Memorial Day - History 101 - Chattanooga and Chickamauga

On Saturday Emily and I went on a trip to visit the Battlefields of Chattanooga and Chickamauga in Northern Georgia. To refresh your memories these two battles took place in the early fall of 1863. First was Chickamauga which was fought in beautiful rolling wooded hills separated by gorgeous flower filled meadows. After several weeks of intense fighting the Confederates ruled the day and pushed the Union back to Look out mountain in Chattanooga. Only the heroic efforts of General George Thomas prevented a rout of the Union forces. His tenacity and spirit in the face of this onslaught earned him the nickname of “The Rock of Chickamauga” and prevented the Confederate forces from taking Chattanooga. Several months later the Union broke out of Chattanooga and chased the rebels south. This opened the door for General Sherman’s march through Georgia. In this campaign there were 39,000 casualties which made the human toll second only to Gettysburg.

Twenty years later members of both sides gathered to remember their lost friends, honor their gallant opponents and permanently designate the site as one of the first National Military Parks.

It seems like most of the men from the north were from Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio but there were some from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. From the south most came from Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. There were monuments everywhere

We spent several hours touring the Chickamauga site and then went to the Lookout Mountain Military Park in Chattanooga. The view from there was inspiring.

Going home instead of taking I 75 we used the back roads and the new sights were very enjoyable

All in all a great day that we finished up with at our favorite restaurant –Sushi Tomi – sashimi, dumplings, and some very spicy tuna rolls.