Continuing my visits to Civil War battlefields, I went to Chattanooga. I wanted to visit Chickamauga, the first preserved Civil War battlefield, created in 1890. There are multiple areas that are part of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. Chickamauga has a great visitor center, a video about the battle and siege of Chattanooga. There is a QR code for an online tour or an audio tour with your phone.

The Lookout Mountain and Point Park Visitor Center has more exhibits plus a great trail around the mountaintop with information on the “Battle Above the Clouds”. They had scheduled Ranger Talks when I visited.

I stopped by the Orchard Knob area one evening, another part of the battlefield during the siege of Chattanooga. There are beautiful views of the city from here. The Moccasin Bend National Archeological District is considered part of the military park. There is not much to see other than some informational signs.

There are many lovely walking areas downtown along the riverfront. From Ross’s Landing, across the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge, to Coolidge Park, up the Williams Staircase to the Bluff View Art District. All offer lovely views and lots to see. There is a longer trail system, too, the Tennessee Riverwalk Trails. I drove a few miles north to visit the Tennessee Riverpark one afternoon.

When we were walking to the Walnut Street Bridge, the world’s longest pedestrian bridge, I saw some statues and signs and stopped to learn about the lynching of Ed Johnson at the Ed Johnson Memorial. Horrible injustice. Glad the memorial was finally erected to remember him and teach people about this history.

The city is full of art. Boo and I started our first morning at Sculpture Fields at Montague Park for a long walk there but there are murals and sculptures all over town. We also visited the Sculpture Garden on the riverfront in the Bluff View Art District. Great art and views.

Museums

I spent a few hours at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. There are displays and exhibits of history on slavery, emancipation, and civil rights in Chattanooga in half of the museum. The other half has information on music from Bessie Smith to Usher. There was also a display on Samuel L. Jackson, one of the most famous people from Chattanooga.

I visited the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. They had a good discount for veterans. It was a very interesting visit. The first recipients were members of Andrew’s Raiders who stole the General. I also learned about the first and only woman recipient, Dr. Mary Walker (Congress tried to take the medal back after the war), a musician who rallied the troops to stand their ground at the battle of Chickamauga, a lot about Sargent York, and many others, plus the history of the medal. Prior to the Civil War there were no medals given to the military, just Washington’s “Badge of Military Merit”, predecessor to the Purple Heart. Definitely recommend a visit.

The Chattanooga National Cemetery has a memorial built by Ohio for Andrew’s Raiders, several of them are buried around the monument, including 4 of the Medal of Honor winners. The very first winner, Jacob Parrot, is buried in Ohio. I saw the graves of Desmond Doss and Charles Coolidge, both Medal of Honor winners, too. I learned more about both in the museum a few days later.

Tours

I took the Chattanooga Ghost Tours one evening. Walking tour only and dog friendly. Interesting history and stories.

I booked the Chattanooga Trolley Tour with the train ride. I enjoyed the tour of the city with Craig. I could have skipped the “historic train” but did like seeing the turntable, where they turned the engine for us. We also visited the repair shop learning about how they fix the wheels. We started at the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo, the former train station, now a hotel and restaurants.

Restaurants

After walking across the Walnut Street Bridge, I searched for a dog friendly restaurant, and found the Basecamp Bar & Restaurant just a couple blocks away. This is where I learned about the Chattanooga Burger Week and all the restaurants offering $7 burgers.

The next day while out walking around in downtown, I looked for a dog-friendly restaurant again and Ruby Slipper Cafe came up; bonus they also offered a $7 burger. Their burger had a fried egg and bacon (I shared the bacon with Boo, he loves bacon), it was delicious.

Oddstory Brewing Company was part of the Chatt Burger week but I wanted their Szechuan noodles. Delicious, so was the sour and a black lager.

I wanted to try the beer at Five Wits Brewing, I had several 5 ounce beers and another burger. One of my favorite burgers of the week, simple, cheese, lettuce, tomato, a good sauce but well-prepared and very flavorful.

I had a fantastic lemon cookie from Cupcake Kitchen. They were recommended by Craig when on the trolley tour. They had a large selection of cookies and cupcakes and they all looked great.

When downtown to visit the Medal of Honor museum, I walked over to Agave & Rye and had tacos and an order of excellent corn fritters. Outside seating, dog friendly. Their “epic tacos”, a hard shell corn shell wrapped in a soft flour did not sound good to me but the birra tacos were great.

** All photos property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced **