Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

P.O. Box 2128
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia 30742

Phone
Chickamauga Visitor Center (706) 866-9241
Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center (423) 821-7786

Explore the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

The Campaign for Chattanooga

In 1863, Union and Confederate forces fought for control of Chattanooga, the gateway to the deep south. The Confederate’s were victorious at nearby Chickamauga in September, but renewed fighting in Chattanooga in November gave Union troops final control.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, the nation’s first, was created in 1890 to preserve and commemorate these battlefields.

Chickamauga Battlefield

The 5,500 acre Chickamauga Battlefield, scene of the last major Confederate victory of the Civil War, contains numerous monuments, historical tablets, wayside exhibits, and trails. Major points of interest can be reached by following the seven-mile auto tour. The Visitor Center includes exhibits, a bookstore, and the Claud E. and Zenada O. Fuller Collection of American Military Shoulder Arms.

Lookout Mountain Battlefield

The 3,000 acre Lookout Mountain Battlefield contains monuments, historical markers, trails, and scenic vistas. Point Park, a unit of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield, is located on the top of the mountain, and is the most prominent feature. The Visitor Center, located across the street from the Point Park entrance gate, displays James Walker’s 13 x 30 foot painting “Battle of Lookout Mountain”, and other exhibits.

Plan Your Visit

In recommending creation of the park, both House and Senate military affairs committees pointed out that probably no other field in the world presented more formidable natural obstacles to large scale military operations than the slopes of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Since the purpose would be to maintain the park in its historic condition, they also noted that there had been scarcely any changes in the roads, fields, forests, and houses at Chickamauga since the battle, except in the growth of underbrush and timber, which could easily be removed. 

Taken together, these battlefields offered unparalleled opportunities for historical and professional military study of the operations of two great armies as they both encountered the multiple military obstacles created by forests, steep mountains, open fields, and streams. 

From strategically placed observation towers placed on the Chickamauga Battlefield, Missionary Ridge, and Lookout Mountain, observers and students could comprehend the grand campaign that extended over a 150 mile front and follow many tactical details of the actual battle. No battlefield park of this quality and magnitude could be found in any other location in the world.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was officially dedicated on September 18-20, 1895. Most of the 1,400 monuments and historical markers on the battlefields were planned and placed by Boynton and other veterans of the battles, under the supervision of the War Department, which administered all national military parks until they were transferred to the National Park Service in 1933.

Things to Do

Chickamauga Battlefield features a 7 mile self-guiding auto tour, monuments, historical tablets, hiking trails and horse trails. The Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center contains exhibits and the Fuller Gun Collection which contains over 300 examples of military long arms.

Lookout Mountain Battlefield contains monuments, historical tablets, hiking trails, scenic vistas, and the historic Cravens House. The Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center also houses the "Battle Above the Clouds" painting by James Walker.

During some summer weekends, both sites host encampments of regiments from various states who provide living history demonstrations. Also, during the summer, living history demonstrations of a soldier's life are offered.

Did You Know?
The four Union generals given credit for bringing an end to the Civil War (Generals Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, George H. Thomas, and Philip Sheridan) were all in Chattanooga in the autumn of 1863.