Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's plan for driving the Confederate Army of Tennessee from the Chattanooga area hinged on Gen. William T. Sherman's bold river crossing. Sherman had to march his troops from Bridgeport, Alabama, cross the Tennessee River at Brown's Ferry, and move into hidden camps behind the hills north of Chattanooga. He then had to re- cross the Tennessee River and attack the northern end of Missionary Ridge. This complex logistical operation required coordination, secrecy, and the silent construction of a pontoon bridge. Maj. Henry S. Dean's 22nd Michigan Infantry carried two pontoon bridges from downtown Chattanooga to the crossing point north of the city.
