Land of the Cherokee Indians for centuries, it wasn't long after the Civil War started that Chickamauga became a battleground for control of a key access point at Chattanooga. In 1863 an army of 70,000, led by Major General Rosecrans, moved against General Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee. These two armies, which had met months earlier at Stones River, were now fighting to control the Tennessee River in one of the most ferocious battles of the Civil War.
   Today, the Chickamauga Battlefield Site is part of the largest Civil War military park in America. With Congressional approval in the late 1890s, four national military parks were set up at Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Shiloh, and the Chattanooga-Chickamauga battlefields. Little had changed in the 30 years since the battle at Chickamauga had ceased, and the new military park preserved the roads, fields, forests and houses. Supervised by the War department, over 1400 monuments and historic markers were placed by the veterans of these battles.
   Fighting began at Chickamauga nearby Reed's Bridge and spread across the hilly terrain to the Snodgrass House where Major General George H. Thomas and his men earned the nickname Rock of Chickamauga. Although it was a heroic stand, Federal troops withdrew toward Chattanooga and continued to battle at Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain and the Chattanooga Valley.
   The Chickamauga National Military Park features eight key stops spaced out through the park. Just outside the town of Fort Oglethorpe on Lafayette Road, a stop at the visitor center is a great way to learn about the park and this Civil War battle near the Georgia-Tennessee border.

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