Battle Above the Clouds Marker

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Lookout Mountain in Hamilton County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Battle Above the Clouds

By Dale K. Benington, July 18, 2012

1. Battle Above the Clouds Marker

Inscription. Hooker's troops
drove the Confederates
from Lookout Mountain
On November 24, 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the Union commander, ordered Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's forces to storm Lookout Mountain. Hooker's men swept up the western slope of the mountain from your left, and then charged around the base of these cliffs to you right.

The battle reached its high point near the Cravens House just below these cliffs to your right. The outnumbered Confederates were repeatedly pushed back.

Because fog enveloped the mountain most of the day, soldiers nicknamed the Battle of Lookout Mountain the "Battle Above the Clouds." That night the Confederates retreated across Chattanooga Creek to Missionary Ridge.

[Caption for the picture displayed on the marker]:

James Walker, a battle eyewitness, painted this interpretation of the Battle Above the Clouds in 1874.

General Hooker, directing the Union assault, rides a white horse in the foreground. (Hooker was located in the valley to your left.) In the background you can see the summit of Lookout Mountain where you are now standing.

Erected by Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park.

Location.

By Dale K. Benington, July 18, 2012

2. Battle Above the Clouds Marker

Close-up view of the picture displayed on the historic marker.

35° 0.757′ N, 85° 20.624′ W. Marker is in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, in Hamilton County. Marker can be reached from Point Park Road north of East Brow Road when traveling north. Click for map. This historic marker is located in Point Park, atop Lookout Mountain, at the Ochs Museum, on the museum observation deck, at the point of Lookout Mountain. Marker is in this post office area: Lookout Mountain TN 37350, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge (here, next to this marker); Tennessee River and Moccasin Bend (a few steps from this marker); Battle of Missionary Ridge (a few steps from this marker); Lookout Valley and Browns Ferry (a few steps from this marker); Lookout Mountain Trails (within shouting distance of this marker); Mountain Cliffs - Cherokee Geology (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Garrity's Alabama Battery (about 400 feet away); Corput's Georgia Battery (about 500 feet away). Click for a list of all markers in Lookout Mountain.

By Dale K. Benington, July 18, 2012

3. Battle Above the Clouds Marker

View of the historic marker affixed to the observation deck's retaining wall, with a distant view of the Tennessee River and Moccasin Bend in the background.

By Dale K. Benington, July 18, 2012

4. Battle Above the Clouds Marker

View looking west of the historic marker on the Ochs Museum observation deck.

Battle Above the Clouds nearby plaque base of the cliffs Photo, Click for full size

By Mike Stroud, 1984

5. Battle Above the Clouds nearby plaque base of the cliffs

Twenty Ninth Regiment
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
Colonel William Rickards, Jr. Commanding
Cobham's Brigade, Geary's Division
Slocum's Twelfth Corps
Hooker's Detatchment
From The Army Of The Potomac
(bottom of etching)
Battle Above The Clouds

Credits. This page originally submitted on August 31, 2012, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 132 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 31, 2012, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. 5. submitted on September 1, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.