In late August 1863, the Federal Army of Cumberland began moving toward Georgia, and on the extreme right of the Federal lines the XX Corps, approximately 5,000 soldiers commanded by Major General Alexander M. McCook, advanced across Lookout Mountain with Alpine, Summerville, and Rome, Georgia as its objective line of march. At Alpine on September 1, 1863, Confederate cavalry of the Army of Tennessee commanded by Major General Joseph Wheeler massed to plan and impede the Federal advance, blockading mountain roads and passes with felled trees. That day the Federal cavalry vanguard reached the east side of Lookout Mountain, and cavalry skirmishes occurred at Tap's Gap, present-day Cloudland, and at Neal's Gap in Chattooga County. Skirmishing continued near Alpine at Henderson's Gap on September 3. On September 5, Federal cavalry of the 2nd and 4th Indiana Cavalry regiments passed through Alpine on reconnaissance toward Melville, present-day Lyerly, and skirmished near Alpine with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th Georgia, and 5th Tennessee Confederate cavalry regiments. On September 8, Brigadier General George Crook, commander of the second division in Stanley's Federal Cavalry Corps, reported that his command, in advance of General Stanley's expedition into Broomtown Valley, met the enemy at Alpine in a skirmish, after which the enemy retreated toward Rome; his loss was 3 killed and 11, and he could not tell what damage had been done to the enemy. On September 9 at 9:00 a.m., Confederate Generals Nathan Bedford Forrest, Joseph Wheeler, and John Wharton met at Alpine. On September 10, Federal cavalry conducted reconnaissance from Alpine toward Rome, Lafayette, and Summerville, Georgia, and skirmished at Summerville. On September 11, General McCook's headquarters was established at the foot of Lookout Mountain near Alpine, Major General D. S. Stanley ordered aggressive reconnaissance toward Lafayette in an attempt to establish contact with General George Thomas' XIX Corps, which McCook believed was near Lafayette, Federal infantry forces arrived in Alpine, Federal Colonel Edward M. McCook led the First Cavalry Division from Alpine to Melville on reconnaissance toward Rome, and six companies of cavalry were sent to Dirt Town. The skirmish at Alpine on September 12 was the most significant of the Alpine skirmishes; Confederate records of General Joseph Wheeler estimated Confederate loss at 50 and Federal loss at 200. On September 13 at 8:00 a.m., Federal Major General Alexander M. McCook began the retrograde march of the XX Army Corps infantry divisions back up and across Lookout Mountain, and by 5:00 p.m. his headquarters was on top of the mountain. Federal cavalry forces left Alpine on September 15 to rejoin the XX Army Corps on Lookout Mountain, and on September 19–20 came the Battle of Chickamauga. Structures remaining in Alpine from the Civil War period include several residences constructed around original log cabin interiors, while the Alpine Community Presbyterian Church and the Samuel Knox plantation house, five miles north of this site, retain their original antebellum appearance.

Photo: Angela Nichols