William Rosecrans

William Starke Rosecrans was a United States Army officer who became one of the Union’s most prominent western commanders during the Civil War. He led the Army of the Cumberland through the Stones River and Tullahoma campaigns and manoeuvred Confederate forces out of much of Middle Tennessee.

At Chickamauga in September 1863, a mistaken order created a gap in the Union line just as James Longstreet attacked, contributing to the army’s defeat. Rosecrans withdrew to Chattanooga and was soon replaced by George Henry Thomas. He later served as a diplomat, congressman and public official.

Hourly History’s Battle of Chickamauga traces the movements of William Rosecrans and Braxton Bragg, the arrival of James Longstreet’s corps and the command error that opened a gap in the Union line. In Captivating History’s The Battle of Chickamauga, And on the Union side, there were Generals William Rosecrans (whose bright military career ended at Chickamauga), George Henry Thomas (the Virginian Union man who became known as the “Rock of Chickamauga” for his stand there), and Colonel James Garfield (who would be propelled to the presidency of the United States in 1880 due to his actions at Chickamauga).