On 19th September, 1863, General Braxton Bragg and his troops attacked union armies led by George H. Thomas and William Rosecrans at Chickamauga. Thomas was able to hold firm but Rosecrans and his men fled to Chattanooga. Bragg followed and was attempting to starve Rosecrans out when union forces led by Ulysses S. Grant, Joseph Hooker and William Sherman arrived. Bragg was now forced to retreat and did not stop until he reached Dalton, Georgia.

During the battle the Union Army lost 16,170 men (1,657 killed, 9,756 wounded, and 4,757 missing) whereas the Confederate Army lost 18,484 (2,312 killed, 214,674 wounded and 1,468 missing).