Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Visitor Center at the Chickamauga Unit of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is located at 3370 LaFayette Road in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.

OPERATING HOURS

The Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center is generally open daily from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, but always check the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for the park before making your travel plans. The grounds of the park are open from dawn to dusk. The park is only closed on Christmas and New Year’s days.

Information desk at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

AMENITIES

Book and souvenir store at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

• Ranger-staffed information desk where you can pick up a free park brochure and hiking trail maps
• Museum and exhibit areas
• Book / souvenir store
• Restrooms
• Cineplex-quality movie theater complete with stadium seating
• Extensive gun collection donated to the park by Claud Fuller
• Outside is an artillery display of various cannon used in the battle

Artillery exhibits outside of the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

PARK FILM

An orientation film, The Campaign for Chattanooga: Death Knell of the Confederacy, plays every half hour on the hour and lasts 26 minutes. The first showing is at 9 AM and the last at 4 PM. The film is a newly produced “Hollywood” documentary just like you’d see on the History Channel, complete with actors and battle scenes. However, it is not for very young children, as bullets hit and bayonets pierce bodies. It’s not Glory (R-rated), but it is a solid PG film.

MUSEUM AND EXHIBIT AREAS

Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center atrium and exhibits, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

From the moment you enter the nicely lit atrium of the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, exhibits on the Civil War and the battle at Chickamauga greet the eye. A more extensive exhibit area, made up mainly of information panels, is located to the right of the information desk in the same area as the theater. This section focuses on the Civil War in general and features a nice timeline with brief descriptions of major battles and political events. Stories of individual personalities from the Chattanooga area round out the display.

Civil War exhibit area at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

To the left of the information desk is the actual Chickamauga Battlefield Museum. This focuses more on the battle at Chickamauga and includes relics, information panels, dioramas, and a recreation of an officer’s tent. The museum is quite small, so it doesn’t take long to read through the information.

Chickamauga Battlefield Museum exhibits at the Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Officer’s tent exhibit at the Chickamauga Battlefield Museum inside the Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Flag exhibit at the Chickamauga Battlefield Museum inside the Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Confederate soldier diorama at the Chickamauga Battlefield Museum inside the Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Also not to be missed is a 7-minute automated, lighted map presentation that explains the battle strategies. This short presentation gives the best overview of the battle and puts it in terms even non-historians can easily understand.

Animated map presentation of the Battle of Chickamauga inside the Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

FULLER GUN COLLECTION

In a room next to the museum is the gun collection of Claud Fuller, simply known as the “Fuller Gun Collection.” While there are hundreds of muskets and rifles, there is very little to actually read, plus there are only so many guns you can look at until they all blur together. The collection includes guns from the 1700s up until the World War 1 era. I spent 20 minutes in the collection room, but half of that time was spent taking photos. Unless you jump with joy at the sight of antique guns, you can browse the collection in 5-10 minutes.

Fuller Gun Collection at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Fuller Gun Collection at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Fuller Gun Collection at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

There aren’t many interpretive signs on the battlefield itself, so simply driving or hiking around the park does little to explain the events. Unless you are well versed in the battle’s history, short of a personal historian to show you around, watching the orientation film and spending some time at the museum is the best way to get a good idea of what went on during the battle. You could spend 30-45 minutes in the atrium exhibit area and the small Civil War exhibit area if you read all of the information panels. Of course, most people just browse and are in-and-out in 5-10 minutes. The Chickamauga Battlefield Museum actually has less information to read, but more relics and artifacts, but when you add in the 7-minute map presentation, a Civil War buff could spend another 30-45 minutes in the museum.

All in all, if you want to do the park “right,” plan to spend a minimum of one hour at the Visitor Center. That gives you 30 minutes for the park film and another half hour to browse the museum and exhibits. A person who is really interested in the Civil War, and the battle at Chickamauga in particular, could spend 2-3 hours. Again, don’t venture out to the battlefield with hopes of understanding what went on without first stopping at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center.

Back to the Top