The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-09-16
'1HE BATTLEFIELD PARK.
Chattanooga Is Preparing for It's
rs Dedication. !,
MANY PRonINENTs WILL ASSIST.

The Executive Departments of the Govern.
msnt. Members of the Supreme Court
| the oovernors of All states and the Vet
Grams Arc to be Represented.
] CHATTANOOGA, Sept. 10. - Under the
guiding hand of the secretary of war. act
ing through the authority of the congress
,Chattanooga and the notable battlefields
surrounding 1t have been prepared for
national event Without parallel. Great
throngs OF veterans who fought against
each other are crowding into tho city tt
take part in the dedications, beginning on
"Wednesday, of fields made memorable as
. national military park.
AS provided in the act of congress SEQ
retary Lamont has invited the attendance
OF the executive department OF the govern.
ment, members Of the supreme court, the
lieutenant general of the army and the nd
miral OF tho navy, the governors of all the
states with their staffs and the veterans OF
the contending armies. All are to be prom.
tnently represented.
joint committee of twenty senators
and thirty members of the house will be
present Members of twenty-six state
commissions who have been at work with
the national commission in locating lines
of battle Of the troops of their respective
states will attend. The Society of the
Army of the Cumberland, of the Army OF
the Tennessee, the Grand Army of the Re
public and tho Association of Confederate
Veterans will be present in large numbers
This official concourse is to be Increased
by gathering of an army of visitors al
ready known to be SO great that 1t will tax
the capacity Of the railroads centering here
% their utmost capacity.
, Lieutenant General Schofield has corti
ally contributed every substance which
could be given from the headquarters OF
2v...s. n =
troops from Fort Sheridan, Ford Riley
Fort Thomas, Columbus barracks and
Pensacola has presented an instance OF
rapid concentration of special interest.
Tho park which is to be dedicated is OF
unusual dimensions. 1t extends, wit h its
approaches, from Sherman Heights In
Tennessee six miles north of Chattanooga
TO Glass Mill, In Georgia. a distance OF
twenty-two miles The broad boulevard
between these two points is in fee simple
TO the government as part of the park, and
full jurisdiction of the fifteen square miles
of the Chickamauga field and over many
miles besides of other approaches has been
cedcd to the government by the states oi
Tennessee and Georgia.
The central drive runs for eight miles
along Braggs line of battle in tho crest OF
Missionary Ridge. 1t passes along the
fronts of Sherman's army, Thomas Army
of the Cumberland and army under
Hooker. 1t overlooks all the battlefields
about Chattanooga, including Lookout
mountain, and runs for twelve miles
through the center of the fighting ground
81 the three days battle of ChickainauRa
OF the territory over Which Jurisdiction
mas been ceded to the United States fot
park purposes ten square miles have been
already purchased in single block In the
Ch1ckamauga field.
The entire crest about Brags's head.
quarters on Missionary Ridge, Orchard
Knob, headquarters of Grant, Thomas and
Granger during the battle of Chattano opa
y tract eight acres in extont, fifty acres at
the north end of the Missionary Ridge be.
ing the ground assaulted by General Shcr
man and defended by Cleburn, and a tract
of i've acres ON another portion of the
ridge marking the left of the assault of the
Army of the Cumberland from portions
Df the park. Congress has also added an
addition to the part OF Hookers', Walt
hams battle ground on Lookout noun.
tain. The park and its approaches there
fore, embrace or overlook the fields of five
days general battle between the great
armies and three days of minor engage
ments.
The plan of the park is to restore the fields
rs nearly as possible to their condition
at the time Of the battle, to close all the
roads and reopen and improve those used
IN the battles and over which the armies
moved to and from the fields. The times
of battle have all been asccrtaincd and a
vast amount of work toward permanently
making them has been done
This is accomplished by historical and
guide tablets which point the way to and
explain tho movements upon every portion
Of the line. Those tablets show the orean
tzation OF armies, corps, divisions and
br1gades, with the names of their respcc-
tive commanders and their staffs on tho
the field and the commanders of all rrgi-
mcnts and batteries. Full historical text
at GafE fFfrth . hn y.
movement at each point. There is no dis
finction in the preparation of these tablets
between Union and Confederate force nor
IN any department of the work of establish
ing the park is there any difference
Besides the historical tablets which are
prepared by the government tho states are
erecting monuments to mark the position
Of their troops. Already nearly half a
million dollars have been appropriated by
states which had troops here, and all the
states but two of the twenty nine who arc
represented in the battle have commits
sioners at work marking their positions
for the monument.
Over 400 guns of the batteries used ON
these fields have been obtained from the
arsenals and 100 have already been
mounted upon iron gun carriages, which
arc of the pattern of the carriages used at
she time, and are set up and mark tho po-
sltion OF each side in tho BATTLE Event
ually the whole 600 guns will be in posi-
ton Steel observation towers raised above
the forest at various commanding posi-
lions afford views of the entire battle
ground.
The official dedication, under the. aus
pices of congress and the secretary of war
will occupy the 18th and goth inst, but
will be one of u general character and will
occupy the whole day of the 18th and the
evenings of tho 10Th and Goth. The dedi-
cations of the state monuments will occur
mostly OH the 18th.