American Civil War battle that formed part of General Grant's campaign to lift the siege of Chattanooga. Confederate victory at the Battle of Chickamauga had allowed General Braxton Bragg to besiege Chattanooga. The town was overlooked by Missionary Ridge to the east and Lookout Mountain to the west. From these two vantage points, Bragg had been able to impose a close blockade on the city, forcing all supplies to use a sixty mile diversion through the mountains north of the Tennessee River.
Lincoln had turned to U. S. Grant to solve the crisis. On 23 October he had arrived in Chattanooga to find a plan already in place. He authorised this plan, and by 29 October his troops had created the 'Cracker line', a supply line that passed along the western edge of Lookout Valley, to the west of Lookout Mountain.
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