“If
we can hold Chattanooga and Eastern Tennessee, I think the rebellion must
dwindle and die.” Abraham Lincoln
Carol
writes: As winter approached
and we moved slowly southward in eastern Tennessee, our next stop was Chattanooga,
where we looked forward to visiting three historic sites where, over a 2-month
period, key battles of the Chattanooga Campaign were fought which turned the
tide of the Civil War.
Chickamauga,
Lookout Mountain,
and Missionary Ridge would capture our interest
for the better part of the next week…
For our stay in the Chattanooga area, Al
selected a family-run campground. In an
interesting even-handed manner, the North-South streets of the campground were
named after Civil War officers—the North
end after Union Commanders, and the South end after Confederate Generals. Our street was named Longstreet in honor of
Confederate General James Longstreet.
CHICKAMAUGA
By the summer of 1863, the midpoint of the Civil
War, the Union Army had achieved significant victories at both Vicksburg and Gettysburg. With over 51,000 killed, Gettysburg was by
far the costliest battle in terms of total casualties on both sides. Sadly, the Battle of Chickamauga, where over
32,000 were killed, holds the record for the second bloodiest battle of the
Civil War. Echoing eerie prophetic overtones,
Chickamauga is a Cherokee word meaning “river of death,” perhaps in remembrance
of the creek where the Cherokee were said to have contracted smallpox. The Battle of Chickamauga was a decisive win
for the Confederacy, although a costly one in terms of total lives lost.
A self-guided auto tour of the
battlefield gave us an appreciation of battlefield tactics. For an emotional connection to an historic battle,
there is nothing that compares to an actual visit to the hallowed grounds where
the contest was waged, and so it was for us at Chickamauga.
Surrounded by the splendor of fall colors, if you
stood quietly and closed your eyes, you could almost imagine the beat of the
battle drums and the crack of the muskets…
The battlefield grounds were covered with dozens
of monuments to the units that fought at Chickamauga.
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN
One of the most iconic geologic features of
the city of Chattanooga is the
impressive ridge of Lookout Mountain, which dominates the skyline of the city. We got a great look at the dominance of aptly
named Lookout Mountain from the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge.
Downtown Chattanooga was quite
lovely! The residents we spoke to seemed
quite proud of their city. There was
much to appreciate during our day downtown—the highly rated Tennessee Aquarium,
the creatively placed Hunter Art Museum high above
the Tennessee River,
the artfully colored blue tree branches,
and a stunning riverfront landscape.
However… it was the Civil War history on Lookout
Mountain that was calling to us for a closer look.
The winding switchback road up Lookout Mountain
took us to the gates of Point Park, built by the Army Corps of Engineers and
designed as a replica of the Corps “castle” insignia.
Inside the gate we took a short stroll through
a lovely treed area to the overlook 1500 feet above the winding Tennessee
River and the city of Chattanooga in the distance.
After defeat at Chickamauga, at the base of
Lookout Mountain bleak days settled in on the Union forces who were huddled in Chattanooga
and slowly being starved to death.
However, once the new “Cracker Line” food and supply route opened up,
Union forces believed they had an opportunity to seize the high ground over
Chattanooga.
It is hard to imagine Union troops charging up fog-enshrouded
Lookout Mountain and winning the battle, but that is what happened in the “Battle
Above the Clouds.”
The loss at Lookout Mountain was a huge blow
to the Confederacy because this was just the opening Lincoln wanted to cripple the supply lines in the industrial heart of the Deep South. At the tiny Ochs Museum overlook, old
photographs of Union soldiers posed on the very tip of Lookout Mountain were fascinating…
MISSIONARY RIDGE
As a further dagger into the heart of the
Confederacy, the next day cries of “Chickamauga!” were shouted by Union Forces
as they charged up and seized nearby Missionary Ridge. A turning point in the Civil War had been reached. Chattanooga was now firmly in Union hands and
the way had been paved for Sherman’s March to the Sea, depicted so dramatically
in Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind.”
Although the Civil War ended over 150 years ago, the
city of Atlanta has a long memory… and that will be our next destination.
“Nearly
all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give
him power.” Abraham Lincoln
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