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Contact: Kim Coons, 423-752-5213 x139
Fort Oglethorpe, GA: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to attend special programs at Chickamauga Battlefield on Saturday, October 11.These 30 minute talks, focusing on the 44th U.S.C.T., will take place at 10 am and 2:30 pm in the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center. The 44th U.S.C.T. formed in Chattanooga during the spring and summer of 1864, just as General Sherman's armies battled their way to the gates of Atlanta.The ranks of this regiment were filled with men who were born slaves, yet seized the opportunity to free themselves by escaping their masters and making their way to the Union lines in Chattanooga.There, they chose to risk their lives in order to destroy the institution that kept many of their families in chains. The first battle action in which the 44th U.S.C.T. participated was at Dalton, Georgia, in August 1864, where they helped repulse a raid upon Sherman's supply lines. By October, the Confederate Army of Tennessee had surrounded the town and demanded that the Union troops surrender.The garrison's hope was fading fast. What thoughts now rushed through the men's minds?What would the future bring? |
Last updated: April 14, 2015