The Armies Engage

The Armies Engage. The Battle of Chickamauga opened here at the site of Jays Sawmill. The Battle of Chickamauga began here on September 19, 1863, in the field adjacent to Jays Sawmill. The mill is no longer standing., At dawn, Union Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas ordered two brigades to move eastward to this location to capture a supposedly isolated Confederate brigade. At 7:30 a.m. the Union units collided with the Confederate cavalry of Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest positioned along the edges of the field., Forrest, surprised by the Federals, ordered his cavalry to attack, delaying the Union advance until help arrived. Then, as Confederate infantry moved in to support Forrest, additional Union units joined the fight. A major battle had begun., Colonel John Croxton, one of the Union commanders sent to capture the “isolated” brigade, now faced four or five brigades. Amid the confusion, Croxton dispatched a note to General Thomas asking facetiously which of the Confederate brigades in his front he was supposed to capture., Painting: Confederate cavalry charging a steady line of Union infantry captioned, "In the first action of the Battle of Chickamauga, the Confederate cavalry of Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest charged the advancing Union infantry of Croxton's Brigade. The Federals were positioned in the woods in front of you advancing in this direction.", Photograph: "Nathan Bedford Forrest, the celebrated Confederate general, commanded the cavalry who opened the Battle of Chickamauga here."