  A self-guided tour of the battlefield may be made by automobile. This 8-mile tour begins at park headquarters and follows the yellow line on the tour road. On the gravel roads a yellow arrow points the way. Red markers indicate Confederate forces and blue markers show Union forces. As you read the markers or sight along the barrel of a field gun, you face the direction the troops moved at the time of the battle. There are several monuments of spherical, iron shells along the tour. Of these, the low square monuments mark the sites of various army and corps headquarters; the taller, triangular shaped monuments designate the sites where eight brigade commanders were killed during the battle. The numbered sections in the following guide correspond to location numbers on the map on page 46. 1. Park Headquarters. It is suggested that before making the tour of the Chickamauga Battlefield, you stop first at park headquarters located on U. S. 27, where an attendant is on duty. Exhibits there describe the battle, and the Fuller Gun Collection is displayed. The Claud E. and Zenada O. Fuller Collection of American Military Arms contains almost every type of shoulder arms used by the military forces of America. There are several rare or unique items in the collection. The Harpers Ferry Blunderbuss, manufactured in 1808, and the Texas Rifle (1844) are the only ones known to exist. The Jenks Rifle, the pattern for the model 1840 Musket, the pattern for the model 1817 Rifle, and the Sharps, with coffeemill in the stock, are extremely rare. The Confederate section, while not complete, contains some outstanding weapons. 2. Florida Monument. Immediately after leaving park headquarters, you will see the Florida Monument to your left on U. S. 27. 3. Kentucky Monument. Bear to the left at this monument. 4. Battleline Road. Make a right turn to enter Battleline Road. The positions of the Confederate right wing are on the left in the wooded area some 75 to 250 yards east of the road. Union troops occupied the line along the road during the second day of the battle. 5. Poe Road. Cross U. S. 27 and follow Poe Road. This route is a continuation of the Union defense line that you have followed along Battleline Road. You will note in this area that several Confederate batteries are so situated that it would appear they must have fired into their own infantry. This situation resulted from Longstreet’s breakthrough. The Confederate troops in this sector turned right after crossing the highway and struck the right center of the Union line. A careful examination of the metal markers at each battery will give the movements of each unit and the time element involved. A metal marker designates the site of the Poe House. Part of Fuller Gun Collection, Park Headquarters and Museum Building, Chickamauga Battlefield. Brotherton House, scene of Confederate breakthrough. Chickamauga Battlefield. Courtesy Chattanoogans, Inc. Union monuments along Battleline Road, Chickamauga Battlefield. Georgia Monument, Chickamauga Battlefield. Wilder Monument, Chickamauga Battlefield. 6. Georgia Monument. This imposing shaft is directly in front of you as you leave Poe Road to enter the main highway. Upon entering the main highway turn right. 7. Brotherton House. (Please face the house). This reconstructed house marks the site of the old Brotherton home, famous for the Confederate breakthrough. Here Longstreet found the gap in the Union lines (to the rear of the house at the wooded area) and sent his troops forward. The Confederate troops emerged from the wooded area back of you, crossed the LaFayette Road, and drove westward and northward. This action was the turning point in the Battle of Chickamauga. The monument of shell across the highway in back of you marks Maj. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner’s headquarters site. After leaving the Brotherton House, you continue for 1.1 miles and make a right turn. The triangular shell monument on the right along the highway commemorates Col. Hans C. Heg (Union). 8. Wilder Monument. This imposing monument was authorized in 1892 and completed in 1902, to honor Col. John T. Wilder and his troops. It is built of Chickamauga limestone and rises to a height of 86 feet. A spiral staircase leads to a platform at the top where you can obtain an excellent view of the battlefield and surrounding area. Wilder’s troops occupied the ground in this vicinity when Longstreet sent the left wing of the Confederate Army forward. This brigade The monument stands upon the ground where General Rosecrans had his headquarters on the 19th and early morning of the 20th of September 1863. 9. Snodgrass Hill. The log cabin on Snodgrass Hill marks the home of the Snodgrass family. The troops from the center of the Union line began to fall back toward this hill when Longstreet’s men rushed through the gap in the Union line. Brannan’s Division and fragments of Negley’s, Wood’s, and Van Cleve’s Divisions held the positions on the hill. About 2 p. m. Steedman’s Division arrived to reinforce the line on the extreme right. The Union troops held the hill during the afternoon and at dusk began the withdrawal that led them through McFarland’s Gap and into Rossville. Union monuments at Viniard field, Chickamauga Battlefield. Snodgrass House, Chickamauga Battlefield. Courtesy Walter H. Miller. The tour ends on Snodgrass Hill. To return to park headquarters and U. S. 27, please follow park headquarters signs and the yellow lines. MISSIONARY RIDGE.To reach Missionary Ridge, after leaving Chickamauga Battlefield, you should drive north 3 miles toward Chattanooga on U. S. 27 to Crest Road. A right turn on Crest Road will start you on your tour of the ridge. Crest Road runs the entire length of the line occupied by the Confederates during the Battle of Missionary Ridge. Small reservations, markers, monuments, tablets, and gun positions along the road provide information, and excellent views of Chattanooga are obtained along this drive. Moving northward the more important units of the park are: Bragg Reservation, where the Confederate commander had his headquarters; Ohio Reservation, an area set aside to commemorate the participation of Ohio troops in the battle; DeLong Reservation, site of one of the Union penetrations in the Confederate line; and Sherman Reservation, where Sherman’s forces unsuccessfully attacked the north end of the Confederate line. Sherman Reservation marks the end of Crest Road and the park on Missionary Ridge. Looking north along Missionary Ridge with Chattanooga and Tennessee Rivers to the left, and the Illinois Monument at Bragg’s Headquarters site in center foreground. This point is about one-third distance from Rossville to north end of the ridge. Looking south along Missionary Ridge from DeLong Reservation. CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA Entrance to Point Park, Lookout Mountain, built to resemble Army Corps of Engineers insignia. POINT PARK.Visitors to the Chattanooga Battlefields are urged to go first to Point Park. There, from the terrace of the Adolph S. Ochs Observatory and Museum, high above the winding Tennessee River, you will have a wide view of the battlefields. This point is acclaimed one of the finest overlooks in the South. Markers throughout the area identify important landmarks and troop positions. A National Park Service attendant is there to assist you. The observatory and museum bears the name of one of the park’s major benefactors, the late Adolph S. Ochs, Publisher of the Chattanooga Times and the New York Times. The New York Monument, completed in 1907, is in the center of the area. The Cravens House, where part of the “Battle Above the Clouds” was fought, can be seen from the museum terrace. Near the house, stand three large monuments—New York, Iowa, and Ohio—honoring troops who were in this battle. From Lookout Point several foot trails provide interesting walks. These reveal unusual rock formations and provide ever changing and beautiful vistas of the countryside below. |
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