Most of the explanations offered by the other contributors to this thread make sense. In my book, Conflicting Memories on the River of Death (Kent State, 2013) I argue that memory of the Battle of Chickamauga was subordinated to not only eastern battles like Gettysburg, but the Union victory at Chattanooga rendered the earlier Confederate triumph meaningless. The veterans of the Army of the Cumberland sought recognition for their role in the war and used Thomas's stand on Snodgrass Hill as the centerpiece of those memories. The lack of photographs was a symptom of the neglect that surrounded the Chickamauga battlefield, which had been largely ignored in the decades between the battle and the 1890s. After viewing this forum as a guest for months, this thread got me to join as an active member.
Having read some of the post-war correspondence between veterans regarding the fighting at Horseshoe Ridge, it is noted by many that the battlefield had changed some between the battle and the opening of the park a couple decades later. Alot of the woods had been cut down, in part by relic hunters wanting bullets and shell fragments (and maybe for sale by the pound as scrap, as noted regarding the Snodgrass family).
Some mention the woods on the ridge were mostly open during the battle, but brush grew up afterward that served to obscure the terrain. Here is an account of the battlefield generally, in late October, 1863:
“…the only memorial left to mark the scene of mortal strife are the hasty intenchments of logs and rocks; the torn, scarred and riven trees, bear the marks which a century will not efface. Here and there knapsacks and scraps of torn clothing, broken and perforated tins, a few shells and round shot; the graves of our Confederates, and most revolting of all, the heaps of yet unburied Yankee dead. All of our dead except two, were buried. These were overlooked by our burying parties or mistaken for Yankees. One of these, who was killed on the hill where Gracie’s brigade fought late on Sunday evening, was very handsomely dressed in fine blue pants and dark gray cassimere jacket. He was a tall, and apparently a young man. His hand seemed a small and handsome one, but he was almost a skeleton, and his mother would not have known him. The entire field is yet cumbered with heaps of dead and unburied Yankees. In most cases the flesh had fallen from the bones, and the mere skeleton remained. The leg bones, from hip to foot, held together, and so of the upper bones of the body, but the back bones generally were disjointed from the hips. In some cases the flesh had shrunk rather than decomposed, and the muscles of the leg were still distinct. In many cases the skin was still whole and preserved, and parts of the body had much flesh on them. The heads were sometimes only bald skulls, in others, skin yet covered them and a few hairs remained. Here and there some cruel mocker had severed the head from the body, and set the head upon a stump, whence it “grinned horribly a ghastly smile.” Some of the heads contained fine, beautiful teeth, and my unsentimental companion remarked that a dentist could make a fortune by getting those teeth. Years hence, children now unborn, in their sports upon this field will find a skull, or a bone, of these poor victims, and wonder and ask what it is. And then some grandfather will tell them of the great battle of Chickamauga.
Our own dead are buried upon the very spot where they fell. In most cases their names, company, and regiment are written in pencil upon a headboard. Thus is shown the parts of the field where the various regiments fought. Heavy details were made to bury the Yankee dead, but it was only partially done. I suppose our men grew tired of the offensive and seemingly endless task. I hear that Hill’s corps alone buried 1,100 Yankees, but vast numbers lie unburied.”
[Nashville Daily Union, Nashville, TN, 1-24-1864.]
Unfortunately, that forensic evidence of unit positions was removed when the US and Confederate bodies were disinterred to move to cemeteries. Since this occurred before the site was procured for preservation, evidently no immediate post-war interest in recording the location of unit graves. Consequently, in after-years much wrangling by veterans and park officials over specific unit positions in action...position of monuments, etc.
However, there are references that the graves of 13 officers and men of the 5th Kentucky CSA were left in place in the timber at the foot of the "western slope" of the Horseshoe ridge, though I do not know if the location is still known. They were still marked into the 1880s, though the boards were practically illedgible. If I recall correctly, only a single grave of a Tennessee soldier of remains marked on the south "spur" of the Horseshoe ridge.
J. Marshall,
Hernando, FL.