News Release

“The Bull of the Woods” Panel Discussion and Battlefield Tour

Date: May 20, 2019
Contact: Kim Coons, 706-866-9241x139

Fort Oglethorpe, GA: On Saturday, June 1, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, and Eastern National, will co-host a special panel discussion and battlefield tour about General James Longstreet, Confederate Left Wing Commander during the Battle of Chickamauga.  Presenting their views about the leadership of Longstreet will be three Civil War scholars.  The 1-hour panel begins inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center’s theater at 11 am, while a special 1-hour car caravan tour about General Longstreet will begin in the visitor center lobby at 1 pm.

This year’s panel participants will include Dave Powell, author of The Chickamauga Campaign, Decisions at Chickamauga and other works about the Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga; Matt Spruill, author of Guide to the Battle of Chickamauga, Storming the Heights: A Guide to the Battle of Chattanooga, and numerous other works; and Robert Carter, author of Longstreet’s Breakthrough at Chickamauga: Accidental Victory and The Fight for Snodgrass Hill and the Rock of Chickamauga.

Late in the evening of September 19, 1863, Confederate General James Longstreet arrived at army headquarters, near the banks of West Chickamauga Creek, for his next assignment. He undoubtedly brought a lot of Civil War battlefield experience with him, not to mention extensive pre-war military service. By the summer of 1863, Longstreet, full of ambition, sought a change which he believed might be found within the Confederate command located near the important rail junction of Chattanooga, Tennessee. However, the move West did not come without its own set of challenges. 

The authors will also conduct book signings inside the Eastern National Bookstore from 10 am to 11 am and throughout the afternoon.  
 
For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.