162nd Anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga Ranger-Guided Tours

Ranger-guided tours are a great way to explore the battlefield during the battle anniversary.

NPS

Throughout the battle anniversary period, rangers will lead numerous tours and programs exploring the Battle of Chickamauga and its memorialization with the establishment Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. These programs range from broad overview tours to presentations about specific locations on the field.

Visitors are encouraged to bring chairs, bug spray, water, and wear comfortable clothes and appropriate shoes for walking/hiking.

All programs are subject to cancellation due to inclement weather or staffing availability.

 

Thursday, September 18

10 am - Call in the Cavalry (and the Mounted Infantry): Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 2-hours

If you are interested in a general overview of what occurred during the first day's fighting at Chickamauga, meet a park ranger inside the visitor center to take a car caravan tour to some of the various battlefield locations associated with September 18, 1863.

2 pm - Call in the Cavalry (and the Mounted Infantry): Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 2-hours

If you are interested in a general overview of what occurred during the first day's fighting at Chickamauga, meet a park ranger inside the visitor center to take a car caravan tour to some of the various battlefield locations associated with September 18, 1863.

 

Friday, September 19

10 am - Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 2-hours

If you are interested in a general overview tour of the deadly fighting that took place on September 19, 1863, during the Battle of Chickamauga, meet a park ranger inside the visitor center to take a car-caravan tour around the battlefield.

2 pm - Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 2-hours

If you are interested in a general overview tour of the deadly fighting that took place on September 19, 1863, during the Battle of Chickamauga, meet a park ranger inside the visitor center to take a car-caravan tour around the battlefield.

 

Saturday, September 20

10 am - Unspeakably Grand: Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 2-hours

If you are interested in a general overview tour of the final day's fighting at Chickamauga, meet a park ranger inside the visitor center to take a car caravan tour to areas associated with one of the last major Confederate victories of the Civil War.

1 pm - The Face of Battle and a Memory Left in a Monument

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 1-hour

Private Henry Clay McKnight of Company G, 11th Ohio Infantry, found himself a prisoner of war on September 20, 1863. After Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park's 1890 establishment, veterans came back to erect a marker to the 11th Ohio just behind the modern-day visitor center. Come here McKnight's story and how to see the face of battle first hand and the memories these soldiers left behind in stone!

2 pm - Unspeakably Grand: Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 2-hours

If you are interested in a general overview tour of the final day's fighting at Chickamauga, meet a park ranger inside the visitor center to take a car caravan tour to areas associated with one of the last major Confederate victories of the Civil War.

2 pm - Hands-on History Table

• Location: Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: Drop-in anytime between 2 pm and 4 pm

Stop by the Hands-on History Table at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center to learn about soldier's life during the Civil War. Visitors of all ages will have the opportunity to hold and touch authentic reproduction uniforms, weapons, and equipment made to match items worn and used by Civil War soldiers. A ranger will be on hand to answer questions and to discuss the experiences of soldiers during the Chickamauga campaign.

 

Sunday, September 21

10 am - Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 2-hours

If you are interested in a general overview tour of the second deadliest battle of the Civil War, meet a park-ranger inside the visitor center to take car caravan tour around the battlefield.

1 pm - Unexpected Casualties: Death and Dying After the Guns Fell Silent

• Location: Dyer Field, off Glenn-Kelly Road (Follow the Special Program Signs)
• Duration: 45-minutes

Casualty numbers (soldiers who were killed, wounded, or missing) can be found all over Chickamauga Battlefield's monuments and plaques. However, some soldiers did not succumb to their fates until many years after the guns fell silent. One of those soldiers was James King of the 48th Alabama Infantry, whose story we will explore during this program.

2 pm - Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield

• Location: Meet inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
• Duration: 2-hours

If you are interested in a general overview tour of the second deadliest battle of the Civil War, meet a park-ranger inside the visitor center to take a car caravan tour around the battlefield.

3 pm - Marching to the Sound of the Guns: The Federal Reserve Corps on Horseshoe Ridge, September 20, 1863

• Location: Snodgrass Hill at the Snodgrass Cabin (Follow the Special Program Signs)
• Duration: 1-hour, .5 mile hike

Hearing the sound of heavy fighting several miles south of his position on September 20, 1863, Union General Gordon Granger seized the initiative and ordered his Reserve Corps to march toward the sound of battle. Granger’s inexperienced troops arrived on the battlefield to find George Thomas organizing a desperate defense of Snodgrass Hill following the Confederate breakthrough at the Brotherton farm. The men of the Reserve Corps advanced into the fray on Horseshoe Ridge, hoping to thwart Confederate efforts to turn Thomas’ flank. Join a ranger on this one-hour program to walk the ground where the Reserve Corps went into action during the final hours of the Battle of Chickamauga.