The Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga and the Organizations Engaged

More than a hundred years ago, Civil War soldier, professor, and journalist Henry Boynton wrote a trio of works considered by historians to be some of the first authoritative sources on the Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Despite their obvious importance, these volumes have long since fallen out of print, relegated to the back shelves of academic libraries and historical societies. Fortunately, they have now regained their place among the essential works of Civil War literature. Timothy B. Smith has combined Boynton’s three short books—The Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia; Battles about Chattanooga, Tennessee; and The Campaign for Chattanooga—into a single, compact volume.

As a gifted writer and actual participant in these engagements—he commanded the Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry—Boynton tells the story as he saw and understood it, offering his own commentary throughout the narrative. Ultimately, over the years, his take on the battles through his books and his work on the park itself became the de facto interpretation of the battles.

Boynton’s own narratives are supplemented in this new edition by the editor’s introductory biography of the prolific Boynton, highlighting the author’s dedication to preserving the important memories of the Civil War for future generations. In addition, purchasing this book will give readers access to Edward E. Betts’s stunning maps, originally combined in the rare Atlas of the Battlefields of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Vicinity. These maps will be downloadable in an easy-to-use PDF format. The Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga and the Organizations Engaged represents a golden opportunity for Civil War scholars and enthusiasts alike to rediscover a lost historical treasure.

Timothy B. Smith is the author of This Great Battlefield of Shiloh, The Untold Story of Shiloh, The Golden Age of Battlefield Preservation, and A Chickamauga Memorial, all available from the University of Tennessee Press. He teaches history at the University of Tennessee at Martin.