The Battle of Tunnel Hill

The Battles of Tunnel Hill

The small town of Tunnel Hill was the site of several skirmishes and battles from September 1863 to March 1865

Scroll down to see the pictures and skip this history lesson if you must, but you might miss learning something you didn't know before!

On September 11, 1863, just days before the Battle of Chickamauga, the first skirmish in Tunnel Hill took place. After the fight at Chickamauga, many sick and wounded were brought to Tunnel Hill, including Confederate General John Bell Hood. While there, his leg was amputated and buried in the woods nearby. (Wish we knew where -- we'd have a dig!)

The second conflict took place in November, 1863. After Bragg's defeat at Missionary Ridge, his army was in retreat to Dalton. As his army was passing through, a rear guard set up positions in Ringgold Gap where the Confederates delayed the Federals for several hours before withdrawing. On November 28th, the Confederates who had retired to Tunnel Hill found themselves under an aggressive attack. They were able to hold their positions and have the Federals retire to Ringgold.

The third skirmish occurred on January 28th, 1864, when a strong body of infantry from the US Fourteenth Army Corps who was advancing from Ringgold met up with Confederate outposts. Driving them to Tunnel Hill, the Federals got close enough to see it still in control of the Confederates. The Federal infantry then retired. Union losses were two wounded, with 32 wounded for the Confederates.

During Sherman's March to the Sea, Yankee soldiers reached Tunnel Hill February 23, 1864. Sherman took over the Clisby Austin House from May 7th to May 12th that same year. Legend says he slept in the same bed previously occupied by the wounded Confederate General Hood.

The Union soldiers prepare to fire the first round of cannons

It was quite an impressive sound -- I can only imagine the fear it struck into the hearts of men as they heard it, knowing what was coming.

At this point, the battle had been going on for about an hour. My mind began to wander, thinking about the battle that took place here over 100 years ago, and the men who fought it. I was brought back to reality when my eyes began to water from the smoke in the air -- at least that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

As the smoke cleared, the field was littered with bodies. These men were husbands, fathers, sons, uncles, and friends. Today, they got up and walked off the field. In the early 1860's, they didn't.

I would have to say, and I think the kids would too, that the best part about this day was visiting the sutlers' tents. Such interesting wares for sale! We really enjoyed walking around and seeing so many people dressed up. To view some of the things available for purchase, visit the Fall Creek Suttlery website at www.fcsutler.com. Christian had been bitten by the re-enacting bug before we came - now he is REALLY looking forward to being involved someday. The Clisby Austin House spoken of in the first part of this post is visible behind the sutlers tents on the left.

Re-enacting is not a cheap hobby, so Christian will have to build his equipment stash and outfit gradually. Today, he acquired his brogans (boots), and his hat. No -- that's not hard liquor he's holding! One of the sutler's had a tent in which you got to pick out your keepsake bottle, and then they filled it with old-fashioned soda.

Following the re-enactment, we took a walk over to The Old Tunnel, which you see in the picture behind us. The Tunnel was completed in 1850, and was the first railroad tunnel built south of the Mason-Dixon line. It is 1,477 feet in length and took almost two years to build. As we walked through the entire length of the tunnel, there were gouges and scrapes evident, and we heard the guide tell of several stories where trains that were too big barely made it through. In once instance, a steam engine loco didn't make it and became lodged. You can imagine what it would be like in a stone tunnel with that kind of heat! The men on board passed out from heat exhaustion and had to be rescued. The engine was dislodged when another engine rammed it back out the way it had come in. Very interesting history . . . . . .

We returned to the Ringgold KOA in the late afternoon, and were glad to find that my Grandpa, and his wife Hazel had made it up from Florida with the fifth-wheel RV. We enjoyed visiting around the fire with them and eating s'mores.

Christian and Andrew enjoying the fire

A doggie tower!
Several people have asked us if the dogs come with us when we camp. Yes, they do, and this is what we do with them when they need to be contained (which is much of the time!)