Sherman Reservation: Cultural Landscape Inventory,Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, National Park Service

Styles, Sean; Goetcheus, Cari; Hasty, David

The Sherman Reservation, one of the 17 subunits that comprise the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, is located at the north end of Missionary Ridge off North Crest Road, just outside the city limits of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Crest Road was originally sited and constructed as an "approach road" owned by the park, connecting a total of eight detached reservations along Missionary Ridge. The 50-acre site is a significant component landscape due to its associations with the Civil War Battle of Missionary Ridge and with the establishment of the first national military park. The reservation preserves an area of the natural landform that influenced the course of the battle, marking the area where Sherman's troops tried to break through Confederate defensive lines during the battle of November 25th, 1863. It is also historically significant for its association to the Park Commission Era (1890-1922) and park developments during early National Park Service (NPS) administration. During the Park Commission Era and with the creation of the national military park, post-bellum agricultural structures were removed, the commemorative landscape was developed, earthworks were preserved, and structures such as monuments and fencing were added. Partially bounded by Lightfoot Mill and Durand roads on the south, the reservation encompasses two natural knolls connected by a north-south trending saddle. The focal points of the commemorative landscape are the two knolls where clusters of monuments, markers, and cannon occupy the crests, connected by a curvilinear dirt path. The reservation is primarily wooded, characterized by an open grassy understory interspersed with shade trees along the path and on the knolls. Remnants of the Union earthworks were preserved and incorporated into the landscape design of the northern-most knoll. During NPS administration, an entrance sign, visitor access road, and associated retaining wall and parking area were added along the western edge of the reservation. The condition of the reservation has declined in recent years. Successional vegetation is encroaching upon the open interior of the site. The entry road is closed to the public and also blocked by downed trees. Fallen trees are scattered throughout the remainder of the reservation. Iron markers have been stolen from the property, and the earthworks are now obscured by grasses, woody vegetation, and small to medium sized trees. A planting plan exists for the western slope of the site, but it has been largely lost to overgrowth. Views are similarly lost to forest succession along the western boundary.

Sherman Reservation: Cultural Landscape Inventory,Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, National Park Service

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