A Civil War Battle for Chattanooga
The Chickamauga Battlefield is the largest Civil War memorial parks for the battles of Chattanooga. The Battle of Chickamauga was the first in a series of battles that were fought between the Union and Confederacy for power over Chattanooga. Since it’s such a large park, I will share a brief overview of the battle as well as why you should visit the nation’s first military park in conjunction with the parks in Chattanooga.
Brief Battle Overview
In early 1863 the Confederates had control of Chattanooga. This “Gateway to the Lower South” was a huge hub for the Confederates’ supply as railroads from Atlanta, Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis all met here. The Union knew that if they could capture Chattanooga, they would cut supplies for the Confederates between their capital, Richmond, VA, and their main source, Atlanta, GA, the heart of the Confederates’ military operations. The Union Army headed south as the Confederates caught wind of this and headed north from Atlanta to meet them. Of course, the Confederate Army left Chattanooga unprotected as well in order to take on the Union in the Battle of Chickamauga. This battle was three days long (September 18-20, 1863) and was known as the bloodiest three-day battle of the Civil War. Both sides shared in the chaos of plans gone wrong and deadly mistakes due to lack of resources and exhaustion. The losses cost the lives of 16,000 Union Soldiers out of the 58,000 that fought and 18,000 Confederate Soldiers out of the 66,000 that fought. The final result led in the Confederates’ only victory in the battles for Chattanooga as the Union Army fled north to take hold of Chattanooga while the unprotected hub was up for grabs.
General Park Info
In the front of the park (north end on LaFayette Road) is the Visitor’s Center that houses an exhibit about the battle in the right wing followed by The Fuller Gun Collection which contains 346 guns. You can follow a timeline outside the exhibit and across the foyer to the left wing and into the waiting room for the movie theater. The movie is a 26 minute recap of the battles for Chattanooga including Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge. Please keep in mind this movie is full of reenactments and there is plenty of blood shown which may not be suitable for some.
Visit the main desk in the foyer and pick up an informational guide that includes a detailed map of the park. The Chickamauga Battlefield has 50 miles of hiking trails, 22 miles of biking trails, and 256 cannons. Also be sure to check their event calendar HERE ahead of time to plan a visit during a special event to learn even more history.
Chickamauga also provides a self-guided cell phone tour throughout the park. You can either walk or drive the 8 mile round trip. There are a few parking spots at each stop and the tour includes 2-3 minutes of audio on a cell phone call at each of the 8 stops. If you hang up between stops and call again, it recognizes you and you can easily pick up where you left off by entering your stop number. Each stop is signified by a picture of a cannonball pyramid and is labeled by stop number or a directional arrow to the next stop (see pictured above an example of Stop 1). Keep the map handy just in case you miss a directional sign.
Monuments
The Chickamauga Battlefield is full of monuments in memorial of lives lost and battle lines. The 14th Army Corps Monuments are topped with acorns as they were remembered for standing strong like an oak tree during the fight. The Heg Momument is placed where Colonel Heg was mortally wounded and is remembered by a pyramid of cannoballs shaped monument. And the Georgia Monument is the tallest in the park standing at 87 feet tall. These are just a few of the hundreds here at the park.
The Brotherton Cabin and the Snodgrass Cabin
The replica of the Brotherton Cabin (first three pictures above) sits where another fight took place while the Snodgrass Cabin (last picture above) sits on the hill where the final fight was decided. You cannot go inside these cabins but barred doors allow you to view what it may have looked like back in that day. The Brotherton Cabin has a single open room with a fireplace and a small set of stairs in the back leading up to the loft. While the Snodgrass Cabin has an open rafters style with no loft. They both kind of remind me of today’s adored tiny homes. How would you like to live in a small cabin like this?
The Wilder Brigade Tower Monument
This 85 foot tall tower stands approximately where the cabin was that a 23 year old widow lived. The cabin was destroyed by fire during one of the fights, leaving the widow homeless. The tower has 136 steps and is only open to go inside from March 16th through November 31st. I will have to visit again during the warmer seasons when it’s open so I can enjoy the climb and view.
The thing I love most about this park is the effort they have gone through to create a great visual, verbal, and reading experience. No matter what your preferred learning style is, you can receive detailed information about the Battle of Chickamauga in these formats. There’s so much to see and do at the Chickamauga Battlefield so be prepared to spend an entire day here. From the trails to exploring monuments, this park has a lot to offer. Until next time I’ll see you out Exploring Chatt!
P.S. Bonus
I was at the park until 6:30 on a February evening. I can’t guarantee this his how things go here every winter evening but I was blown away by how many deer there were! Turns out there are estimated to be 700 deer on the 5,300 acres of the Chickamauga Battlefield. I’m pretty sure I saw one seventh of that this evening which did not all fit into frame. Have you seen this many deer in one place? Click HERE to see a video of some running across the road in front of me.