(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.
