Chattanooga Civil War Sites

Sunday April 12 We drove into Chattanooga to Lookout Mountain. After the Union was routed at Chickamauga, GA they fell back to Chattanooga and the Rebels set up shop on Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge in an effort to starve out the Union troops there. After several skirmishes, the Union assaulted Lookout Mountain in what became known as the "Battle Above the Clouds" and drove the Rebs off the hill. They assaulted the mountain under cover of fog and then used ladders and ropes to make to climb up the steepest part of the mountain.

Library of Congress

Then they turned to Missionary Ridge and drove them Secessionist back into Georgia.
Years later, members of both Armies came together to remember their time at the various battlefields around Chattanooga. They built Point Park (completed in 1905) in honor of the sacrifices that they made during the fight between the North and the South.

 There were many monuments in the area to commemorate the many units that fought in the conflict. On Lookout Mountain there were many other places associated with the battle. Some of them accessible to me and some were not requiring a good deal of hiking. There is also Rock City, Ruby Falls and a tram way to the bottom of the mountain. We by passed these because once again they were not accessible, they were crowded and they were expensive. We did go into the Battles for Chattanooga Museum. They had a large topographical map with miniature troops and they narrated the Battles showing troop movements with small lights, the North in Blue and the South in Red. When they clashed, little white lights twinkled and flashed indicating gun fire. It was quite informative and well done.
From Lookout Mountain, we drove into Georgia to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Battlefield Park. The grounds of the Chickamauga fight were well preserved and they had a nice visitors center.

 They had an impressive display of firearms. The earliest was 1855 and the latest was a Winchester pump shotgun from 1918.

 Then we drove back to Cleveland and went to Shane's Rib Shack and met my cousin, Sara Graver there. She is attending Lee University in Cleveland and majoring in communications. It was a good visit and good food then we went back to the camper.

Monday April 13 we didn't do much of anything. Becky's uncle Sam was off work and we hung out at the house for the day. Becky and Suzie went off to the Morris Vineyard and then to the Ocoee (O-coy) Vineyard. We had a cookout with brats, chicken and burgers for dinner. Their daughter Marissa and son Josh along with his wife Amber showed up for late dinner. We watched Swamp People on History Channel. Choot 'em!

Tracks for the day

A selection of the wines. We stopped at the Mountain View Winery on the way to Cleveland.