Lookout Mountain & Chickamauga Battlefield · · PAGE 20. 

November 18, 2020:  Wednesday continues on Lookout Mountain after we cross the state line into Georgia.  This left turn will take us to a different route off Lookout Mountain on the East side back toward Chattanooga.

Going straight East from the intersection seen in the image above takes you through a couple of stop signs and starts down the side of Lookout Mountain in Georgia heading north with this panoramic view of the valley and mountains to the East.

There is a short parking lane on the right side of the road as GA 157 northbound starts down the side of Lookout Mountain.  It is very useful to get photos of part of the Rock City attraction.

We got to the bottom of the road off Lookout Mountain at 10:48 AM where Tennessee route 58 meets route 17 that goes south through Saint Elmo, a part of Chattanooga.  When TN 17 gets to the Georgia State line, the route becomes GA 193 going south to GA highway 2.

Just one block south of the intersection seen in the image above finds two similar homes that date back to the early part of the 20th Century.  This blue/green house was built in 1900.

Just one block north of the Georgia state line is this little white house where my great aunt lived.  She was the youngest sister of my grandfather on my mother's side of the family.  My mother was the youngest daughter of my great aunt's older brother Charlie. My mother was born before my great aunt.

A few miles East on the modern four-lane Georgia Highway 2 brings us to this intersection where US 27 turns north to Chattanooga.  A bypass of US 27 around the west side of the Chickamauga Battlefield National Park brings US 27 to this intersection.  We are turning south on the original US 27 route south through the National Park.  There was at one time a military installation south of here known as Fort Oglethorpe.

A right turn going south on old US 27 goes through the town of Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.  The town is named for an old military base that was built here after it was authorized in 1902 with its first contingent of officers and men of the 6th Cavalry arriving in 1904.  It was an active military base until after World War II.  This is one of the surviving buildings from the old base that was here.

Just south of the city limits of the town of Fort Oglethorpe is the northern boundary of the Chickamauga Battlefield as seen here.  That intersection was where the original route of Georgia highway 2 came this way from the LEFT through part of the battlefield from the small town of Ringgold, Georgia on US 41 southeast from Chattanooga.

The original Museum is this building just inside the park boundary when entering the battlefield from the north.  This National Park Service article is a good way to learn about the battle that took place here.  It also provides information about the battles at Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Orchard Knob near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

This expansion of the museum behind the building seen in the photo above was built behind that building and facing south.  It does not detract from its the original building appearance as seen from the old US 27 highway, which is the main artery for traffic through the battlefield park.

The view of the original park museum and headquarters building has been preserved.  From this vantage point on the highway, the newer building in the rear is not visible.

This cannon display just south of the Visitor's Center is easily accessed from the main road going through the battlefield.

There are some visitors learning about the battle that was fought on this very spot.  One of the things to consider about WHEN this National Park was created, there were plenty of Civil War veterans to tell their stories of where they were engaged with the enemy and where they camped when no fighting was taking place.  

There are more locations across the park where cannons are placed.

This is the Wilder monument located adjacent to the western boundary of the park 2.65 miles south of the visitors center via the park access roads.  Linda took this photo  detail from a different camera angle from my photos seen below.  Having seen the entrance to Point Park on Lookout Mountain, it would appear the same company built this monument.

I took these photos of the Wilder Tower with my first one viewed from the parking area looking northwest.

This view is looking north between some trees.

I took two photos of this marker at the Wilder Tower that tell the story of the battle that took place here.

This is the right side of the same marker.

This part of the marker talks about the construction of the monument and John T. Wilder after the Civil War.

The RED LINE is the 2.65 mile route from the visitor center to the Wilder Tower monument.  The park is well defined by the dark green forest area.

The southern boundary of the Chickamauga Battlefield is well defined by the commercial business locations on private land.  About half a mile south of this point is where this road ends at the FOUR LANE Junction of US 27 that has bypassed the park.  There are no highway marker signs about US 27 where you will turn LEFT to go south on US 27 as we did on our visit to the park today, November 18, 2020.

TURN LEFT when you get to this intersection with US 27 just north of the town of Chickamauga, Georgia.  We went past this location at 12:34 PM.  We stopped in a McDonald's parking lot half a mile south of here for about two minutes to consider some alternate routes on my GPS to avoid Atlanta.  I did not program a destination since the GPS wants to use Interstate highways to get "there" as quickly as possible.  This afternoon is about the rural scenic route and small towns.