridge we were on the north side of the bridge. When our guide was describing the troop movements in the area and the fighting at the bridge when he said "upstream" he would point south and when he said "downstream" he would point north. He provided a handout with maps and I would look at the map and look in the opposite direction. I sure didn't wanna challenge the most knowledgeable person in the world about the Battle Of Chickamauga but after a few minutes of headscratching and disorientation,I had to ask. He kindly explained that the flowing bodies of water in Tennessee and north Georgia flow south-to-north. Whoda thunk that? Took a while to wrap my brain around that and properlyorient myself during the tour.
 

bdtex

Administrator
Staff member
Description of the fight at Reed's Bridge from the Civil War Trust website:

Battle of ChickamaugaAction at Reed's Bridge
September 18, 1863

On the morning of September 18, 1863, Confederate Gen. Bushrod Johnson’s division, supported by Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Cavalry, crossed west Chickamauga Creek near Reed’s Bridge to attack the Union left flank. Federal Col. Robert Minty, tasked with guarding the approach to Reed’s Bridge with only three cavalry regiments, a battalion of Fourth U.S. Cavalry, and a section of the Chicago Board of Trade battery, delayed the Confederate crossing. At 7:30 a.m., Forrest began a skirmish with Minty a mile east of Reed’s Bridge, opening the Battle of Chickamauga with a fierce fight that continued throughout the afternoon. As Johnson’s superior force advanced, Minty was pushed back toward Reed’s Bridge, where he formed a line to hold off the Confederate assailants. Desperate for reinforcements, Minty called on Col. John T. Wilder, who sent over seven companies of the 72nd Indiana Mounted Infantry, the 123rd Illinois Mounted Infantry, and a section of Capt. Eli Lilly’s Battery while in the midst of his own struggle at Alexander’s Bridge. Reinforcements, however, could not hold off Forrest’s cavalry. In one quick onrush, Forrest drove the stubborn Federals over the bridge. Col. John Fulton's Tennesseans pushed across the bridge behind them, still under fire from Minty's men. As the Chicago Board of Trade battery raked the opposing Confederates with canister shot, Forrest’s cavalry forded the creek, and Minty was finally forced to retreat, ending the skirmish that began the Battle of Chickamauga.

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/chickamauga/chickamauga-maps/chickamauga-reeds-bridge.html
 

bdtex

Administrator
Staff member
Anniversary bump. Almost let it slip by with all the attention to Antietam. Quite possible that I might be making a trip back to Chickamauga in September next year.
 

bdtex

Administrator
Staff member
Another anniversary bump. Going back to Chickamauga on 10/26-10/28. Flying into Chattanooga a coupla days early to visit sites there and in Dalton,Georgia. Been doing a lotta reading about Chickamauga, Chattanooga and the Atlanta Campaign to get ready for the trip.
 
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