CHATTANOOGA

OR

Lookout Mountain

AND

Missionary Ridge

From MOCCASIN POINT

BY

BRADFORD R. WOOD, JR.,

Brevet Captain, late U.S.A., Brevet Major U.S.V. Albany, N.Y.

A paper read at the Thirty-second Annual Meeting of the U.S. Veteran Signal Corps Association, held at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., September 10, 1907.

Major Wood, when introduced, said:—

I wish to describe to the comrades present a great battle which resulted in a victory for the Union, and to introduce you to some of our Western soldiers. If I can give you one or two new facts, or increase your love for the West or for all of our great and glorious country, I shall be well pleased. My story is not all original, but what is not I have taken from official and reliable records, so that I can say that it is all true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Published November, 1907
By The U.S. Veteran Signal Corps Association

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN AND MISSIONARY RIDGE
FROM MOCCASIN POINT

In the fall of the year 1863, during the Civil War, while serving in the signal corps attached to the fourth corps of the army of the Cumberland, it was my privilege to have a good station on Moccasin Point, opposite Lookout Mountain, on the north side of the Tennessee river, from which to witness the assault of the Union troops under Gen. Hooker up the north face of the mountain, and also the charge of the army of the Cumberland under Gen. Thomas up the western slope of Missionary Ridge.

Moccasin Point is about three miles below Chattanooga and is formed by a bend in the Tennessee, which turns to the east and north at Lookout Mountain, continuing in that direction to a little north of Chattanooga, when it inclines to the northwest and then again to the southwest. The eastern side of Moccasin Point near the river is quite steep and from 100 to 150 feet above it, the crest of the ridge being covered with trees. The western side and the point slope gently to the river bank and contain some cultivated fields and farm houses, the peninsula being about a mile wide in the widest part. From the summit of Lookout Mountain it bears some resemblance to an Indian's foot clad in a moccasin, from which it derives its name. Lookout Mountain is an elevated plateau extending from the Tennessee river about forty miles southwest into Georgia and Alabama, its sides and summit being covered with trees, with some open fields and cultivated farms. Near Chattanooga its height is about 1500 feet above the river. The northern slope from the Tennessee is rocky and steep for about 600 feet, when the ascent is more gradual and contains an open space of a few acres cultivated as a farm. A white farm house, known as Craven's, is situated on the upper margin of the farm and near the western point. From the southern side of the farm the ascent to the summit is very rocky and almost perpendicular. The house was occupied by the confederate general E. C. Walthall as his headquarters. Around the point of the mountain, a little above the river, is the track of the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad cut in the side of the rock, and above it, across the open field, was a wagon road leading into Lookout valley. On the eastern side of the mountain and connecting with this was the road to Summertown, the only wagon road to the summit of the mountain for many miles. Chattanooga creek, a good-sized stream, flows into the Tennessee at the foot of the mountain on the eastern side, and Lookout creek from Lookout valley on the western.

After the battle of Chickamauga the center of the army of the Cumberland withdrew from the field in good order on the night of Sept. 20, 1863, to Rossville, a few miles south of Chattanooga, and was ready to give battle on the following day, the right and left wings being again in position. It was not however closely followed or attacked by the enemy, but as Chattanooga was considered a much better position for defense, on Sept. 22, the army took up its position on the hills surrounding the town and was soon intrenched and securely fortified against any attack. Its lines extended from the Tennessee river on the south to the bank of the river on the north. It also held Moccasin Point, the river being crossed by a pontoon bridge, and the north side of the river to Bridgeport, from whence it received its supplies by wagon road.

The Confederate army occupied Lookout Mountain, Lookout and Chattanooga valleys on the south, and Missionary Ridge on the east, also Orchard Knob and some other intervening hills. They had railroad connection with Atlanta, 140 miles south, and could easily receive supplies and reinforcements.

Battle of Chattanooga.

On Oct. 20, 1863, I was ordered with Lt. S. A. Thayer and four flagmen to establish a signal station of observation on Moccasin Point, to watch the movements of the enemy and report to a signal station on Cameron Hill directly south of Chattanooga, from whence there was a telegraph line to the headquarters of the army in the town. Our station was on the edge of a bluff overlooking the river, and about fifty yards in rear of the guns of Capt. Naylor's battery, the 10th Indiana. This battery consisted of one 10-pounder and one 20-pounder Parrott, and two 12-pounder brass howitzers. To the right and a little lower down on the point, was Capt. Spencer's battery the 1st Illinois, formerly Capt. Aleshire's, of two brass Napoleons and two 12 pounder howitzers. Still further to the right and rear was encamped a brigade of infantry under the command of Gen. W. C. Whitaker. On the north face of Lookout Mountain were two lines of intrenchments with redoubts on the eastern and western extremities, and a covered way around the point. There had been a battery near the Craven house, but the fire of our guns was so accurate that it had been withdrawn to the summit of the mountain where it was more secure. Our batteries had a good range of the wagon road across the point of Lookout and also of the Summertown road on the eastern side of the mountain, a portion of which could be seen. As Capt. Naylor was serving at division headquarters as ordnance officer, Lt. Crosby was left in charge of his battery, and with his Parrott guns he did some very fine shooting. He sank the trail of one of them in the ground elevating the muzzle sufficiently to explode some shells directly over the summit of the mountain. One day we noticed a signal officer on the point of Lookout, signaling to Gen. Bragg's headquarters on Missionary Ridge, and Lt. Crosby was about to fire at him when I requested him not to do so in order that I might try to read his message. I called off the numbers to one of my flagmen, who wrote them down and afterwards compared them to the Confederate code which had been given me, but they did not agree. As the flagman on the mountain stood with his left side towards me, it was very difficult to distinguish the motions of the flag from the right to the left; so I thought I did not get the numbers correctly, or else the officer was using a cipher. I tried again however, Lt. Crosby writing down the numbers for me, but meeting with no better success, I said I had no objection to his firing at the flag, which he did, the shell exploding very near it, and we saw it no more. There was a rumor soon after that a signal officer had been killed on the top of the mountain, but I never heard it confirmed. The signal station was probably moved further back on the summit where we could not see it, as communication