Artillery demonstrations at Lookout Mountain Battlefield and a book signing at Chickamauga Battlefield provide extra incentive for visits to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park sites this weekend.
For more information, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitors Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786 or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.
ARTILLERY PROGRAMS
The artillery demonstrations on Lookout Mountain are the first in a summer-long series of programs that will re-create the sounds of the Civil War.
As park officials explain: “For four years, the soundscape of the nation was disrupted by war. The roar of cannon broke the peaceful air and thousands marched off to fight in what became America’s bloodiest conflict. At places like Chickamauga and Chattanooga, cannon wrought destruction on bodies and homes. In addition to learning about the stories associated with this conflict, visitors can step back in time to smell the smoke and feel the concussion of war like the soldiers did so many years before.”
The artillery programs will be held throughout the summer but in alternating months (except for August) at the two battlefields.
* At Point Park on Lookout Mountain, the schedule is Saturdays, May 28 and July 2, plus the weekend of Oct. 8-9.
* At Chickamauga Battlefield in Fort Oglethorpe, the schedule is Saturdays, June 4 and Sept. 3, plus the weekend of Sept. 17-18.
The 30-minute programs will start at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m., 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Admission to Point Park is $5 for anyone 16 and older, free for younger guests. There is no admission fee for Chickamauga Battlefield.
BOOK SIGNING
On Saturday, May 28, the Eastern National bookstore at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, 3370 LaFayette Road, will host Dr. Andrew S. Bledsoe. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Bledsoe will sign copies of his book, “Citizen-Officers: The Union and Confederate Volunteer Junior Officer Corps in the American Civil War.” Additionally, at 11 a.m., he will provide a 20-minute program that answers such questions as: What was a company officer? How could one become a company officer? What was the role of a company officer? Why was it so hazardous?
Author Gary Gallagher (“The Union War”) says “Citizen-Officers” “fills a major gap in the literature of the American Civil War” with “perceptive analysis of volunteers who filled junior ranks among officers in both the Union and Confederate armies.”
An assistant professor of history at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., Bledsoe specializes in the Civil War and American military leadership traditions. In addition to writing “Citizen-Officers,” he is co-editor of the forthcoming “War Is the Remedy: Toward a New Military History of the Civil War.”
Funds generated by the purchase of “Citizen-Officers” help support interpretive programs at national parks.