Living historians portray Confederate artillery inside Point Park, in front of the New York Peace Monument.
NPS
2023 marks the 160th Anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park staff and volunteers plan to provide commemorative programs the weekend of November 18-19 and on the days of the actual battles, November 23, 24, 25 and 27. Visitors wishing to participate in the park's programs are more than welcome to reference the schedule of events found below.
If you plan to attend some of the more strenuous walking tours, please keep in mind that comfortable, supportive footwear is recommended, as is water.
There is a $10 per person entrance fee to Point Park for all adults, ages 16 and older; children 15 and younger may enter for free. Programs occurring in other areas are FREE.
*Please note, programs are subject to staff availability and are subject to change.
Special Junior Ranger
Anniversary Booklet
Stop by the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center on Saturday, November 18, or Sunday, November 19, during the 160th Anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga to pick up a special Junior Ranger booklet. Once completed, bring it back to the visitor center and receive a special Junior Ranger medal. Also, if you participate in the artillery programs inside Point Park, you can ask for a special Junior Ranger living history interview sheet to complete. Once you are finished, find a park ranger and receive a special Junior Ranger patch.
*These programs are scheduled only for Saturday, November 18, and Sunday, November 19.
Saturday, November 18, 2023
9:30 am - “A Vicious Little Battery:” The Union Artillery on Moccasin Bend during the Siege and Battles for Chattanooga Location: The tour begins from a parking area along Moccasin Bend Road just north of the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute; look for the “Special Event” signs and the park ranger who will direct you into the parking area
Union artillery, firing from fortifications on the southernmost hills of Stringer’s Ridge on Moccasin Bend, helped keep the Confederates at bay during the Siege of Chattanooga and then assisted in prying the Confederates from Lookout Valley and Lookout Mountain during the Battles for Chattanooga. Many of the earthworks that protected those Union cannon survive. Join Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Historian Jim Ogden for a two-hour walking tour through the earthen complex and learn how “a vicious little battery” could essentially dominate the looming bulk of Lookout Mountain to the south.
11 am – Come See Seven States! Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
The Phrase “come see seven states” has been a pull for tourists to visit Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, long before the first Rock City Barn. This special 1-hour program will follow the story behind tourism to Lookout Mountain from the Whiteside family to current day.
2 pm – Walking Tour of Point Park Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
Chattanooga was known as the “Gateway to the Confederacy” because of four converging railroads and the Tennessee River that flowed just outside the city. Between October and November, US and Confederate troops fought several engagements to determine the city’s fate. This 30–45-minute program will help put the struggle for Chattanooga into perspective.
2:15 pm – Engaging the Attention of the Enemy: Hooker’s Demonstration on Lookout Creek Location: The tour will begin along Parker Lane off Brown’s Ferry Road just south of Interstate 24, Exit 175, in Lookout Valley/Tiftonia; look for the “Special Event” signs at and on Parker Lane
While John Geary’s “White Star” Division moved to sweep the western slope of Lookout Mountain, Union Major General Joseph Hooker directed other troops to move against the main Confederate positions guarding the road bridges over the creek at the mountain’s northwest base. Join National Military Park Historian Jim Ogden for a two-hour, 2 mile walk through part of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield that later became the perspective and foreground of artist James Walker’s mammoth painting, The Battle of Lookout Mountain.
4 pm – Come See Seven States! Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
The Phrase “come see seven states” has been a pull for tourists to visit Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, long before the first Rock City Barn. This special hour-long program will follow the story behind tourism to Lookout Mountain from the Whiteside family to current day.
Living History
“I Believe I did Some Good Firing” – Artillery During the Battle of Lookout Mountain Location: Western Overlook – Inside Point Park Program Times: 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm, and 3:30 pm
On November 24, 1863, Captain Max Van Den Corput rolled a section (two cannon) of his Cherokee Artillery to the western edge of Lookout Mountain’s summit. From there, he tried to hinder the Union force assaulting the mountain, but due to the elevation and the dense fog that enshrouded Lookout, he was unable to inflict much damage on the rolling blue wave assailing the heights. This 30-minute program will explore the role artillery played in the “Battle Above the Clouds.”
Sunday, November 19, 2023
11 am – Walking Tour of Point Park Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
Chattanooga was known as the “Gateway to the Confederacy” because of the converging railroads and the Tennessee River that flowed just outside the city. Between October and November, US and Confederate troops fought several engagements to determine the fate of the city. This 30–45-minute program will help put the struggle for Chattanooga into perspective.
2 pm – Walking Tour of Point Park Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
Chattanooga was known as the “Gateway to the Confederacy” because of the converging railroads and the Tennessee River that flowed just outside the city. Between October and November, US and Confederate troops fought several engagements to determine the fate of the city. This 30–45-minute program will help put the struggle for Chattanooga into perspective.
2:30 pm – Keystone State Soldiers Assault Tunnel Hill Location: Sherman Reservation, Missionary Ridge, 2800 block of Lightfoot Mill Road
On the day before, they had helped provide the initial link between two wings of Ulysses S. Grant’s assaulting army. Now, on November 25, 1863, they are ordered forward no longer merely as a link but now as part of the attacking force. National Military Park Historian Jim Ogden will relate the role of those Pennsylvania soldiers in this two-hour, mile and a half up and down Tunnel Hill walking tour.
4 pm – Walking Tour of Point Park Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
Chattanooga was known as the “Gateway to the Confederacy” because of the converging railroads and the Tennessee River that flowed just outside the city. Between October and November, US and Confederate troops fought several engagements to determine the fate of the city. This 30–45-minute program will help put the struggle for Chattanooga into perspective.
Living History
“I Believe I did Some Good Firing” – Artillery During the Battle of Lookout Mountain Location: Western Overlook – Inside Point Park
Program Times: 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, and 2:30 pm
On November 24, 1863, Captain Max Van Den Corput rolled a section (two cannon) of his Cherokee Artillery to the western edge of Lookout Mountain’s summit. From there, he tried to hinder the Union force assaulting the mountain, but due to the elevation and the dense fog that enshrouded Lookout, he was unable to inflict much damage on the rolling blue wave assailing the heights. This 30-minute program will explore the role artillery played in the “Battle Above the Clouds.”
Fought on November 23, 1863, the Battle of Orchard Knob, a 100-foot-high knoll, was the first of three engagements of Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s breakout from Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s siege of Chattanooga. Initially, the 634 Confederates of the 24th and 28th Alabama Infantry Regiments positioned on Orchard Knob thought the Union line of battle was for a parade for General Grant. Little did they know that this line, of 14,000 Union soldiers, was an exploratory push outward to see what General Bragg’s intentions were. Come learn how this little, but important first Battle of Chattanooga helped secure the town for the Union army for the remainder of the war. This 1-hour program will explore the fighting that took place on this important rise between Union occupied Chattanooga and Confederate occupied Missionary Ridge.
Friday, November 24, 2023
9 am – The Battle of Lookout Mountain at Reflection Riding Location: Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center, 400 Garden Road, Chattanooga, Tennessee
“What! Does the General expect us to fly?” That was the response of some Union soldiers when told early on November 24, 1863, that they would be attacking the Confederates on Lookout Mountain that day. The mountain’s seemingly indomitable height made the idea of such an attack to be almost as impossible as that of human flight. But their commander, Major General Joseph Hooker had taken the measure of his enemy in gray and devised a plan by which to wrest control of the mountain from the Confederates. Today, Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center protects ground where key parts of Hooker’s plan unfolded. Join National Military Park Historian Jim Ogden for a guided 2 ½ mile, 2 ½ hour hike across Reflection Riding to learn about those key parts of the “Battle Above the Clouds,” a time when the peace and solitude of Reflection Riding was disturbed by fighting that became part of one of the most important campaigns of the Civil War. Participants are asked to keep in mind that the hiking pace between historical points will be approximately 2 ½ to 3 miles per hour.
Note: Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center is waiving their normal admission fee for participants to this program.
11 am – The Battle of Lookout Mountain Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
On November 24, 1863, US soldiers assailed Lookout Mountain from the west and drive Confederates around the mountain’s bench, beyond Cravens House, in what became famously known as “The Battle Above the Clouds.” This 30-45 minute program will provide an overview for this battle fought among the foggy and rocky slopes of Lookout Mountain.
2 pm - Geary’s White Stars Sweep the Cravens Plateau Location: This program will begin at the Cravens House on the Lookout Mountain Battlefield
For over two miles they had struggled around boulders and through draws and ravines on the wet, forested western slope of Lookout Mountain. Now as they neared the northern point of the mountain, they struck the main Confederate defenses. In this two-hour, two-mile round-trip walking tour, National Military Park Historian Jim Ogden will examine what became the climax of the Battle of Lookout Mountain as the men of John White Geary’s Second Division of the Twelfth Corps swept across Robert Cravens' “Alta Vista” farm, securing the northern tip of Lookout Mountain for the Union cause.
2 pm – The Battle of Lookout Mountain Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
On November 24, 1863, US soldiers assailed Lookout Mountain from the west and drive Confederates around the mountain’s bench, beyond Cravens House, in what became famously known as “The Battle Above the Clouds.” This 30-45 minute program will provide an overview for this battle fought among the foggy and rocky slopes of Lookout Mountain.
4 pm – The Battle of Lookout Mountain Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
On November 24, 1863, US soldiers assailed Lookout Mountain from the west and drive Confederates around the mountain’s bench, beyond Cravens House, in what became famously known as “The Battle Above the Clouds.” This 30-45 minute program will provide an overview for this battle fought among the foggy and rocky slopes of Lookout Mountain.
Saturday, November 25, 2023
9:30 am – Over the River and Through the Woods: Sherman’s Amphibious Assault and “Attack” on the Ridge Location: The program will begin at the Chickamauga Dam Reservation of the Tennessee Riverpark along Amnicola Highway just west of TN 153 (approximately 4631 Amnicola Highway, Chattanooga, TN) and then progress to two other points
An amphibious assault across the Tennessee to attack the Confederate right along Missionary Ridge was to be Ulysses S. Grant’s main strike at Chattanooga in November 1863. The move would take advantage of hills and creeks and the rain swollen river to make the initial crossing happen. Once across the Tennessee, Grant’s trusted subordinate William T. Sherman was then to move up onto Missionary Ridge to strike the Confederates. It would require thorough planning and reconnaissance to make Grant’s desired Battle of Missionary Ridge happen. Join National Military Park Historian Jim Ogden for this two-and-a-half-hour car caravan look at what Grant envisioned for Sherman and what happened that eventually made for a very different Battle of Missionary Ridge. There will be about a mile total of walking on sidewalks and pavement.
11 am – A Driving Tour of the Battle of Missionary Ridge Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
This 2-hour car-caravan tour of Missionary Ridge will stop at the Iowa, Bragg, and Sherman Reservations where insights into the November 25, 1863, actions will be shared.
11 am – The Battle of Missionary Ridge Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
On November 25, 1863, US soldiers pushed defending Confederates off Missionary Ridge in what was likely the most successful frontal assault of the Civil War. This 30-45 minute program will provide an overview of this "miracle" on Missionary Ridge from inside Point Park.
2 pm – The Lone Star State Leads the Defense of Tunnel Hill Location: The program will begin at the Sherman Reservation parking area in the 2800 block of Lightfoot Mill Road just off Campbell Street/North Crest Road
“…the brunt of this long day’s fight was borne by Smith’s (Texas) brigade….” That is how Confederate General Pat Cleburne began the summary of his division’s fighting on November 25, 1863. While ably supported by others, the Lone Star men positioned atop Tunnel Hill withstood more than a half dozen Union attacks to thereby be the basis of Cleburne’s success against William T. Sherman. National Military Park Historian Jim Ogden will examine this stalwart defense by the Texans in this two-hour, one mile walking tour.
2 pm – The Battle of Missionary Ridge Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
On November 25, 1863, US soldiers pushed defending Confederates off Missionary Ridge in what was likely the most successful frontal assault of the Civil War. This 30-45 minute program will provide an overview of this "miracle" on Missionary Ridge from inside Point Park.
4 pm – The Battle of Missionary Ridge Location: Meet inside the Point Park Entrance Gate
On November 25, 1863, US soldiers pushed defending Confederates off Missionary Ridge in what was likely the most successful frontal assault of the Civil War. This 30-45 minute program will provide an overview of this "miracle" on Missionary Ridge from inside Point Park.
Monday, November 27, 2023
11 am – Holding the Gap: The US Army’s Pursuit and the Engagement at Ringgold Location: Ireland’s New York Brigade Monument, at the end of Depot Street, Ringgold, GA 30736
Twenty-two days after Battle of Ringgold Gap (November 27, 1863), Sergeant Ambrose Henry Hayward of the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry wrote his father, “I experienced more fear & dread at Taylors Ridge than at either Chancellorsville, Antietam, or Gettysburgh.” This 1-hour program will explore the often-overlooked engagement that took place in Ringgold, Georgia, as the defeated Confederate Army of Tennessee tried to hold off their blue-clad pursuers after the debacle at Missionary Ridge.
