Chickamauga Battlefield

Chickamauga Battlefield forms part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, and is considered to be a major landmark in US history. The battle, which resulted in the deaths of thousands, has been described as the ‘death knell of the confederacy’ during the American Civil War.

History of Chickamauga Battlefield

In the autumn of 1863, General William S. Rosecrans’ Union army fought General Braxton Bragg’s Confederates for control of Chattanooga, a key rail centre and what was considered the gateway to the South.

Nearby Chickamauga became the scene of the first battle for Chattanooga and in which the Confederates emerged victorious. This was the last major victory for the South in the Civil War.

Chickamauga Battlefield Today

In 1889, ten thousand Union and Confederate veterans descended on Chickamauga Battlefield. This time, however, they gathered as reunited countrymen. From there, the idea of turning the battlefield into a memorial was born, and in 1890, the battlefields of Chickamauga and Chattanooga became the nation’s first official military park.

During the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II, the park was used by the army as a training field. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order which transferred the management of the park from the War Department to the National Park Service.

The 5,500 acre Chickamauga Battlefield is filled with historical tablets and monuments relating to the American Civil War. Visitors can tour Chickamauga Battlefield by a seven-mile self-guiding auto tour. Hiking and horse trails are also available.

Military enthusiasts ca enjoy a visit to the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Centre to see the Fuller Gun Collection with over 300 examples of military long arms. There is also a bookshop administered by America’s National Parks with an orientation film which is shown every half an hour.

Getting to Chickamauga Battlefield

From the centre of Tennessee, the battlefield is reachable in around 2 hours 10 minutes via the l-24 E road. From the centre of Atlanta, the site is reachable in an hour and 45 minutes via the l-75 N road.