Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Visiting Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park | January 2023

Just South of Chattanooga and the Tennessee River rises the imposing mass that is known as Lookout Mountain. This mountain (which is actually more a plateau) was the centerpiece of all of our day trips while staying in Chattanooga, so it’s worth talking about at least once. The plateau is actually a continuation of the Cumberland Plateau, broken from that larger landmass by the Tennessee before continuing almost 75 miles to the SW into Alabama. It is also fairly prominent, rising almost 400 meters from the surrounding lowlands (unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity to visit the highest point). And if you do any light research, you’ll find that there are many attractions on top of the mountain, especially closer to Chattanooga. But a lot of these activities cost money, are kitschy, or don’t allow dogs, and so naturally we stayed away from those places. But most fortunately, the far northern ‘tip’ of the mountain happens to be a National Park Site – why pay $18 a person when you can see essentially the same view for free!

The northern promontory of Lookout Mountain (aside from its scenic beauty) is the sight of the ‘Battle Above the Clouds’ – the first phase of the third battle for the control of Chattanooga during the Civil War.

As evident by the fact that Chattanooga was the center of 3 battles, it was deemed a fairly important logistical hub as four rail-lines passed through the area connecting the south – and thus the Confederate Army – together. The first of these battles was a minor skirmish of little concern in comparison to the large battles that occurred in 1863. By that time, the Confederacy was cut in two after Grant had taken Vicksburg. The next phase of the war was to move the Union Army towards Atlanta via Chattanooga.

In the summer of 1863, Union General Rosecrans engaged in a running battle across central Tennessee against Confederate General Bragg, ending with Bragg fortifying his position in Chattanooga. In September, Rosecrans was able to out maneuver Bragg (the ‘Second Battle of Chattanooga’), forcing the latter to abandon his position in Chattanooga and begin a tactical retreat across Georgia where he met reinforcements under General Longstreet from Virginia. South of Chattanooga along Chickamauga Creek, Rosecrans met Bragg in battle and fought for two days – resulting in the second most bloody battle of the Civil War. By the second day, an exhausted Rosecrans made a mistake in his orders and opened a hole in the center of his line, a hole that was quickly exploited by Bragg, forcing Rosecrans to retreat back and take up the fortifications in Chattanooga that the Confederates had so recently abandoned.

Their roles now reversed, Bragg laid siege to the Union soldiers in the city, making efficient use of the commanding views the North end of Lookout Mountain offered, both to bombard and harass the Union soldiers in the city, as well as to prevent any shipments and reinforcements coming from the West. Generals Grant and Sherman were called in to help break the siege, starting with the establishment of the ‘Cracker Line’ – a supply line using the bend and folds of the Tennessee river to avoid the Confederate guns.

By the end of November, Grant was ready to break the siege in two parts. The first part, lead by General Hooker, would attempt to take Lookout Mountain. Hooker’s troops conducted this battle in two parts: one part would attack that portion of the Confederate forces on the slopes of the mountain, beneath the cliffs that make up the mountain, while a second portion would come from the South, just below the cliff line, and below the sight of the heavy guns. Because of a low cloud bank, the second columns progress was conducted almost exclusively out of view from Hooker below and was coined ‘The Battle Above the Clouds’.

This entire battle was so successful that Hooker was able to force the Confederates on top of the mountain into retreat, with very little loss to his troops: and in a stroke of vanity, Hooker requested an enormous canvas mural of the battle be made.

The second half of the battle was conducted by General’s Sherman and Thomas along the length of Missionary Ridge, a linear range of hills to the East. Grant’s original vision was that Sherman would turn the Confederate flank by the Tennessee River, and then sweep down the length of the ridge. When Sherman got bogged down, Grant order General Thomas to assault the Confederate center to draw troops away from Sherman’s front. But when Thomas attacked, the Confederate line gave way. And when Thomas pushed his assault, the Confederates gave way further until Thomas had taken the entire center, forcing the Confederates into a general retreat. The siege of Chattanooga was over, Grant was sent to take over in Virginia, and Sherman was given over to begin the assault on Atlanta and Georgia.

Today all three portions of these battles are preserved by Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park – one of the first of its kind.

We started the day on the summit of Lookout Mountain at the Sunset Rock trailhead. Based on the number of signs warning against parking outside of the small lot, it would seem that this could be a very popular location. But on this Monday morning, when the highs were in the 30’s, we had no issue finding parking. We walked to the eponymous Sunset Rock which offered great views to the West and of the Tennessee River. From here we followed the Bluff trail (the same route Hooker’s army used in ’63) along the base of the cliffs towards the North end of the mountain where we were able to climb some stairs to some monuments, more views (maybe not seven states at once – but we’re pretty sure that Rock City’s claim is bogus anyway), and the visitor center. Inside the visitor center is Hooker’s commissioned painting which we both took turns looking at – it is enormous and well worth seeing.

There were several more trails that we could have taken along the Eastern side of the mountain, some of which even had waterfalls. But by this time, we were starting to feel the cold so we returned back the way we had come to our car, drove down off the mountain, and over towards the site of Chickamauga.

As previously mentioned, Chickamauga and Chattanooga were among the first sites designated as a National Military Park and preserved by the Federal Government. So much so, that they formed the model for many of the battlefields we have enjoyed…almost to a fault. During the 1890’s, veterans of the war began calling for national remembrance of their fallen comrades and pushing the federal government to preserve the locations. They held picnics at the battlefields, and contributed significantly towards the what we know occurred (many of the informational placards on display here in Chickamauga and other major battles like Gettysburg and Shiloh, were dictated by first hand witnesses – allowing for accuracy down to the smallest detail). They also built monuments, and then challenged each of the states to build monuments; private organizations built monuments to their favorite heroes; individual brigades and regiments pooled their money to build monuments to themselves. This continued to the point that Chickamauga has over 700 monuments.

Unlike when we visited Gettysburg, we opted to take the audio driving tour (ironic since it was probably colder at Gettysburg) and take advantage of those 700 monuments by playing PokemonGo. The tour had us cover a lot of the park, and we got out a couple times to walk and see some monuments up close. Overall, this was a fun and educational way to spend our first full day in Chattanooga!