Twenty-seven years after the fighting had ended, veterans from both sides joined together to promote the creation of a historical reserve on the ground where they had fought the Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga in Tennessee.

On August 1890, their efforts led Congress to establish the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park for the purpose of preserving and marking some of the most remarkable events and fighting in the war of the rebellion. It was the nation’s first such military park and served as a model for other historical areas.

Like other military parks Mike and I have visited, this one too is very well done. We hit the visitor centre and armed ourselves with a DVD for a self-driving audio tour. A map is provided and you simply hit the start button, listen to the audio, get out and explore what you’re hearing about, get back into the car and drive to the next stop.

A neat memorial for the second Ohio Infantry, a big acorn!

Already weary after the day’s fighting, the Union soldiers could not rest. Their axes rang out as they built breastworks of logs, rails and earth to defend against the attacks that would come in the morning, an example of which is pictured above. Cold and thirst plagued the Union army through the night. Their canteens ran dry, and Confederates blocked their access to Chickamauga Creek and other water sources. It was unusually chilly for a September night, but with the enemy so near, campfires were prohibited.