Chattanooga Area Gems

The history of the Sixth Cavalry, Fort Oglethorpe, and the town of Fort Oglethorpe are intermingled. The fort was dedicated in December 1904, named after the founder of the Georgia colony; it was first used to instruct regular and National Guard troops.

A young John J. Pershing served here for a short time, and First Lieutenant Dwight David Eisenhower served nearly 3 months in late 1917 as an instructor in trench warfare.

Then in 1963, President Abraham Lincoln established the 6th Cavalry during the Civil War. They have served on the Texas border during the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, and the Boxer Rebellion, and have also been in pursuit of Poncho Villa.

When the Jeep was introduced, the 6th Cavalry changed from horse to motor vehicles and the fort was used as a testing ground. When the 6th was transferred to South Carolina in 1942, the post then housed the WACCs and WACs; a prisoner barracks was established to house German POWs, including some of Rommel's Afrika Korps. The prisoners who died while being held at the fort are buried in the National Cemetery in Chattanooga.

When the Fort was closed in 1946, local citizens purchased the land and applied to the state to incorporate the City of Fort Oglethorpe, which was granted in 1946. Several post buildings have been converted to new uses. The gymnasium is now a restaurant and antique shop, the PX is now an antique store, one stable houses a gift shop, one of the officers’ houses is a bed-and-breakfast, and the rest is made up of private residences. At the entrance to the parade grounds, the Post Chapel is on the left and the Post Theater on the right. The original flagpole and the original post bandstand can also be seen.

The 6th Cavalry Museum is located in a building donated by the city; it covers the history of Fort Oglethorpe and the 6th Cavalry from 1904 to the present. There are two floors of displays and exhibits, which include photos, maps, uniforms, and much more, most of which was donated by members of the 6th, who hold their reunion here every year. There is also a Patton Tank and a Cobra Gunship. We spent over 2 hours wandering around the museum and the old parade grounds. They have a very knowledgeable curator who was able to answer all our questions and point out interesting things in the museum. If you enjoy military history, this museum is a must. Just south of the museum is the Chickamauga National Military Park, site of the Battle of Chickamauga, September 19-20, 1863, the bloodiest 2-day battle of the Civil War. We're saving this for next year.

The 6th Cavalry is currently stationed in Korea.

Tel: (706)861-2860
Hours: Tuesdday-Friday, 9am-12pm and 1-4pm
$3/adults, $10/family

It’s located in Downtown Chattanooga, and the entrance is on S Holtzclaw Avenue, between Bailey Avenue & E. Main Street.

We stop at every National Cemetery that we can; some are small and hidden and others, such as this one, are very large and historic. This one was started in December 1863 to bury the Union soldiers killed during the battles of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge.

When you stop here, be sure to stop in the office and ask for the self-guided historical tour pamphlet. It will make your visit much more enjoyable. This is a very hilly cemetery; even if you park in the middle and walk, you’re going to get a very good workout. We parked at the Circle of Honor, where there are about 20 memorials covering everything military from the Civil War to the women of WWII to Vietnam.

There are many interesting and unusual things to see in the cemetery. The memorial archway that was built in 1868 is one of five built in the National Cemeteries. They are 40 feet tall and modeled after the triumphal arches of ancient Rome. There are over 180 German POWs buried here. They were being held at Fort Oglethorpe as prisoners when they died. The German government erected a monument here in 1935 to honor the 78 prisoners who died during WWI, and another 105 German POWs died here in WWII. As far as I could find, this is the only National Cemetery with foreign POWs buried in it.

Look around and check your map to find the Fourth Army Corps Obelisk monument, the Armed Forces Pavilion, the two limestone caves (closed in 1930s, when two explorers died in them), and the Six Medal of Honor Recipients that are buried here. Before you leave, be sure to see The Andrews Raiders Monument, otherwise known as "The Great Chase." James Andrews, along with Union troops from Ohio, in an attempt to destroy Railroad bridges and the telegraph lines, stole the train known as the "General." They went on a 90-mile chase, being pursued by the Confederate soldiers. When the train ran out of fuel, they continued on foot until they were all captured a few weeks later. Eight of the raiders, including Anderson (a civilian), were executed. Their actions are what inspired the US Government to come up with a medal to honor this type of courage, "The Medal of Honor."

It was a beautiful day: the trees were all coming into blossom, and before we knew it, 3 ½ hours had past. For military-history buffs, this is another must. Whether you drive through in 30 minutes or spend hours walking around, you’ll be glad that you did.

As zoos go, the Chattanooga zoo is on the small side. They house about 21 different exhibits, and a petting ranch for the kids. Taking your time and seeing everything is about a 2-hour trip. Even though the zoo is small it is very well run and has very nice exhibits, better then some of the really big zoos that we’ve been to. The location of the zoo (in Wagner Park) has left it little or no room to expand, and because of its size it was not shoulder-to-shoulder with school groups and baby buggies. The day we visited there were probably less than 50 other people there, which made viewing the animals very pleasant. All the animals were very active and moving around their exhibits. Our favorite exhibits were; the Chimpanzees, swinging around on the ropes all over the place; the cougar, pacing around nonstop, and the owls. But I think my absolute favorite was the albino anaconda, a mixture of snow white and sunshine yellow... I could have watched it for hours.

We visit a lot of zoos in our travels, we joined the zoo society at a local zoo and this entitled us to free admission at over 125 zoos across the country. We got the grandparents membership, which allows our grandchildren and us free admission. The membership cost $50, which with parking is only $7 more then one visit to the zoo. So if you have grand-kids, and like zoos, you might want to look into it.

Admission price:

• Adults…………....$6
• Seniors 65+ ..…..$4
• Kids 3-15 ………$3
• Under 3……..FREE

 

From downtown Chickamauga (which is about 6 miles south of Fort Oglethorpe), take 341 north for almost a mile; when the road makes a sharp left, take it. The park is about 200 yards down on your left. Parking and admission are free.

We stumbled on to these 100-year-old coke ovens while we were wandering around the back roads. It’s a small little city park filled with displays and history. The Durham Coal Company used these ovens to convert coal into coke, which burns much hotter and longer and was used in the foundries of Chattanooga. The coke ovens were in operation until the Depression, when they ran out of coal. The ovens were restored in the 1990s and a few railroad coal cars were put on display. There are about 50 beehive-style ovens here, with 10 or so plaques explaining their history and how they operated, a small pond with a footbridge, and picnic tables with grills. It always amazes us at what you can find on the little back roads. Without a picnic, plan on about an hour. If you have kids, it could be much longer.

If you find yourself in this area on the first or last Saturday of the month between 9am to 5pm (because this is the only time that it is open to the public) then plan on spending about 2 hours here.

I forget how we heard about this place, but I’m sure glad that we did. We arrived here at about noon on a nice sunny spring day with just a little chill in the air. The gravel road you take to the parking area is very windy and a little steep in places, but passable with any street vehicle. It’s the old railroad grade, and takes you right down to the creek. Here you will find one of the volunteers who will give you a map of the trails and answer any questions that you might have about the area.

There are about 10 miles of marked trails, but the one we chose was the easy one that takes you to Lula Lake and then Lula Falls. It follows the old railroad bed all the way, there and back. The trail takes you right along side the creek for about a mile until you come to a foot bridge, from there you can see the lake and the top part of the first falls. Continue a little further and there is a picnic area with a fantastic view of the lake and smaller falls, look close and you will find a small path made for stones that will take you down to the lakes edge. The water is crystal clear in the creek; the lake, due to its depth (65ft) is a beautiful emerald green. Remember "NO SWIMMING IN THE LAKE."

About another quarter of a mile and you will find the big falls, Lula Falls. I would guess that they are about 80- to 100-feet tall. You will also find a trail here that leads down to the base of the falls; this is a very steep, muddy, and slippery trail so be warned. The wife decided not to try it, but I wanted to get some pictures so down I went. I made it to the bottom with three slips and no falls, and after taking a few pictures I saw that you could walk around behind the falls to a small cave-like opening, so I did. Depending on the wind, plan on getting pretty wet from all the mist and be extra careful of your footing—I chalked up another five or six slips with one where I buried my hand in the mud to keep from having a muddy bottom. When climbing out it was like climbing ten steps, and I stopped to catch my breath, repeat, repeat, repeat until I got to the top. It took about an hour to get rid of the rubbery legs. Will I do it again next year, you betcha.

Don’t miss this one.

For Directions and other info:

www.lulalake.org

Mountain Bikes & Pets on leashes allowed

We spent one day doing a little side trip over to the City of Cleveland, no not the one on the lake. Our first stop was to see one of the "Whispering Giants" that was carved by Peter Toth to honor the Indians that were on the "Trail of Tears," which started near here at Red Clay.

Only a few-blocks away is the Bloody Mausoleum made famous by "Ripley’s Believe it or Not," so off we go in search of blood. As the story goes, Little Nina was out for a buggy ride with her Grandfather. He had done this many times before, and Nina absolutely loved riding. Apparently, Dr. Thompson lost control of the horse and buggy because it went directly into the path of a train. Dr. Thompson was thrown to safety, but Nina was killed. Mr. Craigmiles (Nina’s father) had a mausoleum built behind the church in memory of his daughter. She was laid to rest inside, as was another infant son who died, and so were  Mr. and Mrs. Craigmiles. Mr. Craigmiles met an untimely death after falling on some ice, which apparently triggered blood poisoning. A third member of the family had met a tragic death. If you visit the mausoleum, you will notice red streaks, the color of blood, appear on it. The stories say that the bloody stains first began to appear on the Craigmiles mausoleum after Nina was interred there. With the death of each family member, the stains grew darker and more noticeable. Some of the locals began to believe that the marks were blood, coming from the stone itself, in response to the tragedies suffered by the family. They have washed and scrub the stains with bleach and even replaced some of the marble but the bloody stains always reappear.