Chickamauga Blog

Please note that

Friends,

The Seminar in the Woods bus for Friday is now full. I can accept standby reservations, but I can no longer guarantee a seat. If I have cashed your check or have accepted your paypal, then you do have a reserved seat.

Saturday is of course free and open to all.

Thank you

I am pleased to announce that we have finalized details of the 2026 Chickamauga Seminar in the Woods:

Seminar in the Woods: Chickamauga, March 6—7, 2026

Mission Statement: The purpose of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Study Group is to create a forum to bring students of the American Civil War together to study and explore those events in the fall of 1863 that led ultimately to the creation of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, as well as explore other nearby Civil War-related sites.

Tour Leaders:  Jim Ogden and Dave Powell

Date: Friday, March 6, and Saturday, March 7, 2026; By bus and car caravan.

Friday’s tour will begin and end at the History Company, 2949 LaFayette Road, just north of the Chickamauga Park north entrance.

Saturday’s tours will begin and end at the CCNMP Visitor’s Center.

Bus – 8:30 AM, Friday March 6 – depart from the History Company, 2949 LaFayette Road, Fort Oglethorpe, GA.

We will revisit sites related to the opening of the Cracker Line and the battle of Wauhatchie on October 28, 1863. We will visit Moccasin Bend and Brown’s Ferry in the morning, and then move across the Tennessee River to explore Brown’s Ferry and Brown’s Tavern, plus the field at Wauhatchie, the Wauhatchie battle monument, and Smith’s Hill.

       We last visited these sites in 2013, and there is now much more that we can explore.

Friday evening, 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. – Q&A Panel with Jim Ogden, Dave Powell.

Note: REVISED MEETING SITE

 Site: Fort Oglethorpe field house gymnasium, 211 2nd Street, Fort Oglethorpe, GA

 Reprise of the Annual free-form question and answer session. We have been informed that Constitution Hall should be available for reasonable rental. If not, we will make other arrangements.

Saturday, March 7: Both tours will meet at the Park Visitor Center

Car Caravan – Morning, 8:30 AM to 12 Noon – Van Cleve vs Johnson Sept 19.

       After John M. Palmer’s Division of the 14th Corps was engaged in Brock Field on the 19th, two brigades of Horatio Van Cleve’s division of the 20th Corps were committed on Palmer’s right-rear. Aligning on the LaFayette Road, both brigades then moved into the woods east of Brotherton Field where they were soon engaged with parts of A. P. Stewart’s Confederate division and Carnes’s Tennessee Battery. Van Cleve was flanked in turn by the arrival of part of Bushrod Johnson’s Provisional Division, which entered the fight on Van Cleve’s right, forcing the Federals back into Brotherton Field.

Break for lunch

Car Caravan – Afternoon, 1:30 to 5:00 PM – Hindman attacks Davis, September 20

       Minus the hole created by the departure of Thomas Wood’s division in Brotherton Field, could the Union right flank held steady on September 20? We will explore the furious fighting between Davis’s battered Federal division and Thomas C. Hindman’s large division of Confederates, which was three times Davis’s strength. This walk will encompass parts of Brotherton Field, the woods to the south and west, and end near the Wilder Tower.

Costs:

 Friday’s Tours will be by Bus. Pre-registration and Fee required: $75, due by February 1, 2026.

As you might have expected, Bus fees are going up, and to make sure we cover all costs, I have raised the fee by $10. Thank you for your understanding.

 Sign-up after February 1 or on-site Fee (based on space available): $80. 

 Saturday: no charge.

In 2025 the group was able to donate $1000 to the Jewell Monument fund, run by the Friends of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, for maintenance and restoration needs. We will continue to make this our priority funding, as maintenance is often massively underfunded.

Send to (and make checks payable to):

David Powell

522 Cheyenne Drive

Lake in the Hills IL 60156

You may also send money via Paypal to [email protected]

Note: Your cashed check or acknowledgement from my concerning the Paypal payment confirms your reservation on Friday’s bus.

This fee is NON-REFUNDABLE after February 1st, 2026. Once we are committed to the bus, we will be charged the booking fee, and unable to cancel. 

Please note that everyone is responsible for their own lodging, meals, snacks, and incidentals.

Weather note: Three years ago, we had snow on Saturday, but we did not cancel. We are a (fool)hardy bunch, we go rain or shine. Dress accordingly, If necessary, bring transponders so the rescue teams can find us.

Dear fellow Chickamauga Seminarians:

The Friday Bus is now full. I will be taking names on a Standby basis,, as we usually have a few who cannot make it at the last minute, but I will be accepting no more Friday reservations. If you want to know if you made the bus, If your check clears in the next week, or if your Paypal payment has been processed, you are on the bus. I will notify any individuals who are on standby via email or Facebook.

Also, I have decided to forego the Friday evening discussion. Constitution Hall, which we used to rent for this event, (cost was a mere $50) is no longer available, and all the alternative sites are cost-prohibitive. While I know we all enjoyed the Friday Q&A Sessions, until I can find a suitable alternative, I don’t wish to pay several hundred dollars for an hour and a half’s rental.

If any of you have any ideas concerning a new venue at an affordable rate, please contact me.

See you all in March!

First, we have a change of venue for the Friday night discussion session. Instead of Constitution Hall, we will be meeting at Lee and Gordon’s Mills in Chickamauga. Constitution Hall is not available due to the upcoming primary election.

Adress for Lee and Gordon’s Mills:

71 Red Belt Road #3316, Chickamauga, GA 30707

Second, we have a couple of cancellations, so if you wish to grab a seat on Friday’s bus, meet us at the History Store’s parking lot at 8:15 Friday morning.

March 8-9, 2024

To all: the Friday Bus is now sold out. If you have any question about whether you have a reserved seat, be aware that if I cashed your check, you have a seat. Your canceled check is your receipt (one reason I still ask for checks.)

Going forward, I will take standby reservations for the bus, and you can alternatively elect to follow us in your own vehicle. Inevitably, there will be a couple of cancellations – happens every year – so contact me at [email protected] to verify there is room.

Saturday, as ever, is open to all. Let’s hope for balmy spring weather.

Thanks,

Dave

Mission Statement: The purpose of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Study Group is to create a forum to bring students of the American Civil War together to study and explore those events in the fall of 1863 that led ultimately to the creation of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, as well as explore other nearby Civil War-related sites.

Tour Leaders:  Jim Ogden and Dave Powell

Date: Friday, March 8, and Saturday, March 9, 2024; By bus and car caravan.

Friday’s tour will begin and end at the History Company, 2949 LaFayette Road, just north of the Chickamauga Park north entrance.

Saturday’s tours will begin and end at the CCNMP Visitor’s Center.

Bus – Friday all day, 8:30 to 5:00 p.m.: Bragg’s Right Flank

We will travel to Cleveland, Charleston, Philadelphia, and Loudoun. This exploration will cover events both before and after Chickamauga, including Buckner’s withdrawal to join Bragg, Confederate raiding actions in the Fall of 1863, and Eli Long’s strike at Cleveland in November.  Lunch TBA.

Friday evening, 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. – Q&A Panel with Jim Ogden, Dave Powell.

 Site: Constitution Hall, 205 Forrest Road, Fort Oglethorpe, GA

 Reprise of the Annual free-form Question and Answer session.

Car Caravan – Saturday Morning, 8:30 to Noon: Richard Johnson enters the fight, September 19th, Brock Field.

In sending Richard Johnson’s division of the 20th Corps into action, George Thomas could only tell Johnson to advance “oblique to the general line.” This brought Willich’s and Baldwin’s brigades into contact with Cheatham’s division of Polk’s Corps; Dodge was subsequently committed to attack into Brock Field. We will follow Willich’s and then Dodge’s movements.

Break for lunch

Car Caravan – Saturday Afternoon, 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: The Confederate assaults in Poe Field, September 20 AM —S.A.M. Wood, Bate, Clayton, McNair.

Before the breakthrough in Brotherton Field, Wood’s Brigade of Cleburne and A. P. Stewart’s three brigades assaulted Brannan and Reynolds’s divisions in Poe Field. All were repulsed. Finally, as the Federal right flank crumbled, McNair’s brigade broke through, though not without tough fighting.

Costs:

 Friday’s Tours will be by Bus. Pre-registration and Fee required: $45, due by February 1, 2024.

 Sign-up after February 1 or on-site Fee (based on space available): $50. 

 Saturday: no charge.

Fees raised in excess of costs (as well as any donations) will be used to support the causes of battlefield preservation, interpretation, and renovation.

 In 2023 the Study Group made the following donation:

$500 to the Jewell Monument fund, run by the Friends of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, for maintenance and restoration needs.

Send to (and make checks payable to):

David Powell

522 Cheyenne Drive

Lake in the Hills IL 60156

Note: Your cashed check confirms your reservation on Friday’s bus.

This fee is NON-REFUNDABLE after February 1st, 2024. Once we are committed to the bus, we will be charged the booking fee, and unable to cancel. 

Please note that everyone is responsible for their own lodging, meals, snacks, and incidentals.

Weather note: Last year, we had snow on Saturday, but we did not cancel. We are a (fool)hardy bunch, we go rain or shine. Dress accordingly.

Important: Friday’s Bus is Sold Out. I will be taking Standby reservations only. If you have questions, please contact me at [email protected]

Just a quick update to the Seminar in the Woods:

First, I now have 40 signups. just ten more spaces are left on the Friday Bus – Saturday is of course, open to all.

Second, we will be providing lunch at Greg’s Restaurant in Chickamauga, at 1:30 on Friday. Lunch will run later than usual because we have a lot of ground to cover in the morning, and we want to work around the restaurant’s regular lunch business.

The fare will be of the “meat and three” variety, southern cooking. Lunch will be paid for out of your existing sign-up fee, no need to pay extra.

Thank you and see you in March.