Talk:Battle of Missionary Ridge

Back from Redirect
This article used to be a redirect to Third Battle of Chattanooga, but I have created an expanded article that compliments the new Chattanooga Campaign article. Most of the Thomas-related text came from the Third Battle article and needs more work. The Tunnel Hill section, too. I have removed a few sentences here and there that were not cited and I saw no prospect of finding citations for them (so if you want to add them, make sure can cite them). Eventually I'll get the whole article cited and add some new maps I'm currently working on. There's also a Battle of Lookout Mountain article coming out of redirect and then the Third Battle article will be changed to a redirect to Chattanooga Campaign. Hal Jespersen (talk) 05:51, 16 January 2009 (UTC)


 * All of the proposed work on the Chattanooga-related articles is now done. Hal Jespersen (talk) 23:34, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

"Military crest" and the Battle of Missionary Ridge
The American Civil War was the birthplace of trench warfare. True, trench warfare had been used to some extent during the Crimean War, but nowhere near as extensively. There were no established doctrines regarding trench warfare prior to that war; in fact, many of them came about because of the experiences on both sides. True, if Bragg had thought rather than reacted, he may have placed the trenches of the Army of Tennessee on Missionary Ridge at what is now called the military crest rather than the actual crest. However, since no standards had been written on where military rifle pits should be placed on a ridge or a mountain, pointing out that he placed the trenches on the actual crest rather than the military crest is misleading. It suggests there was such a military doctrine in existence at the time, which there was not. Had there been, Sherman never would have his rifle trenches on Billy Goat Hill on the actual crest as well.

In truth, the placement of the trenches of the Army of Tennessee on the military crest of every engagement fought during the Atlanta Campaign in terrain where heights existed suggest that it was because of their experience at Missionary Ridge that the doctrine of military crest came about.

Again, Catton is a 20th century writer commenting more than half a century after the fact, not a contemporary military expert. If you want to include a criticism of Bragg's placement of the trenches, you need to provide a source that proves such a doctrine existed at the time of the Battle of Missionary Ridge. Furthermore, to be fair and accurate, you would also need to criticize Sherman for the same deficit if that were the case. However, it is not. Chuck Hamilton (talk) 00:27, 10 July 2011 (UTC)