News Release

Reconciliation in Chattanooga: “The privileged profit more off consensus than the less privileged”

Date: November 17, 2023
Contact: Kim Coons, 706-866-9241, ext. 139

Fort Oglethorpe, GA:  On Saturday, December 2, at 10 am, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will present a special 45-minute program exploring reconciliation after the Civil War and how it affected the African American community. This program will take place at the New York Peace Monument, in Point Park, on Lookout Mountain. 

As Reconstruction ended in 1877, the United States pushed forward a narrative of reconciliation. Soldiers from both sides gathered at preserved battlefield parks to share their stories and shake hands. Though on the surface it looked like it was working to rebuild the Union, a sense of animosity lied below the surface. This animosity was not only against those they fought during the war, but also against many of the rights newly freed slaves now possessed. Soon reconciliation led to disenfranchisement and would evolve into Jim Crow Laws and the perpetuation of the Lost Cause.

Please wear appropriate clothes and shoes for the weather. 

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 the park website at www.nps.gov/chch.