The itinerary for the final battlefield excursion on April 18, 2015 is now available on its own page, located here.

Battlefield Excursion 2 Photos

Photos from our second battlefield excursion on March 28, 2015 are now online and viewable here.

Battlefield Excursion 2

FROM: DR. BLEDSOE
TO: STUDENTS OF HIST 490
DATE: 28 MAR 2015
WHERE: CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
RE: HIST 490 BATTLEFIELD EXCURSION #2 ITINERARY

8:50-9:00 A.M.: REPORT TO THE PARKING LOT OF THE HUMANITIES CENTER NO LATER THAN 9:00A.M. 

9:00A.M.-9:30 A.M.: TRAVEL TO CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

9:30-10:00 A.M.: BRIEFING ON THE FIELD

10:00A.M.-12:00 NOON: EXCURSIONS TO:
REED’S BRIDGE
4TH MICHIGAN CAVALRY MONUMENT (884)
SITE OF JAY’S MILL
ALEXANDER’S BRIDGE
PARK AT VINIARD-ALEXANDER ROAD
WALK TO THEDFORD FORD
KENTUCKY MONUMENT (860A)
FLORIDA MONUMENT (1253)

12:00 NOON-1:00 P.M.: LUNCH BREAK AND STOP AT VISITOR’S CENTER

1:00 P.M.-4 P.M.: EXCURSIONS TO:
LANDRUM GRAVE (423)
BATTLELINE ROAD
SAM’S MYSTERY WALL
SOUTH CAROLINA MONUMENT (1342)
GEORGIA MONUMENT (1320)
INGRAHAM GRAVE (465)
79TH PENNSYLVANIA MONUMENT (1049)
WILDER MONUMENT (453)
LYTLE MONUMENT (617A)
LEE AND GORDON’S MILL

4:00 P.M.-4:30 P.M.: RETURN TO LEE UNIVERSITY HUMANITIES CENTER

REQUIRED MATERIALS:
WOODWORTH, CHICKAMAUGA: A BATTLEFIELD GUIDE
REAVES, THE MONUMENTS OF CHICKAMAUGA
MONEY FOR LUNCH
SUPPLIES, CLOTHING, WEATHER GEAR, AND EQUIPMENT DESCRIBED IN THE SYLLABUS
WRITING MATERIAL
DIGITAL CAMERAS ARE RECOMMENDED BUT OPTIONAL

REQUIRED PREPARATION:
READ OVER THE VARIOUS STOPS WE WILL COVER IN THE WOODWORTH AND REAVES BOOKS AND IN YOUR NOTES. I HAVE BUDGETED A MERE 30 MINS. PER STOP, SO PREPARATION BEFOREHAND WILL HELP YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS INITIAL VISIT.

The Irish at Chickamauga

Chick-Chatt NMP will host a special program on the role of the Irish at the Battle of Chickamauga. More information can be found here.

Gilbert on Chickamauga Battlefield: Military and Strategic Uses After the Civil War

Chickamauga Battlefield: Military and Strategic Uses After the Civil War

Although many seem to associate Chickamauga only with the Civil War, it's importance and geographical position made it a key player in many other military type engagements. 

Thanks to its strategic location at the connection of several rail lines, the battlefield at Chickamauga remained an important location for the U.S. army for more than decades. In 1898, as the  conflict between Spain and the United States intensified, the ground were used as a training site for soldiers, with more than 60,000 men passing through the site, which was temporarily renamed “Camp George H. Thomas.” A summer heat wave combined with quickly assembled facilities might have prepared the men for combat on the dry, desert, terrain in Mexico and Texas. But it resulted in unhealthy conditions in the camp, and when a deadly typhoid epidemic suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It  killed approximately 400 men—more than the total combat deaths the United States would suffer in the following Spanish-American War. 

Many would argue the typhoid to be a tragedy or a strange coincidence. But one must really take a step back, and think about the possibility that the supernatural may be involved. Perhaps the dead souls that haunt the hallowed ground were upset about being disturbed from their rest. Or maybe they were just simply trying to worn those young men who were about to set out and fight the Spanish,  to return home to their loved ones, and not buy in to a used war like they had been in. 

Author: Adam Gilbert, March 3, 2015

Further Reading:
Bradley S. Keefer, Conflicting Memories on the River of Death: The Chickamauga Battlefield and the Spanish-American War, 1863-1933,  Kent State University, 2013

Steven, E. Woodworth, Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns. Bison Books, 1999

Battlefield Excursion 1

The first class excursion to Chickamauga National Military Park will take place on Sunday, February 22, 2015. The following is our itinerary for this first visit.

FROM: DR. BLEDSOE
TO: STUDENTS OF HIST 490
DATE: 22 FEB 2015
WHERE: CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
RE: HIST 490 BATTLEFIELD EXCURSION #1 ITINERARY

8:50-9:00 A.M.: REPORT TO THE PARKING LOT OF THE HUMANITIES CENTER NO LATER THAN 9:00A.M.

9:00 A.M.-9:30 A.M.: TRAVEL TO CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

9:30-10:00 A.M.: ORIENTATION/BRIEFING ON THE FIELD

10:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON: EXCURSIONS TO WOODWORTH STOPS 1, 4, 5, 6 (COVERING 19 SEPT 1863)

12:00 NOON-1:00 P.M.: LUNCH BREAK AND OPTIONAL STOP AT VISITOR’S CENTER

1:00 P.M.-4 P.M.: EXCURSIONS TO WOODWORTH STOPS 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 19 (COVERING 20 SEPT 1863)

4:00 P.M.-4:30 P.M.: RETURN TO LEE UNIVERSITY HUMANITIES CENTER

REQUIRED MATERIALS:
WOODWORTH, CHICKAMAUGA: A BATTLEFIELD GUIDE
MONEY FOR LUNCH AT SUBWAY OR SOME EQUIVALENT FAST FOOD PLACE
SUPPLIES, CLOTHING, WEATHER GEAR, AND EQUIPMENT DESCRIBED IN THE SYLLABUS
WRITING MATERIAL
DIGITAL CAMERAS ARE RECOMMENDED BUT OPTIONAL

REQUIRED PREPARATION:
READ OVER THE VARIOUS STOPS WE WILL COVER IN THE WOODWORTH BOOK. I HAVE BUDGETED A MERE 30 MINS. PER STOP, SO PREPARATION BEFOREHAND WILL HELP YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS INITIAL VISIT.