Hamilton Co., TN, and Vicinity Forts in the War of the Rebellion

(Last revised 7,8 December 2021)

I’ve done a piece on forts in Chattanooga during the War of the Rebellion and one on the Federal Military Occupation of Chattanooga that included much of the information below.  Since then, however, I have come across additional information that supplements or corrects (in minor details) what I’ve put out before.  In addition, some of the fortifications listed in the second work lay beyond the boundaries of Hamilton County, to which the work here is restricted in scope.

(Citico Mound and blockhouse) 

Instead of dividing these fortifications into two separate major categories of Union and Confederate, as before, here I’m going to list them chronologically in periods of which army occupied them.

EARLY YEARS OF THE WAR

Fort Clift – Located at Sale Creek Camp Ground in the north part of the county west of the Tennessee River, this was home to the 7th Tennessee Federal Militia in the fall of 1861.  Led by staunch Unionist Col. William Clift, the unit was based upon Hamilton County’s pre-war 7th Tennessee Militia.  First begun as a refugee camp for Unionist refugees, the fort was composed of earthworks and wooden breastworks.  It never faced an assault and was dismantled by Confederate troops following the dissolution of the 7th Tennessee Federal Militia on 13 November 1861.  Former members organized under Capt. William Robins as Company I, 2nd Tennessee Volunteer Infantry (Union) on 27 November 1861, relocating to Kentucky.

Fort Snow – Built around the plantation home of pro-Confederate Capt. William Snow in the community known as Snow Hill, west of the crossroads of Rabbit Valley (Ooltewah-Georgtown) Road and Mahan Gap Road north of Ooltewah.  It served as the base for the irregular cavalry unit (guerrillas or bushwhackers) which Snow organized as after he was rejected for regular military service due to his age, 55 (much younger than Col. Clift, mind you), known as Snow’s Scouts.  Their main actions involved terrorizing Unionist neighbors.  The fort was apparently quite substantial, since it successfully withstood a Union assault that included cannon in 1864. 

Joe Ritchey - In the latter days of the war in the spring of 1865, Snow and most of his Scouts were driven off by one of their victims, Joe Ritchey, Hamilton County’s most famous desperado of the later 19th century.  At the time and for decades afterwards, Ritchey was one of the most notorious post-war outlaws in the South, rumored to have killed seventeen or more men.  Most of Ritchey’s victims were said to have been former Snow’s Scouts, though one of the documented victims was a sheriff in Georgia who’d arrested him for horse-stealing.  He was widely credited with driving the Snow’s Scouts, including Capt. Snow and his family, from that area of the county, some even leaving the state.  Contemporaries ranked Ritchey with such outlaws as Jesse James and Billy the Kid.

HQ, CONFEDERATE DEPARTMENT OF THE WEST

On 12 November 1862, Department No. 2, covering everything west of the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River, was reorganized as the Department of the West, Gen. Joe Johnston, commanding.  Despite the name change, it continued to be called Department No. 2, even in military dispatches.  Johnston made his headquarters at Chattanooga.  Under his new command were the Army of the Mississippi (soon to become the Army of Tennessee after absorbing the forces of the Department of East Tennessee) under Gen. Braxton Bragg, the Army of Mississippi under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, and all those under the various regional departments in that geographic area.

On 26 January 1863, Maj. James Noquet, chief engineer for Johnston’s department, sent his commander a proposal for several defenses of the town of Chattanooga.  Accompanied by a map that has since been lost, he numbered these forts Nos. 1-14.  Essentially, these were laid out along the same lines as those in the later occupied by the Union army during the Siege of Chattanooga and the Federal Military Occupation.  In his message, Maj. Noquet broke these down into three groups, guarding three different approaches he identified from which the Union army could approach the town.  All the forts with the exceptions of Nos. 13 and 14 were to be located south of (or, rather, on the left bank of) the Tennessee River.

To guard against the approach from Walden’s Ridge, essentially along what is now Dayton Pike, Noquet designated Forts Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4.  To support these, he further recommended two more forts on the hills north of the river which he designated as Forts Nos. 13 and 14; most likely these were the same as the later Fort Wilder and Fort Hill.

To guard against an approach from the direction of Harrison and Cleveland  to the east and northeast, Noquet designated Forts Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

To guard against an approach from Kelly’s Ferry via Lookout Mountain, Noquet designated Forts Nos. 11 and 12, which he placed on the “flanks” of the mountain, adding that Forts Nos. 8, 9, and 10 could provide support.

That these were built, some of them, at least, there is no doubt.  The Army of the Cumberland occupied them after their route following the Battle of the Chickamauga, there being mention in contemporary sources of Forrest’s cavalry being stopped before one of the redoubts on 22 September 1863, in one of the post-battle skirmishes.

No names are known for most of the forts, but records of a few survive.  According to Zella Armstrong, Fort Cameron was one of the forts in Chattanooga built by the Confederates.  Official correspondence name another of these as Fort Cheatham, but not the redoubt later known by that name near Missionary Ridge that gave its name to one of the city’s early suburbs.  This Fort Cheatham was the same later called Fort Negley by the Union army (though its officers continued to use the original name, even in official dispatches), which was later renamed Fort Phelps.  Battery Smartt stood at the later site of the George Hunter mansion, now Hunter Museum.  Forts Nos. 13 and 14 across the river were built also.

In addition, reports state the Confederates built twelve blockhouses along the Chickamauga River (South Chickamauga Creek) in Hamilton County, most likely to guard the railroad bridges that crossed over it.  That is something that they would have obsessed on the experience with the East Tennessee Bridge Burnings in November 1861.

OCCUPATION, CONFEDERATE ARMY OF TENNESSEE

The Army of Tennessee bivouacked in Hamilton County from 4 July 1863 to 9 September 1863 after the end of the Tullahoma Campaign.  They abandoned the town and county when Wilder’s artillery on Stringer’s Ridge forced Bragg’s army from their forts, breastworks, rifle pits, and camps, beginning the cat-and-mouse games that led to the Battle of the Chickamauga.  During their stay, the troops almost certainly improved the defenses that were already built.

The division of Irish-American Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne spread out across Hickory Valley in the central southern part of the county, on the east side/right bank of Chickamauga River (South Chickamauga Creek).  The valley runs from the old county seat of Harrison to Chickamauga River just south of Concord Ridge, which forms the eastern boundary of the valley.  Here his troops built five square redoubts in addition to more minor fortifications.  The designations in this case are purely my own.

One of these redoubts guarded the county seat.

Cleburne Fort No. 1 – This redoubt was built his troops to guard the county seat of Harrison, now submerged beneath Harrison Bay.  With no railroad to guard, the redoubt was probably located in the center of town.

The next two redoubts guarded Tyner Station on the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad (ET&G), known locally as the Chattanooga & Cleveland Railroad.

Cleburne Fort No. 2 – This redoubt stands north of the tracks in the center of what was once the village of Tyner.  Cleburne made one of the houses there his headquarters.  Woods now possess the land where the village once lay, across Hickory Valley Road from Heritage Baptist Church (formerly Tyner Baptist Church, founded 1838 as Good Springs Baptist).  The remains of this redoubt are largely intact, and the whole could easily be restored.

Cleburne Fort No. 3 – This redoubt stood to the south of the tracks on the crest of Tyner Hill, and was demolished in the early 20th century to build Tyner High School.  The high school moved across the road after it burned, and a junior high of that name was built in its place, now Tyner Middle Academy.

The next two redoubts guarded Chickamauga Station of the Western & Atlantic Railroad (W&A) from the nearest elevation, Milliken Ridge to the east, which formed the western boundary of Hickory Valley.  At the time, a road from Chickamauga Station to Hickory Valley and the community of Concord (now East Brainerd, but a much smaller version than what many now consider that to take in), crossed Milliken Ridge, and the two redoubts were placed to the north and south of that road.

Cleburne Fort No. 4 – This redoubt once stood at the top of the high point of Milliken Ridge north of the road known locally as Dupree Hill, overlooking Chickmauga Station to its southwest and the Shepherd mansion named Altamede to its east.  It was located where Grace Works Church is now, and was demolished by the last owner of Altamede, who sold it and the rest of the hill for fill dirt.

Cleburne Fort No. 5 – This redoubt once stood at the top of the high point of Milliken Ridge south of the road known locally as Stein Hill, overlooking Chickamauga Station ot tiw northwest.  It’s location does not have to be estimated because the water tower overlooking TN Highway 153 where it passes over the ridge at this point sits smack dab in the middle of it, and the outlines of its base and remains of the surrounding rifle pits are clearly visible, even on Google Maps.

SIEGE OF CHATTANOOGA

Upon retreating into Chattanooga, the Army of the Cumberland occupied the system of forts built under the auspices of the Confederate Department of the West.  They later improved these and built others.  At least one retained the name of the Confederate general for whom it was named; Fort Cheatham—not the same as the later redoubt so known locally—continued to be used as a name by the Union army even after it had been renamed Fort Negley.

Besides rifle pits and other siege works, the Army of Tennessee built forts on the surrounding heights of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain and one in Chattanooga Valley.  How substantial these were is a matter of debate, but Union sources mention all of these in reports and maps from the Battles of Tunnel Hill, Tn., and of Missionary Ridge.  These designations may have been given by Union officers rather than by those who built them.

Fort Stevenson, named for Maj. Gen. Carter Stevenson, was a redoubt atop Lookout Mountain inside what’s now Fort Circle.  The Army of the Cumberland later named it Fort King, then renamed it Fort Stanley.

Fort Breckenridge, named for Maj. Gen. John Breckenridge, was a substantial four-sided redoubt that stood on the floor of Chattanooga Valley near Missionary Ridge, in the later suburb of Fort Cheatham, so-called after someone mistakenly gave that name (“Fort Cheatham”) to the redoubt.  The area of that suburb is bounded by Missionary Ridge, Interstate-24, East 28th Street, and 4th Avenue, and the redoubt stood within it until at least the early 20th century.

Fort Bragg, named for Gen. Braxton Bragg, lay atop Missionary Ridge at the current Bragg Reservation next to where Mission Ridge Elementary School used to be.  It may have been a redoubt or a lunette or even a redan.

Fort Hindman, named for Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman, stood about halfway between Forts Bragg and Buckner.  According to Union dispatches, its artillery contingent was substantial and very effective.

Fort Buckner, named for Maj. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, was a redoubt that, according to a map drawn by Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, stood on the hill of Missionary Ridge south of Whiteside Tunnell and the tracks of the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad.  Others accounts, perhaps less knowledgeable, used this designation to refer to the earthworks built by the men of Clebrune’s Division on Trueblood Hill, the local name for that which is called Tunnel Hill in both Confederate and Union sources.  Now the site of the somewhat misnamed Sherman’s Reservation of the National Park.

FEDRAL MILITARY OCCUPATION

At the time of the War of the Rebellion, the boundaries of the town of Chattanooga were the Tennessee River in the north and a line that ran south down Baldwin Street until it met what was 23rd Street and is now the freeway (I-24).  Geographically, the town (and still the official downtown of the city) was framed by the Tennessee River to the north and on the west and east by two large hills.  The western hill’s most common name is Cameron Hill, which runs north to south, and the eastern hill’s most common name is Brabson Hill, which runs west to east. 

Cameron Hill at one time had the form of a miniature Lookout Mountain, bound in the north by the Tennessee River and in the south by Riverside Drive.  Other “hills” on the West Side—Hawk Hill, Academy or College Hill, Terrace Hill—are but spurs of the main Cameron Hill.

Brabson Hill runs from the downtown area, from Market Street east to and past Central Avenue, north of East MLK Boulevard.  Because of the cut made through it by the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad, many count it as two hills—Brabson Hill and Fort Wood Hill—but in reality its is all one geographic feature.

All of the military officers for whom the fortifications listed below were named belonged to the Army of the Cumberland, with the exception of Maj. Gen. Sherman.

Interior forts

A two-mile long parapet stretched across the line from upriver to down river, anchored by Fort Sherman, Battery Taft, Battery Erwin, Fort Jones, Fort Lytle and Fort Crutchfield.  These are the fortifications inside or part of that line.

Chattanooga Magazine ran along the east side of Cameron Hill, dug deep into its surface.

Fort Carpenter, a redoubt named for Maj. Stephen D. Carpenter, 19th U.S. Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of Stones River on 31 December 1862, sat atop the spur known as Hawk Hill (later known as Reservoir Hill, then Kirkman Hill).  It was originally called Fort Reynolds.

Signal Point, the garrison’s most important communications post, stood at the apex of Cameron Hill.  About the same area now occupied by the miniscule remnant of Boynton Park which once crowned the entire hilltop, spreading out over ten acres.

Fort Cameron, so designated by Maj. Gen. Thomas after Unionist supporter James Cameron at the request of the lattter’s wife, Emma S. Cameron, stood on the crest of Cameron Hill about a block south of Signal Point, right in the middle of the current Blue Cross-Blue Shield complex.  It was originally called Fort Grant, after the general commanding the Military Division of the Mississippi.

Battery Coolidge, a redoubt named for Maj. Sidney Coolidge, 16th U. S. Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of the Chickamauga on 19 September 1863, occupied the current intersection of West MLK Boulevard and Boynton Avenue on a knoll above Blue Goose Hollow.  It was originally called Battery Harker, then renamed Fort (or Battery) Rousseau for Maj. Gen. Lovell Rousseau (Post of Nashville, formerly 1st Division, XIV Corps) before Maj. Gen. Thomas gave it this final designation.

Fort Mihalotzy, named for Col. Geza Mihalotzy, 24th Illinois Infantry, who was killed at Dalton on 25 February 1864, stood at the former 221 Boyton Terrace on the southern spur known as Terrace Hill, roughly at the intersection of West MLK Boulevard and Gateway Avenue.  It was originally called Fort Brannan after Maj. Gen. John M. Brannan (Chief of Artillery), then renamed Fort Putnam until Maj. Gen. Thomas gave the redoubt its final name and applied the name Putnam to the redoubt that formed part of Fort Sherman on Brabson Hill.

Fort Crutchfield, a redoubt named for outspoken local Unionist William Crutchfield, stood at at the former 1219 East Terrace on the spur known as Terrace Hill about where the Boynton Towers now stands.  It was originally called Fort Sheridan after Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan (3rd Division, XX Corps).

Fort Lytle, named for Brig. Gen. William H. Lytle (1st Brigade, 3rd Division, XX Corps) who was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga on 20 September 1863, took up around four city blocks on the spur known as Academy Hill in the center of College Hill Courts.  Its massive walls were twenty feet high and several feet thick.  It was originally called Star Fort after its shape, a name which persisted despite the official designation.

Signal Hill, the garrison’s second-most important communications platform, lay roughly in the center of the parking lot of what is now Hunter Museum.  In official correspondence, Union officers referred to the entire eminence on the east side (Brabson Hill) as Signal Hill.

Fort Sherman, named for Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, Military Division of the Mississippi, stretched from East 3rd Street to East 5th Street between Georgia Avenue and Lindsay Street and beyond.  The Brabson House stood in the center of the line of works.  Levelled in 1880.

Fort (or Battery) Bushnell, a redoubt named for Maj. D. L. Bushnell, 13th  Illinois Infantry, who was killed in the Battle of Chattanooga on 25 November 1863, anchored the east end of Fort Sherman at the northeast corner of East 4th Street and Lindsay Street.  Levelled in 1885.

Lunette O’Meara, named for Lt. Col. Timothy O’Meara, 90th Illinois Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of Chattanooga on 25 November 1863, stuck out from the center of Fort Sherman at the southeast corner of East 5th Street and Lindsay Street.  Levelled in 1880.

Redoubt Putnam, a redoubt named for Col. Holden Putnam, 93rd Illinois Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of Chattanooga on 25 November 1863, anchored the right end of Fort Sherman at the southeast corner of Walnut Street and East 5th Street.  Levelled in 1886.

Battery Taft, an artillery embrasure in the parapet connecting the interior forts named for Lt. Col. J. B. Taft, 73rd Pennsylvania Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of Chattanooga on 25 November 1863, lay south of East MLK Boulevard between Lindsay Street and Houston Street (200 block of E. MLK Blvd.).  Despite the official designation, it never have served its intended function, hosting garrison infantry soldiers instead of guns.

Battery Erwin, an artillery embrasure in the parapet connecting the interior forts named for Maj. S. C. Erwin, 6th Ohio Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of Chattanooga on 25 November 1863, was in the southeast corner of East 8th Street and Mabel Street, where First (formerly Shiloh) Baptist Church is now.  The unit also occupied a line along the west side of Houston Street between McCallie Avenue and Vine Street as well as a forward position at the northeast corner of East MLK Boulevard and Peeples Street.

Fort (or Battery) Jones, named for Col. William G. Jones, 36th Ohio Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of the Chickamauga on 19 September 1863, stood where the U.S. Customs House (formerly federal courthouse) is now at 120 East 10th Street, across from the current city hall.  It was most often referred to as Stone Fort after the rocky outcropping upon which it stood, which Brig. Gen. William Smith, Chief Engineer of the Department, called Limestone Hill.  It was originally named Battery Hazen.  Levelled in 1880.

Union Depot blockhouse – This huge  two-story structure guarded Union Depot which once stood at the site where Union Square and the Public Library are now.

Outer forts

Forward positions outside the parapet, joined together by breastworks and rifle pits, included the following:

Battery McAloon, named for Lt. Col. P. A. McAloon, 27th Pennsylvania Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of Chattanooga on 25 November 1863, sat on the Tennessee River near the end of Houston Street, forward of Battery Bushnell and above Citico Creek, giving its name to Battery Place neighborhood.

Fort Creighton, a bastion with a blockhouse keep named for Col. William R. Creighton, 7th Ohio Infantry, who was killed in the the Battle of Ringgold Gap (commanding 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, XII Corps) on 27 November 1863, occupied the area west of Fort Wood Place between Vine Street and Clark Street.  Its eastern wall is still clearly visible.  It was originally called Fort Wood after Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood (3rd Division, IV Corps).

Fort Palmer, named for Maj. Gen. John M. Palmer (XIV Corps), sat atop the knob of Chattanooga’s eastern hill where Park Place School is now.  It was originally called Fort Jef. C. Davis after Maj. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis (1st Division, XX Corps).

Fort Phelps, a bastion with a blockhouse keep named for  Col. E. H. Phelps, 38th Ohio Infantry, killed at the Battle of Chattanooga (commanding 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XIV Corps) on 25 November 1863, stood at 1706 Read Avenue.  First built by the Confederates, it was originally called Fort Cheatham after Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham, and continued to be called that even after it was renamed Fort Negley for Maj. Gen. James S. Negley (2nd Division, XIV Corps until after the Battle of the Chickamauga).  Levelled in 1885.

Trans-river forts

These are the fortifications on the north side/right bank of the Tennessee River directly north and west of Chattanooga.

Meigs Allee – To facilitate communications and supply, the Pioneer Brigade of the Army of the Cumberland built the first permanent span connecting the right and left banks of the Tennessee River to replace the pontoon bridge built during the siege.  It was one of the more impressive feats of these combat engineers, assisted by soldiers of the 21st Michigan Infantry.  Its north end touched land at what is now Renaissance Park.  It collapsed in 1867.

Meigs Alle blockhouse – This stood on the north side/right bank of the Tennessee River in the current Renaissance Park, where its foundation remains, guarding its northern end.

Fort Hill, named for an otherwise unknown Union officer surnamed Hill, was first built by the Confederates as one of Maj. Noquet’s Forts Nos. 13 and 14, stood atop the hill in Normal Park upon which Valentine Circle now runs.

Fort Wilder, named for Col. John T. Wilder (1st Brigade, 4th Division, XIV Corps), was first built by the Confederates as one of Maj. Noquet’s Forts Nos. 13 and 14.  It stood on the spur of Stinger’s Ridge overlooking Hill City, a thousand feet east of the trolley stop for Vallambrosa.  Though the community of that name  spread west of Stringer’s Ridge, the stop, the end of the Chattanooga and Northside Railway, sat directly over where the tunnel now pierces the ridge.  Vallambrosa Station included a large pavilion and picnic areas that overlooked the river and the city to the south and Dry Valley to the north, and was one of the more popular destinations in the county in the late 19th, early 20th centuries.

Stringer’s Ridge blockhouses – Four wooden blockhouses lined the crest of the ridge covering the area from Fort Wilder to Fort Whitaker at the southern tip of the ridge on Moccasin Point.  

Fort Whitaker, named for Brig. Gen. Walter C. Whitaker (2nd Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps), occupied the southern tip of Stringer’s Ridge at the big toe of Moccasin Point.  It was built during the Siege of Chattanooga, initially as a position from which to mount an artillery assault against the northern tip of Lookout Mountain.  The foundation and several of its gun emplacements still exist.

Lookout Mountain and Valley

Fort Stanley, probably named for Col. Timothy R. Stanley (Engineer Brigade), was the redoubt at Point Lookout atop the same-named mountain, inside what’s now Fort Circle.   Confederates built it originally during the Siege of Chattanooga as Fort Stevenson for Maj. Gen. Carter Stevenson, and was first called Fort King after the federals took it over.  The fort was supported by two blockhouses.

Fort Hooker, named for Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker (of a sizable detachment from the Army of the Potomac), was the redoubt anchoring the line of parapets, breastworks, and rifle pits stretching from the Tennessee River to Raccoon Mountain.  All of this protected the western approach to the critical Brown’s Ferry and Brown’s Landing in lower Lookout Valley, at least through the Battles of Chattanooga.

Brown’s Ferry blockhouses – These guarded the landings at this vital crossing on both the east side/right bank and west side/left bank of the Tennessee River.

Wauhatchie Station defenses – Being the junction of U.S. Military Railroads’ (see below) Trenton Branch Railroad and the united line of its Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad and its Memphis & Charleston Railroad (Eastern Division), this depot likely had a blockhouse, possibly two, and maybe a redoubt.

Chattanooga Valley

In this case, Chattanooga Valley means everything beyond the outer line of defenses from Fort Wood to Fort Negley, inclusive of Fort Palmer, though geographically that designation includes everything between Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge.  Several contemporary sources mention that nearly every height in the valley—knob, knoll, hill—had at least a small blockhouse on it.  So, let’s take a look at what these heights are.

Citico Mound – Center of the Middle Mississippian era town that once thrived here in the 13th and 14th centuries, this eminence we know hosted a (small) blockhouse because photographs of it exist.  At 145 feet long by 110 broad and once 28 feet high, it stood in the vicinity of what is now Boathouse Rotisserie and Raw Bar on Riverside Drive.   Mostly levelled in 1914 during the construction of Dixie Highway, despite efforts to save it.

Brushy Knob – The Union name for the hill in the center of the National Cemetery, captured on 23 November 1863.

Indian Hill – The name of the hill upon which grew the suburb of Highland Park, captured on 23 November 1863.

Orchard Knob – The hill of the Orchard Knob Reservation of the National Park, captured on 23 November 1863.

Clifton Hill – The hill upon which sat Oakland, the Daniel Cocke mansion that was the center for the largest antebellum plantation in Hamilton County, is topped today by Clifton Circle.

Hawkins Ridge – The small ridge paralleling Lookout Mountain that separates St. Elmo and Mountain Junction (aka South St. Elmo) from Alton Park and Poeville (aka East St. Elmo, aka South Alton Park).


Forts in Outlying Towns

These redoubts and blockhouses in outlying towns from Chattanooga did not form part of the blockhouse systems guarding the U.S. Military Railroads, even though working with them.

Fort Harker – Still extant and restored to excellent condition, this redoubt guarded Stevenson, Alabama, from the south of town.

Fort Mitchell – This redoubt guarded approach to Stevenson from the north.

Stevenson blockhouses – There were seven of these in all, built in large part due to the number of times Confederates tried to retake the town and its transportation infrastructure, one of them at the depot and the other six surrounding the town.

Bridgeport defenses – These included a blockhouse at the depot and two redoubts atop the hill overlooking the town to the south and the steamboat port to the north.  A third redoubt big enough to hold a brigade was planned but may never have been built.  There was also a redoubt on Long-Island-in-the-Tennessee in the river just east of town.

Fort Thomas – Sitting at the confluence of Battle Creek with Tennessee River near the later South Pittsburg, this site began life as Union-occupied Fort McCook in 1862 until being captured by Confederate troops, who renamed it Fort Maxey.  It became Fort Thomas at the beginning of the Chickamauga-Chattanooga Campaign.

Fort McPherson – This redoubt guarded the town of Cleveland in Bradley Co.

Fort Sedgewick – This redoubt also guarded the town of Cleveland.

Charleston redoubt– A small redoubt guarded the town and its depot.

U.S. Military Rail Roads

Before the war and through the Siege of Chattanooga and the battles that ended it, the five  railroads which came into the hub at Chattanooga were:  Western & Atlantic Railroad (W&A), East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad (ET&G; known locally as Chattanooga & Cleveland Railroad), Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad (N&C), Memphis & Charleston Railroad (M&C), and Wills Valley Railroad (WV). 

Under the U.S. Military Rail Roads (USMRR), these railroads became Chattanooga and Atlanta Railroad, Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad, Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad (remained the same), Memphis and Charleston Railroad (Eastern Division), and Trenton Branch Railroad.

Chickamauga Junction – The USMRR’s engineers built a junction of the Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad with the Chattanooga and Atlanta Railroad just west of Chickamauga River at about the later McCarthy Station.  By rerouting the latter to enter Chattanooga Valley via the Whiteside Tunnel through Missionary Ridge, this shortened the path into town of the latter by ten miles.  They gave the junction this name.

Railroad blockhouses

One of the chief duties of the garrison at Chattanooga during the Federal Military Occupation was guarding the vital supply lines of the five railroads that came into Chattanooga.  The defenses at Wauhatchie Junction have already been covered, and the fortifications listed here came from a memo specifically dealing with the railroads east of Missionary Ridge.

Blockhouse No. 1, shared by the USMR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and its Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad, was at Chickamauga Junction. 

Blockhouse No. 2, also shared by those two railroads, guarded their bridges over Chickamauga River one-third of a mile out from Blockhouse No. 1.

An earthen redoubt on the hill south of Chickamauga Junction (and later McCarty Station) provided support to these two blockhouses.

From here, the designations followed numerically for the two separate rail lines.

USMRR Chattanooga and Atlanta Railroad

Blockhouse No. 3 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Atlanta Railroad stood at Chickamauga Station, which stood across the road from the modern airport until 1955.

Blockhouse No. 4 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Atlanta Railroad stood between its two bridges over Chickamauga River in the Concord (now East Brainerd) area. 

Blockhouse No. 5 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Atlanta Railroad guarded the town of Graysville, Georgia, from inside its streets. 

Blockhouse No. 6 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Atlanta Railroad guarded the bridge of the Lafayette Road over the Chickamauga River at Graysville from the river’s south side/left bank. 

Blockhouse No. 7 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Atlanta Railroad covered its bridge over the Chickamauga River just above the town of Graysville from the river’s south side/left bank.

USMRR Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad

Blockhouse No. 3 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad guarded Tyner Station depot.

Blockhouse No. 4 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad protected Ooltewah Station on the northeast side of town.

Blockhouse No. 5 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad guarded the Cleveland Station depot.

Blockhouse No. 6 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad protected the west end of the bridge over the Hiwassee River at Charleston.

Blockhouse No. 7 on the USMRR’s Chattanooga and Knoxville Railroad guarded the east end of the bridge over the Hiwassee River at Calhoun.

USMRR Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad

Contrary to the above system, these blockhouses were numbered beginning in Nashville, with garrisons at Murfreesboro, Tullahoma, Stevenson, and Bridgeport based out of Nashville.  Those in the Chattanooga region beginning at Stevenson were as follows.

Blockhouse No. 35 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded a bridge over Bengis Creek one mile east of Stevenson, Alabama.

Blockhouse No. 36 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded the bridge over Widow’s Creek.

Blockhouse No. 37 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded the main bridge over the Tennessee River at Bridgeport.

Blockhouse No. 38 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded the east bridge over the Tennessee River at Bridgeport.

Blockhouse No. 39 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded the bridge over a dry trestle.

Blockhouse No. 40 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded the bridge over Nickajack Creek.

Blockhouse No. 41 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded the bridge over Cole City Creek, one-eighth mile east of Shellmound.

Blockhouse No. 42 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded the bridge over Lookout Creek past Wauhatchie.

Blockhouse No. 43 on the USMRR’s Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad guarded the bridge over Chattanooga Creek.