Qualla: Chickamauga Battlefield

Chickamauga Battlefield: Introduction

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thomson200, CC0. The Cherokee called it 'Chickamauga' - the River of Death. On September 19-20, 1863, the name proved prophetic. In the dense woods and tangled undergrowth along Chickamauga Creek in northwestern Georgia, 125,000 soldiers fought the bloodiest two-day battle of the Civil War. Confederate General Braxton Bragg achieved what Southern armies rarely managed: a clear victory in the Western Theater. Union General William Rosecrans, whose army had maneuvered brilliantly to take Chattanooga without a fight, made a fatal mistake, opening a hole in his line that General James Longstreet's corps poured through. The Union right collapsed. Only a desperate stand by General George Thomas - earning him the nickname 'Rock of Chickamauga' - prevented total destruction. The Union army retreated to Chattanooga under siege. The Confederacy had won, but at a cost of 18,454 casualties it couldn't afford. Within two months, Grant would arrive to break the siege and begin the march that ended the war.

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Chickamauga Battlefield: The Campaign

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thomson200, CC0. After the fall of Vicksburg, the Union turned its attention to Chattanooga, the 'Gateway to the Deep South.' The city controlled key rail lines and the route into Georgia. Rosecrans maneuvered Bragg out of middle Tennessee without a major battle, then feinted north while swinging...

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Chickamauga Battlefield: The Battle

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thomson200, CC0. Fighting began on September 19 as both armies probed through thick woods that made coordination impossible. Divisions fought blind, stumbling into enemies in the underbrush. The day ended in bloody stalemate. On September 20, Bragg planned a general assault on the Union left, hop...

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Chickamauga Battlefield: The Rock

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thomson200, CC0. The army wasn't destroyed because George Thomas refused to retreat. As the right collapsed, Thomas gathered survivors on Snodgrass Hill and Horseshoe Ridge. For the rest of the afternoon, his men repulsed Confederate attacks, buying time for the army to reach Chattanooga. Thomas ...

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Chickamauga Battlefield: The Aftermath

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thomson200, CC0. Chickamauga was a Confederate victory - the only major one in the Western Theater during 1863. But Bragg failed to pursue. Instead of destroying Rosecrans's army, he besieged it in Chattanooga, trusting that starvation would accomplish what battle hadn't. Grant arrived in late Oc...

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Chickamauga Battlefield: Visiting Chickamauga

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thomson200, CC0. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was the first and largest Civil War battlefield preserved by the federal government, established in 1890. The Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center includes a museum with artifacts and Fuller Gun Collection. A seven-mile auto to...

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