This cache is located at an unexpected “Civil War Wayside” along Ga. Hwy 193, where a skirmish was fought between Confederate and Union forces, which could have had an important impact on the Battle of Chickamauga (destined to occur just one week later), had it succeeded.
Park at the posted coordinates. The cache is located close to the nearby three historical markers. (Although these markers have not fared well over time, their contents are also easily found at web-sites such as hmdb.org, the “Historical Marker Database.”)
Chattanooga was understood by both North and South to be pivotal to the War, and in the fall of 1863 Union Maj. Gen. Rosecrans planned a three-pronged attack on the city, with several feints to hide the real threat. This caused the Union forces to be spread dangerously thin. It was here that the Confederate forces first attempted to exploit this opportunity.
McLemore’s Cove is a sheltered valley located between Lookout Mountain and “P” mountain. Here, on September 9, 1863, Union forces commanded by Major General “N” moved through Dug Gap in this mountain and in so doing risked being cut off from the rest of its Army. Recognizing this vulnerability, Confederate General “B” immediately ordered Lt. Gen. Daniel “H” and Maj. Gen. Thomas Hindman to attack, intending to corner the Union division in the natural cul-de-sac of the Cove and destroy it.
Unfortunately, the Confederate commanders did not actually press their advance until 4PM on September 11th. Despite artillery fire that was “well-directed and terrific,” the now-reinforced Union forces were able to disengage and fall back in good order, only to set up another strong defensive position. By the morning of September 12th, four divisions of Union forces occupied the Cove and the Confederate opportunity had been lost.
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In the above description, each highlighted letter is the first letter of a name and it represents the number of letters in that name.
The final coordinates of the cache are: 034º HB.1P1 / 085º 21.2N2.
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This is a DAYLIGHT-ONLY location!