On Saturday, July 14, visitors are invited to go and experience the power of Civil War artillery, as Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park rangers and living historians tell its story on the Chickamauga battlefield. These programs will take place at the Wilder Brigade Monument (Tour Stop 6), in Chickamauga Battlefield, 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, impossible to fight the way it was envisioned.
Civil War cannon were weapons of mass destruction, intended to deliver death and destruction over long distances, and that was impossible in all but a few situations. To hear one of these stories, concerning the Chicago Board of Trade Battery, come out to Chickamauga Battlefield for one of these special demonstrations.
For more information about upcoming programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, please contact the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at 423 821-7786, the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706 866-9241, or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.