Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

History

Congress authorized the first four national military parks starting in 1890: Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Shiloh, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg. Chickamauga and Chattanooga was the first and largest, and its development guided later parks. It was officially dedicated in September 1895. The park's creation was chiefly driven by Union Army of the Cumberland veterans Generals Henry V. Boynton and Ferdinand Van Derveer.

Ohio General Henry M. Cist, leading the Chickamauga Memorial Society in 1888, was another early proponent. Franklin Guest Smith, a former Union officer on active duty, served as secretary and board member from 1893 until his 1903 retirement, continuing as a civilian until 1908. Charles H. Grosvenor, also a former Union officer, chaired the park commission from 1910 until his death in 1917. The War Department initially managed the park for military study and memorial purposes; the National Park Service assumed management in 1933.

Park areas

The park comprises four main areas and several small isolated reservations around Chattanooga: Chickamauga Battlefield, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain Battlefield and Point Park, and Moccasin Bend. The entire military park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

Moccasin Bend, designated a National Historic Landmark on September 8, 1986, was added as a park unit by Public Law No: 108-7 on February 20, 2003. This area contains significant archaeological resources of American Indian settlement. Current visitor services at Moccasin Bend are minimal, offering two hiking trails (Blue Blazes Trail and Browns Ferry Road) and a ten-acre meadow, with future development anticipated.

Did You Know?

• During the Spanish–American War, the park was used as a major training center and temporarily renamed Camp George H. Thomas.
• The park's proximity to the major rail hub at Chattanooga made it a logical marshalling area for troops bound for Cuba.