During the night of November 23-24, Sherman began to carry out his role
in the drama. He selected Brig. Gen. Giles A. Smith’s brigade to man the
pontoon boats, concealed in North Chickamauga Creek, to cross the
Tennessee River and secure a bridgehead near the mouth of the South
Chickamauga Creek. During the hours of darkness the brigade landed at
its designated place. A few soldiers stopped at the mouth of the creek,
surprising and capturing the pickets there. The remaining troops landed
and prepared to build bridges across the Tennessee River and South
Chickamauga Creek. By early afternoon they had finished the bridge
across the river, and Sherman’s forces were across and ready to attack.
Brig. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis’ Division (Fourteenth Corps), which had
guarded the pontoons, also crossed and became part of Sherman’s force.
Sherman attacked and seized the north end of Missionary Ridge at 4 p.m.
against only Confederate outpost opposition. To his surprise, Sherman
found a deep and wide ravine separating the north end of the ridge from
Tunnel Hill immediately southward, his real objective. Cleburne’s
Division of Confederate troops had hurried to Tunnel Hill only an hour
or two before Sherman seized the north end of Missionary Ridge, and they
were busily engaged entrenching there when Sherman arrived across the
ravine from them. Sherman did not attack Tunnel Hill that afternoon, but
entrenched where he was.