News Release

Soldiers, Servants, and Civilians: African Americans at Chickamauga 1863-1945

Date: February 7, 2018
Contact: Kim Coons, 423-752-5213 x139

Fort Oglethorpe, GA: On Sunday, February 18, at 2 pm, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will provide a free, 2-hour car caravan tour of Chickamauga Battlefield, exploring the experiences of African Americans at the site from the Civil War through World War II. Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center for this special tour.

Around 125,000 soldiers clashed at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. Instrumental to the operation of both armies were large numbers of African Americans serving as laborers and servants, both enslaved in the Confederate Army and as hired free men in the Union Army. Immediately after the Civil War, United States Colored Troops encamped on the battlefield as they conducted the grisly task of recovering the remains of those killed at Chickamauga. During the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II African American soldiers trained at Chickamauga, and throughout the park’s early history, they were instrumental in the preservation of the site, including the members of an all African American Civilian Conservation Corps camp.

For more information about upcoming programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, please contact the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at [phone], the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at [phone], or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.