Return to Chickamauga

          In two weeks’ time your loyal blogger will visit the Chickamauga National Military Park in Georgia. The Park is a handful of miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee and it is easy to stay in Chattanooga when visiting the battlefield.

          Fired up? You bet. The folks at the CNMP are very hospitable and the battlefield itself is fascinating. This is the first of two planned visits to Chickamauga this year.

The top of Horseshoe Ridge today.

          The ultimate goal is to understand and document the movements of a group of Confederate soldiers during the battle, which lasted three days. Most historians say Chickamauga was contested over two days, September 19 and 20, 1863, but the fighting actually started on the 18^th and we call it a three-day battle.

          The Confederate unit under the Speedylee microscope is Hilliard’s Legion. The Legion was primarily made up of Alabamians, with a few stout lads from Georgia, and was a part of Brig. General Archibald Gracie’s Brigade. Gracie’s Brigade did not enter the fighting until the final few hours of the battle, but the Legion saw some of the most savage killing of the war. Theirs is a compelling story.

          The Confederate attack on Horseshoe Ridge lasted most of the afternoon of the 20^th. Gracie and his men did not move to the sound of the guns until about 4:30 p.m. What they accomplished in the following 90 minutes has been acknowledged by historians, but not written about in depth.

          Until now.

The marker for the 63rd Tennessee, a regiment that was
part of Gracie's Brigade at Chickamauga and was on
Gracie's far right as the Brigade attacked the Ridge.

The research is reaching critical mass, meaning it just can’t go any further without the walking, measuring and figuring that has to be done on the grounds to insure the research is accurate.

          Better to be proved wrong now, you figure, than later when it might be embarrassing.

A close view so the reader can
read the 63rd Tennessee's
marker.

          With the help of an experienced guide, Gracie’s movements will be followed from the time his men crossed the Chickamauga on the night of the 18^th until the shooting stopped after dark on the 20^th.

          There are a lot of questions to answer. The only way to answer those questions is to walk the history.

 

          Thanks for reading.

Near Lee and Gordon's Mill. At one time or another, nearly every
 regiment involved at Chickamauga passed by this spot. No real
historic importance except that I like this shot and I
 hope you like it, too.