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

Union Occupation of the Summit

November 25, 1863

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, September 25, 2013

1. Union Occupation of the Summit Marker

Inscription. No Union troops gained the top of Lookout Mountain during the battle. Before daylight the next morning thereafter, General Whitaker, commanding brigade in Cruft's Division of the Fourth Corps, called for volunteers from the Eighth Kentucky to scale the palisades and take the point of the mountain. It was not then known that the Confederates had withdrawn. The following responded: Captain John Wilson, Company C; Sergeant H. H. Davis, and Private William Witt, Company A; Sergeant Joseph Wagers and James G. Wood of of Company B, and Private Joel Bradley of Company I. These scaled the bluff soon after daylight and at sunrise unfurled the flag of the regiment upon the point, in full view of both armies. This force was soon followed by the Eighth Kentucky regiment, Colonel Sidney M. Barnes and a considerable number of the 96th Illinois who followed without orders; and shortly after by the whole of the Ninety-sixth Illinois, Colonel Thomas E. Champion. These regiments advanced some distance upon the top of the mountain and found that the Confederates had withdrawn.

Erected 1890 by the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Battlefield Commission. (Marker Number MT-11 .)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil.

Location.

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35° 0.763′ N, 85° 20.64′ W. Marker is in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, in Hamilton County. It can be reached from Point Park Road north of East Brow Road. This historic marker is located just below Point Park, immediately below the Ochs Museum observation deck, on a trail that runs along the base of the Lookout Mountain palisades. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lookout Mountain TN 37350, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 111th Pennsylvania Infantry (here, next to this marker); Cobham's Brigade (a few steps from this marker); Lookout Mountain Trails (a few steps from this marker); Tennessee River and Moccasin Bend (a few steps from this marker); Lookout Valley and Browns Ferry (a few steps from this marker); 29th Pennsylvania Infantry (a few steps from this marker); Point Hotel (within shouting distance of this marker); Battle Above the Clouds (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lookout Mountain.

Other markers no longer nearby. Battle of Wauhatchie (was a few steps from this marker but has been confirmed missing); Re-Opening the Tennessee River (was a few steps from this marker but has been confirmed missing); Battle of Chattanooga, 1st Day, Nov. 23 (was a few steps from this marker but has been confirmed missing);

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, September 25, 2013

2. Union Occupation of the Summit Marker

View of the historical marker, on the left, situated on the slope of Lookout Mountain, at the base of the palisades.

Battle of Chattanooga, 2d Day, Nov. 24 (was a few steps from this marker but has been confirmed missing); Battle of Chattanooga, 3d Day, Nov. 25 (was a few steps from this marker but has been confirmed missing); Localities of the Campaign (was a few steps from this marker but has been confirmed missing); Campaign for Chattanooga (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing).

More about this marker. This historical marker is located between Point Park on the top of Lookout Mountain and the Cravens House about midway on the slopes of Lookout Mountain. To get to this historical marker requires walking from either Point Park, down a series of aluminum steps, and the marker is very near the base of the steps, or walking up a trail, up the slopes of Lookout Mountain, from the Cravens House.

Because I am in my sixties, and have two bad knees, I chose to use the steps, walking down and then back up from Point Park.

Interestingly (I think), the pictures that I took and posted of this particular historical marker were taken on a foggy day, a day with similar conditions to what existed when the battle was originally fought, above the clouds.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, September 25, 2013

3. Union Occupation of the Summit Marker

View of the historical marker, the second tablet on the left, situated just beneath the marker for the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, September 25, 2013

4. Union Occupation of the Summit Marker

Looking down to the base of the stairway that one would use to get to the historical marker from Point Park, at the top of Lookout Mountain.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, September 25, 2013

5. Union Occupation of the Summit Marker

View looking down from the top of the stairway steps that one would use to get to the historical marker from Point Park, at the top of Lookout Mountain.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, July 27, 2017

6. Union Occupation of the Summit Marker

View of page 11 from the National Park Service’s record book on the Chattanooga - Chickamauga ”MT-numbered” listings of classified structures, which is kept in the Chickamauga Battlefield Park's Visitor Center.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 11, 2019. It was originally submitted on October 2, 2013, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 874 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 2, 2013, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. 6. submitted on August 30, 2017, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio.