The Globe-republican., 1903-12-17

WITH THE
'E,IlANS
M4SoT--o

for the state monuments in the vari.
GUS parks.
The largest sum Of money ($1,3O0,-
0O0) has been spent by the govern.
ment in the great park of Chickamau-
ga and Chattanooga, which actually
comprises no fewer than seven battle.
fields-those Of Chickamauga, Wau-
hatchie, Lookout Mountain, Orchard
Knob, Missionary Ridge, Tunnel Hill
and Rlnggold. Extraordinary pains
have been taken to restore this area
to the condition in which 1t was at
the time Of the fighting. Roads opened
since that date have been closed,
and the battle roads have been opened
and improved. Tracts which since
the battle had become covered by a
heavy growth of timber have been
cleared, and farmers are permitted to
continue In occupancy Of their hold
lngs only on condition that they shall
alter no buildings and cut down no
woods or underbrush.
The great park comprises one large
area, the Chickamauga battlefield (ten
square miles In extent) and several
smaller patches, connected by roads.
All the roads over which the contend
ing armies moved have been coded to
the government by the State Of Geor
gia The Chattanooga portion consists
largely Of roads along the lines Of
battle on Missionary Ridge, and over
the point of Lookout Mountain, which
have been similarly coded by Tennes,
see, the system being connected with
the Chlckamauga part of the park by
the Lafayette road, leading through
the middle of the principal scene of
operations.
The Crest road on Missionary Ridge
extending eight miles affords one of
the finest drives in the country, over
looking throughout its extent the
plain Of Chattanooga and the battle
field of Lookout Mountain From tall
steel towers erected at two prominent
points on the road the whole theater
OF the campaign can be overlooked. A
tract of several acres has been Sc.
cured about the former headquarters
OF Gen, Bragg on Missionary Ridge.
Orchard Knob, headquarters of Grant
and Thomas, is part of the park, as is
also the north end of Missionary
Ridge, covering the ground of Gen.
Sherman's assault. The roads and de-
tached reservations afford excellent
facilities, through monuments, re.
stored batteries and historical tablets,
for the complete illustration of all
movements on both sides.
The loss at Chickamauga (33 per
cent in two days. was greater than in
any other fight in the war. At Get
tysburg the loss was 2S per cent in
three days, while Antiotam was doubt
less the bloodiest battle of one day.
The government owns eighty miles of
improved roads in this greatest of bat
tleield parks, the size Of which may
be realized when 1t is stated that the
lines of battle about Chattanooga had
a front Of twelve miles, the main
Crive from the north end Of Mission
airy Ridge to the left of the fighting
ground at Chlckamauga covering
distance Of twenty miles and passing
through or overlooking the scene Of
severe conflict between veterans of
nearly all the great armies on both
the Union and Confederate sides.
A policy Of strict impartiality has
been pursued in the marking out of
the battlefield parks. All the states,
twenty-eight in number, which we're
represented by troops at Chickamau-
ga, have had commissions working
with the government commission in
the arrangement Of the field of seven
battles. All of these states are now
erecting monuments, which the gov.
eminent Is supplementing with huge
pyramidal piles Of shells to mark the
places where brigade commanders,
federal or confederate, were killed or
wounded Rene Bache in
Chicago Record-Herald.