"chickamauga national military park" Top 5 Page for this destination Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park by doug48

the first battle of chickamuga began on september 20 th 1863. union general william s. rosecrans met the forces of confederate general braxton bragg in an area of hills, forests, and small farms just south of fort oglethorpe georgia. just after dawn the fighting began on a four mile battle line. after hours of fierce fighting confederate general james longstreet found a gap in the union line and forced rosecrans and a third of his army to retreat. union general george thomas took over the command of the union forces and formed a new battle line on snodgrass hill. thomas' troops repelled a number of confederate attacks and general thomas earned the nickname "the rock of chickamauga". later that night thomas withdrew his troops from snodgrass hill and the defeat forced the union to retreat to chattanooga. the next day the confederates pursued the retreating army and occupied missionary ridge, lookout mountain, and the chattanooga valley. the battle of chickamauga was a decisive victory for the confederates.

between 1890 and 1899 the u.s. congress authorized four national military parks, chickamauga and chattanooga, shiloh, gettysburg, and vicksburg. chickamauga was the first and largest battlefield to be preserved. for the visitor to chickamauga there are several options for how to view the park. there is a seven mile self guided auto tour which takes about an hour and highlights the important battle sites and monuments. other sites are located on side roads that crisscross the battlefield which will take a half a day to explore. for those interested in nature and serious students of the battle there are miles of walking and hiking trails. if you take the trail option you can easily spend several days in the park.