Flying from the west into Atlanta, looking out the window it is hard to miss the waves of mountains sprawling in long ranks southwest to northeast not unlike a series of geographically arranged ribs.  Chattanooga, Tennessee lies smack dab in the middle of these ancient ripples.  And flowing right through the middle of the long mountain spines is the Tennessee River looping back and forth onto itself as it brushes through the city.  The long ridges, extending for vast distances from Birmingham. Alabama in the southwest all the way to the northeastern edge of Pennsylvania in the northeast, represents a vast area once an ancient seabed that underwent uplift.  Eons have worn down the region, though Lookout Mountain still rises 1,500 feet above the city below. 

THE MOUNTAIN

Official elevations for the mountain are listed as 1,986 at Point Park on the northern end of the long ridge before it drops down to the Tennessee River.  The top of the Incline Railway, a popular tourist method of gaining the upper plateau section of Lookout Mountain, tops at 2,392 feet.  The mountain stays around the 1,900-to-2,200-foot level as it heads southwest into Georgia dropping down some the further into Georgia you go. 

On the northern end of the long mountain – 85 miles in length – is where the opening acts of the massive Federal victory in the Chattanooga campaign began.  The results would lead to the reversal of Confederate fortunes so briefly uplifted a short time before after the Battle of Chickamauga

THE SIEGE

Chickamauga was a disaster for both General William Rosecrans and his Federal Army of the Cumberland.  The battle cost over 16,000 casualties with 4,757 missing or captured.  The army shrank to a little over 40,000 as it retreated into the former Confederate fortifications around Chattanooga.  A defensive stand in the afternoon of 20 September 1863 led by General George Thomas – thereafter known as the “Rock of Chickamauga” – kept the defeat from being more decisive than what could have happened.

The Confederate Army of Tennessee had been reinforced before the battle with soldiers from Alabama and Mississippi and even a corps sent south by Robert E. Lee from Virginia under James Longstreet.  While the victory was theirs, it came at a high cost – the Army of Tennessee sustained 18,454 casualties with over 2,300 killed outright.  The battle resulted in the highest losses of any battle in the west during the Civil War and the second highest of the entire war after Gettysburg.

Bragg responded slowly to events after the battle allowing the Federals to withdraw.  By the time he marched north, the Union position was too strong for his forces to attack head on.  His army lacked pontoons over which to attempt to flank the Federals out of their fortifications, so he settled down for a siege by occupying the mountains surrounding the city.

“duck hit on the head”

Chattanooga served as an important rail connection with lines running north-south and east-west binding the Confederacy together.  The city served as a production center for iron and coal and was located on the navigable Tennessee River for good measure.  When Rosecrans forced Bragg to withdraw from Chattanooga in early September 1863, Bragg did so thinking his retreat was only a temporary measure.  As the siege began, Bragg’s command began to fall apart near the top.  Many of his generals sent a petition to Jefferson Davis complaining of Bragg’s incompetency to command.  Davis decided to keep Bragg after a personal visit in early October.

Rosecrans, in Abraham Lincoln’s words appeared “confused and stunned like a duck hit on the head” by the disaster of Chickamauga.  His opinion helped in no small way by reports received from Charles Dana, the assistant to Secretary of War Edward Stanton. Dana put it out Rosecrans would give up Chattanooga, something Rosecrans never intended doing.

Unable to take control over events, Rosecrans had some problems maintaining a viable supply route because of Confederate cavalry raids.  Ulysses S. Grant, the new overall Federal commander in the west, was ordered to Chattanooga to make a personal analysis of the Union situation.  One thing Rosecrans did was work with his chief engineer Willam “Baldy” Smith in planning a more reliable supply line.

relief and reinforcement

Rosecrans did not get to follow up with those plans as Grant relieved him upon his arrival on the scene, promoting George Thomas to lead the Army of the Cumberland. Relations between Rosecrans and Grant had not been good since 1862 campaigns in northern Mississippi where the two mixed poorly together. 

Beyond Grant, reinforcements were on the way to Chattanooga as well.  Major General Joseph Hooker became quickly dispatched after the defeat of Chickamauga along with 20,000 troops – two small corps – taken from the quiescent Army of the Potomac in Virginia.  William Sherman also was bringing units of the Army of the Tennessee out from Vicksburg and Memphis.

HOOKER COMES WEST

Joesph Hooker is a figure of ambivalence among historians as he was among contemporaries.  Like a recent president, Hooker was absorbed with his own sense of worth.  He had shown his worth as a Federal general during the Peninsular campaign, and at Antietam and Fredericksburg before gaining command of the Army of the Potomac at the end of 1862.  He came up with an ambitious plan at Chancellorsville thwarted by Robert Lee’s division of his army and Hooker’s own loss of nerve.  That loss compounded by a severe concussion suffered during the battle leading to Lee’s improbable victory.  Never popular with Union overall commander Henry Halleck dating to dealings between the two in California before the war, led to his dismissal just three days before the Battle of Gettysburg.

new life for fighting Joe

Lincoln tabbed Hooker to lead the reinforcements sent west following Chickamauga. The 11^th and 12^th Corps transferred to the west in a move demonstrating the importance of railroads in the modern 19^th century military scheme.  Ironically, it was the 11^th Corps collapse at Chancellorsville which led to his defeat.  The 11^th Corps, under the command of O.O. Howard had not performed well either at Chancellorsville or at Gettysburg on the first day. 

Rebounding on day 2, the corps suffered a loss of over 30% during the battle.  Hooker’s successor, George Meade, decided to break up the 11^th Corps after Gettysburg.  One division was sent off to South Carolina.  The other two divisions joined the 12^th Corps led by Henry Slocum.  The 12^th was only a two-division corps instead of the normal three.  Unlike the 11^th, the 12^th fought at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in steady fashion.  Both corps became detached from the Army of the Potomac 23 September 1863 under Hooker’s overall command.

WAUHATCHIE

Hooker’s force arrived at Bridgeport, Alabama whereupon they marched for Chattanooga leaving one division behind to secure the rail line between Murfreesboro and Bridgeport.  Weather intervened to slow their advance through the Lookout Valley on the western edge of Lookout Mountain.  Grant by this time had relieved Rosecrans of command instilling Thomas in his place.  They went ahead with the plan to open up a new supply line, however.

Early on the morning of 27 October, men of the brigade of William Hazen floated downriver on pontoons and a raft past the Confederate observation point on Lookout Mountain landing at Brown’s Ferry.  There, they gained high ground and repelled Confederate counterattacks.  Longstreet, in command of the Confederate left, dismissed the episode as a Union feint.  Bragg ordered Longstreet to act, but he ignored the order.  Hooker’s column marched up the valley the next day with the Cracker Line opened, basically ending the siege.

a battle

Bragg ordered Longstreet to attack further to the south in the valley at Wauhatchie.  Attacking a night with fewer men than Bragg asked for, Longstreet’s men surprised the Federals of John Geary’s division at first.  Hearing the sounds to the south, Hooker sent Howard’s two divisions as reinforcements.  The battle was not a shining moment for either Hooker or Longstreet, but in the end, the Confederates withdrew to Lookout Mountain and the Cracker Line was secure.

With the supply line opened Bragg realized his siege was over.  He had already – 17 October – sent troops northeast to try and reopen the rail line to Virginia which had closed with Ambrose Burnside’s occupation of Knoxville.  Bragg doubled down sending a second division north to bring the total to 11,000 men.  Then, 3 November, Bragg changed his mind sending Longstreet and his two divisions northeast to replace his earlier force ending up dropping his force by 4,000 men just as the Federals were quickly expanding.

RUN UP TO THE MAIN EVENTS

Sherman’s men were still a long way from Chattanooga as Hooker’s men settled in.  Hooker had left his trains behind in a rush to reinforce the Chattanooga positions.  Sherman was under orders to repair the rail lines as they marched 330 miles from Vicksburg.  Grant wanted to use Sherman as the main punch against the Confederate positions on Missionary Ridge.  Bragg had sent most of his cavalry towards Knoxville thinking Sherman was also heading in that direction. 

The main Confederate line only placed 16,000 men defending the five miles of Missionary Ridge.  Patton Anderson had his division spread over two miles along the western base of Lookout Mountain.  The Confederate forces weakened further when 22 November, Bragg pulled out the division of Simon Buckner to reinforce Longstreet at Knoxville.

On 23 November, Sherman’s men had arrived on the north bank of the Tennessee ready to cross the river to assault the north end of Missionary Ridge.  Hooker’s force figured originally as a hammer thrown at the Confederate left as Sherman went after the right.  Grant changed his mind with Sherman finally on the scene.  Wanting to ensure Bragg stayed in place and did not move his whole force off to Knoxville, he had Thomas push forward to test the Confederate line.  With 14,000 men, the Federals easily overran Orchard Knob, a small hill about a mile west from the main ridgeline. 

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN’S TURN

Surprised, Bragg recalled all the units he could from within a day’s march to try and augment the strength of the Missionary Ridge position.  He, also, shifted William Walker’s division from the base of Lookout Mountain over to his far right giving command there to William Hardee, the center to John Breckinridge and the left to Carter Stevenson. 

Stevenson had four brigades available – two from his division and two from Frank Cheatham’s division – a total of 8,726 men.  Stevenson placed his own division atop the summit of Lookout Mountain – he was worried about a possible Federal attack from the south atop the mountain – with three brigades set further down on a bench about two thirds of the way up the mountain.  The bench – 150-300 feet wide – extended for several miles wrapping around the north end of the mountain.

Hooker’s forces

Hooker had about 12,000 men in three divisions arrayed at the bottom of Lookout Mountain.  One of Sherman’s divisions led by Peter Osterhaus had been stuck on the Lookout side of the Brown’s Ferry shore when the pontoon bridge crossed by Sherman’s other divisions broke apart due to high water levels in the Tennessee River.

With such a large force, Grant allowed Hooker to make a push at the mountain 24 November if his demonstration allowed.  Hooker’s force included men now from each of the three Federal armies based in Chattanooga by this time:  John Geary’s division from the 12^th Corps – Army of the Potomac; Charles Cruft’s division from the 4^th Corps – Army of the Cumberland; and the division of Osterhaus, 25^th Corps – Army of the Tennessee. The two divisions of the 11^th Corps detached to help form on the left flank of the Army of the Cumberland to the north of Orchard Knob to help support the oncoming attacks on the Confederate right at Tunnel Hill.

BATTLE OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN

PLANS

Hooker planned to capture the bench which would make Stevenson’s position atop the mountain untenable.  Geary was to attack from Lookout Valley linking up with the brigade of Walter Whitaker of Cruft’s division at Wauhatcie.  Grose’s brigade – Cruft’s division – and Osterhaus’ division would cross Lookout Creek pushing up to the bench at the Cravens’ house where they would meet up with the other Federal units. Wood’s brigade – Osterhaus’ division – was to cover Grose crossing the creek afterwards.  Williamson’s brigade – Osterhaus’ division – was held back to protect Union artillery set up near the mouth of Lookout Creek.  Nine batteries of artillery set up near the mouth of the Creek with two more near Chattanooga Creek and another two firing across the river from Moccasin Point.

Delayed in crossing Lookout Creek because of high water until 0830, Cobham’s brigade formed with Candy’s to the left and David Ireland’s New York brigade in the center marching north up and along the mountain side through fog and mist making visibility poor.  Neither side had a clue as to where the other was until they came together.  At 1030, contact with the Confederate skirmish line occurred with the outnumbered skirmishers falling back up the hill towards the Cravens’ house.  The main lines came together at 1130 with the Confederate brigade of Edward Walthall attempting to defend from trenches in front of the Craven house.

MAIN BATTLE

Initially, the Federals were repulsed, but Cobham’s men got around the Confederate left flank sending an enfilading fire into the Rebel ranks.  Outnumbered 4 to 1, Walthall’s men were forced to retreat.  John Moore’s Alabama brigade tried to come up and reinforce Walthall’s Mississippians, but they arrived too late.  With Walthall’s retreat, Moore’s men dropped back too, being flanked on their left.  The remnants of Walthall’s brigade – they lost an entire regiment trying to defend the creek crossings lower down the mountain earlier – withdrew about 300 to 400 yards to the south of the Cravens’ house.

By now, 1500, both sides were running low on ammunition – Moore’s men went into battle with only 30 cartridges instead of 100.  The brigade of Edmund Pettus came down from the summit of Lookout Mountain to help solidify the Confederate line.   Together, those men held on against sporadic Federal attacks through the dense fog.  By this time, Stevenson’s main plan was to get his men off the summit and withdraw to the east side of Chattanooga Creek, an order sent to him by Bragg at about 1430.  The Confederates marched off the mountain that night around 0200 to take positions on the main Confederate position on the left atop Missionary Ridge.

At daybreak, men from the 8^th Kentucky climbed up to the top of Lookout Mountain to plant the Federal flag and to note the Confederate retreat.  The retreat left behind many supplies that time did not allow to remove.

AFTERMATH

Bragg was furious and hard-pressed to figure out how Stevenson, with six brigades at his disposal, had failed to hold the bench on the north edge of the mountain.  In the early afternoon, Stevenson sent a message back to Bragg asking for another brigade to avoid complete defeat.  With disgust, Bragg sent forward the brigade of James Holtzclaw with the condition these men could only cover Stevenson’s withdrawal.

At the same time Hooker was attacking the Confederate left on Lookout Mountain, Sherman’s men crossed the Tennessee River to threaten Bragg’s right.  His attack came to naught, however, with his attack gaining the crest of another hill – Billy Goat Hill – to the north of the main Confederate positions on Tunnel Hill, the northernmost extension of Missionary Ridge.  But even though they encountered no enemy on 24 November, Bragg realized it was only time before they actually came upon his right flank.

Meeting with his two commanders – Hardee, Breckinridge – Bragg asked for advice.  Hardee was in favor of a retreat, but Breckinridge disagreed vociferously saying there was not enough time left that night to accomplish such a move.  If they tried it, he said the army would be defeated in detail.  Plus, the positions atop Missionary Ridge were strong enough the defenders should be able to hold.  And so, the stage was set for the next day.

Casualties for the day’s fight were somewhat light – 671 on the Federal side and 1,251 on the Confederate (1,064 captured or missing). 

VISITING THE SCENE

The Civil War sites to visit concerning the Battle of Lookout Mountain are reasonably compact centered upon the Cravens’ House where much of the 24 November 1863 actions took place.  Lookout Mountain and Point Park make up one of the four main areas included with the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.

Besides the centers at Cravens House and Point Park, there is a plethora of trails one can walk along the ridges of Lookout Mountain, west, north and east side of the northern edge.  One can retrace the steps of Geary’s Federals making their way up the northwestern edge of the mountain taking the Kiddie Trail from the trailhead on Garden Road near where the Federal push up the mountain began.  Push 0.44 miles to the Skyuka Trail and turn right 0.20 miles before the Kiddie Trail continues uphill towards Sunset Rock.  At the first trail intersection, turn left onto the Guild Trail 0.73 miles to the Rifle Pits Rail and walk 0.62 miles to the Cravens House.

Or … for more magnificence than simply walking through a densely forested slope, continue past the Guild Trail intersection) 0.63 miles to Sunset Rock and the Bluff Trail.  This trail is the most scenic on the mountain beginning near the Covenant College at the Ochs Gateway trailhead.  The mountain slopes up at angles up to 45 degrees until the last couple hundred feet below the summit plateau.  Here, the Bluff Trail extends beneath the summit cliffs around the north edge of Lookout Mountain.

CRAVENS HOUSE

This is where the main bulk of the fighting took place as demonstrated by the surfeit of monuments rising up around the restored Cravens House.

Robert Cravens was a local iron producer.  He had been working in the iron business since the young age of 15 learning from an uncle.  Relocating to Chattanooga in the early 1850s, he helped organize the East Tennessee Iron Manufacturing Company building around where the Walnut Street Bridge crosses the Tennessee River.  Successful enough in his endeavors, in 1854 he built a comfortable home and cabins up on the north side of Lookout Mountain calling it “Alta Vista”.  The only problem being an hour-long commute to work.

During the battles around Chattanooga, Cravens and his family decamped to Ringgold, Georgia to get out of the way of war.  His home was not so lucky.  It was damaged by Union looters after the battle.  Buying surplus government wagons and resale after the war, Cravens was able to rebuild his home.  The family sold the home and 88 acres to Adolph Ochs publisher of the Chattanooga Times and later the New York Times.  That family donated the land to the National Park Service.  The house gained restoration in the 1950s, administered today by the NPS.

MONUMENTS

Outside the home are a series of Federal monuments and NPS tablets marking different phases of the battle.  Below the home is the Iowa Memorial, one of three monuments erected by the State of Iowa to her troops fighting here at Chattanooga.  Here, Iowans from James Williamson’s brigade consisting of six Iowan regiments supporting the attack here.

The tall New York Monument remembers the four New York regiments of Ireland’s brigade who pushed the issue here at Cravens House.  On the east side of the house is the Ohio State Monument.  This is the second monument to Ohioans who fought here at Chattanooga – the other monument is on Missionary Ridge.  Money problems delayed the dedication here until October 1917. 

There were Ohio regiments in the brigades of Whitaker, Carlin, Candy, and Grose.  Several monuments and tablets remember the brigade and regiments of William Grose.  Likewise, you can find tablets and monuments mixed into Whitaker’s and Candy’s brigade regiments.  The cliffs leading to the summit just above.

POINT PARK

An even bigger New York memorial exists atop the summit of Lookout Mountain highpoint of Point Park.  The Peace Monument dates to 1910 and was dedicated by former General Daniel Sickles.  “This monument is not here to celebrate a victory.  It says to the men of the South, ‘Let us embrace you.’  And it is emblematic of peace between us forever more.”

No fighting occurred on the summit of Lookout Mountain.  Confederate artillery batteries here could not reach the attacking Federals below because the gun barrels could not be depressed enough.  The views from atop are magnificent, covering the entire city and beyond.  There are gun displays and tablets to explain the events up here.  Grant – and others including Bragg – never could understand why Stevenson put his entire division on top of the mountain when it was really needed lower down the mountain.  There were only a couple easily defensible paths leading to the summit.  Close them off and there was no way out.  That is why Stevenson needed to get down the mountain when the Federals captured the bench where the Cravens House is.  If they cut the one road leading down just to the south, the whole division would have been isolated.

VIEWS AND MUSEUM

The park is across the street from an NPS Visitor Center.  You enter through a life-sized version of the US Army Corps of Engineers insignia underneath the castle-like entrance.  Appropriate since the structure was built by the Corps.

On the northern tip is the Ochs Memorial Observatory and Museum, a CCC-built project named in honor of Adolph Ochs.  The museum includes exhibits dealing with both the Chattanooga campaign and the history of Moccasin Bend across the river.  Rangers lead tours of Point Park on weekends with other walks given at other times.  See the NPS site for more information.

point hotel

A four-story hotel was built atop Roper’s Rock in the middle 1880s, Point Hotel. Visitors could either access the hotel for day views or stay up at the hotel for longer periods of time. Access was via a narrow-gauge incline railway switch backing up the slopes, railbeds used by trails today. The line ran first to Sunset Rock before cutting back up the mountain to the hotel. The train was pulled by a steam locomotive at first and later by an electric trolley car known as “Dinkey”. When the train-trolley reached the switchback, it would switch from being a “puller” to a “pusher”. The trolley ran until about World War 1 by which time cars were coming onto the scene, Plus, the hotel burned down in 1910.

rails to trails

Two trails lead up to Point Park from the Cravens House. Both end up at a set of stairs leading to the top of Roper’s Rock. The Cravens House trail leads up the west side of the mountain along an old narrow-gauge railbed which switchbacks upwards after a little over a mile to the stairs – the trail continuing straight, leads to Sunset Rock.

The trail continues to climb to the base of the summit cliffs – Roper’s Rock. Here are the magnificently placed bronze plaque monuments remembering the two Pennsylvanian regiment of Cobham’s command – 29th and 111th. Distance from Point Park to the Cravens House is 1.5 miles with a 605-foot elevation difference.

From Cravens House, you can also choose the Hardy trail which will switchback up to the Mountain Beautiful trail both leading up the east slopes underneath the Incline Railway to the same set of stairs.

Remember, whichever trail you take for the park above, you still face a $10 entrance charge.