Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park

In mid-December 2012, I had the opportunity to spend some time at the Chickamauga battlefield just south of Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.  The Civil War battle occurred on September 19-20, 1863.  The battle had the second highest number of casualties in the war, after Gettysburg.  The Federal Army of the Cumberland suffered 1,657 killed, 9,756 wounded and 4,757 captured or missing for a total of 16,170 out of a force of approximately 60,000 (27% casualty rate).  The Confederate Army of Tennessee endured 2,312 killed, 14,674 wounded and 1,468 captured or missing for a total of 18,454 casualties out of a force of approximately 65,000 (28% rate).


On August 19,1890, President Harrison signed into law "an act to establish a National Military Park at the battle-field of Chickamauga."  It was the first piece of legislation authorizing the preservation of an American battlefield.  The park was set aside "for the purpose of preserving and suitably marking for historical and professional military study the fields of some of the most remarkable maneuvers and most brilliant fighting in the war of the rebellion."  According to the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, this was to be "no place for pleasure-seekers or loungers.  The hosts that in the future come to the grand Park will come rather with feelings of awe or reverence."  


The park was dedicated on September 18-20, 1895, exactly 32 years after the battle.  Chattanooga mayor George Ochs described the park as "holy ground where amity and reconciliation have erected in granite and in bronze the record of a country's heroes, a country now eternally and indivisibly reunited, a country proud alike of her sons, remembering that whether they died for that cause that was lost or fell for the cause that was won, they were all Americans."  

The park was administered by the War Department until August, 1933, when it was transferred to the National Park Service.

The visitor center is at the northern end of the park.  It houses a small gift shop, an historic collection of weapons and a fairly large theater.  The new 26-minute movie about the battle is excellent.  This film  has only been available for a few weeks.  It follows a single soldier from each army through the battle and inspires the sense of "awe or reverence" that the Society of the Army of the Cumberland wished the park would convey.


The park features a self-guiding seven mile automobile tour along the battle lines.  This tour is narrated via cell phone at eight stops.  In addition, there are several hiking trails throughout the park that vary in length from five to fourteen miles.  The park provides a map for each trail along with a list of questions that can be answered only after reading the markers and memorials along the route.

Artillery on McDonald Field

Confederate battle line markers along east side of
Alexander's Bridge Road

15th US Infantry marker at the intersection of
Alexander's Bridge Road and Battleline Road

Union battle line markers along west side of
Alexander's Bridge Road

View from Battleline Road through the woods to Kelly Field

79th Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry,
2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Corps.
Col. Henry A. Hambright Commanding
Number Engaged in Battle of Chickamauga 390
Killed, Wounded and Missing 137

Battery F, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Hazen's Brigade,
Palmer's Division, 21st Army Corps along Battleline Road

Kelly Field

Dense woods between Poe Field and Dyer Field

Artillery in Poe Field

The Poe cabin that stood near the middle of this
clearing was burned during the battle

Brotherton Cabin on the high ground at the intersection of
Dyer Road and Lafayette Road

Battle line markers in Brotherton Field southwest of the cabin

Federal battle line markers along Lafayette Road north of Viniard Field

Union battle line markers in Viniard Field

This ditch through the eastern edge of Glenn Field was dry
when used for cover at various times by both sides

Wilder Brigade Monument
Wilder's "Lightning" Brigade of infantry was equipped with
Spencer repeating rifles and rode horses or mules to
battle before dismounting to fight

Federal battle line markers near the Widow Glenn place
at Wilder's Brigade monument

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm.

Andrews Bald Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The last day for the Clingman's Dome road to be open for the 2012 season was Sunday, December 2.  I chose to hike the recently reconstructed Forney Ridge trail from the parking area to Andrews Bald.  While the trail is still very steep with an average grade of 10% for the first 1.1 miles, it has been tremendously improved since my last visit in May 2011.  During that visit, the Trails Forever work crew was in the process of rebuilding the northernmost portion of the trail.  The 1.8 mile trail starts with a series of stone and timber steps down from the western end of the parking area at an elevation of about 6300 feet.  After about a tenth of a mile, there is a junction with the Clingman's Dome bypass trail.  Turning right will lead to the Appalachian Trail west of Clingman's Dome.  Turning left leads to Andrews Bald.  Another mile down the trail is a second well-marked junction with the Forney Creek trail.  This is the low point of the trail at an elevation of about 5725 feet.  The bald is another 0.7 miles at approximately about 5750 feet.  In between is Forney Ridge at approximately 5900 feet.  The park service claims an elevation change of 1200 feet on their website.  However, trail elevation profiles seem to suggest an elevation change of 925 feet one-way consisting of 575 feet down, 200 feet up, and 150 feet down.  

The balsam woolly adelgid has decimated the Fraser fir trees

The trail is in great shape

Patch of snow, possibly left from the October storm

The bald emerges from the shadows of the forest

Looking back up the trail, the wooden steps and
walk boards are part of the trail improvements

Late afternoon sun breaks through the clouds
and illuminates the waterbars on the trail

The view southwest to Fontana Lake

The view southeast toward Bryson City

The mountain ranges seem to march on forever

The overcast skies give way to a beautiful sunset

The entire 3.6 mile trip took me about two hours, including picture and water stops.  I met three pairs of hikers during the afternoon, including one couple from Indianapolis.  As dusk was approaching, I turned on my head lamp for the final climb up to the parking lot.  The crowds of summer were long gone and there were only a couple of other vehicles in the parking lot.  While others will probably hike up to Clingman's Dome from Newfound Gap over the winter, I was the last casual hiker on the Forney Ridge trail for the season.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm.

Holiday Open House at Andrew Johnson Homestead NHS

We attended the annual Holiday Open House at the Andrew Johnson Homestead in Greeneville, Tennessee, on Friday, November 30, 2012.  This is the only time throughout the year that the home is open after dark.  In addition to being greeted by President Johnson at the beginning of the tour and shown the ground floor, his younger daughter Mary guided us through the upper floor.  

The President's bedroom

Small desk facing Main Street in the President's bedroom

Parlor

First Upstairs Bedroom

Second Upstairs Bedroom

Second bedroom includes a copy of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Several park rangers assisted by displaying rooms on both floors of the rear wing of the house.  Upstairs there are two bedrooms in the addition that was added during the final months of the president's term of office.  One bedroom opened onto the porch as well as another bedroom in the original part of the house.  The last upstairs bedroom opened only onto the porch.  This room was used by the president's son, Robert.

Third upstairs bedroom adjoins the first

Fourth upstairs bedroom used by Robert

Back on the main floor, rangers showed us a final bedroom that was not connected to the main part of the house, but was connected to the dining room.  This room was originally the dining room and attached to the kitchen, but the kitchen was moved to the basement during the renovations after the war.  We were also provided cookies and cider by the park superintendent, Lizzie Watts.  

Main floor bedroom accessible from porch and dining room

Dining Room on main floor

Kitchen preparation area

Kitchen hearth

Additional kitchen preparation area

Upon completion of our tour, we stood around one of two portable fire pits while awaiting the arrival of the Asbury United Methodist Church Community Children's chorus.  The church is immediately adjacent to the homestead on Main Street.  

Asbury UMC Community Children's chorus

Nearly one hundred visitors stood or sat on the side lawn while the chorus sang from the porch and stairs.  We thought it was a lovely way to kick off the Christmas season.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/anjo/index.htm.

Clingmans Dome GSMNP

I took advantage of an opportunity during Thanksgiving week in November 2012 to watch the sunset from Clingmans Dome.  On the drive up the Newfound Gap Road, I stopped at Morton's Overlook to take a picture of a sun dog or parhelion.  At the second overlook on the Clingmans Dome Road, I stopped to take a picture of the Deep Creek basin.

Sun dog

Deep Creek basin

The one-half mile trail from the parking area to the dome is wide and paved.  The elevation at the parking area is about 6300 feet and it is 6643 at the dome.  The path averages a grade of over 12% and is apparently more challenging that it might first seem as numerous people were taking advantage of several benches along the way.  If you have any doubt that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is truly a national park, I offered to take a snapshot of a family on the way up the trail and found they were visiting from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  While taking pictures of the setting sun from the tower and ramp, I chatted with a couple from New Hampshire.

Ice on the tower ramp

The spruce-fir forest on Clingmans Dome is a relic of the last ice age.  While the forest has been protected from logging since the 1930s and air pollution has been drastically reduced in the past forty years, the Fraser firs in the forest have been decimated by the balsam woolly adelgid during recent decades.  Numerous snags dot the landscape as shown below.

Looking east toward Mount LeConte and Newfound Gap

Looking north toward Pigeon Forge

Looking west toward Mt Buckley

Looking south toward Forney Ridge

Looking down from the tower

Sun emerges below the clouds

Purple mountain majesty

Seemingly endless ranks of ridges

Going...

Gone!  Another day is done

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm.