William B. Hazen's brigade floated down the Tennessee on pontoons at night while another brigade marched over Moccasin Point in support. The river movement passed beneath Confederate guns without being detected, allowing the landing to begin before dawn. The 15th Alabama's counterattack under William C. Oates failed, and Evander M. Law placed the rest of his brigade across the road over Lookout Mountain. James Longstreet treated the landing as a feint and did not promptly inform or obey Bragg. The Union bridgehead then had a full day to consolidate before Hooker's column linked with it and effectively opened the supply route.
Chapter · 43:01-48:56
Longstreet let the Brown's Ferry bridgehead harden
A night river crossing secured Brown's Ferry, and Longstreet's failure to react allowed Union troops to fortify and join Hooker's column before serious interference.