When you hear of Chattanooga you likely think of the Incline Railway, you may want to “see Rock City”, or you might want to go to the Tennessee Aquarium. But have you thought of stepping back into history and visiting a Civil War Battlefield?
The Battle of Chickamauga, in the BookShark 4th Grade History lesson.
On our most recent trip to Chattanooga I wanted to find something educational to see. I remembered driving through Chickamauga several times when I was a kid. On our way home from Chattanooga we would detour through the battlefield with our parents telling us that an important part of the Civil War took place there. Called by one of the Confederate soldiers “This…is the death-knell of the Confederacy.” Chickamauga was important as it was so near to Chattanooga, The “Gateway to the Deep South”.
I am a BookShark Brand Ambassador and did receive curriculum in exchange for sharing details of their product.
BookShark’s 4th Grade History will have us diving deeper into the Civil War.
We are entering our 5th year of homeschooling and our 5th year of using BookShark curriculum. This year for history my son has been learning about American History. Check out the 4th grade history curriculum here. And of course we have read about the Civil War. (We will be studying it much more in depth in a few months). Side note: This year I have learned more about American History than I have in all my years of school. Our excitement for history and learning about the past has grown exponentially this year.
Located just south of Chattanooga, the Chickamauga Battlefield has so much to see. We started our trip through the historic points at the welcome center. There you can get the big picture of all that happened and why the Civil War started. We were able to watch a brief 20 minute movie about the Battle of Chickamauga and the importance it had on the Civil War. This short clip was wonderful with sharing enough story line to keep us impressed, but also sharing some notable facts about both the Civil War and the importance that Chickamauga played in it. And we were able to see how the soldiers felt. They were sure it would be a quick war with both sides reaching an agreement rather quickly and the soldiers were sure they would be home soon to return to their prior jobs as school teachers and farmers.
The kids were impressed by the cannons out front and the massive collection of muskets inside the museum. It was fun getting to see these things in real life after reading about them. We were even able to see a short clip about the different ways to load a musket and how a new improved weapon with a quicker loading time could mean the difference between getting 3 shots to your enemies 1!
If you go on the tour of Chickamauga you will drive from place to place, with it spanning more than 10,000 acres, it is a lot to cover. You can hear a detailed description of several of the important monuments/markers as you come to the sign marked with a stack of cannon balls and a number. You can hear these by going online or calling 585-672-2619 I found it easiest to call the number and was able to play it over our car speakers. It was neat being able to listen as we drove around. Some of the sites we stayed in the car and on others we got out and explored.
There are monuments and markers of all kinds notating various parts of the battles that took place there, or the death place of a decorated soldier. There is a cabin so that the kids can see how people lived back then, but probably our favorite part was at the Wilder Brigade Monument with the 85 foot Wilder Tower. The tower erected here was a sight for sure. You can make the climb up to the top and check out what I am certain is an incredible view of the surrounding fields.
Learning about American History this year has been incredibly interesting, and my homeschooler is excited to continue studying it next year as well. We look forward to traveling to more sites of important American History in the coming months as we continue our study with BookShark. Seeing these places while getting to travel as a part of it has really made it so much more real for my (now) 4th grader. Travel really does make the history come alive.
If you are interested in how I got started homeschooling with BookShark or have any questions I would be happy to answer them and help you however I can.
I have been bringing my son to any place I can afford to immerse him into history. He has always had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. At the beginning of first grade, he was asking about battles on our soil. He is a reader. Considering we don’t have the best library, I headed to the store and bought him an I Survived… book. We found the Gettysburg book and sat down, taking turns reading pages. The end of the school year, we planned for a trip south. We drove down to Springfield, IL because President Lincoln is his favorite. There, we walked through the Lincoln Museum, his mausoleum, and the street where his house stands. From there, we headed to Nashville. We went to the Belle Meade Plantation, The Hermitage, and Stones River battlefield and national cemetery. We haven’t been able to pull off a big road trip since. But I do search for local things. For instance, did you know Wisconsin had a battle during the War of 1812? This war is another favorite topic of my son’s. Last summer, they had a reenactment where that battle took place. We drove down for the weekend to partake in the festivities. If we could afford, we would take him out to the east coast to Boston, Philly, and as many other places as we could. His bucket list is long.
Michelle, what an awesome opportunity for y’all to take that trip! I bet that was exciting for him. I bet the re-enactment was really cool to see. I have never been to one, but should look for one to go to.
We also want to go to Boston and Philly and see all the history there. I hope y’all get to visit soon.
What has been his favorite thing to see so far?