Remembering the Battle of Chickamauga
President Benjamin Harrison signed into law the act that established Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park on Aug. 19, 1890. The purpose of the act was to preserve the landscape and suitably mark the fields, forests and hillsides where some of “the most remarkable maneuvers and brilliant fighting” took place from September through November 1863, during the Campaign for Chattanooga.
This was the first piece of legislation that authorized the preservation of an American battlefield. It preceded various legislative measures to establish and preserve portions, or in whole, other battlefields, such as Antietam National Battlefield, Shiloh National Military Park, Gettysburg National Military Park and Vicksburg National Military Park.
With the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park’s establishment, the protection of battlefields in their original condition rose to national importance and a sum of $125,000 was granted by the federal government to begin the purchase of the land and preserve significant portions of the battlefields in Georgia and Tennessee.
Landscape restoration activities began in earnest in 1893 when an additional $100,000 was appropriated by Congress and laborers were hired — all Civil War veterans equally divided between former Union and Confederate soldiers. The veterans helped to clear out nearly 30 years of overgrowth from the battlefields and began the process of identifying and then marking the lines of battle.
One hundred and thirty years later, landscape restoration continues to be a
park priority. Staff members battle ever-growing vegetation and a variety of invasive plants to maintain the open field and forest patterns of 1863, preserve the battle lines, provide visitor access to commemorative features and maintain important scenic views in the park.
WHY CHICKAMAUGA?
In North Georgia and Southeast Tennessee, Union and Confederate armies clashed during the fall of 1863 in some of the hardest fighting of the Civil War. The prize was Chattanooga, a key rail center and the “gateway” to the heart of the Confederacy.
Through a series of skillful marches, Union Gen. William
S. Rosecrans forced Southerners under Gen. Braxton Bragg to withdraw from Middle Tennessee to Chattanooga. Bragg dug in, guarding
the Tennessee River crossings northeast of the city. However, early in September, U.S. soldiers crossed the river well below Chattanooga,
again forcing Bragg to withdraw southward.
Eluding his blue-clad pursuers, Bragg concentrated his forces at LaFayette, 26 miles south of Chattanooga. Here reinforcements swelled his ranks to more than 66,000 men. Twice, he unsuccessfully tried to destroy segments of Rosecrans’ army. Then, on Sept. 18, 1863, hoping to wedge his troops between the U.S. forces and Chattanooga, Bragg posted his army on the west bank of Chickamauga Creek.
Fighting began shortly after dawn on Sept. 19. The armies fought desperately all day, but the Confederates eventually pushed Rosecrans’ men back to the LaFayette Road. On Sept. 20, Bragg again tried to drive a wedge between the Union force and Chattanooga but failed to dislodge Rosecrans’ line. Suddenly, a gap opened in the U.S. ranks and Confederates poured through, routing half of Rosecrans’ army.
U.S. Gen. George H. Thomas took command of the remaining soldiers and formed a new battle line on Horseshoe Ridge/Snodgrass Hill, where his men held their ground against repeated assaults. After dark, Thomas’ forces withdrew from the field toward the defenses of Chattanooga.
The victorious Confederates eventually pursued and began preparations to besiege the city.