The Battle of Davis' Cross Roads, also known as the Battle of Dug Gap, was fought on September 10–11, 1863, in northwestern Georgia, as part of the Chickamauga Campaign of the American Civil War. It was more of a series of maneuvers than an actual battle and casualties were negligible. September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years). ... 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

In the initial stages of the campaign, Union Major General William Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland induced the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg to evacuate the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Rosecrans dispatched three corps on three different roads toward northwestern Georgia. The corps on the center road was the XIV Corps under Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, which moved just across the border to Trenton, Georgia, and prepared to move on to Lafayette in pursuit of Bragg. Lafayette was the present location of Bragg's army; due to misinformation and poor intelligence, Rosecrans was convinced that Bragg was demoralized and was retreating to Dalton, Georgia, farther to the southeast. But once he realized that the Union forces had separated and were vulnerable, Bragg intended to attack Thomas, halt his advance, and defeat him. The Union Army refers to the United States Army during the American Civil War. ... William Starke Rosecrans (September 6, 1819 - March 11, 1898), nicknamed Old Rosy, served as an American military officer. ... Union army in the west during the American Civil War, commanded at various times by Generals Robert Anderson, Don Carlos Buell, William S. Rosecrans, and George Thomas. ... For other meanings of confederate and confederacy, see confederacy (disambiguation) National Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God our Vindicator) Official language English de facto nationwide Various European and Native American languages regionally Capital Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861 Richmond, Virginia May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865 Largest... The Army of Tennessee was formed in November 1862. ... General Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817_ September 27, 1876) was a general in the Confederate army during the American Civil War. ... Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga is the 4th largest city in Tennesseee, and the seat of Hamilton County6, Tennessee in the United States of America. ... XIV Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. ... General George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816 - March 28, 1870), Northern general during the American Civil War, was born in Southampton County, Virginia. ... Trenton is a city located in Dade County, Georgia. ... Dalton is a city located in Whitfield County, Georgia. ...

Thomas's corps raced forward, seized the important gaps in Missionary Ridge and the Pigeon Mountains, and moved out into McLemore's Cove. Maj. Gen. James Negley's division, supported by Brig. Gen. Absalom Baird's division, was moving across the mouth of the cove on the Dug Gap road when Negley learned that Confederate units were concentrating around Dug Gap. Moving through determined resistance, he closed on the gap, withdrawing to Davis' Cross Roads in the evening of September 10 to await the supporting division. September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ...

Bragg had ordered Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman with his division to assault Negley in the flank at Davis' Cross Roads, while Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's division forced its way through Dug Gap to strike Negley in front. Hindman was to receive reinforcements for this movement, but most of them did not arrive. The Confederate officers, therefore, met and decided that they could not attack in their present condition. The next morning, however, fresh troops did arrive, and the Rebels began to move on the Union line. The supporting Union division had, by now, joined Negley, and, hearing of a Confederate attack, the Union forces determined that a strategic withdrawal to Stevens Gap was in order. Negley first moved his division to the ridge east of West Chickamauga Creek, where it established a defensive line. The other division then moved through them to Stevens Gap and established a defensive line there. Both divisions awaited the rest of Thomas's corps. All of this was accomplished under constant pursuit and fire from the Confederates. Thomas Carmichael Hindman (28 January 1828 - 27 September 1868) was a United States Representative from the 1st Congressional District of Arkansas and a Major General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. ... Patrick Ronayne Cleburne (1828-1864) was a Major General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a resident of the State of Arkansas. ...

After his abortive attempt to attack one isolated Union corps, Bragg turned his attention to the corps to his north, the XXI Corps under Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden, setting the stage for the bloody Battle of Chickamauga on September 18. The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 18–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in south-central Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ...

References

• National Park Service battle description (http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/ga003.htm)

External links

• West Point Atlas map of the battle (http://www.military.com/Resources/pics/civilwar_map41_largerview.jpg)