Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, 3370 LaFayette Road in Fort Oglethorpe, will be the site of a book signing and history hike on Saturday, March 26.
* Book signing: Eastern National, a partner to the National Park Service, is sponsoring the visit with author Terry Tuley, a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., who now lives in Chattanooga.
Starting at 10 a.m. inside the Visitor Center, he will sign copies of “Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage From the Civil War.” The book was nominated for the Golden Medallion Award in 2006 and was favorably reviewed by the Washington Post.
It relates how the period from 1861 to 1865 proved to be one of the greatest times of trial and suffering in the nation’s history. When the prospect of war became a reality, the average age of a soldier was 22. Often, young men bored with a life on the farm were lured by the romanticism and exhilaration of battle, but the reality of war soon tried their faith and physical stamina. The threat of losing life and limb from a hailstorm of bullets and shrapnel was compounded by the ever present danger of dysentery and other diseases with little means for treatment. In spite of these frustrating circumstances, Tuley writes, many of the soldiers found great consolation and relief through prayer and reading the Bible.
* History hike: This program focusing on the Women’s Army Corps will start at 2 p.m. from the Visitor Center. Titled “This Is Our War Too,” the program explores the vital role women have played in the nation’s war efforts throughout history.
In the Revolutionary War, Civil War and World War I, women served primarily as nurses, but there were those who were actually involved in the battlefield fighting. As World War II came, women wanted to do their part because “this was their war too.” Historians say Chickamauga Battlefield played a major role in the involvement of thousands of women in the war effort and paved the way to ensure women would always be involved in the fight for freedom.
This 90-minute program will involve a hike of one mile through wooded terrain. Supportive shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, water and bug spray are recommended.
For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the National Military Park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.