Four Civil War programs this weekend
Two tours, a river cruise and waived admission fees make it a good weekend to explore the area’s Civil War history.
Three events are at separate properties overseen by Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. For more information, call the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-8217786, or visit www. nps. gov/chch.
Moccasin Bend: First up is a free program on Civil War pontoon bridging at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 18, in the Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District. Park historian Jim Ogden will lead the program, which includes a 1.2-mile round-trip walk on the Brown’s Ferry Federal Road to the Tennessee River. Signs to the meeting site will be posted on Manufacturers Road.
Ogden will relate the story of a predawn amphibious assault that seized the Lookout Valley side of Brown’s Ferry. For that just- won crossing to be secure and usable as a supply line, however, the Tennessee
River would need to be bridged, a task that fell to a group of determined Michigan men. Ogden will discuss what it took to get and keep a floating military bridge across the river at that vital point, first while still under enemy fire, then during a fall when frequent rains caused regular changes in the river’s character.
Chickamauga Battlefield: “An Ending Not Fondly Imagined: Forging New Lives at the End of the Civil War” is set for 2 p. m. Saturday, April 18. This free, two- hour caravan tour to several sites around the Chickamauga Battlefield will explore the challenges faced by soldiers, civilians and former slaves in the area after major Confederate armies surrendered in April 1865.
Though peace was finally at hand for a nation torn apart by four years of strife, reunion did not come easily. Millions of soldiers faced a difficult transition back to civilian life, and the abolition of 4 million African-Americans challenged long- established social orders.
Point Park: Entrance fees to national parks will be waived Saturday and Sunday, April 18- 19, the first weekend of National Park Week.
The Lookout Mountain Battlefield at Point Park is the only property in the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park system that charges an admission fee. Free ranger- guided walking tours discussing the Battles for Chattanooga will be led both days at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. inside the Point Park entrance gate.
River Gorge Explorer: With historian Jim Ogden leading the way, the high- tech catamaran will travel back in time for “Civil War Cruise: Chattanooga, April 1865” from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday, April 19. The cruise will uncover the human and industrial effects of the war from the perspective of the Tennessee River.
Tennessee Aquarium members pay $24 for adults, $18 for children up to age 12; nonmembers pay $32 and $24.50. To register, go to www.tnaqua.org.