Visit to Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga has been a crossroads where some of the most crucial intersections of the nation’s history have met. It is here where the first steps on the Trail of Tears were taken, it was here that a railroad transportation revolution linked the interior of the continent with the coast. It was here that the Civil War’s final turning point was reached, it was here that African Americans sought their freedom and sought their place in the nation, it was here that a diverse and thriving industrial economy (one of the most complex and varied in the nation) developed, and it is here where the very worst of America’s environmental degradation took place. It is also here where the Renaissance of Chattanooga created a new city and provided the model for other American cities seeking inspirational ways to aggressively engage the entire community in the process of imagining and planning for the future and combine environmental sensitivity with a sustainable economy. (A Note From the Chattanooga History Center)
As the 20th Century moved forward, Chattanooga’s riverfront underwent massive changes. Higher water levels along the Tennessee River allowed many companies on or near the river to operate their own wharfs. Steam engines lost out to diesel-powered engines early in the century, and these powerful boats were (and continue to be) used to tow large barges filled with grain, salt. sand, coal, lime or gravel. The long-time competitor of river transport, the railroads, also ceased to hold as much importance as automotive modes of transport worked their way into American culture. An elaborate and far-reaching highway and interstate system made travel and transport by road the primary source of transportation in America by the middle of the century, and increasing traffic in the Chattanooga area led to dramatic changes on the riverfront.
In the late 1940’s, a bridge had been built across the Chickamauga Dam to service the suburbs of Chattanooga, and in the 1950’s, plans were put forward for the creation of a four-lane highway bridge that could serve the downtown area’s increasing traffic problems. Begun in 1955, the Olgiati Bridge required not only a new structure across the Tennessee, but also a new highway near the downtown area. This new highway required the leveling of Cameron Hill (which, though many protested, was shortened over 150 feet) and the relocation of the residents of Blue Goose Hollow, on the flank of Cameron Hill. The bridge was completed late in 1959 and stood as the fifth river crossing to service Chattanooga area.
Riverside Drive and Parkway caused the next major alteration of the riverfront. This road connects with Amnicola Highway, runs near the banks of the river from the bluff area around the base of Cameron Hill and continues in the general direction of the river until it intercepts Broad Street, creating a bypass of the downtown area. Unfortunately, the price of this thruway included the loss of several historical buildings and homes, as well as a large portion of the Citico mound, site of pre-Columbian Mississippian Indian habitation.
In the 1980’s increasing traffic pressures in the outlying areas led to the construction of the C.B. Robinson Bridge just south of the Chickamauga Dam, and to the widening of the bridge across the dam. In 1984, the Veterans Bridge (pictured at top) became the fourth bridge in the downtown area, though only three were traversable at the time. The Walnut Street Bridge, on which you stand, was closed in 1978 and threatened with demolition. Fortunately, it was saved and renovated to become a vital part of the Tennessee Riverwalk Pedestrian and Bicycle System that will stretch along both banks of the river from the Chickamauga Dam to Ross’s Landing.
The river has always been an important resource for inhabitants of the Chattanooga area, though many of its passengers now use it only for recreation. The last decade has seen an increased concentration on the riverfront as a focal point for the revitalization of the city, and the construction of the Tennessee Aquarium and the renovation of Walnut Street Bridge have given the riverfront an attractive and interesting facelift. Every summer, thousands wander through the areas devoted to the Riverbend Festival. Pedestrians may cross the river safely and enjoyably, while cars have three river crossings available where, for most of the landing’s first 75 years, only ferry service was available. The water may be less wild, more a series of lakes than an unpredictable natural force, but as long as it rains in the Tennessee Valley, the river will bend its way through Chattanooga.
The peninsula located across the Tennessee River from Lookout Mountain is known as Moccasin Bend – named for the shape of an Indian moccasin shoe. Moccasin Bend is rich in history – a history that dates back thousands of years, and includes Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian cultures; Cherokee removal routes; and Civil War artillery positions.
Here the Tennessee River makes a sweeping, clockwise loop around Moccasin Bend. In 1863, vital supplies were brought to the besieged Federals in Chattanooga across the “neck” of Moccasin Bend, using pontoon bridges at the two river crossings.
Moccasin Bend played a significant role in the removal of the Cherokee Nation from their homelands. The 1830 Indian Removal Act authorized the United States government to remove the Five Civilized Tribes from the southeastern United States to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). While the Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes had been relocated by 1838, only 2,000 of the estimated 13,000 Cherokee had relocated to the newly established territory. President Martin Van Buren authorized General Winfield Scott to use United States troops to forcibly capture and place the remaining Cherokee into eleven internment camps, including one near Ross’s Landing.
From Ross’s Landing in Chattanooga, several detachments of Cherokee went across Moccasin Bend on foot, while others traversed around it on steamboats and keelboats as they began the journey that the Cherokee referred to as the Nunna dual Isunyi which translates as “the trail where they cried.”
The Cracker Line
Following the Battle of Chickamauga, Union forces of the Army of the Cumberland retreated into Chattanooga. During the 1863 “Siege of Chattanooga,” Union forces were positioned on Moccasin Bend to guard the right and rear approaches into the city. On the eastern end of Moccasin Bend artillery batteries of the 18th Ohio and the 10th Indiana were positioned. These artillerists harassed the Confederates with sporadic fire during the siege, and later fired at Confederate targets in support of General Joseph Hooker’s attack in the November 24 Battle of Lookout Mountain. The remains of these Union fortifications are some of the best preserved in the area.
Union forces opened a supply line into the besieged city of Chattanooga in late October 1863. Known as the “Cracker Line,” it brought the weary Federals ammunition and food, including the soldiers’ staple -“hardtack” crackers.
The newly appointed Union commander, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, prepared to fight as reinforcements arrived. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s detachment arrived in early October, and Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s in mid-November.
In the face of this Union build-up, Gen. Braxton Bragg, commander of the Confederate army, committed a costly error. He sent a portion of his army off to attack Union troops at Knoxville, thereby weakening his grip on Chattanooga.
This rich history led to the eventual creation of Moccasin Bend National Archeological District in 2003. Most of the 750 acres were transferred by the state of Tennessee, Hamilton County, and the city of Chattanooga to the National Park Service in August 2004 as a unit of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.
You are looking across Lookout Valley and the flat-topped ridges of the Cumberland
Plateau. The morning of November 24, Union Gen. Hooker’s troops crossed Lookout Creek opposite the present railroad yard in the valley. Then, in a long column, they climbed the mountain to the base of the cliff to your left. This wall blocked any
further advance to the mountaintop. Facing north, to your right, the line next moved
forward along the slope to attack the lightly-held Confederate defenses. The advance cleared the creek bank of Confederate pickets. More Union soldiers crossed to join the attack, the total attacking force reaching 8000. Walthall’s brigade was
driven back around Point Lookout, losing 900 of 1500 men – and the battle!
The Chattanooga Confederate Cemetery is one of the few places where the Confederate buried dead are available to visit. Most of the dead were from hospitals in Chattanooga, from wounds received in the Battle of Murfreesboro and from campaigns and sickness from January 1 to September 7, 1863, when Chattanooga was evacuated by Confederate troops. Individual graves cannot be located, thus memorial tablets were placed to perpetuate the names and command of the Confederate dead interred here.
Return Visit in June 2024
Covered bike parking provided by “Suck Creek Cycle” that has a small placard inside.
At the time of our visit, substantial four-story buildings like this were awaiting restoration.
Others like this were successfully rehabilitated, with modern conveniences to the rear providing improved access to the upper floors, likely with staircase and elevator access.
This handsome two-story building with a curved corner entrance, has Composite order columns and pilasters on the ground floor and an elaborate cornice above the second floor. Blue Orleans is a restaurant on the ground floor and the upper floor appears to be apartments.
Three-dimensional public art is evident in both sculptures set on the sidewalk and in banners on streetlights promoting Public Art Chattanooga.
This Beau-Arts station has an arched main entrance leading to a passenger hall with 82-foot ceiling dome with a skylight. This was the first train station in the South to open a pathway to connect the north from the south. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt all passed through this station.
Chattanooga bike share was quite active during our visit in 2014.
This mural of chickens on the side of a building brings an unexpected and quirky element.
This panorama captures how the area around the train station was in varying degrees of revitalization with some buildings still noticeably vacant, while others found new use.