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Chickamauga: Learn from living history

By: Chloé Morrison
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Dennis Boggs

DAVIS CROSSROADS, Ga. — When 7-year-old Leah Richmond tells her father about her day at the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga, she said she will have a lot to say.

“I saw Abraham Lincoln today and it looked just like him,” the Cleveland, Tenn., home-schooled student said she will tell her dad. “He had a big hat and a beard and he was so skinny.”

Leah was among more than 1,300 students from Tennessee and Georgia who attended the first events commemorating the anniversary Wednesday. The first three days are designed especially to help students to gain a deeper understanding of American history and the Civil War, organizers said.

Many students agreed that Abraham Lincoln was the most exciting part of the day. Up-close experiences with cannons and horses came in a close second for most students, they said.

President Lincoln was also the first thing on the mind of Davis Elementary School fourth-grader Brenna Stone, 9.

“He was tall,” said the Dade County, Ga., student. “He forgot to wear his big hat, and he talked about history and his whole life.”

Chelsea Miller, a junior at Gordon Lee High School in Chickamauga, Ga., who helped guide the younger students through the living history stations, said she enjoyed learning more about President Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address.

The legendary president was portrayed by Dennis Boggs, of Nashville.

He said he took on the role full time nine years ago and said President Lincoln — one of the most recognizable faces in the world — always provokes interest and intrigue.

“Most of us — whether you are north, south, east or west — we have grown up with this Father Abraham image,” Mr. Boggs said. “When a child sees someone who looks like Abraham Lincoln, they are enthralled.”

Students who visited the McLemore Cove event Wednesday circulated through learning stations, each with a different educational focus. Each group spent a couple of hours learning about Civil War-era blacksmiths, hospitals and other leaders such as Robert E. Lee, said School Days organizer Susie Justice.

They also heard about the history of the Battle of Chickamauga from Jack Fishman, who is CEO of Lakeway Publishers, which sponsored the event.

Fifth- and eighth-grade students were targeted for attendance, but other grade levels also came to the event, Ms. Justice said. She said more students than expected showed up on Wednesday.

passing on history

Whether it is students from Gordon Lee High School who go to school next to the historic Gordon-Lee Mansion every day or children whose parents are living historians and passed down the hobby, many students said growing up in the Southeast has meant the region’s history is ingrained in them.

Greg Geisel, 16, from Dawson County Middle School in Dawsonville, Ga., dressed in Civil War-era attire and helped set up tents for the event.

“My dad got me into it,” he said. “I was born into it. My family has been doing it for generations,” he said of taking part in living history demonstrations or re-enactments.

Students were standing on historic land as they roamed the site, although the 849-acre plot is about 10 miles south and west of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, where the Battle of Chickamauga occurred on Sept. 19-20, 1863.

The McClemore Cove site was the scene of action in the days leading up to the Battle of Chickamauga, said John Culpepper, Civil War re-enactor and historian and the city manager of the town of Chickamauga.

On Sept. 8, 1863, Maj. Gen. James Negley’s Union division marched into the cove, not expecting any Confederate opposition, historians said. His troops were surprised when they were soon confronted by Confederates in the Battle of Davis Crossroads.

Mr. Boggs also said it was “especially poignant” for him to be on the land, near the site of the Battle of Chickamauga.

“Lincoln had a brother-in-law who died at the Battle of Chickamauga,” he said.

LOVING TO LEARN

Parents and students said the event brought history to life.

“You can see what it is really like instead of just reading,” said Emma Gobble, 7.

Emma and Leah’s parents are with the Bradley County Home Educators group, and both agreed that real-life experience can make an impression on students that helps them better retain information.

“I’m always looking for opportunities like this to make things more tangible and real for her,” said Brittany Richmond, Leah’s mother, in an e-mail Wednesday. “It’s totally different from the education I received, and so much more fun for us as a family.”

Those who have been long-interested in history, such as Mr. Boggs, hope the experience at McLemore Cove will trigger a greater love of history in the younger generation.

When he finishes a living history presentation, Mr. Boggs said he does two things — makes sure the children understand he is not the real President Lincoln and encourages them to seek more information about their nation’s past.

Students said the event did trigger a greater interest, or at least reinforced what they have already learned.

For Brenna the event was more exciting than she expected, she said.

“I thought we were just going to look at history stuff,” she said. “They actually talked to you.”

And the history lesson had a sweet side.

Brenna was surprised to know people in the Civil-War era had rock candy.

“I bet they thought it was tasty,” she said, as she ate her own piece of the crystalline sugar candy.

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