The Battle of Lookout Mountain is often romanticized as “the Battle Above the Clouds,” however little of the action took place there.
The Battle of Lookout Mountain also known as the Battle Above The Clouds was fought on November 24, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. General Joseph Hooker assaulted Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and defeated Confederate forces commanded by Carter L. Stevenson. Lookout Mountain was one engagement in the Chattanooga battles between Ulysses S. Grant's Military Division of the Mississippi and the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Braxton Bragg. It drove in the Confederate left flank and allowed Hooker's men to assist in the Battle of Missionary Ridge the following day, which routed Bragg's army, lifting the siege of Union forces in Chattanooga, and opening the gateway into the Deep South. This is considered one of the facts about the battle of Chattanooga.
Battle of Lookout Mountain, on November 24, "Fightin'" Joe Hooker began attacking the remaining Confederates at Lookout Mountain. Grant did not initially consider using Lookout Mountain a priority; however, at the time of the attack, Grant had instructed Hooker to capture Lookout Point, the summit, if that was possible. Hooker had three divisions under the command of Brigadiers John W. Geary, Charles Cruft, and Peter J. Osterhaus. From 9:30 to 10:30, Geary's skirmishers make their way through thick fog and mist. Geary's men contacted the Confederate Brig. General Edward Walthall's men were a mile southwest of Lookout Point. The Confederates found themselves outnumbered and were quickly repulsed. Geary pursued the Rebels as they retreated, eventually meeting Walthall's reserve force at 11:30 outside Craven House. The inferior reserves could not match Geary's and were quickly dispersed despite Walthall's best efforts to rally his troops. The chaotic retreat of the Rebels not only cleared the way for the Confederates to advance but also rendered Confederate guns useless as the attempt to fire on Confederate soldiers could also result in the deaths of the Confederates.
