Chickamauga and Chattanooga

Between 1890 and 1899 the Congress of the United States authorized the establishment of the first four national military parks: Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Shiloh, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg. The first and largest of these, and the one upon which the establishment and development of most other national military and historical parks was based, was Chickamauga and Chattanooga. It owes its existence largley to the efforts of General H.V. Boynton and Ferdinarnd Van Derveer, both veterans of the Army of the Cumberland, who saw the need for a national park to preserve and commemorate these battlefields during a visit to the area in 1888. During some summer weekends, encampments of regiments from various states provide living history demonstrations. Also, during the summer, living history demonstration of a soldier's life are offered.