Skirmish at McLemore’s Cove - Bragg Sees an Opportunity, September 9-11, 1863
Posted by: Lat34North
N 34° 45.150 W 085° 21.257
16S E 650632 N 3846830
The Skirmish at McLemore’s Cove markers are located on a short gravel road, on Hog Jowl Rd (GA 93), west of LaFayette, GA. There is a sign on Hog Jowl Rd (GA 93) pointing to the Civil War site.
Waymark Code: WMAHB1
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 01/16/2011
Views: 7
Skirmish at McLemore’s Cove - Bragg Sees an Opportunity, September 9-11, 1863
With four railroads and access to several natural passes through the Southern Appalachian Mountains, Chattanooga was the gateway to the deep South. The Union army's objective — to capture and destroy the Confederacy's industrial centers in central Georgia and central Alabama – could not be accomplished without securing Chattanooga. Throughout the fall of 1863, the Blue and the Gray clashed in bloody contests for control of Chattanooga.
In the early fall of 1863, Federal commander Major General William S. Rosecrans planned a three-column attack on the city where General Braxton Bragg's Confederate army guarded the railroad crossing. While Rosecrans and Major General Thomas L. Crittenden's columns maneuvered to confuse Bragg as to the Federals' true point of attack, the real threat was a third column made up of Major General George H. Thomas' 14th Corps and Major General Alexander McDowell McCook's 20th Corps. They moved up from the west and south to threaten the Western & Atlantic Railroad. Recognizing that his supply line was in peril, Bragg pulled his forces out of Chattanooga by September 9 and withdrew to LaFayette, Georgia, where they met reinforcements from Virginia and Mississippi. With the Union Army vulnerable — split into three columns and spread dangerously thin over 40 miles — Bragg decided to attack. His first opportunity occurred here, in McLemore Cove, September 9 - 11, 1863.
[This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.] [The authors are the Civil War Preservation Trust.]
Type of Marker: Other
Marker #: None
Date: Unknown
Sponsor: Civil War Preservation Trust
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