On our way northward in the spring of 2009, we paid a visit to Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN. Quite a steep, winding road up the mountain - afterwards we said we should have taken the Incline Railway to the top. It would have been easier on the LD. We were surprised to find that the entire top of the mountain, except for the small point overlooking the city, is a major residential area. Point Park is part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, the first National Military Park, dedicated in 1895.
The entrance gate to Point Park was built in 1905 by the Corps of Engineers. It is the largest replica of the Corps' insignia in the world.
As at most military parks, one finds cannons.
When the establishment of the park was recommended, it was pointed out that probably no other field in the world presented more formidable natural obstacles to large-scale military operations than the slopes of Lookout Mountain.
Battles in this area were fought in the fall of 1863 and ended on 25 Nov after Gen U. S. Grant drove the Confederate Army from the area. The battle fought on the slopes of Lookout Mountain was known as The Battle Above the Clouds. The next spring, Gen Sherman used Chattanooga as his base when he started his march towards Altanta and the sea.
From the tip of Point Park one looks northward over Chattanooga and Moccasin Bend of the Tennessee River.
There are over 1400 monuments and historical markers in the Park. In the center of Point Park is the New York Peace Memorial, depicting a Union and a Confederate soldier shaking hands under one flag. The monument is 95 feet high and built of Tennessee marble and pink Massachusetts granite.
A great view of the CSX railroad.
Built in 1895, the Incline Railway is the steepest passenger railway in the world, with the grade at the top being 72.7%. There are two cars connected by a long cable - as one goes up, the other is coming down. There's a passing track halfway up.