Decisions at Chickamauga

Following his successful Tullahoma Campaign, Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans and the Army of the Cumberland renewed their offensive against Gen. Braxton Bragg and the Confederate Army of Tennessee, forcing Bragg out of Chattanooga and sending his troops fleeing into north Georgia. Determined to reoccupy Chattanooga, Bragg forced a battle lasting from September 18 to 20, 1863, near Chickamauga Creek that would come to be known as the Battle of Chickamauga. Decisions at Chickamauga introduces readers to critical decisions made by Confederate and Union commanders during that fateful battle. Rather than offering a history of the Battle of Chickamauga, Powell focuses on critical decisions as they developed. This account is designed to present the reader with a coherent and manageable interpretive blueprint of the battle’s key moments. Exploring and studying these critical decisions allows the reader to progress from an understanding of what happened to why events happened as they did.   Complete with maps and a guided tour, Decisions at Chickamauga will be an indispensable primer, and readers looking for a digestible introduction to the Battle of Chickamauga can tour this sacred ground—or read about it at their leisure—and gain key insights into why events unfolded as they did as well as a deeper understanding of the Civil War itself.   Decisions at Chickamauga is the third in a series of books that will explore the critical decisions of major campaigns and battles of the Civil War.   DAVE POWELL is the author of five books on the Battle of Chickamauga, including the three-volume The Chickamauga Campaign. His articles have appeared in North & South Magazine, Gettysburg Magazine, and Civil War History, among others.