Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to
attend a special Living History weekend at Point Park, located atop of
historic Lookout Mountain on Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12.
Throughout the weekend, living history volunteers representing Confederate Artillerists will conduct artillery demonstrations. Living historians will present talks about the life of a Confederate artillerist on Saturday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
They will also conduct artillery firing demonstrations on Saturday at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4 p.m., and on Sunday at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2:30 p.m.
Visitors are encouraged to visit the camp to learn what life was like on a day to day basis for the Confederate
artillerist.
Following the Battle of Chickamauga, Confederate forces occupied Lookout
Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and the Chattanooga and Lookout Valleys in an
attempt to besiege the Union Army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga.
Confederate artillery was positioned on the summit of Lookout Mountain to
prevent Union forces from opening a supply line from Stevenson, Alabama to
Chattanooga. These artillery batteries were in place until early November when they were ordered, along with the rest of General James Longstreet’s troops, to regain control of Knoxville, Tn.
On the morning of November 24, 1863, as Union forces were making preparations to assault the
Confederate positions on the slopes of Lookout Mountain, Confederate
artillery batteries commanded by Captains Max Van Den Corput and James
Garrity were ordered to the summit to fire on the Union troops below.
Defeated on the slopes below, these Confederate batteries were forced to
withdraw from the summit that evening.
For more information about these events and other programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, visitors may contact Kim Coons at 423 752-5213, ext. 139, the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706 866-9241, or the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423 821-7786.