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November 2006 CANISTER Newsletter Website Version of Our Monthly Newsletter |
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November 2006 CANISTER Newsletter Website Version of Our Monthly Newsletter |
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CANISTER From The Chattanooga Civil War Round Table |
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| VOLUME XXIII | November 21, 2006 | NO. 11 |
www.chattanoogacwrt.org |
Visitors & Guests Welcome
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| DATE: | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2006 | TIME: 7:00 PM |
| TOPIC: |
"The Southern End of the Battle of Missionary Ridge"
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| SPEAKER: | SAM DAVIS ELLIOTT, HISTORIAN & AUTHOR |
| PLACE: |
MILLIS-EVANS ROOM, CALDWELL HALL, ACADEMIC QUADRANGLE, THE MCCALLIE SCHOOL, HISTORIC MISSIONARY RIDGE |
| (Directions to Caldwell Hall-Enter the McCallie School campus off of Dodds Avenue opposite the end of Bailey Avenue. Take the main drive into the campus and follow the signs for the Academic Quadrangle. There is a parking area there beside the Chapel and you will have passed Caldwell Hall on the right as you approach the parking area. Find a place and park. Caldwell Hall will be behind you as you park. Come in either the first or second floor doors and follow the signs to the Millis-Evans Room.) |
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| NOVEMBER MEETING |
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We probably all know the outline of the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 24 & 25, 1863. U. S. Grant
launches W. T. Sherman against the north end of the Confederate line on or along Missionary Ridge but is
thrown back by William J. Hardee and Pat Cleburne. Fighting Joe Hooker moves over from Lookout Moutain
to attack the Confederates on the ridge at and north of Rossville Gap. George Thomas’s Army of the
Cumberland is sent forward in an intended limited attack against the Confederate rifle pits at the base of
the ridge but without orders they go charging straight up the side of the ridge and break the Confederate
line and send Braxton Bragg and the Army of Tennessee flying into Georgia. Fair enough. We can
probably all answer quite a few more questions about the Sherman-Cleburne part of the fight of the
Army of the Cumberland’s attack or at least recognize many more parts of those stories. But, what
do you, what do we collectively, historically, know about Hooker’s attack? Who did he attack? How did
that action unfold? What were the Confederate actions in it? Where did it occur? You might be able
to answer some of those questions to a degree. You can probably find some good Union accounts of
the action without too much trouble. But, do we really know a lot? Probably not. The portion of the
Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863, from Rossville Gap northward is one of the most
poorly understood of the actions in the Chattanooga area; particularly from the Confederate side.
Take a look at Peter Cozzens’ The Shipwreck of Their Hopes or Wiley Sword’s Mountains Touched
By Fire. How much space do they give to the Hooker portion of the Battle of Missionary Ridge vs.
the number of pages for the Sherman or Thomas portion? One of the big reasons why the southern
portion, the Hooker portion, of the Battle of Missionary Ridge has not received as much attention in
the past is a lack of Southern sources on that portion of the engagement. But that’s not the case
any longer really. And with that change, a more in depth treatment of what happened on Missionary
Ridge south of the Army of the Cumberland’s sector, particularly for the Confederates can undertaken.
And, our speaker tonight, attorney, author, and Round Table member Sam Elliott has done just that.
Using recently discovered sources, he has produced a narrative of the events that unfolded in the
A. P. Stewart-Joe Hooker sector of the Missionary Ridge Battlefield, illuminating for the first time,
many of the details of that fight. Sam’s narrative has not yet been published but we’ll get a peek
at what he learned in his presentation tonight. Come out and be amongst the first to hear more
about this part of the Battle of Missionary Ridge. Sam Davis Elliott is a native Tennessean and is a partner in the Chattanooga law firm of Gearhiser, Peters, Lockaby, Cavett, and Elliott. He is the author of Soldier of Tennessee: General Alexander P. Stewart and the Civil War in the West and the editor of Doctor Quintard, Chaplain, C. S. A., and Second Bishop of Tennessee: The Memoir and Civil War Diary of Charles Todd Quintard. Both were published by the University of Tennessee Press. As time allows, he is working on a biography of Tennessee’s Civil War Governor, Isham G. Harris. He, his wife Karen, and their children live on Signal Mountain. |
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SPEAKER'S FUND SUPPORT OF THE MONTH There are four items this month for the Speaker’s Fund. The first is a copy of our speaker’s first book, Soldier of Tennessee: General Alexander P. Stewart and the Civil War in the West, his bio of the principal Confederate commander in our talk this evening. The second item is a copy of a wonderful older Civil War journal that our fine member and Historian Dr. Nat Hughes produced a new forward for, Yankee Rebel: The Civil War Journal of Edmund DeWitt Patterson, a member of the 9th Alabama Infantry of Wilcox’s Brigade. The third item is a copy of a copy of The Army’s Navy Series: Dictionary of Transports and Combatant Vessels Steam and Sail Employed by the Union Army, 1861-1868; it contains capsule histories hundreds of vessels used by the Union Army, including those on the Tennessee River here like the Paint Rock, Dunbar, Resaca, etc. The fourth item is all seven issues of Civil War Times Illustrated for 2000 with articles on such subjects as the C. S. S. Alabama, the fighting at Savage’s Station, George S. Patton’s Civil War ancestors, and blockade runners. The four of the items this month were donated to the Round Table to support the Speaker’s Fund. To those donors go our thanks. Proceeds from the Speaker’s Fund go toward bringing speakers in from outside the area. Your support of the Speaker’s Fund is appreciated.
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BATTLES FOR CHATTANOOGA 143RD ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, in cooperation with the Chattanooga Regional History Museum and several valuable volunteers, is sponsoring a series of tours and demonstrations to recognize the 143rd anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga. The insert contains a copy of the schedule of those programs. I’ll lead a Moccasin Bend fortifications walk on Saturday morning the 18th at 10 AM and then will assist Dr. Daryl Black and the Chattanooga Regional History Museum with a bus tour of the Army of the Cumberland’s assault on Orchard Knob and Missionary Ridge. Round Table Vice President Ansley Moses will do a tour of a portion of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield at 2 PM Saturday and National Military Park Ranger Lee White does the Battle of Ringgold tour at the same time. The next day, Sunday the 19th, U. S. Army Major Gerald Hodge and I will do a walking tour of the Tunnel Hill portion of the Missionary Ridge Battlefield at 1 PM and Park Ranger Anton Heinlein leads a walk along a portion of Missionary Ridge at 3 PM. Confederate Living History Volunteers will do infantry and artillery demonstrations at Point Park on the Lookout Mountain Battlefield between 10 AM and 4 PM on Saturday and 10 AM and 3:15 PM on Sunday. Come out and participate in one or more of the programs to recognize the final deciding engagements in the Campaign for Chattanooga. |
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TENNESSEE CIVIL WAR PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION “TWO FLAGS” EVENT The Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association will conduct the next of its “Two Flags over Tennessee” events on Friday, November 24, 2006, in recognition of anniversary of the Battle of Lookout Mountain. It will be held at 2 PM the Friday after Thanksgivings at the Cravens House on the Lookout Mountain Battlefield. It will be a relatively brief ceremony but coming out for it and then maybe taking a walk on the Lookout Mountain Battlefield might help you work off some of the turkey and dressing from the day before. |
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It is included here in its entirety as a matter of convenience. - CCWRT Webmaster]
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National Park Service U. S. Department of the Interior |
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park |
P.O. Box 2128 Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
Mark Hardgrove |
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Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Miliary Park NEWS RELEASE
Date: November 3, 2006
Acting Superintendent Mark Hardgrove of
Chickamauga &
Chattanooga National Military Park is pleased to announce
Special Interpretive programs scheduled for Saturday, November
18 and Sunday, November 19, 2006, in commemoration of the 143rd
Anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga.
Saturday, November 18, 2006 Confederate Infantry and Artillery volunteers will conduct demonstrations at Point Park, located on historic Lookout Mountain. Infantry demonstrations will begin at 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. Artillery demonstrations will begin at 10:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., and 3:15 p.m.
Saturday, November 18, 2006, 10:00 A.M. Join a Park Ranger for a 2-mile walking tour of Civil War sites located on historic Moccasin Bend. During the Siege of Chattanooga, Union artillery located on Moccasin Bend fired at Confederate positions on Lookout Mountain in support of the Union attack during the November 24, 1863, Battle of Lookout Mountain. This tour will meet at the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Hospital parking area located at the end of Moccasin Bend Road. This tour will take approximately 2-hours. You are encouraged to bring a bottle of water and wear appropriate clothing.
Missionary Ridge Bus Tour The Chattanooga Regional History Museum, in partnership with the National Park Service, is sponsoring a guided bus tour focusing on the Army of the Cumberland’s participation in the Battles for Chattanooga. Sites to be visited on this tour include the Fort Wood district, Orchard Knob, and Missionary Ridge. You are encouraged to bring a bottle of water and wear appropriate clothing. Please contact the Chattanooga Regional History Museum at (423) 265-3247 for more details.
Battle of Lookout Mountain Tour Join a local historian for a guided hiking tour of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield. On November 24, 1863, Major General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker was given orders to “make a demonstration” against the Confederates positioned on the slopes of Lookout Mountain. Hooker’s demonstration later became known as the “Battle Above the Clouds.” This tour will meet at the Cravens House parking area on Cravens Terrace Road located off of Scenic Highway (TN. Route 148) on historic Lookout Mountain and last approximately 2-hours. You are encouraged to bring a bottle of water and wear appropriate clothing.
Battle of Ringgold Gap Tour Join a Park Ranger for a car caravan tour of the Ringgold Gap Battlefield. On November 27, 1863, Confederate troops commanded by Major General Patrick Cleburne stopped and defended Ringgold Gap against advancing Federal forces commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker. This defense allowed the Army of Tennessee to retreat safely to Dalton, Georgia. This tour will meet at the Ingles Grocery store parking lot located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 41 and Georgia Highway 151 in Ringgold, Georgia. This tour will take approximately 2-hours. You are encouraged to bring a bottle of water and wear appropriate clothing.
Sunday, November 19, 2006 Confederate Artillery and Infantry volunteers will conduct demonstrations at Point Park, located on historic Lookout Mountain. Artillery demonstrations will begin at 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Infantry demonstrations will begin at 10:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., and 3:15 p.m.
Sherman Reservation Tour Sunday, November 19, 2006 at 1:00 P.M. Join a Park Ranger for a walking tour of the Sherman Reservation, located at the northern end of Missionary Ridge. Ulysses S. Grant’s plan for the Battle of Missionary Ridge involved Major General William T. Sherman occupying the north end of Missionary Ridge and moving south along the ridge to push the Confederate Army of Tennessee from the high ground and into north Georgia. However, Sherman encountered several obstacles on November 24 and 25, 1863, resulting in costly delays. This walking tour will meet at the Sherman Reservation sign located at the intersection of North Crest Road and Lightfoot Mill Road. This tour will take approximately 2-hours. You are encouraged to bring a bottle of water and wear appropriate clothing.
Missionary Ridge Walking Tour Join a park ranger for a 2 mile walking tour of Missionary Ridge. During the afternoon of November 25, 1863, orders were given for the Army of the Cumberland to advance and occupy the Confederate rifle pits located at the base of Missionary Ridge, and wait for further orders. However, without orders, the Federal troops began a massive charge up the western slopes of the ridge. This tour will focus on the Union assault and Confederate defense of the ridge. The tour will meet at Bragg Reservation, located on South Crest Road and will end at the DeLong Reservation on North Crest Road. Please wear comfortable shoes, bring a bottle of water, and appropriate clothing for this walk. For further information contact the National Park Service at (423) 821-7786.
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
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LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION I hope that you all saw the newspaper and television coverage about the most recent additions to the Lookout Mountain Battlefield of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Three parcels totaling about 150 acres were acquired in the last few weeks from willing sellers thanks to the efforts of the Trust for Public Land and Congressman Zach Wamp. The parcels are mostly parts of the Union positions opposite the northwestern base of Lookout Mountain from the weeks leading up to the actual battle and the positions from which they conducted the demonstration to cover the grand flanking move. All of the parcels are CORE battlefield and some of the views from them to the mountain are magnificent. I think I’ll see if I can line up our December meeting to be a fuller review of these most recent Lookout Mountain Battlefield acquisitions.
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