The battles around Chattanooga must be considered as ending in one of the most complete victories of the war. Bragg’s army was defeated, men and material captured, and the Confederates driven south. The mountainous defense line which the Confederacy hoped to hold had been pierced and large sections of it were in Union control. Chattanooga, the railroad center, was now in Union hands and the interior line of communication from this section of the Confederacy to Richmond, by way of Knoxville, was destined to remain in Union control for the remainder of the war. Not only Chattanooga, but Knoxville and the rich, food-producing East Tennessee section was lost to the Confederacy. With this came relief for the Union sympathizers in East Tennessee. Virtually all of Tennessee was now under Northern control. The fortunes of war brought changes to both commanders. Bragg asked to be relieved from his command and went to Richmond to become military advisor to Jefferson Davis. President Lincoln promoted Grant, in March 1864, to command of all Union armies in the field. Grant then left Chattanooga for the East, to lead the attack against General Lee in Virginia. _The War After Chattanooga_ In the spring of 1864, the Union armies began to move into the heart of the Confederacy. Grant attached himself to the Army of the Potomac (General Meade) and began operations against Lee; Sherman moved against Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in Georgia. The Army of the Potomac launched a campaign against Richmond. In the bitter battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, in May 1864, Grant reduced Lee’s offensive power. After being repulsed at Cold Harbor, Grant moved against Petersburg and a 10-month siege finally forced Lee to evacuate the city. Lee moved westward to Appomattox Court House where on April 9, 1865, Grant forced him to surrender. While Lee and Grant fought it out in Virginia, Sherman, using Chattanooga for his base of supplies, conducted a strenuous campaign against the Army of Tennessee, first under Johnston and then Hood, finally entering Atlanta on September 2. In November, Sherman began his famous “march to the sea,” reaching Savannah in late December. From there he struck northward through the Carolinas and forced the surrender of Joseph E. Johnston’s army on April 26. By June all isolated Confederate forces had laid down their arms. [Illustration: _Chattanooga from Point Park, Lookout Mountain. The Cravens House and portion of “Battle above the Clouds” battlefield around it lies in the foreground._] [Illustration: CHICKAMAUGA BATTLEFIELD] ① PARK HEADQUARTERS ② FLORIDA MONUMENT ③ KENTUCKY MONUMENT ④ BATTLELINE ROAD ⑤ POE ROAD ⑥ GEORGIA MONUMENT ⑦ BROTHERTON HOUSE ⑧ WILDER MONUMENT ⑨ SNODGRASS HILL Ⓐ JAY’S MILL, OPENING ATTACK, SEPT. 19 Ⓑ CONFEDERATE HEADQUARTERS, SEPT. 20 Ⓒ UNION HEADQUARTERS, SEPT. 19 Ⓓ SOUTH CAROLINA MONUMENT