Point Park on top of Lookout Mountain is beautiful and usually you can see the Tennessee River and the city of Chattanooga beyond these canons, but that was not true this past weekend. The mist was thick. Still, I walked down to the overlook just to see this awesome view.
The park was built in 1905 to commemorate the Civil War “Battle Above the Clouds.” Most of the actual fighting took place on the mountainside and not in the vicinity of the park. Carter Stevenson, commander of the three brigades that defended the area positioned canons atop Lookout Mountain to aid in it’s defense. Once the canons became ineffective, they were withdrawn.
The park has numerous monuments to the soldiers who died in the area. The battle for Chattanooga changed the outcome of the Civil War. It was the beginning of the end for the South. The next spring Sherman used Chattanooga for his base as he started his march to Atlanta and then on to the sea.
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