Rosecrans is replaced

Although he doesn't yet know it, on this date in 1863, Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans lost his command of the Army of the Cumberland, following his disastrous and humiliating defeat on the Chickamauga battlefield on September 20. The Departments of the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee were reorganized into The Military Division of the Mississippi, and placed by President Lincoln under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant. In the same order, Gen. George Henry Thomas, the "Rock of Chickamauga," was assigned to take Rosecrans's command.*

Rosecrans learned of  the order on October 19, hours after his subordinates became aware of it. He immediately made arrangements to leave Thomas in command, then departed Chattanooga that night for his home in Cincinnati to await further orders.

Rosecrans was soon given command of the Department of Missouri from January to December 1864, but ultimately he had no further major role in the War Between the States. Rosecrans retired from military service in March 1867.

In 1864, Rosecrans was a serious consideration as Lincoln's second term running mate, which he declined. In 1868 he was appointed US Ambassador to Mexico, but he was quickly replaced when Grant became president. In the postwar years Rosecrans became involved in the railroad business, and later was elected to Congress in 1880. Remaining in office until 1885, he continued to bicker with Grant over events of the war. He served as Register of the Treasury from 1885-1893, under President Grover Cleveland. Rosecrans died at his ranch in Redondo Beach, California, on March 11, 1898. In 1908, his remains were re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery.


* Apparently, in order to permit Grant the decision whether to replace Rosecrans, two orders were actually written, either of which Grant was free to act upon. One retained Rosecrans as commander, while a second relieved him and placed Thomas in command.

Sources: The Army of the Cumberland, Henry Martyn Cist; Mountains Touched With Fire, Wiley Sword;  Civil War Trust

Rosecrans makes up his mind

On today's date in 1863, Union General William S. Rosecrans polls his senior commanders about whether to move on the Confederate force under Gen. Braxton Bragg, headquartered at Tullahoma, Tennessee. While the consensus was to take a wait-and-see approach, depending on the outcome of Union General Grant's siege of Vicksburg, Rosecrans's chief of staff (and future US president), James A. Garfield, urged immediate action. Feeling the pressure of the Union's War Department, Rosecrans makes up his mind and concurs with Garfield. By the time he makes his move on June 23, Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland had been static for 169 days. He will make a massive feint towards Bragg's left, while striking with his own left toward Manchester, and beyond, at the road and rail bridges over the Elk River. Some of the first Confederate troops to receive Rosecrans's attack in a few days will be Great Grandfather Oakes's comrades in Cleburne's Division, stationed between Liberty Gap and Bell Buckle.

Rosecrans's delay has frustrated more than just his own high command. On the other side of the battle lines, common Confederate soldiers were also left guessing. One of Great Grandfather Oakes's comrades in Co. D of the 32nd Regiment, Thomas Settle, wrote home (dated 4/4/63): 

We have very little that is worth sharing here to send in a letter to you as camps here are just like ever other place filled with rumors & very few that are correct. I am completely at a loss to know when how or which way we will move from here. I made a guess when we were here only a few days that we would stay here until the last of May. I am now a little inclined to think the same thing. Rosen Crans [sic] may advance on us but I don't think he will. We are fortified here but not very strongly...

Sources: Tullahoma: The 1863 Campaign for the Control of Middle Tennessee, Michael R. Bradley; "Settle Letters," a transcription of which was generously shared with me by descendant Raymond Settle. Many of these letters are now available on the Fanin County TxGen Website. The original letters are part of the Settle Family Collection, 1860-1864, in the University of Mississippi Department of Archives and Special Collections.

Rosecrans takes command from Buell

On today's date in 1862, Union Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell was relieved of command of the Army of the Ohio in Kentucky and Tennessee for allowing Bragg's Confederate army to escape Kentucky. Lincoln authorized Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans to take over. Buell learned of his sacking on the 29th, from a local newspaper.

Rosecrans, the hero of Iuka and Corinth, will head the newly created Department of the Cumberland. He was immediately ordered to Louisville, via Cincinnati, to take charge of Buell’s former command. Almost universally, the men reacted with cheers and joy. Most assumed they would now go into winter quarters. Instead, as soon as he joined his new command, Rosecrans led his army back to Nashville to confront Bragg, who was taking a new a position in nearby Murfreesboro.

Born in Ohio, in 1819, Rosecrans was an 1842 graduate of the United States Military Academy, ranking fifth in a class of 56. Finding promotion slow in the peacetime army, and having no opportunity to gain advancement in the Mexican-American War, Rosecrans resigned his commission in 1854. Life as a businessman and inventor provided little more satisfaction and nearly killed him when a failed experiment severely burned his face. When the Civil War army offered Rosecrans an opportunity to return to the military profession, he seized it eagerly, rising to brigadier general by the summer of 1861. Success in Western Virginia soon brought him a transfer to the West, where he gained a semi-independent command under Ulysses S. Grant. In northern Mississippi Rosecrans fought strongly at the battles of Iuka and Corinth, although he earned Grant's displeasure at the same time. Promoted to major general in September 1862, he lobbied successfully to have the commission backdated to March. Now he commanded one of the nation's 3 largest field armies, centered in Nashville.

Rosecrans was known to be brilliant, articulate, firm in his convictions, and courageous. He was also a man of extraordinary energy, who drove both himself and his subordinates unmercifully. A devout Roman Catholic, he retained a personal chaplain on his staff. Unfortunately, his favorable virtues were offset by characteristics that were less beneficial. In temperament Rosecrans tended to be nervous and excitable. He was often impatient and critical of others, especially his superiors. Neither introspective nor an perceptive judge of others, Rosecrans had a remarkably simple outlook. Once convinced of the correctness of his views, he could be extremely smug. Generally affable with his staff, he often immersed himself in details better left to subordinates. This tendency, coupled with his love of philosophical and theological discussions, led him to remain active well past midnight, to the chagrin of his staff. He was often unable to sleep during campaigns and became increasingly nervous and irritable as operations accelerated around him.

But, despite his shortcomings, Rosecrans will soon amass important victories and fame for his successes at Murfreesboro and the Tullahoma Campaign.

Sources: Official Records, Vol 16, Part 1; The Civil War Almanac, John S. Bowman; National Park Service