Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
Why it's listed
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park covers roughly 8,100 acres across Walker and Catoosa Counties in Georgia and Hamilton County in Tennessee. It protects the ground of two major Civil War battles fought in the autumn of 1863: Chickamauga, where Union forces were driven back and besieged in Chattanooga, and the later fighting at Lookout Mountain, Orchard Knob and Missionary Ridge, where the siege was broken. Chattanooga then served as the base for Sherman's Atlanta campaign. Congress created the park in 1890, the first national legislation to authorize preserving an American battlefield. Veterans of both armies helped place monuments, and more than 700 were eventually erected, along with cannon, roads and observation towers. A few surviving wartime houses, including the Brotherton, Kelly, Snodgrass and Cravens homes, remain. The Chickamauga unit is still largely rural, while the Chattanooga units are surrounded by the city. The park's early preservation work influenced how other battlefields were protected.
Significance in brief: It preserves the sites of the September 1863 Battle of Chickamauga and the November 1863 Battles for Chattanooga, which opened the way for the Atlanta Campaign. It was also the first American battlefield whose preservation Congress authorized, with veterans of both armies taking part in marking it. The War Department's work there from 1890 to 1933 served as a model for later historic site preservation.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 66000274, listed October 15, 1966. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | S of Chattanooga on U.S. 27, Fort Oglethorpe |
|---|---|
| County | Catoosa County |
| Listed | October 15, 1966 |
| Reference number | 66000274 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1863, 1890-1945 |
| Architectural style | Monuments reflect late nineteenth-century eclecticism, mixing Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts classical elements |
| Areas of significance | Social History, Politics/Government, Military, Landscape Architecture, Conservation, Art, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is marked good and original site. The park is public, open with unrestricted access, and used as a park and museum. The Cravens house on Lookout Mountain is a restored historic house museum. |
| Acreage | 8119.1 |
| Coordinates | 34.98983, -85.27518 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 66000274.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5096187
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.