Until late in the Civil War’s third year, Federal forces had made no major incursions into the Confederacy’s third most populous state. Virginia had bee a battleground from the start, and from early 1862 Union and Confederate forces had battled in Tennessee. However, except for some small-scale action on the coast, Georgia witnessed no significant fighting through mos of 1863. That changed late in th summer, when Federal Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans’s Army of the Cumberland maneuvered into Chattanooga and beyond, forcing Confederate Gen. Braxto Bragg’s Army of Tennessee to retreat into northwest Georgia. Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails has installed a series of interpretive markers that tell t story of this campaign and its climax, the great battle fought the valley of Chickamauga Creek on September 19 and 20. The trai begins at the GCWHT marker on the town square in Trenton, in t extreme northwestern edge of the state. On Sept. 4, Federal troops moving from Tennessee and northern Alabama began to pass through Trenton, “with an ultimate goal of capturing Wartime view of Chattanooga, Ten
Atlanta.” Rosecrans established his headquarters here and “his men spread over all of Dade County, foraging for food and animals.” Rosecrans believed t Bragg, having evacuat Chattanooga, was in full retreat. He summoned Maj. Gen. George Thomas, commander of the XIV Corps, for a meeting to discuss “arrangements for the pursuit.” Thomas urged caution and advised Rosecrans “to consolidate his army, then spread over fifty miles.” In the followi days the opposing forces marched over the area’s hills and through its valleys, the Federals moving to unite their separated columns, the Confederates trying to catch Rosecrans’s isolated units and defeat the invaders in detail. Before catching up with the armies, let’s linger in Trenton f a brief paragraph, to see what th future held for the town’s people after Rosecrans and the foragers moved on. Two months later, the Federals returned to burn mills and factories. Many townspeople then “fled to the nearby mountain and hid what belongings they could.” They suffered further when Unionists from northern Alabama and Tennessee raided in and around Trenton. Still, the pr Confederate people continued to do their bit. “With most men away at war, the women ibrary of Congress)
and prepare food to send to t men at the front.” Rejoining the Army of the Cumberland, we now take a scenic drive eastward over Lookout Mountain through Steven’s Gap. This was the ro taken by Thomas’s corps, with the division commanded by Maj Gen. James Negley leading the column. We descend to Davis Crossroads in McLemore’s Cove where the GCWHT marker for this location tells of a batt did not happen. Negley’s 4,000 men were outnumbered. He faced one Confederate force moving from the east, over Pigeon Mountai A second force, under Maj. Ge Thomas Hindman, was ordered by Bragg to move in from the north and trap the Federals i the narrow valley. Hindman hesitated. By the time Hindma
Lee and Gordon's Mill. (Gould Hagler) the battle that didn’t happen. Wheeler captured The marker does not discuss the with twenty wag controversy over the failure to and camp equipa trap Negley, but Bragg blamed 1,000 wounded Fed Hindman, and was quite vocal The community was about it. in 1891 and Except for Bragg’s work The GCWHT under the shady oak, there was spring tells of no action in LaFayette during gathering held 26 the Chickamauga Campaign. battle. “On September “Bragg’s Oak” stood until thousands of veterans 1925, when it was destroyed by armies…met at Cr lightning. in a spirit The marker also tells the story friendship…. of Chattooga Academy, built in furthered 1836. A century later it was re- underway to ma named in honor of Maj. Gen. battlefield a park John B. Gordon. Gordon lived courage and valor in this area from an early age, in 1863. On Aug but his martial exploits were in another theater of the Civil War. He served in the Army of Northern Virginia and late in the war rose to corps command. LaFayette was the site of a minor battle nine months later, during the Atlanta Campaign. In June 1864, Confederate cavalry attacked the small Federal force occupying the town. The attack was initially successful; however, as the Federals were on the verge of surrendering, a mounted infantry regiment rode to their rescue. This was a small affair, of course, nothing like the scale of the battle fought north of LaFayette nine months earlier. The trail next goes to Crawfish Spring. Before the Battle of Chickamauga, Rosecrans headquartered at the Gordon House across the road from the spring. During the dry summer of 1863, this was one of the few sources of water large enough to quench an army-sized thirst. The Federals established hospitals near the spring. Many sick and wounded, but not all, were evacuated after the battle. Cavalry under Maj. Gen. Joseph Lee & Gordon’s M June 2023
the hospita ns of medic e, plus ove ral soldier ncorporated named Chick marker at t n important years after 20, 1889, of both wfish Sprin of reconcil Their reuni efforts e the entir o honor the hown here st 19, 1890
President Benjamin Harrison signed a bill establishing America’s first national mil park.” The trail’s next stop is L and Gordon’s Mill, two miles north of Crawfish Spring. Br set up headquarters here on Sept. 8 and 9, after evacuat Chattanooga and before movin on to LaFayette. On the 12th and 13th, as the armies jock for position, the mill witne heavy skirmishing. The marke explains what occurred here following week. “As the Batt of Chickamauga raged less than two miles north of the on Saturday, September 19th,
Union Brigadier General Willia H. Lyttle’s Brigade defeated a detachment of Confederate Majo General John C. Breckinridge’s Division attempting to capture the nearby ford.” More fighting occurred here the next day. The marker quote a Confederate soldier who had close call with death on Sept. but managed instead to take a in the cool waters of Chickama Creek. The Alabama cavalryman, fighting dismounted, wrote tha number of us started to run ac the [mill] dam; but an officer shouted ‘Get off! They are goi to rake you with grapeshot!,’ we leaped into the water like
In my April column I mentioned the action at Tunnel Hill on May 7, 1864, when Federal artiller fired on the Confederates’ advance positions near the tunnel. I heard from Terry Orr, who edited and self-published the diary of George Stolp, a soldier in the Illinois battery that f the opening shots of the Atlanta Campaign. Mr. Orr was kind enough to send a copy of the book, We Gave Them the Best We Had: The Diary of George A. Stolp, Battery I, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery. Stolp wrote that his day started early, with reveill at 3:00 a.m. After breakfas the battery moved forward “three or four miles to the
little town of Tunnel Hill, where the Rebs planted two Batt.” Federal infantry drew up in line of battle. The Confederate artillery “opened on us with shell,” Stolp wrote. A few replies from the Illinois guns made things “too warm for them” and caused the Confederates to pull back. With a few shots from Confederate guns and an answer from the Federals, the campaign was underway. I always appreci hearing from reade Thanks, Terry, for your interest and for a copy of your book.
Georgia Civil Wa Heritage Trails has clearly marked the route with directional signs which lead to the interpretive markers. The organization’s website (https://www civilwarheritagetrails. org/) also contains each marker’s GPS coordinates. Brochures for the Atlanta Campaign Trail and other driving routes, available from GCWHT, contain much useful information, including excellent maps. I suggest that travelers make use of all three resources. If you use only the GPS coordinates to get from one stop to the next you will be led upon modern roads and miss much of the fun. If you are like me you will miss a sign now and then or take a wrong turn. When this happens the GPS coordinates will get you back on track. GCWHT’s
Part of the Chickamauga bat many bullfrogs.” For two hours Wheeler’s 6,000 cavalrymen battled Un infantry and cavalry. The F were ultimately pushed back Crawfish Spring, the site o Federal hospitals, but the “enabled most wounded Feder soldiers to be hurriedly mo safety.” As we have seen on marker in other locations, the one and Gordon’s Mill reminds t visitor that armies moved t northwest Georgia more than once. My April column discu Maj. Gen. James McPherson’s march through Snake Creek Gap in May 1864. The tablet at Lee and Gordon’s Mill te us that McPherson’s 24,000 men “began their portion of Atlanta Campaign by massing
(Library of Congress) at and near the mill.” From ther they marched through the gap “southwest of Dalton, forcing Confederates to abandon that cit leading to the Battle of Resaca. The original mill burned shortly after the war. The build pictured here was built on the same site soon after. The mill continued to operate until 1967. From Lee and Gordon’s Mill the trail leads north through th Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Visitors should stop briefly at the visit center and spend as much time as possible on the battlefield. The is more here than one can learn a lifetime. The last marker on the trail is at McFarland’s Gap. After the two-day battle, the defeated Federals retreated to the safety
Campaign Trail. The Army of the Cumberland suffered a serious defeat, with some 16,000 casualties. However, the bulk of the army was safe in Chattanooga. Reinforced, and with a new commander, the Federals in Chattanooga would break out in November, and in the following spring resume the drive into Georgia.
Gould Hagler is a retired lobby living in Dunwoody, Ga. He is a past president of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table and the author of Georgia’s Confederate Monuments: In Honor of a Fallen Nation, published by Mercer University Press in 2014. Hagle speaks frequently on this topic and others related to different aspects of the Civil War and has been a regular contributor to CWN since 2016. His email is
