Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will host a living history day at Chickamauga Battlefield on Saturday, July 26. Park rangers and living historians tell the story of artillery on the Civil War battlefield. These 30-minute programs will be presented near the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
The battle was something out of a nightmare for the soldiers who experienced it in 1863; the forest was the last place a Civil War battle was supposed to be fought, making it impossible to see, for commanders to lead, and in the case of the artillery, to fight the way they were designed. Civil War cannon were weapons of mass destruction, intended to deliver death and devastation over long distances, which was impossible at Chickamauga in all but a few situations. One of those exceptions was the McDonald Hill, where on the morning of Sept. 20, Captain Lyman Bridges’ Illinois Battery went into action. Participants will hear the story of Captain Bridges, his men, and what they did on the Chickamauga Battlefield 151 years ago.
For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706.866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 821-7786, or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.