Chattanooga History

𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐞𝐛. 𝟕 & 𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

Mike Kent and MKShows.com are proud to present the Dalton Civil War & Militaria Show & Sale located at the Dalton Convention Center, 2211 Tony Ingle Parkway, Dalton, GA 30720. February 7 & 8, 2026. Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 9-3. There will be almost 500 tables with plenty of Civil War and World War I & II artifacts, antique guns, swords, artillery, books, prints, and lots more at this show. Admission $12 for adults, children under 12 are Free. For more information about this show, https://mkshows.com/cgi-bin/show_display.asp?65
Visit us at https://mkshows.com for all of our show listings.

🎄Christmas Day 1863 Christmas🎄

Christmas Day, 1863.

A month after the “Battle Above the Clouds,” officers from General John W. Geary’s staff climbed back to the summit of Lookout Mountain — not as soldiers in combat, but as men revisiting the heights they had fought so hard to take. Their winter quarters lay down in Chattanooga now, but the mountain still called to them: a place of memory, of triumph, and of things their commander could not leave behind.

Geary himself was absent this day. The man who would one day become Governor of Pennsylvania was spending this Christmas in private grief, mourning a son lost at Wauhatchie only weeks earlier. Yet his staff gathered here on the rocks above the Tennessee Valley, sharing a simple holiday meal in the thin mountain air — holding a space of remembrance for the cost of the campaign and the fragile, short‑lived peace of a war only halfway through.

Destroying historical structures in Chattanooga is about the only thing that flips our call to action switch.

https://stspeterandpaulbasilica.com/news/proposed-12-story-building-would-overshadow-the-basilica?fbclid=IwdGRjcAO4MIRjbGNrA7gwgGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHvpoRTplofJTA0OazMRQyf-7jDK7CA1pyc9HFI8FKfq055rY5sX3LoUlQXbR_aem_s-tEcpPKQEQFCxhwvgsH7w

PETITION opposing 12-Story building overshadowing the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.

A developer, Evelyn Capital of Nashville, is proposing to build a 12-story building on Patten Parkway, directly behind and adjacent to the Basilica and the St. Dominic building, demolishing the historic structure that was the home of The Honest Pint.

The rezoning request for this development proposal will be heard by the Regional Planning Commission at their January 12, 2026 meeting. There is serious concern about how new construction will impact their historic building and how such a project destroys the historic fabric of the surrounding neighborhood.

Please sign the petition opposing this project below:

https://stspeterandpaulbasilica.com/news/proposed-12-story-building-would-overshadow-the-basilica

Sts. Peter & Paul has been elevated by the Pope and the universal Church to the status of a Minor Basilica, in acknowledgment of its historic architectural beauty, and specifically for its Tiffany windows. This is a worldwide honor that puts the Basilica on the world map as a destination. The church and its windows are a treasure that draws people to our community. A building that overshadows the Basilica would minimize that asset and disappoint visitors and regular attendees.

Preserve Chattanooga also stands in opposition to this project. Properties designated in the National Register of Historic Places have been established as architecturally and historically significant to a community. This is a state and federal designation. However, it does not offer protection from demolition except for some federal projects. It is up to the local community to protect these sites. Each one is a precious resource that requires investment and stewardship by the property owners. When that doesn't occur, the local community must intervene where possible. This may include denying demolition or rezoning requests or arranging for financial incentives to help with the revitalization of the existing structures.

1860's - Chattanooga's Union Depot

This massive locomotive depot was built between 1857-1859 by a partnership between the Western & Atlantic and Nashville & Chattanooga railroad companies. A historical marker can be seen on the MLK Blvd (9th St) side of the Bank of America building downtown. It served as one of the South's largest logistical hubs. Chattanooga earned the nickname "The Gateway to the Deep South" due to its strategic geographical location and transportation infrastructure. After years of use, additions, and preservation, the old train car shed, Union Depot, was torn down in 1972.

Look at that beautiful Lookout Mountain in the background ❤️

Mark your calanders for this coming Saturday and Sunday in Franklin, TN !

Mike Kent invites you to attend the Original Nashville Middle Tennessee (Franklin) Civil War Show & Sale located at the Williamson County Ag Expo Park in Franklin, TN. December 6 & 7, 2025. Saturday, 9-5 and Sunday, 9-3. This is the original Nashville Civil War Show with 750 tables of antique fi****ms, Bowie knives, relics, buttons, belt buckles, uniforms, accouterments, and much more! Don't miss it! Admission is only $12 for adults and 12 and under Free. Visit us at https://mkshows.com for all of our show listings.

If you're relatively new to Chattanooga or long-term resident, this city has some incredible history associated with it!

On November 24, 1863, Federal forces under the command of Joseph Ho**er stormed Confederate positions along the slopes of Lookout Mountain in what became known as "The Battle Above the Clouds." Aided by a dense fog, the Federal attack caught the Confederates off-guard and out of position. Despite fierce Confederate resistance near the mountainside home of Robert Cravens, Federal troops overwhelmed the Confederate defenders. After nightfall, the Confederates abandoned Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga Valley, withdrawing to join Braxton Bragg and the main Confederate lines along Missionary Ridge. There, the Confederates braced for the attack that would decide the fate of Chattanooga.

Artist James Walker immortalized Ho**er’s victory in 1874 with the completion of his epic, 13’ x 30’ painting, The Battle of Lookout Mountain. Today, the painting is displayed at the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center.

In commemoration of the 162nd Anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is conducting a variety of special programs. The complete schedule of events is provided on the park website: https://www.nps.gov/chch/162ndbattlesforchattanooga.htm

The multiple photos (1864 I believe) taken at Lula Lake and the taller-than-you-think Lula Falls on Lookout Mountain are rarely posted and seldom visited but are crazy cool! It’s in Georgia south of Chattanooga. Anyone been? Full print and other links in the comments.

Have any followers seen this photo and possibly identified it?

On September 19, 1906, the surviving members of Andrews’ Raiders gathered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for what’s believed to be their final reunion. They visited the General on display at Union Station and paid their respects at the Chattanooga National Cemetery, where eight of their comrades were buried.

Among those present were William Bensinger, Daniel Dorsey, J.A. Wilson, William Knight, William Pittenger, Jacob Parrott, and John Porter—along with Anthony Murphy and Henry Haney of the Western & Atlantic Railroad.

John Porter, who had actually overslept in Marietta on the morning of the raid, still shared in the Raiders’ fate when he was captured and jailed with them. He outlived all the others, passing away in 1923 at age 85.

A famous photo from the reunion at the Ohio Monument in the cemetery shows these aging men together one last time—remembering their daring mission and the friends they lost.

Front row (L–R): John Porter, William Knight, Jacob Parrott, Anthony Murphy, Daniel Dorsey

Rear row (L–R): William Bensinger, Henry Haney

The Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad once built its tallest and longest bridge at Running Water (Whiteside), Tennessee, in 1852.

When Confederates destroyed it in 1863, Union engineers and the First Michigan Engineers Regiment rebuilt it in just 40 days. The new trestle stretched 500 feet long and stood 95 feet high, earning a reputation as one of the great engineering feats of the Civil War. To protect this vital supply line, Union troops even built a blockhouse and camp nearby.

Though the bridge was washed away by a flood in 1867, the railroad relocated the line in 1924 and built a new structure about half a mile from the original site. That bridge still carries trains today—a living link to Civil War history.

1864 photo of Union troops, camps, and blockhouse guarding the Running Water Bridge at Whiteside, TN.

Chattanooga - November 4, 1887

I saw an interesting cover (envelope) belonging to Chattanooga's *UCV camp. This cover is nearly 140 years old and was addressed to an interesting individual...

The tale of Robert Alonzo Brock’s massive Virginia manuscript collection is a fascinating dive into the past. Born in Richmond in 1839, this guy was a self-made historian with a knack for collecting. After his dad died when he was 11, Brock worked in the family lumber business, but his real passion was Virginia’s history. He joined the Confederate Army in 1861, serving as a private in the 1st Virginia Volunteers and later as a hospital steward in Richmond. After the war, he returned to lumber but started gathering books and papers like nobody’s business. By 1875, he was the go-to guy at the Virginia Historical Society, managing their collections and publishing big-deal documents like letters from colonial governors and records of Huguenot settlers. He even retired from business in 1881 to focus on history, editing the Richmond Standard’s genealogy column, writing Confederate veteran bios, and compiling "Virginia and Virginians", the state’s first major biographical guide.

Here’s where it gets wild: Brock’s collection—50,000 manuscripts and 800 bound volumes—was a treasure trove of Virginia’s story, with everything from 1777 military payrolls to 1865 Appomattox parole passes, plus family papers from names like Randolph and Tucker, and records on railroads and Freemasons. His Richmond home was stuffed floor-to-ceiling with this stuff. But when he died in 1914, the collection was sold in 1922 to California collectors Henry and Arabella Huntington for $35,000. That was unfortunate for Virginia, with folks like editor Douglas Freeman wishing the state had kept it. The good news? In 2002, the Library of Virginia and the Huntington, CA Library teamed up to microfilm it all, making it accessible again by 2007. Now you can check out these records at lva.lib.va.us, from diaries to legal papers, giving a raw look at Virginia life from the 1700s to the 1900s. It’s like unlocking a time capsule.