Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park

This weekend is the anniversary of the 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia (Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields National Military Park). One of the most iconic photographs taken there has a connection to Chickamauga. This photo, taken at the railroad bridge in town, shows Confederate pickets, men of Company B, 17th Mississippi, who guarded this part of the town's riverfront. These men went on to fight at Chickamauga under the leadership of Captain Andrew ...Govan, seen in this photo, standing in the forefront (he is wearing the long frock coat with double rows of buttons). The twenty four year old captain, from Holly Springs, Mississippi, was the brother of Colonel Daniel Govan of the 2nd Arkansas, which served in the Army of Tennessee. At Chickamauga, Daniel commanded his Arkansas Brigade when Andrew arrived with Humphrey's Mississippi Brigade, part of Longstreet's Corps, on the morning of September 20. After taking part in "Longstreet's Breakthrough," he advanced on Snodgrass Hill, where he was killed, sadly without having a chance to reunite with his brother. Like many families in 1863, the holiday season would be one tinged with grief. Image courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

Thanks to all those who participated in our LIVE Q & A with Park Historian Jim Ogden!

Don't forge our LIVE Q & A with Park Historian Jim Ogden begins in 25 minutes, at 11 am! Hope to see you there!

Don't forget, this Saturday, December 5, at 11 am, we will be hosting a LIVE Q&A Session with Park Historian Jim Ogden concerning the siege and Battles for Chattanooga. This LIVE session will be broadcast here, on the park's Facebook Page, as well as on the park's YouTube Channel. We hope you can join us and be sure to have your questions ready! Image: Photo of Park Historian Jim Ogden

In October 1859, the boogeyman was haunting the south; the ghost of old John Brown seemed to be behind every corner and in the dark of night. The fear of John Brown, or Osawatomie Brown, as he became known during Bleeding Kansas a few years earlier, where he led a small force of abolitionists against pro-slavery militias that were trying to sway whether Kansas would be admitted to the Union as either a free or a slave state. Brown earned a fearsome reputation for his fights...Continue reading

In the early morning hours of October 29, 1863, troops who previously met on some of the bloody battlefields in Virginia and Pennsylvania, clashed once again in Tennessee near a small railroad junction known as Wauhatchie. Images found in this presentation have been audio described in a separate file, located at the following address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA96wYhEwAM

On October 28, 1863, Confederate Generals James Longstreet and Braxton Bragg met on Lookout Mountain to plan their next move against the Union army after it successfully took the important river crossing at Brown's Ferry.

In the early morning hours of October 27, 1863, Union soldiers surprise unsuspecting Confederates in a ridge saddle, on the banks of the Tennessee River, known as Brown's Ferry. For the beleaguered Union army, bottle up in Chattanooga, taking this important ferry crossing could literally mean life and death. Also, if Union soldiers are successful, could this be the beginning of the end for the Confederate siege of Chattanooga?

This time of year, there are many who like to read creepy stories, or catch a scary movie, but did you know that a Chickamauga veteran influenced some of what we see today? Lieutenant Ambrose Bierce went on to write a number of very disturbing and creepy stories, most famous of those being "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which was turned into an episode of the Rod Sterling "Twilight Zone" series. Bierce's work has also been noted as inspiration for masters of horror like... H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. You can find many of his works online, but here is one to check out. "The Damned Thing" is a tale of isolation and horror where Bierce shines, naming his protagonist, Harker, a nod to Brigadier General Charles Harker, another Chickamauga veteran, who was killed during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park). So, turn down the lights and enjoy the tale found here - http://www.ambrosebierce.org/damned.htm See more

During the siege, Confederates watched the US army bottled up inside Chattanooga. Booming artillery and flapping signal flags were commonplace from Lookout Mountain’s summit.

A father's love can be boundless. Such was the case with Roderick Henry Burnham, Esq. of Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Roderick's son, Howard Mather Burnham, was the apple of his eye. Born in 1842, Howard attended Sanborn's, then went on to graduate from Lawrence Scientific School, now Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Soon after the war began, he enlisted in the 10th Massachusetts, but in 1863 received a commission as a First Lieutenant in the 5th United Stat...es Artillery, Battery H, as part of the Army of the Cumberland. Burnham arrived to his new command as the 1863 spring campaigning began. Tragically for the Burnham's, Howard was killed on the morning of September 19,1863, falling in the woods near Winfrey Field. Word quickly arrived in Longmeadow, and his grieving father immediately went to work trying to have his son's body found and returned. Moving heaven and earth, he would not rest until his son was brought home, and unlike most, he was successful. in 1864 he would also have a Memorial written for his son, which can be viewed here: https://www.google.com//Memorial_of_Lieutena/hVoDAAAAYAAJ. Today, Howard Burnham rests beside his father in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, one of the farthest burials associated with a soldier killed at Chickamauga and a testimony of how far a father would go for his son.

October was a rough month for the soldiers of both armies during the siege of Chattanooga; misery was the order of the day it seemed. Chesley Mossman of the 59th Illinois noted, "It rained all day and so hard we could scarcely keep the fire going. We got we clear through. We put up the tent and then found we must take it down and seek another site for it, when we gain put it up. Mennet managed to keep his blanket dry. It was the most disagreeable, discouraging rain I ever saw, but as we are on outpost duty we must grin and bear it." Image: From "Corporal Si Klegg and his 'Pard'"(Cleveland: N.G. Hamilton & Co., 1889) by Wilbur Hinman

Cloud inversion in the Tennessee River Gorge as seen from Signal Point.

If you were unable to follow the park's videos commemorating the 157th Anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga and would like to view them now, they are located in the "videos" section of the park's Facebook page, as well as on the park's website, linked below.

Private Royall Figg and Lieutenant John T. Brown were members of Parker's Virginia Battery, one of the batteries of artillery traveling from Virginia to Chattanooga with General James Longstreet's First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Although arriving too late to participate in the Battle of Chickamauga, they ascended Lookout Mountain and participated in the Siege of Chattanooga. Figg and Brown's reminiscences will be briefly shared during this program. If you are experiencing issues with Closed Captions (CC), please visit our YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/chchnps.