Chickamauga Visit

The Nashville Lawn and Garden show was the first stop in a weekend get-away for Himself and me.  After a delicious Ethiopian lunch, we headed SE (just ahead of snow!) to the Chickamauga, Georgia area. 

 

Bright and early Saturday morning, Himself and I parted ways…  He, to a seminar by the Billy Graham ministries called “Sharing Hope in Crisis”.  (The next day before we headed home, I shared the ‘highlights’ of the park with Himself).

 

 

And I headed to the Chickamauga National Military Park.

 

 

I didn’t know that!

 

 

Chattanooga, TN is just a few miles north of Chickamauga.  Because of the fact it was a railroad hub, plus the river travel thru the area, it was a major strategic point in the Civil War.  It was here that Rosecrans’s Union army and Bragg’s Confederate troops met in one of the most terrible two day battles of the war.

 

Throughout the park are monuments dedicated to the units who fought there. 

 

I particularly like the stone carved representations of the troops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The details are fantastic.

 

 

 

 They are placed in areas that the units themselves selected, usually where the most valor was shown.

 

 

 

Many have some sort of representation of an acorn (or oak leaf) on them. 

 

“Union General Thomas asked an officer to suggest a representative badge for his corps.”If I had command of the … corps, which stood firm as an oak at Chickamauga, I would give it the acorn for a badge in honor of its bravery." Today, the acorn remains the badge of the 14th US Army Corps.”

 

I liked the placement of the cannoneer monument next to a canon. 

 

There were many monuments to the cavalry and mounted infantry units.

 

I didn’t realize there were mounted infantry.

 

 

Just a few of the monuments with cavalry.

 

 

 

 

This bronze monument shows a scene with the cavalry.

 

 

 One of the rangers in the park museum told me this is the most photographed monument in the park. 

 

 

The carving of the stone is fantastic.  The drapes and folds in the flag amaze me.

 

 

This one shows the flag bearing falling in battle and another soldier taking hold of the flag before it falls.

 

 

Cannons.

 

 

I found this very interesting.  While I was there, volunteer groups were clearing the underbrush with hand pruners.  It was slow work.

 

 

 

A look into the past.

 

 

Fence rows offered some protection from the bullets.  The soldiers piled more cut brush against fences to give themselves more cover.

 

 

There are many creeks running thru the park.

 

 

Monuments of stacked cannon balls mark where Headquarters were established.  Did you notice that Rosecrans was only in the location for an hour and 15 minutes?  Then he had to retreat.

 

 

Many of the monuments are close to the road and easy to walk up to.  However, Himself decided to walk up to a monument that was a little piece from the road…

 

 

 

 …well, maybe it was a wee bit more that a ‘little piece’…  (yes, he really is standing there!)

 

 

In many places the fighting was hand to hand, person at person…

 

 

 

 Sometimes we forget they were just people…

 

 

The monuments are diverse and interesting…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and a lesson we need to remember.  We are ONE COUNTRY and we need to pull together because the other option is terrible.

 

 

 

 

 

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