Examining a battlefield for the first time

[Good Soldier Shweik]

I am in Chattanooga! I went to lookout mt.

First, I had no concept of the size of a battle. It is huge. It is a relatively small one too. Missionary ridge is way over there, and is hard to see it from lookout mt.

The forest is very different from what I am used to. It is simultaneously harder to naval gate and easier to see though. This forest is mostly oaks, I am used to a three canopy fir forest.

the geology is very different. Mountains are long and stretched, rather than single in sets.

apropos of that, how on earth did soldiers get to the tops of lookout mountain? Carrying packs? I got dizzy just looking down that mountain. They carried guns. I have even more respect for them.

 

[scone]

yes difficault terrain im not sure how they did it myself some open ground and knobs there and in front of missionary ridge

 

[Murrutia9]

Miles upon miles marched in all weather seasons.

 

[Good Soldier Shweik]

Went to Chickamauga today. I walked from the north end to the south. It was a healthy hike. (9 miles!) The downside of the home was when I got back I was to bushed to hike to Snodgrass hill, the place I really wanted to see.
I saw lots of monuments from both sides. Several of the monuments gave casualty figures. It was a horrible battle.

 

[speedylee]

The first time you visit any battlefield, it can be a daunting task to really see the field and understand it. If the weather is acceptable, this is really the best time to visit for the first time. On battlefields where there are many trees, like Chickamauga, you can see through the branches and understand the geography better.

 

[Good Soldier Shweik]

Went to Orchard Knob. It was sad. There were some monuments. (Maryland, New York, Illinois....) and a pair of park services plaques and 4 cannons.

Part of the reason for the small number of visitors would have to be the difficulty of reaching it. The southern side was a cliff and the northern side wasn't much easier. The only (relatively) easy path was on the west side. It wasn't that easy.

I also looked in at the cemetery. The civil war dead were close to the southern entrance. They were "mixed up" by state. The headstones were faded. Mostly they didn't have dates. The exception were the men who grabbed the steam engine "The General." They also had a model of the steam engine.