Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park | |
---|---|
Location in Tennessee | |
Location | Catoosa, Dade, & Walker County, Georgia & Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States |
Nearest city | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
Coordinates | 34°56′24″N 85°15′36″W / 34.94000°N 85.26000°WCoordinates: 34°56′24″N 85°15′36″W / 34.94000°N 85.26000°W |
Area | 9,523 acres (38.54 km2)[1] |
Established | August 19, 1890 |
Visitors | 977,158 (in 2019)[2] |
Governing body | National Park Service |
Website | Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park |
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
U.S. Historic district | |
Location | S of Chattanooga on U.S. 27, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia |
Built | 1890 |
Built by | United States War Department, National Park Service |
Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman, Single-pen log cabin |
NRHP reference No. | 66000274[3] |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, located in northern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, preserves the sites of two major battles of the American Civil War: the Battle of Chickamauga and the Siege of Chattanooga. A detailed history of the park's development was provided by the National Park Service in 1998.[4]
History[]
Starting in 1890, during the decade, the Congress of the United States authorized the establishment of the first four national military parks: Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Shiloh, Gettysburg and Vicksburg.
The first and largest of these (5,300 acres or 2,145 ha) and the one upon which the establishment and development of most other national military and historical parks was based, was authorized in 1890 at Chickamauga, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was officially dedicated in September 1895.[5] It owes its existence chiefly to the efforts of Generals Henry V. Boynton and Ferdinand Van Derveer both veterans of the Union Army of the Cumberland, who saw the need for a federal park to preserve and commemorate these battlefields.[6] Another early proponent and driving force behind the park's creation was Ohio General Henry M. Cist, who led the Chickamauga Memorial Society in 1888. Another former Union officer, Charles H. Grosvenor, was chairman of the park commission from 1910 until his death in 1917. During the Park's early years, it was managed by the War Department and used for military study as well as a memorial. The National Park Service took over site management in 1933.[7]
Use during the Spanish–American War[]
The newly created Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was utilized during the Spanish–American War as a major training center for troops in the southern states. The park was temporarily renamed "Camp George H. Thomas" in honor of the union army commander during the Civil War battle at the site. The park's proximity to the major rail hub at Chattanooga and its large tracts of land made it a logical marshalling area for troops being readied for service in Cuba and other points south.[8][9]
Park areas[]
The military park consists of four main areas, and a few small isolated reservations, around Chattanooga.
- Chickamauga Battlefield
- Missionary Ridge
- Lookout Mountain Battlefield and Point Park
- Moccasin Bend
As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the military park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.
On February 20, 2003, Public Law No: 108-7 added Moccasin Bend as a new unit of the park. Moccasin Bend Archaeological District, designated a National Historic Landmark on September 8, 1986, is directly across the Tennessee River from Lookout Mountain. It is significant due to its archaeological resources of American Indian settlement. There are currently minimal visitor services at Moccasin Bend, including two hiking trails (the Blue Blazes Trail and the Browns Ferry Road) and a ten-acre meadow. Each of these areas is open to the public. The park anticipates further development, land restoration, and visitor services in the years to come.[10]
See also[]
- First Battle of Chattanooga
- Second Battle of Chattanooga
References[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. |
- ^ "Listing of acreage as of December 31, 2020" (PDF). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Jill K. Hanson and Robert W. Blvthe (February 10, 1998). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park". National Park Service. and more than 100 accompanying photos
- ^ Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (Ga. and Tenn.) Commission: Louisiana Committee Photographs (Mss. 4504), Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. (accessed 26 January 2015) <http://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/LSU_CNP>
- ^ "Saving History for Generations: The Creation of the First Civil War Military Park", Hallowed Ground, Fall 2013, Vol.14, no. 3, pages 14-15.
- ^ "Saving History for Generations: The Creation of the First Civil War Military Park", Hallowed Ground, Fall 2013, Vol.14, no. 3, page 15.
- ^ "The Troops at Chickamauga, Park now called Camp George H. Thomas". The New York Times. April 23, 1898. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ "Spanish–American War". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ "Visit". Friends of Moccasin Bend. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
External links[]
- Official website
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. TN-36, "Chattanooga National Military Park Tour Roads, Chattanooga vicinity, Hamilton County, TN"
- Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (Ga. and Tenn.) Commission: Louisiana Committee Photographs (Mss. 4504), Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. (accessed 26 January 2015) http://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/cdm/search/collection/LSU_CNP
- Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
- Battlefields of the Western Theater of the American Civil War
- Archaeological sites in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
- Protected areas of Hamilton County, Tennessee
- National Battlefields and Military Parks of the United States
- Museums in Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Museums in Walker County, Georgia
- American Civil War museums in Georgia (U.S. state)
- American Civil War museums in Tennessee
- National Park Service areas in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Protected areas of the Appalachians
- Protected areas established in 1890
- Protected areas of Catoosa County, Georgia
- Protected areas of Dade County, Georgia
- Protected areas of Walker County, Georgia
- National Park Service areas in Tennessee
- Historic American Engineering Record in Tennessee
- Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
- Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
- National Register of Historic Places in Hamilton County, Tennessee
- National Register of Historic Places in Catoosa County, Georgia
- National Register of Historic Places in Walker County, Georgia
- National Register of Historic Places in Dade County, Georgia
- American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places
- Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
- Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
- 1890 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
- 1890 establishments in Tennessee