160th Anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga Ranger-Guided Tours
Ranger-Guided Tours are a great way to explore the battlefield during the battle anniversary.
NPS
Throughout the battle anniversary period, rangers will lead numerous tours and programs exploring the Battle of Chickamauga and its memorialization with the establishment Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. These programs range from broad overview tours to presentations about specific locations on the field.
Visitors are encouraged to bring chairs, bug spray, water, and wear comfortable clothes and appropriate shoes for walking/hiking.
All programs are subject to cancellation due to inclement weather or staffing availability.
Friday, September 15
6:30 pm - Monuments and Memory in the NPS: Preserving, Protecting, and Interpreting our Past
Location: Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center Theater
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center will provide a 1-hour panel discussion about preserving, protecting, and interpreting monuments, as well as the changes and challenges faced from their placement to the present-day.
Saturday, September 16
9:30 am - Bicycle Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
Take a 2.5-hour bicycle tour of the battlefield with a park ranger. Bring your own bike and helmet, or to reserve a loaner bike visit Outdoor Chattanooga’s website at http://bit.ly/outdoorchatt or call 423-643-6888. This tour is made possible through the support of National Park Partners.
10:30 am - To Live and Work for Dixie: The Montgomery Ladies Memorial Association and the Alabama Monument
Location: Alabama Monument, off Battleline Road
The Alabama legislature found it impossible to raise the $25,000 it appropriated for the creation of a monument to the state’s soldiers to originally be placed on Snodgrass Hill. Since the state was unable to get the job done, the Montgomery Ladies Memorial Association stepped into the gap. This 1-hour program will explore the Alabama monument’s unveiling and its associated speeches.
12:30 pm - There go the Tigers: Emerson Opdycke and the 125th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Location: Begins at the Snodgrass Cabin, near Tour Stop 8
On September 19, 1863, the sun rose over frosty fields and cold exhausted troops in Northwest Georgia. As the 125th Ohio fell into formation, Colonel Opdycke warned them, “Let no man leave the ranks to care for wounded men. The only way to give them effective care is to first win the battle and hold the field.” The regiment held fast and never wavered. A day later, their fighting spirit inspired US General Thomas J. Wood to christen them “Opdycke’s Tigers.” The Tigers are memorialized on Snodgrass Hill by one of the most distinctive monuments in the park. This 1-hour program will explore their story.
1:30 pm - “Rag-a-muffin Cavalry” against the Reserve Corps
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
On the morning of September 20, 1863, Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest’s cavalrymen captured a Federal hospital around Cloud Springs. US General Gordon Granger’s Reserve Corps first encountered these “rag-a-muffin cavalry” while they advanced down LaFayette Road to save the Army of the Cumberland at Snodgrass Hill. This 1-hour program will caravan to the program site. There will be a ½ mile hike after arriving at the program location in modern- day Fort Oglethorpe.
2 pm - Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
If you are interested in a general overview tour of the second deadliest battle of the Civil War, meet a park ranger inside the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center to take a 2-hour car caravan tour around the battlefield.
3:30 pm - Monuments and Meaning: A Look at the Monuments Along Poe Road
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
Chickamauga Battlefield is dotted with an array of monuments. Participants will learn about the monuments in place along Poe Road, who created them, where they were created, and how the veterans’ organizations chose the design and location of each monument. This 1-hour, ranger-led program will caravan to Poe Road for a short, easy walk.
Sunday, September 17
11:30 am - Moving Memorials: Does Their Placement Affect Our Memories
Location: The Wilder Brigade Monument
Did you know monuments were once moved in Chickamauga Battlefield to make way for a proposed by-pass around the park? Did their movement add to or detract from memories associated with the soldiers engaged in the 1863 battle? Why were these monuments placed at their current locations in the first place? We will explore these questions and more as we explore these memorials and the memories they conjure during this 1-hour program.
12:30 pm - Monuments and the fight for their dedication: 3 units on the Chickamauga Battlefield
Location: Brotherton Picnic Area, at the intersection of Alexander's Bridge and Brotherton Roads
This 1-hour car-caravan program will go to three locations on the Chickamauga Battlefield to examine the process of dedication and memorialization in 1895 and later. It will go over the official messaging of the park at its dedication, how it is reflected, or not, and the monuments.
1:30 pm - Road of Remembrance: The Rossville Boulevard - US 27’s Place in History
Location: Meet in the parking lot of Sala Evangelica De La Sana Doctrina, 3100 Rossville Blvd., Chattanooga, TN 37407
The route from Chattanooga to the Chickamauga Battlefield along today’s Rossville Boulevard - US 27 has seen thousands of soldiers from four wars marching upon it. This road is a part of Chattanooga’s history and the nation’s history as veterans wanted us to remember them by placing two stone towers to commemorate it as a “Road of Remembrance.” This 1-hour ranger-led program will explore this road's story.
2 pm - Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
If you are interested in a general overview tour of the second deadliest battle of the Civil War, meet a park ranger inside the visitor center to take a 2-hour car-caravan tour around the battlefield.
2:30 pm - “He was a brave officer:” Colonel Hans Heg in Battle and Memory
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
This program will focus on one of Chickamauga’s fallen commanders to learn who he was, how he was viewed at the time, and how he has been remembered since his death. Colonel Heg was one of several brigade commanders killed in the battle, being most notable for being Norwegian and an outspoken abolitionist. This 45-mintue program will caravan to Tour Stop 5.
Monday, September 18
10 am - A Stand Along Pea Vine Ridge
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
Approximately 900 men of US Colonel Robert Minty’s Cavalry brigade successfully held off about 5,000 Confederates in a delaying action that one historian claimed was as important as that of General John Buford at Gettysburg, on July 1, 1863. How successful was this delay in the grand scheme of the battle? This 45-minute program will follow the action that took place on September 18, 1863, from Pea Vine Ridge to Reed’s Bridge.
11 am - Dan McCook: Night Advance to Reed’s Bridge
Location: Meet at Jay's Mill Road
On the afternoon of September 18, US Col. Dan McCook, of the famous “Fighting McCook” family of Ohio, will advance his brigade down Reed’s Bridge Road. Halting about a mile west of the bridge, he will deploy his brigade astride the road and wait. Confusion will abound on both sides as neither are able to ascertain an accurate figure to the strength of their opponent. This 1-hour ranger-led program will look at who Col. Dan McCook is and the role he played in the Battle of Chickamauga.
2 pm - Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
If you are interested in a general overview tour of the second deadliest battle of the Civil War, meet a park ranger inside the visitor center to take a 2-hour car caravan tour around the battlefield.
3 pm - Wilder and the Lightning Brigade
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
Colonel John Wilder and his elite fighting unit, “The Lightning Brigade,” was heavily involved in one of the opening actions of the Battle of Chickamauga. Faced with overwhelming odds, the men of Wilder’s detachment used the Spencer Repeating Rifles to their advantage, which proved to be a great equalizer along the banks of the Chickamauga Creek. Wilder and his men will go on to leave an impressive legacy on the Chickamauga Battlefield. This 1-hour tour will caravan to other areas of the park.
Tuesday, September 19
10 am - Like Driftwood in a Squall -- A. P. Stewart’s Breakthrough
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
On the afternoon of September 19, 1863, General A.P. Stewart’s “Little Giant” Division came close to tearing the Union Army in half in some of the fiercest fighting of the Battle of Chickamauga. Stewart would later play a huge role in the early days of the national military park. This 1 ½ hour walking/driving tour will caravan onto the Battlefield.
11am - “Attack with All the Force I Had:” The Fighting in Winfrey Field
Location: Meet at Winfrey Field, with parking along the west tree line
Although Confederate Major General William H. T. Walker felt nothing more than a skirmish might break out, the fighting that occurs on September 19 in Winfrey Field will be far from it. The back-and-forth action here is some of the fiercest and costliest of the battle. This 1-hour ranger-led program will explore the fighting in Winfrey Field.
2 pm - Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
If you are interested in a general overview tour of the second deadliest battle of the Civil War, meet a park-ranger inside the visitor center to take a 2-hour car caravan tour around the battlefield.
3 pm - Don’t Touch these Guns: Defending the 1st Michigan Light Artillery
Location: Meet at Brotheron Picnic Area, at the intersection of Alexander's Bridge and Brotherton Roads
On September 19, US Lt. George Van Pelt was placed in a precarious situation when he found Confederates closing in from multiple directions. Instead of abandoning his cannon or raising the white flag, he chose the only other option available – stay and fight! This 45-minute program will share the story of Van Pelt and his Michigan battery of artillery.
Wednesday, September 20
11 am - Disaster at the Gun Line: Overrunning Mendenhall
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
Major John Mendenhall organized five Union batteries along the west edge of North Dyer Field, along a high ridge overlooking the Dyer farmhouse and outbuildings. This offered a splendid view to the south and east, but proved fateful, as all 16 guns would be captured as the Confederates broke through the Union line. This 1-hour ranger-led program will car caravan to West Dyer Field for a walk along the ridge.
2 pm - Car Caravan Tour of Chickamauga Battlefield
Location: Meet at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center
If you are interested in a general overview tour of the second deadliest battle of the Civil War, meet a park-ranger inside the visitor center to take a 2-hour car caravan tour around the battlefield.
3 pm - "They’re Going to Rake You with Grapeshot" – The Action at Lee and Gordon’s Mills
Location: Meet at Lee and Gordon’s Mills (71 Red Belt Road, Chickamauga, GA 30707)
On September 20, 1863, members of Confederate General Joe Wheeler’s cavalry crossed Chickamauga Creek at Lee and Gordon’s Mills with their eyes fixed on capturing the US Army hospitals, with their stores of medicine, supplies, and wagons, located at Crawfish Springs. This 45-minute program will explore these actions that took place at and near Lee and Gordon’s Mills.
