4. _Battleline Road._ Make a right turn to enter Battleline Road. The
positions of the Confederate right wing are on the left in the wooded
area some 75 to 250 yards east of the road. Union troops occupied the
line along the road during the second day of the battle.
5. _Poe Road._ Cross U. S. 27 and follow Poe Road. This route is a
continuation of the Union defense line that you have followed along
Battleline Road. You will note in this area that several Confederate
batteries are so situated that it would appear they must have fired into
their own infantry. This situation resulted from Longstreet’s
breakthrough. The Confederate troops in this sector turned right after
crossing the highway and struck the right center of the Union line. A
careful examination of the metal markers at each battery will give the
movements of each unit and the time element involved.
A metal marker designates the site of the Poe House.
[Illustration: _Part of Fuller Gun Collection, Park Headquarters and
Museum Building, Chickamauga Battlefield._]
[Illustration: _Brotherton House, scene of Confederate breakthrough.
Chickamauga Battlefield._ Courtesy Chattanoogans, Inc.]
[Illustration: _Union monuments along Battleline Road, Chickamauga
Battlefield._]
[Illustration: _Georgia Monument, Chickamauga Battlefield._]
[Illustration: _Wilder Monument, Chickamauga Battlefield._]
6. _Georgia Monument._ This imposing shaft is directly in front of you
as you leave Poe Road to enter the main highway. Upon entering the main
highway turn right.
7. _Brotherton House._ (Please face the house). This reconstructed house
marks the site of the old Brotherton home, famous for the Confederate
breakthrough. Here Longstreet found the gap in the Union lines (to the
rear of the house at the wooded area) and sent his troops forward. The
Confederate troops emerged from the wooded area back of you, crossed the
LaFayette Road, and drove westward and northward. This action was the
turning point in the Battle of Chickamauga.
The monument of shell across the highway in back of you marks Maj. Gen.
Simon Bolivar Buckner’s headquarters site.
After leaving the Brotherton House, you continue for 1.1 miles and make
a right turn. The triangular shell monument on the right along the
highway commemorates Col. Hans C. Heg (Union).
8. _Wilder Monument._ This imposing monument was authorized in 1892 and
completed in 1902, to honor Col. John T. Wilder and his troops. It is
built of Chickamauga limestone and rises to a height of 86 feet. A
spiral staircase leads to a platform at the top where you can obtain an
excellent view of the battlefield and surrounding area.
Wilder’s troops occupied the ground in this vicinity when Longstreet
sent the left wing of the Confederate Army forward. This brigade of
mounted infantry was armed with the Spencer repeating carbine, a
seven-shot weapon. These troops, numbering more than 2,000 men, poured a
deadly fire into Longstreet’s veterans, but were unable to stop the
Confederate advance. They remained on the field until the last minute
and had to fight to get to their horses.
The monument stands upon the ground where General Rosecrans had his
headquarters on the 19th and early morning of the 20th of September
1863.
9. _Snodgrass Hill._ The log cabin on Snodgrass Hill marks the home of
the Snodgrass family.
The troops from the center of the Union line began to fall back toward
this hill when Longstreet’s men rushed through the gap in the Union
line. Brannan’s Division and fragments of Negley’s, Wood’s, and Van
Cleve’s Divisions held the positions on the hill. About 2 p. m.
Steedman’s Division arrived to reinforce the line on the extreme right.
The Union troops held the hill during the afternoon and at dusk began
the withdrawal that led them through McFarland’s Gap and into Rossville.
[Illustration: _Union monuments at Viniard field, Chickamauga
Battlefield._]
[Illustration: _Snodgrass House, Chickamauga Battlefield._ Courtesy
Walter H. Miller.]
The tour ends on Snodgrass Hill. To return to park headquarters and U.
S. 27, please follow park headquarters signs and the yellow lines.