Sequatchie River, flowing through the valley of that name, nearly fifty
miles long, a valley much broken in spots.

Behind this great barrier Bragg felt, for a time at least, safe, and he
utilized each hour in adding to his troops, men being forced into the
Southern army wherever and whenever they could be found. The soldiers
were poorly clothed and scantily fed, and some of the cavalry were
mounted on mules. The firearms were of various sorts, English and
Belgian weapons being quite common.

It was not until the 16th of August that the Army of the Cumberland
began that momentous advance which will ever be remembered in the annals
of history. In the meantime, railroads had been repaired, the artillery
had been equipped with extra heavy harness for the horses, boats on the
rivers had been put in good condition, and, equally important, the corn
had ripened in sunny spots and been gathered in by the army
quartermasters. The loss of their crop of corn caused many a
heartburning among the farmers of this section of our country, but the
confiscation was one of actual necessity; and, wherever such a course
seemed just, payments were made for what was taken.

Twice had Rosecrans defeated the enemy by turning his flank. Now, with
the mountains between himself and Bragg's front, there seemed nothing to
do but to try the trick again. But the movement must be well planned and
well executed, or the enemy would immediately become aware of what was
going on, and make a move that would upset all the Union commander's
calculations.

As has been said, the mountains to the northward were high and rugged;
to the southward, they were broken up by a long valley, a river, and
several small creeks. To turn the enemy's right would, therefore,
require a long and arduous journey through a country almost barren.
Rosecrans resolved to make his real movement to the left; that is, to
the southward of Chattanooga. And the first act in the great drama was
to hoodwink Bragg into believing that he was coming around by the
mountain paths to the north.

Carrying with them ammunition enough for two great battles, and rations
for twenty-five days, the forward movement began by throwing
Crittenden's corps over the Cumberland Mountains and Walden's Ridge into
the Tennessee Valley, directly opposite and to the north of Chattanooga.
The corps moved from Hillsboro, Manchester, and McMinnville, and when in
the Tennessee Valley were joined by Wilder's brigad