Overview
The Battle of Ringgold Gap took place on November 27, 1863, following the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Missionary Ridge. General Braxton Bragg withdrew the Army of Tennessee south into Georgia while General Joseph Hooker pursued with about 12,000 Union soldiers. Bragg needed time to move his artillery, supply wagons, and troops to Dalton, Georgia, so he ordered General Patrick Cleburne and his division to protect the retreat.
Near midnight on November 26, Bragg sent Cleburne to defend a narrow railroad cut near Ringgold, Georgia. Cleburne positioned about 4,100 soldiers and two cannons in the mountain pass. He ordered his men to wait until Hooker’s approaching soldiers moved close to their positions before opening fire. The Confederate volley surprised the Union troops and drove them back.
The narrow gap prevented Hooker from using his greater numbers effectively. He tried to attack both sides of Cleburne’s position, but the assaults failed. Around noon, Cleburne learned that Bragg’s artillery and supplies had reached Dalton safely, and he ordered his men to withdraw. Union forces occupied Ringgold by 2:00 p.m. Cleburne delayed Hooker for more than five hours, allowing Bragg to reorganize his army. After the battle, General Ulysses S. Grant ended the pursuit, and both armies moved into winter quarters.
Essential Facts
- Date: November 27, 1863.
- Location: Catoosa County, Georgia.
- Participants: The United States of America (USA) and the Confederate States of America (CSA).
- USA Commanders: Joseph Hooker.
- CSA Commanders: Patrick Cleburne.
- Who Won: The Confederate States won the Battle of Ringgold Gap.
- Campaign: Chattanooga Campaign.
- Era: Civil War, July–December, 1863.
Statistics
United States of America
- Casualties: An estimated 432 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: 11th Army Corps and 12th Army Corps.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 12,000 soldiers.
Confederate States of America
- Casualties: An estimated 480 killed, wounded, captured, or missing.
- Forces Engaged: Cleburne’s Division of the Army of Tennessee.
- Troop Strength: Roughly 4,100 soldiers.
Significance
The Battle of Ringgold Gap is important to American History because it ended the Chattanooga Campaign and protected the Confederate Army of Tennessee after its defeat at Missionary Ridge. General Patrick Cleburne used a narrow mountain pass to prevent General Joseph Hooker from using his larger force effectively. Cleburne’s 4,100 soldiers held back about 12,000 Union troops for more than five hours. This delay allowed General Braxton Bragg to move his artillery, supply wagons, and retreating soldiers safely to Dalton, Georgia.
History
Rosecrans Moves Toward Chattanooga
On December 26, 1862, Major General William S. Rosecrans led the Union Army of the Cumberland out of Nashville, Tennessee, with orders to capture Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chattanooga was an important railroad junction that connected the upper Confederacy with the Deep South. Between Rosecrans and Chattanooga was Lieutenant General Braxton Bragg and his Confederate Army of Tennessee.
Bragg Abandons Chattanooga
The two armies clashed in a series of battles over the next nine months, and Confederates consistently retreated south. On September 9, Bragg abandoned Chattanooga and led the Army of Tennessee through the mountains into northern Georgia.
Bragg Stuns Rosecrans at Chickamauga
Although Rosecrans achieved his goal of capturing Chattanooga, he pursued Bragg’s army into Georgia. Stung by criticism that he received for abandoning Chattanooga, Bragg counterattacked at the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19–20, 1863).
Bragg Invests Chattanooga
The victorious Confederates drove the Federals back toward Chattanooga, forcing them to occupy the defensive works previously constructed by the Confederates. Bragg seized the high ground overlooking Chattanooga (Lookout Mountain, Seminary Ridge, and Raccoon Mountain) and laid siege to the city.
Changes in Federal Leadership
Reacting to the Army of the Cumberland’s dire situation, Northern authorities sent 20,000 soldiers commanded by General Joseph Hooker and 16,000 men led by Major General William T. Sherman to help lift the siege. Officials placed General Ulysses S. Grant in command of all Northern soldiers near Chattanooga and also replaced Rosecrans with General George Thomas as the commander of the Army of the Cumberland.
Cracker Line
As reinforcements arrived in late October 1863, Grant launched an operation to ease the Army of the Cumberland’s supply problems. By October 28, Grant’s men opened a narrow supply line known as the “Cracker Line,” and provisions started flowing into Chattanooga.
Longstreet Departs for Knoxville
On November 4, 1863, Bragg detached 15,000 soldiers from his army and sent them to East Tennessee under the command of Lieutenant General James Longstreet. Longstreet’s task was to dislodge Major General Ambrose Burnside and the Union Army of the Ohio from Knoxville and prevent him from reinforcing Grant at Chattanooga. Longstreet’s departure weakened Bragg’s forces investing Chattanooga.
Grant Plans to Take the Offensive
Following the opening of the Cracker Line, Grant began planning an assault on the Confederate forces. He intended to wait until Sherman’s men reached Chattanooga. Sherman’s men began arriving on November 20, but most of his force showed up later. On November 23, rumors circulated through Northern lines that the Confederate forces were retreating. Grant ordered General Thomas to reconnoiter the center of the Confederate line at the base of Missionary Ridge to determine Bragg’s intentions.
Battle of Orchard Knob
Early in the afternoon, 14,000 Northern forces under Brigadier General Thomas J. Wood easily overpowered the 634 Confederates at the Battle of Orchard Knob. Initially, Grant had directed the men to return to Northern lines, but upon seeing the ease the Union men had in securing the position, he ordered his soldiers to hold the position and to entrench.
Lookout Mountain — the Battle Above the Clouds
Union forces continued their assault on the Confederate position the next day. On November 24, General Hooker’s men attacked Confederate forces on Lookout Mountain, on the Southerners’ left flank. By mid-afternoon, the Union assault had stalled, primarily because a dense fog enveloped the mountain. The thick fog prompted soldiers later to nickname the Battle of Lookout Mountain as the Battle Above the Clouds. Although Hooker’s men did not take the mountain, he correctly predicted that Southern forces would withdraw from the mountain that night.
Battle of Missionary Ridge
On November 25, Grant ordered a general assault on Missionary Ridge. Still stinging from their defeat at Chickamauga, Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland routed the center of the Confederate line, forcing Bragg to withdraw his army south into Georgia. Grant ordered Hooker to pursue the fleeing Confederates with 12,000 Union soldiers.
Clash at Ringgold Gap
Bragg reassembled his retreating army at Dalton, Georgia, about thirty miles south of Chattanooga. To do so, he needed to stall Hooker long enough to get his artillery and supply wagons out of harm’s way. Bragg designated Major General Patrick Cleburne’s division as his rearguard.
Near midnight on November 26, Bragg ordered Cleburne to deploy his division at a narrow railroad cut in the mountains near the town of Ringgold, Georgia, north of Dalton. Bragg instructed Cleburne “to hold this position at all hazards, and keep back the enemy until the artillery and transportation of the army are secure.”
Early the next morning, Cleburne did a masterful job positioning his troops to defend Ringgold Gap. With only two cannons and 4,100 troops at his disposal, Cleburne ordered his men to wait until Hooker’s soldiers were almost upon them before firing their weapons. As the leading elements of Hooker’s force neared the gap, the Confederates unleashed a withering volley that sent the unsuspecting Union troops reeling backward.
Unable to use his superior numbers against the defenders in the narrow gap, Hooker resorted to trying to outflank the Confederates, but Union assaults on each Confederate flank failed. Around noon, Cleburne ordered his men to retreat after receiving word that all of Bragg’s stores had safely reached Dalton.
Outcome
By 2 p.m. the Federals occupied Ringgold, but at a high cost. Hooker reported casualties of 432 men (killed, wounded, captured/missing) compared with Confederate losses of 480. Eyewitnesses to the battle, however, claimed that Union losses were much higher than Hooker reported. Even Grant noted a clear discrepancy at the bottom of his official battle report.
Regardless of the accuracy of the casualty reports, Cleburne successfully delayed Hooker’s advance for over five hours, allowing Bragg’s army to reassemble. After the Battle of Ringgold Gap, Grant ended the pursuit. Both armies went into winter quarters, bringing the Chattanooga Campaign to an end.
Timeline
- 1862, December 26 — William S. Rosecrans led the Army of the Cumberland out of Nashville with orders to capture Chattanooga.
- 1863, September 9 — Braxton Bragg abandoned Chattanooga and moved the Army of Tennessee into northern Georgia.
- 1863, September 19–20 — Confederate forces won the Battle of Chickamauga.
- 1863, Late October — Union reinforcements arrived near Chattanooga as Ulysses S. Grant worked to improve the army’s supply situation.
- 1863, October 27 — Union forces established a secure position at Brown’s Ferry.
- 1863, October 28
- Joseph Hooker marched through Lookout Valley and left John W. Geary’s division at Wauhatchie Station.
- Union forces opened the Cracker Line and improved the flow of supplies into Chattanooga.
- 1863, October 28–29 — Union forces won the Battle of Wauhatchie.
- 1863, November 4 — Bragg sent 15,000 soldiers under Lieutenant General James Longstreet toward Knoxville.
- 1863, November 20 — William T. Sherman’s soldiers started arriving at Chattanooga.
- 1863, November 22 — Grant received reports that Bragg might be withdrawing from Chattanooga toward Knoxville.
- 1863, November 23 — Union forces won the Battle of Orchard Knob and captured the hill.
- 1863, November 24 — Union forces won the Battle of Lookout Mountain.
- 1863, November 25 — Union forces won the Battle of Missionary Ridge.
- 1863, November 26 — Braxton Bragg ordered Patrick Cleburne to defend Ringgold Gap and protect the Confederate retreat.
- 1863, November 27
- Cleburne surprised Hooker’s advance forces and defeated Union attacks against both Confederate flanks.
- Cleburne withdrew after learning that Bragg’s artillery and supplies had safely reached Dalton.
- Union forces occupied Ringgold by 2 p.m.
- Grant ended the pursuit of Bragg’s army after the Battle of Ringgold Gap.
AP US History
Definition
Battle of Ringgold Gap (1863) — The Battle of Ringgold Gap was fought in Catoosa County, Georgia, on November 27, 1863, during the Chattanooga Campaign. After the Confederate defeat at Missionary Ridge, General Braxton Bragg sent General Patrick Cleburne to protect his retreat. Cleburne positioned 4,100 soldiers in a narrow mountain pass, surprised General Joseph Hooker’s approaching forces, and drove back Union attacks against both flanks. His five-hour defense allowed Bragg’s army and supplies to reach Dalton, Georgia safely.
Alignment
The Battle of Ringgold Gap is part of the following AP US History sections:
