Quartermaster Corps History Time Line, 1775-Present

Quartermasters in East Tennessee work to open a desperately needed supply route, the so-called “Cracker Line” for thousands of besieged Union Army troops at Chattanooga. On 30 Oct 1863, Quartermaster Colonel William G. LeDuc and Captain Arthur Edwards, launched a homemade steamboat, CHATTANOOGA on her maiden voyage from Bridgeport, Alabama to a landing spot near Chattanooga called Kelley’s Ferry, breaking the siege. More vessels followed in the weeks and months ahead, including one carrying General William T. Sherman as he made ready for his march through Georgia.