Chickamauga

For those of you who are American Civil War buffs, you will recognize this name immediately as one of the most well known civil war battle sites in America. Here is a photo of the entrance to the Visitor Centre.

Rather than go into details of the battle and what happened, suffice it to say that the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg was the victor over the Union Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans.  The outcome of the battle which took place September 19-20, 1863 hinged on:

1) A breakdown in Rosecrans communications when after being misinformed that there was a gap in his line, he ordered a brigade to pull out of the line.  This caused an actual gap to appear just when Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's Division was attacking.  The right wing of the Union forces was completely routed.

2) In pursuing the rest of the Union forces, the Confederate soldiers were stymied by the fierce resistance of Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas men on a ridge where they formed a new right wing.  As a result, the remaining Union forces were able to withdraw back to Chattanooga, rather than be annihilated.  Gen. Thomas became known as 'The Rock of Chickamauga" based on a comment by Rosecrans

 It was the biggest defeat of the Union Campaign in the West.  The number of casualties in this two day battle was second only to Gettysburg.  You can read about all the details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickamauga

I would like to tell you my impressions of the Battlefield sites and steer you to a unique information resource.

There are 3 separate battlefield sites: 1) Chickamauga (named after the Chickamauga Creek about 5 miles south of Chattanooga and actually in Georgia); 2) Lookout Mountain (4 miles west of Chattanooga overlooking the city); and, 3) Missionary Ridge (in Chattanooga proper which we did not have time to visit).

The Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Centre is well done.  They have a 20 min video explaining the battle, a museum that displays many artefacts and graphics and the Fuller Gun Collection (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtlUDF8hzIk for a tour).  I particularly liked the large light emitting display that shows exactly how the flow of the battle went.  I found this to be very useful before driving around the site.  Of course, access is all free courtesy of the National Park Service and taxpayers.

The site is very large and it takes at good hour just to drive around even if you skip most of the 8 tour stops.  Typical of many battlefields, the geography includes a large number of treed areas with grassy openings here and there.  There are small hills and ridges and a few ravines I recall.  A county Road runs right through the centre and I saw people heading to and from work etc..

There are many monuments honouring various States' participation and many markers and information plaques.  It is a beautiful site to drive around however, it is difficult to get a single strategic view as the woods are always present interrupting your line of sight.  I wonder how ACW Generals ever maintained communications with their Divisions during a battle (by sending messengers back and forth and trying to spot brigade battle flags in the distance).  It is no wonder that communications failed at times as the whole battlefield area would have been submerged in smoke.  It must have been a general state of confusion at the best of times.

Here are some photos I took (click on photo to enlarge):

Plaque explaining the fateful order from Rosecrans to Wood that opened up the Union line:

The details of Longstreets breakthrough and routing of the Union right wing.

Interesting story of the Brothertons outlining how son Tom served as a Confederate scout during the battle.

Rebuilt replica of the Brotherton House around which Longstreet's brigades streamed to over run the remaining Union forces in the trees at the back.

More info on the rout of the Union Right:

The marker on the right at the top of the hill marks Rosecrans' Headquaters on Sept 20 before being routed:

Thomas' heroic stand on Snodgrass Hill explained.

Union battery on Snodgrass Hill:

Finally the unique information resource.  Former Park Ranger Jim Blackwell has made a tour guide available by cell phone.  Simply call 585 672-2619 and enter any of the 8 Tour Stop numbers to receive a detailed explanation of what the stop entails. Amazing, but it helps if you have a block of free long distance calls to take advantage. Stops 7 Rout of the Union Right and 8 Snodgrass Hill are the most interesting stops.

In comparison,  I found Chickamauga Battlefield to be more interesting than Shiloh but less so than Pea Ridge (my favourite), Antietam and of course Gettysburg. However, it came late on our 2 month RV trip and we were anxious to get home. Will have to return someday for a second visit. I highly recommend this site for a visit.  More on Lookout Mountain to follow.

My sincere thanks to Park Ranger Wes Bowden for explaining Chickamauga with so much passion and for steering me to the Jim Blackwell cell phone tour.

D.