Lookout Mountain Battlefield!

What Is the Lookout Mountain Battlefield?

Within Chattanooga’s Point Park are monuments and vistas of the Lookout Mountain Battlefield, where the Battle Above the Clouds took place on November 24, 1863!

What Makes It Historical?

After they were routed at the Battle of Chickamauga, the Army of the Cumberland under General Rosecrans retreated to Chattanooga! Here, the general was removed from command and replaced with General George Thomas while Confederate troops set up a siege in the heights around Chattanooga! In particular, they chose the vantage points of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain to cut off Union supplies and force the Army to give up their hold on Chattanooga!

That strategy worked for about a month until General Ulysses S. Grant arrived with reinforcements! First, they took back the Lookout Valley by night, opening a supply route called the “Cracker Line!” Then, on November 23, the resupplied Union troops bursted out of Chattanooga and took back the hill of Orchard Knob from the Confederates! The next day, General Joseph Hooker’s division struck fog-covered Lookout Mountain in the Battle Above the Clouds, driving these Confederate soldiers, along with the Orchard Knob bunch, to Missionary Ridge!

On November 25, 1863, after getting repulsed from Missionary Ridge at first, the Union Army of the Cumberland decided on more action before they got new orders! They charged right up Missionary Ridge, shoving right through the defenses, and toppled the Confederate Army right off the summit! Confederate General Bragg had to resign for this, and Joseph Johnston replaced him, as the Union pushed the Confederates south into Georgia and the upcoming Battle of Kennesaw Mountain!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
Volunteer at Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park!
Donate to Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!