As foreshadowed yesterday, today is the anniversary of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, fought near Chattanooga in 1863.  Here is a summary of the battle, remarkable in two ways.  First, it demonstrated Grant’s masterly ability to remain both calm and aggressive at the same time.  Although his initial plan to dislodge the Confederates from their position all along the ridge did not materialize the way he had hoped, Grant kept his cool, adjusted to the tactical situation and kept pressing.  Second, the final charge of the Union troops for the summit of the Ridge was not of Grants’ doing at all – he had wanted them to stop and reorganize after capturing the first line of Confederate defences.  However, the troops themselves, recognizing that to do so would have made them sitting ducks for the defenders at the top of the Ridge, simply kept going until they reached the summit.

James Thurber, perhaps facitiously, states in his story “The Dog Who Bit People” that he had an uncle who claimed to be the third man up Missionary Ridge.  (A perfectly plausible claim, btw.)  It was remarked by Thurber’s brother that if said dog (Muggs by name) had been after him, the uncle would have been the first man up Missionary Ridge.