From May 1st, 2009 to May 3rd, nine members of the CCWRT and one guest traveled to Chattanooga for a tour of the Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge Battlefields conducted by Jim Ogden, chief historian of the park.  Those attending were Dan Bauer, Bob Limoseth, John McGee, Charles Reeves, Jim Dempsey, Becky Burket, Randy Donohue, Jerry Karle, Ken Anderson, and Jim Chaney. (Left to right in the photo, except that Park Historian Jim Ogden is third from left, and Jim Chaney is the photographer so not pictured.) (Click photo for full-sized image.)

May 1st:

After experiencing mechanical troubles with our rented 15 passenger van, we switched out into a new van and left Florence, KY at 10:00 AM, almost two hours behind schedule.  At 3:15 we arrived at our destination, the Hampton Inn in Chattanooga.  A half hour later, Jim Ogden joined us at the motel.

Jim began by giving us an overview of the Chickamauga Campaign including an explanation as to why Chattanooga played such a strategic part in the war.  In short, both sides wanted control of its railroads and the nearby manufacturing centers.  His presentation included a packet for each of us consisting of 14 maps on seven 11 x 14 pages.  It lasted about 45 minutes.

Next we loaded up the van and went exploring.  Our first stop was to a clearing on a plateau southeast of the city of Chattanooga and northeast of the Chickamauga Battlefield.  From here we had an unobstructed view of the contour of the land.  Jim explained how the hills and valleys influenced the movements of the armies.

For our next stop, we parked along side of the Reeds Bridge Road just where it crosses the West Chickamauga Creek.  Jim wanted to explain why it was difficult for Bragg’s Army to cross the creek anywhere they wanted.  After walking down to the creek bank, we could see that due to the steepness of the bank, the armies had to cross using the bridge.  Jim also explained what Bragg’s objective was.  His plan was to turn the left flank of Rosecrans’ Army southward and then roll it up by pinning it against the east slopes of the Lookout Ridge.

At the intersection of Reed’s Bridge Road and Jays Mills Road, we again stopped.  Finally we had entered the park.  Throughout much of the day on September 18th, Minty’s Cavalry Brigade of Federal troops delayed Bushrod Johnson from crossing the Reed’s Bridge.  By late afternoon Minty could no longer defend the bridge and that evening Minty retreated from his position.

Next we stopped at Jay’s Mill.  In a light drizzle Jim explained that it was here that the battle began in earnest when on the morning of September 19th, Brannan’s division of Union troops clashed with Walker’s two divisions of Confederate troops.

With rain falling steady now, we got back in the van and slowly made our way down the Brotherton Road driving west toward the Lafayette Road   Jim had us stop the van at several points while he described the action during the early afternoon of the 19th where Cheatham’s division struck the Union divisions of R. Johnson and Palmer.  When we arrived at the intersection of Brotherton Road and Lafayette Road, Jim explained that in the mid-afternoon Union divisions under the command of Van Cleve and Reynolds were attacked by Stewart’s Confederate division.

Around 8:00 PM with rain continuing to fall, we decided to call it quits for the night.  We drove back towards the Hampton where Jim joined us for dinner at an Applebees.  Here Jim continued to tell us about the job of being Chief Historian of the park.  After dinner we retired to our rooms for the night.

May 2nd:

At 8:30 AM, Jim Ogden and the rest of our group left the hotel and headed back to the Chickamauga Battlefield.  Our destination for our first morning stop was a return to the Brotherton Farm to the site of the reconstructed cabin.  This time it was not raining.  We were able to leave our van and walk behind the cabin.  Jim showed us how in the afternoon of the 19th, Stewart’s attack of Van Cleve forced him across the Lafayette Road and through the Brotherton Field.

Next we drove south on the Lafayette Rd and stopped at the Heg monument.  It was in this area that Hood’s division attacked the Union divisions of Wood, Sheridan, and Davis.  The Heg monument marks where Colonel  Heg of Davis’s division died.  We then headed on foot west of the Heg monument into the Glenn Field.  Out in the field about 100 yards from our van, Mr. Ogden explained in more detail the action on the south end of the battlefield.  As Mr. Ogden talked, the rains returned giving us our greatest soaking of the weekend.

Next we drove further south on the Lafayette Road, and out of the park to the Lee and Gordon’s Mill.  It was from this spot where late in the afternoon of the 19th, Sheridan’s Division launched their attack to drive the Confederates out of the Viniard Field.

After making several turns, we made our way to the Rosecrans’ Headquarters Site.   As the rain continued to fall hard, Jim Ogden explained to us that is was here that Rosecrans, after going days without sleep, held a council of war on the evening of the 19th, and then went on to endure another near sleepless night.

Later in the morning, with the rain continuing to fall, Jim directed our van to the visitor’s center.  Inside the center, Jim focused our attention toward an exhibit of the Spencer rifle.  The Spencer played a very important role in how the battle played out.  Jim also showed us the original James Walker painting of the Battle of Chickamauga.  This painting is credited as being remarkably detailed and accurate.  We then were given about a half hour to admire the Fuller Gun Collection and check out the bookstore. While standing under the east shelter of the visitor’s center, Jim explained how the troops were positioned the morning of the 20th.  With a light drizzle still falling, we decided to take a break and drove into Fort Oglethorpe for lunch.

After lunch, our tour was rain free for the rest of the day.  Returning to the Chickamauga Battlefield we drove along the Battleline Road where the on the second day of the battle, September 20, fighting began.  This was and still is a wooded area to the east of the Kelly Field. Despite heavy fighting during most of the morning, the battle lines remained fairly unchanged.

Next we crossed back over the Lafayette Road, turned right onto the Poe Road, and stopped at the Poe Cabin site.  Shortly before 11 am on September 20th, Rosecrans received an erroneous report that Brannan’s division had moved out of position, thus creating, it was believed, a gap in the federal line.  When Wood’s division was ordered to fill that supposed gap he created a real one.  As Wood’s rear elements were pulling out, Longstreet struck with five divisions.

We turned right onto the Dyer Road and stopped at the Dyer House site.  From here we could see where the Rosecrans headquarters was located on the 20th.  This position had to be evacuated as a result of the Longstreet attack.  Here Jim also gave us a sampling of Chinese privit.  Chinese privit is a shrub which is not native to the area but is taking over the park disturbing the natural appearance of how the land looked in 1863.

During our next couple of stops, we concentrated on the fate of William Lytle.  Lytle’s brigade was overwhelmed by the Longstreet attack and Lytle himself was mortally wounded.  The group stopped at the monument marking the spot where Lytle died.

Next it was on to Snodgrass Hill.  It was here that on the afternoon of September 20th, Union troops held off repeated Confederate attacks ordered until sunset.  That evening, the Union Army withdrew to Chattanooga, thus ending the battle.

After a quick stop back at the visitor’s center, we headed towards Lookout Mountain.  We drove up 1,400 feet in elevation to the top of Lookout Mountain, parked the van near the Point Park entrance, and then walked around the brow of the hill.  Jim explained how the November 24 attack began with the Federal troops of Geary’s division crossing over the Lookout Creek and then attacking the west side of the mountain.  Once the troops reached near the area just under the palisades, the Federals moved northward along the hillside past the northern point and then around the east side of the mountain.  Once the slopes were secured, taking the summit was relatively easy.  We took many photos atop mountain and Jim answered many questions.

Our last stop on the mountain top was to the visitor’s center to view the enormous James Walker painting depicting the Battle of Lookout Mountain.  Around 6:00 PM we departed Lookout Mountain to return to our motel for the evening.

May 3rd:

At 8:30 AM Jim rejoined our group and we headed for our first stop of the morning, the Chattanooga National Cemetery.  This cemetery contains Union dead from the battles around Chattanooga.  The headstones are all identical just as they appear in Arlington Cemetery.  We walked to the top of the main hill in the center of the cemetery where Jim discussed the history of the cemetery.

Next Jim directed our van to the base of Orchard Knob.  With rain falling heavily, we stayed in the van having a question and answer session with Jim.  After about 15 minutes, Jim suggested we a drive short way to where Ft. Wood was located.  This was an area of high ground near the Tennessee River and just outside the 1863 Chattanooga city limits where the besieged Federal troops were concentrated.  This area is a residential neighborhood today.  It is from this area where the Federals launched their Nov. 23rd attack on Orchard Knob.

With the rain subsiding, we returned to Orchard Knob.  From the top of the knob, which rises a little over 100 ft from the surrounding neighborhoods, we had a clear view of downtown Chattanooga, Ft Wood, and Missionary Ridge.  It was from here that Union troops launched their November 25th attack on Missionary Ridge.  The Knob also served as Grant’s headquarters during the attack.

Taking advantage of the break in the rain, we presented Jim with the $200 CCWRT donation to the Chickamauga/Chattanooga Park.

Next we drove along Missionary Ridge starting from the north end and driving south.  We made stops at the Sherman Reservation, the DeLong Reservation, and finished up at the Bragg Reservation.  Jim explained to us that although the Confederate troops had to be stretched thinly to defend the 20 mile length of the ridge, the Confederates could have made much better use of their resources.  Had they bothered to properly position their troops and cannon, they could have given the Union troops a much better fight.  Once Union troops made it to the base of the hill, scaling the heights proved relatively easy.  Union troops were able to take advantage of the recessions and protrusions in the hill to gain protection from the Confederate fire.  Also due to the narrowness of the ridge, Confederates were not able to rush troops back and forth to where they were needed most.

At about 1:00 PM, our tour of the Chattanooga battlefields ended.  After a quick stop back to our motel and a lunch break, we started our return trip home.  We returned to the Drake Hospital, our original point of departure, a few minutes before 8:00 PM.

At the May 15th CCWRT meeting, Dan Bauer and Becky Burket presented after-action reports on the tour to the membership, and featured tour photographs by Jim Chaney. (Photographs below by Shane Gamble.)