Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to participate in a free program on Civil War pontoon bridging on Saturday, April 18, 2015, at 9:30 am. The program, led by Park Historian Jim Ogden, will take place on Moccasin Bend National Archeological District at the Brown’s Ferry Federal Road Trail and will include a 1.2 mile round trip walk down to the Tennessee River. Look for the “Special Program” signs beginning on Manufacturers Road just west of US 27.
A pre-dawn amphibious assault may have seized the Lookout Valley side of Brown’s Ferry, but for that just-won crossing to really be secure and usable as part of a new supply line, the untamed Tennessee River would need to be bridged. That latter task fell to a set of determined Michigan men. In this program on Civil War military bridging, Historian Ogden will discuss what it took to get, and to keep, a floating military bridge across the river at that vital point, first while still under enemy fire, then during a fall when frequent rains caused regular changes in the river’s character.
Comfortable, supportive, wet-weather footwear, clothing appropriate for the weather and water are recommended for this program.
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 (423) 821-7786, or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.