1863 saw decisions made in the West and East, decisions eventually proving decisive though at the time, an end to the war still lay deep ahead, hidden in the fogbank of the future.  Federal armies in Virginia started the new year approximately where they had the previous year.  In the West, the Mississippi River returned to Federal control with the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson.  Further east, near Chattanooga on the Tennessee-Georgia border, the Confederate Army of Tennessee hung on after their serious setback on Missionary Ridge negated their victory earlier at Chickamauga.  Under General Joseph E. Johnston’s new command, the Confederates dug in atop nearby Rocky Face Mountain barring the way for the soon-to-come Federal push towards Atlanta.