Seminar in the Woods, 2014 – March 7 and 8, 2014.

It’s time to start planning for next March…

CCNMP Study Group 2014 Seminar in the Woods.

Mission Statement: The purpose of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Study Group is to create a forum to bring students of the American Civil War together to study and explore those events in the fall
of 1863 that led ultimately to the creation of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park … “for the purpose of preserving and suitably marking for historical and professional military study the fields of some of the most remarkable maneuvers and most brilliant fighting in the war of the rebellion.”

Tour Leaders: Jim Ogden, Park Historian, and Dave Powell

Date: Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 8, 2014.

Note: Friday’s tours will involve a tour bus. We will be charging a small fee for use of the bus. See below.

Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 – George Thomas and the XIV Corps advance to Chickamauga.

In the morning, we will explore the XIV Corps crossing of the Tennessee, visiting Shellmound, Jasper, and Trenton between roughly August 30th and September 9th; much of this exploration will also include following Rosecrans and army headquarters since Rosecrans and Thomas spent much time together during these movements

Park at the Visitor‘s Center. The bus will depart and return from there.

Lunch Break:
We will not be returning to the Visitor’s Center for lunch, as this would take at least an hour out of the day. Instead, we will stop in downtown Chattanooga, or at Trenton.
This means that whatever you need for the day, be prepared to bring it with you. We will not have access to the cars at lunch.

Friday Afternoon:
In the afternoon, we will cross Lookout Mountain, and follow Thomas’s corps into McLemore’s Cove and then on to Crawfish Spring, in the town of Chickamauga.

On foot and by car caravan:

Saturday Morning: 8:30 a.m. to Noon. Baird and Brannan Engage, September 19th

Saturday morning we will return to the vicinity of Jay’s Mill and Winfrey Field, to explore the developing fight on September 19th. Our primary focus will be on Brannan’s engagement with Wilson’s and Ector’s Brigades of Walker’s Confederate corps, Baird’s entry into the fight, and Liddell’s counter-attack.

Meet at the visitor’s center, and then car-caravan to Jay’s Mill Road.

Saturday Afternoon: 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Gordon Granger and the defense of Horseshoe Ridge.

We will finish our tours on Horseshoe Ridge, following the Union Reserve Corps onto the battlefield and describing the ensuing action. We will focus primarily on that part of Horseshoe Ridge beyond Hill 3, out to the end of the Union line.

Meet at the visitor’s center, and then car-caravan to Snodgrass Hill.

Cost: Beyond the fee for Friday’s Bus, there is no cost for tour participation. Meals lodging, transportation, and incidentals, however, are the individual’s responsibility.

Tour Departures: All tours will meet at the Chickamauga Visitor’s Center at the designated start time, and will depart from there after some brief overview discussion. We will board the bus or car caravan to the designated parking area, and from there, we will be on foot. We will be on foot for up to three hours, so dress and prepare accordingly. Tours will depart rain or shine. Participants are responsible for their own transportation, and should plan accordingly. All tours are designed to be self-contained, so participants who cannot attend the full schedule are still welcome to join us for any portion of the weekend.

Lodging and Meals: Everyone is responsible for their own lodging and meals. There are many hotels in the greater Chattanooga area, to fit most any price range. The closest are in Fort Olgethorpe, Georgia, with the least expensive in Ringgold. Each tour on Saturday is designed to leave at least 90 minutes for lunch, and there are several family and fast food restaurants within minutes of the battlefield. There are designated picnic areas near the Visitor’s Center, for those who wish to bring a lunch and eat on the field.

What to bring: Each tour will involve extensive walking. Proper clothing and especially footgear is essential. Dress in layers, wear sturdy, broken-in walking shoes or boots, and be prepared for some rain, as spring can be quite wet in North Georgia. We will be walking on dirt and gravel trails, uncut fields, and through stretches of woods. The ground will be wet and muddy in places. Bring your own water and snacks.

Reading up on the subject: Many people like to prepare in advance for these kinds of events. I suggest the following works might be of help.
Cozzens, Peter. This Terrible Sound. University of Illinois, 1992. The best one-volume study of the battle.
Powell, David with Cartography by Dave Friedrichs, The Maps Of Chickamauga. Savas-Beatie, 2009.
Powell, David. Failure In The Saddle: Nathan Bedford Forrest, Joe Wheeler, and the Confederate Cavalry in the Chickamauga Campaign. Savas-Beatie, 2010.
In addition to the titles above, Dr. Robertson’s five part series in Blue & Gray Magazine is outstanding on both the campaign and battle of Chickamauga.
Robertson, Dr. William Glenn
“The Chickamauga Campaign: Part I—The Fall of Chattanooga,” Blue &
Gray Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 4, November-December, 2006. {part one of
the five part Chickamauga series; Part I covers campaign activities
August 16 to September 9, 1863}

Robertson, Dr. William Glenn
“The Chickamauga Campaign: Part II—Bragg’s Lost Opportunity,” Blue &
Gray Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 6, Spring, 2007. {part two of the five
part Chickamauga series; Part II covers what turned out to be Bragg’s
abortive strike in McLemore’s Cove on September 10-11, 1863}

Robertson, Dr. William Glenn
“The Chickamauga Campaign: Part III—The Armies Collide!,” Blue & Gray
Magazine, Vol. 24, No. 3, Fall, 2007. {part three of the five part
Chickamauga series; Part III covers the actions of September 12-18,
1863}

Robertson, Dr. William Glenn
“The Chickamauga Campaign: Part IV—Chickamauga, Day 1,” Blue & Gray
Magazine, Vol. 24, No. 6, Spring, 2008. {part four of the five part
Chickamauga series; Part IV covers the actions of September 19, 1863}

Robertson, Dr. William Glenn
“The Chickamauga Campaign: Part V—Chickamauga, Day 2,” Blue & Gray
Magazine, Vol. 25, No. 2, Summer, 2008. {part five of the five part
Chickamauga series; Part V covers the actions of September 20, 1863}
White, William Lee, Bushwacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, September 178-20, 1863. Savas Beatie, 2013. An excellent new introduction (at 162 pages, profusely illustrated) to the battle of Chickamauga by Park Ranger Lee White.
Woodworth, Stephen E. Six Armies In Tennessee: The Chickamauga And Chattanooga Campaigns. Lincoln, Nebraska. University of Nebraska Press, 1998. An excellent overview campaign study.

Note: Friday’s Tours will be by Bus, as we move from site to site. While the tour itself is free, we do have to pay for the bus. Please also note that bus costs have risen a bit in the past couple of years, so we now must adjust the fee accordingly.

Pre-registration Fee: $45 Due by February 1st, 2014

send to:
David Powell
522 Cheyenne Drive
Lake in the Hills IL 60156

I will hold your payments. If you pay by check, Please make that check PAYABLE to DAVID POWELL. note that I will not cash those checks until we have sufficient entries, so that if we have to refund, I will simply send your checks back to you.

Please also note that this fee is NON-REFUNDABLE after February 1st, 2013. Once we are committed to the bus, we will be charged the booking fee.

On-site Sign up Fee: $50

We MUST have 20 attendees registered and Paid by Feb 1st, or we cannot reserve the bus. Once we confirm the minimum, you will be able to join the tour the day we depart, for late add-ons. If we do not meet the minimum, we will car-caravan for Friday’s tours.

Any monies collected over and above our expenses are always donated to the park, either to the monument repair fund or as donations to the park library.