View source for First Battle of Chattanooga

{{short description|Battle of the American Civil War}}
{{About||the 1863 Battles for Chattanooga|Chattanooga Campaign|other uses|Battle of Chattanooga (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=First Battle of Chattanooga
|image=
|caption=
|partof=[[American Civil War]]
|date= {{Start date|1862|6|7}} &ndash; {{End date|1862|6|8}}
|place=[[Chattanooga, Tennessee]]
|result=[[United States of America|Union]] victory<ref name=NPS>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020427191009/http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/tn005.htm NPS]</ref>
|combatant1= {{flagicon|USA|1861}} [[United States]] ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]])
|combatant2= {{flagicon|CSA|1861}} [[Confederate States of America|CSA (Confederacy)]]
|commander1=[[James S. Negley]]
|commander2=[[Edmund Kirby Smith]]
|units1=Negley's Division, [[Army of the Ohio]]
|units2=[[Army of Kentucky (Confederate)|Army of Kentucky]]
|strength1 = 1 division
|strength2 = 
|casualties1=23
|casualties2=65
|}}
{{Campaignbox Confederate Heartland Offensive}}
The '''First Battle of Chattanooga''' was a minor artillery battle in the [[American Civil War]], fought on June 7&ndash;8, 1862.

==Background==
{{further|Chattanooga in the American Civil War}}
In late spring 1862, the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] split its forces in Chattanooga, [[Tennessee]] into several small commands in an attempt to complicate Federal operations. Union [[Major general (United States)|Maj. Gen.]] [[Ormsby M. Mitchel]] received orders to take his division to [[Huntsville, Alabama]], to repair railroads in the area. Soon, he occupied more than 100 miles along the [[Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad|Nashville & Chattanooga]] and [[Memphis and Charleston Railroad|Memphis & Charleston]] railroads. In May, Mitchel and his men sparred with Maj. Gen. [[Edmund Kirby Smith]]'s men.<ref name=NPS/>

==Battle==
[[File:Chattanooga_I_Battlefield_Tennessee.jpg|305px|thumb|right|Map of Chattanooga I Battlefield core and study areas by the [[American Battlefield Protection Program]]]]
After Mitchel received command of all Federal troops between Nashville and Huntsville on May 29, he ordered [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brig. Gen.]] [[James Negley]] with a small division to lead an expedition to capture [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]]. This force arrived before Chattanooga on June 7. Negley ordered the [[79th Pennsylvania Infantry]] out to reconnoiter. It found the Confederates entrenched on the opposite side of the river along the banks and atop Cameron Hill. Negley brought up two artillery batteries to open fire on the Rebel troops and the town and sent infantry to the river bank to act as sharpshooters. The Union bombardment of Chattanooga continued throughout June 7 and until noon on June 8. The Confederates replied, but it was uncoordinated since the undisciplined gunners were allowed to do as they wished. On June 10, Smith, who had arrived on June 8, reported that Negley had withdrawn and the Confederate loss was minor. This attack on Chattanooga was a warning that Union troops could mount assaults when they wanted.<ref name=NPS/> The attack also prompted [[Edmund Kirby Smith]] to withdraw Confederate troops from other areas to defend Chattanooga.  This redeployment of troops allowed [[George W. Morgan]] to [[Battle of the Cumberland Gap (June 1862)|capture the Cumberland Gap]] on June 18, 1862.

==Battlefield preservation==

The [[American Battlefield Trust]] and its partners have acquired and preserved more than {{convert|405|acres|km2}} battlefield acres at Chattanooga as of mid-2023.<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/visit/battlefields/chattanooga-battlefield] [[American Battlefield Trust]] "Chattanooga Battlefield" webpage. Accessed May 15, 2023.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Second Battle of Chattanooga]]
*[[Chattanooga campaign]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141122034618/http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/tn005.htm National Park Service battle description]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121108183608/http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/CWSII/TennesseeBattlefieldProfiles/Campbells%20Station%20to%20Columbia.pdf CWSAC Report]

{{coord|35.0651|-85.3088|region:US-TN_type:event_scale:10000|display=title}}

{{Tennessee in the Civil War}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chattanooga}}
[[Category:1862 in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:1862 in Tennessee]]
[[Category:June 1862]]
[[Category:19th century in Chattanooga, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Confederate Heartland Offensive|Chattanooga I]]
[[Category:Battles of the Western Theater of the American Civil War|Chattanooga I]]
[[Category:Union victories of the American Civil War|Chattanooga I]]
[[Category:Battles of the American Civil War in Tennessee|Chattanooga I]]
[[Category:Hamilton County, Tennessee]]