When asked by Grant if he (Granger) ordered the charge up Missionary Ridge, Gordon Granger is supposed to have said, "No, ... but once those boys get started, all hell can't stop 'em." There are several variations on the quote. My searches were conducted by Internet, only. So far, I haven't found the anecdote in original correspondence or memoirs of any famous figure who was at the battle. Most of the versions I found were modern sources. I did finally find several sources dating back to the 1880s and 1890s, and some in the next decade or two; so it was frequently quoted, and dates at least to two decades after the end of the war, if not before then.
In tracking the quote, the earliest version I've found, so far, is from 1887:
Century Illustrated, 1887
Source: J.S. Fullerton, "The Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga" (136-150),
The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine (Vol 34), (via Google eBooks; orig. publ.: Century Company, 1887), 147.
[Granger]: " '...they started up without orders. When those fellows get started, all hell can't stop them.' "
http://bit.ly/Century-Illus-1887-vol34-p147
Note: J.S. Fullerton, the author of the above article, is probably the same person as J.S. Fullerton, Assistant Adjutant General, Army of the Cumberland, who wrote this piece of 1863 correspondence to General Gordon Granger. [
Ref.: O.R., Ser. 1, vol. 31, Pt. 3 (Correspondence), (Fullerton to Granger, Dec. 24, 1863, 483-484), 484.]
J.S. Fullerton correspondence in Official Records
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152608/m1/493/?q=laiboldt
Variations/Sources:
Official Report of the Twelfth International Christian Endeavor Convention (vols. 11-14), (Boston: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1893), 271.
[QUOTE]: Granger replied: "No, I did not; but I tell you, general, that when those fellows get started all hell can't stop them." [END QUOTE]
The above instance appears to be a speech--amusing remarks are followed by this bracketed word:
"[Laughter.]"
Contrib.: United Society of Christian Endeavor, International Society of Christian Endeavor
Publisher: United Society of Christian Endeavor, 1893.
(The PDF contains multiple volumes, not numbered. Quote is on page 271 of the journal entitled "...Twelfth...").
Short URL: http://bit.ly/Twelfth-Intl-Christian-Endeavor-1893-p271
Long URL: https://books.google.com/books?id=GaBVAAAAYAAJ&lpg=RA1-PA271&ots=Y_w3twrJN0&dq=Report%20of%20the%20Twelfth%20International%20Christian%20Endeavor%20and%20all%20hell%20can't%20stop%20them&pg=RA1-PA271#v=onepage&q=%22all%20hell%20can't%20stop%20them.%22&f=false
Most of the older incidents of this quote are from speeches in trade journals and the like.
The line was
not quoted by Brevet Captain Bradford R. Wood in his 1907 paper, "Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge from Lookout Mountain." In the paper, he gives his own comment, during the event, as
During the battle, Wood received messages from Granger, but probably was not within earshot of Granger. (Not linked here).
In recent publications, the line is being quoted with slightly different wording:
Wikipedia
Wikipedia article on the Army of the Cumberland, quoted, but not footnoted:
[QUOTE]: Granger then replied, "Once those boys get started, all hell can't stop 'em." [END QUOTE]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_the_Cumberland
World Heritage Encyclopedia
"Army of the Cumberland," World Heritage Encyclopedia (via Project Gutenberg):
[QUOTE]: Granger then replied, "Once those boys get started, all hell can't stop 'em." [END QUOTE]
http://self.gutenberg.org/article/whebn0001041853/army%20of%20the%20cumberland
Sergeant Tom's War
C. G. Richardson, Sergeant Tom's War: A Tale of the Illinois 40th Volunteer Infantry, (via Google Books Preview) (n.p.: Xlibris Corporation, 2011), 188.
https://books.google.com/books?id=jnhlI98HDoYC&lpg=PA188&ots=-fjHuHJeOu&dq=army%20of%20the%20cumberland%20and%20boys%20get%20started%20all%20hell%20can't%20stop%20'em&pg=PA188#v=onepage&q&f=false
Redman article about Battle for Chattanooga
"The Battles for Chattanooga 23, 24, and 25 Nov. 1863" (designated as Page 725):
Bob Redman
[QUOTE]: "No," said Granger; "they started up without orders. When those fellows get started all hell can't stop them." [END QUOTE]
http://www.aotc.net/Chattanooga.htm
In a couple of instances, I found the quote attributed to Thomas, not listed here.
