Confederate Soldier

Union Soldier

Four years of war ravaged the United States between 1861 and 1865. While the causes of the war are many, the tremendous toll counted in human lives answered two questions, 'Does one person have the right to own another?' and 'Does state authority exceed the authority of the federal government?' The answer to both was a resounding no!

The impact of the war was not limited to social issues. Many of the developments that today are classified as "modern warfare" arose during this great American confilict. It was the first time that war had a high speed means of all-weather transportation to move soldiers(railroads). The first time that machine guns and other weapons of destruction were used. The first use of electronic communication(telegraph). And it was the first time the words "trench warfare" crept into the vocabulary.

The battles and bloodshed forever changed the face of the United States. North Georgia saw over one hundred thousand men die in less than a year at places whose names are forever engraved in the minds of the American past: Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and the hell hole. Nowhere else in this war did so many men die in such a short period of time. And the destruction ordered by William Tecumseh Sherman before his "March to the Sea" only further alienated Georgians, many of whom were not actively involved in the war.

These are the stories of North Georgia and Chattanooga, told by the places where they happened. We hope you will enjoy our presentation of the Blue and Gray Trail.

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