Crawfish Spring, the first name of the modern community of Chickamauga, Georgia, lay in an area where Cherokees lived before their forced removal in 1838, with their Chickamauga District courthouse near the spring. In the 1840s James Gordon, an early white settler, used enslaved African craftsmen to build a two-story brick plantation house west of the spring, and his son Clark later stood on a large rock between the spring and the house to raise a company of local men for Confederate service. In September 1863 struggle came to Crawfish Spring when, on the 16th, Union Major General William S. Rosecrans established his headquarters in the Gordon House. After an extremely dry summer, Crawfish Spring was the most reliable water source in the area, supplying thousands of canteens, including more than 1,000 for the 39th Indiana Mounted Infantry after the first full day of fighting on the 19th. Because of that dependable water supply, the federal army's Medical Director, Dr. Glover Perin, made Crawfish Spring his major hospital depot for the Battle of Chickamauga from September 18 through 20, using the house and several large tents while many wounded lay outside, sheltered when possible and otherwise placed in rows with campfires at their feet during the cold nights. As thousands of other federal soldiers marched north past Crawfish Spring toward the battle, the hospitals became exposed to attack, and although many men were hastily evacuated late on the 20th, by 5 pm Confederate Major Joseph Wheeler's cavalry had captured the hospitals, 20 wagons of medicines and camp equipage, and more than 1,000 wounded federal soldiers. On September 20, 1889, thousands of veterans from both armies, including General Rosecrans and former Confederate Major General and Georgia Governor John B. Gordon, met there in reconciliation and friendship, sharing barbecue and patriotic speeches, visiting comrades and former enemies, and walking the battlefield to remember the fighting and the dead. Their reunion strengthened efforts to establish the battlefield as a park, and on August 19, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed the bill creating America's first national military park.

Photo: Snapshot From Google Earth

Photo: David Tibbs

Photo: David Tibbs

Photo: David Tibbs

Photo: Dale K. Benington

Photo: Dale K. Benington

Photo: Dale K. Benington

Photo: Dale K. Benington

Photo: Dale K. Benington

Photo: David Tibbs

Photo: David Tibbs