Awaiting the Army of the Cumberland were thirty-five thousand Confederate troops well supported by artillery, and entrenched atop a strongly fortified ridge. There was absolutely no chance the men of the Cumberland could take the ridge. Almost every Union general thought that to assault it would be suicide; yet when the men captured the base rifle, they rested only briefly then went on to scale the ridge itself. What followed was probably the most outstanding assault of the Civil War. The men of the Army of the Cumberland completely routed the Rebel forces, compelling them to retreat to Georgia. At the time, the battle was hailed throughout the country as a miracle, for the men not only took an unassailable position, they did so without orders from Grant or any other Union officer. Why the men left the base rifle pit to attack the ridge has been debated for years. The Boys of Chattanooga is the story of the siege and battle for Chattanooga and that heroic charge up Missionary Ridge.