Missionary Ridge is a geographic feature in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, site of the

Battle of Missionary Ridge The Battle of Missionary Ridge, also known as the Battle of Chattanooga, was fought on November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union Army, Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on ...

, a battle in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, fought on November 25, 1863. Union forces under Maj. Gens.

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, and George H. Thomas routed

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forces under General

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and lifted the siege of the city. Chattanoogafromnorth

Missionary Ridge runs basically north–south for several miles and varies in width from a few feet to over , with very steep, nearly vertical sides that rise over from the ground surrounding it. Missionary Ridge was so named for the early missionaries who made their way along paths climbing the ridge on their way to Brainerd Village to the settlement of the Cherokee. It was also referred to as "Mission Ridge" in the early years. The southernmost end of the ridge extends into

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The ridge was slightly east of the city at the time of the battle but now, due to urban growth and

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

, it largely bisects the city. A section of the ridge was blasted away during construction of

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennesse ...

. This is known locally as the "Ridge Cut". The cut's sharp curves and steep grade are often a factor in crashes and congestion. The ridge today is an affluent residential area with many plaques and monuments to the battle, some of which are in the yards of residents, but most of the larger of which are surrounded by small reservations which are part of

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, located in northern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, preserves the sites of two major battles of the American Civil War: the Battle of Chickamauga and the Siege of Chattanooga. A detailed ...

, administered by the U.S.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. Crest Road follows the summit of the ridge for nearly its entire length. Like many areas in the South, Missionary Ridge is notorious for its

kudzu Kudzu (), also called Japanese arrowroot or Chinese arrowroot, is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands. It is invasive species, invasive in ...

infestation. The city of Chattanooga has undertaken a trial program using

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s and

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

s that graze on the plant. In 2007, the goats grazed along the Missionary Ridge area in the east of the city.

Tunnels

*Bachmann Tubes, which carry Ringgold Road through Missionary Ridge from Chattanooga into the neighboring town of East Ridge. *Missionary Ridge Tunnels (also unofficially known as McCallie Tunnels), which carry McCallie and Bailey Avenues through Missionary Ridge where the route continues as Brainerd Road. *Wilcox Tunnel, which carries Wilcox Boulevard through Missionary Ridge and connects to Shallowford Road. *Whiteside Tunnel (Missionary Ridge Railroad Tunnel) carries the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum trains between East Chattanooga and Grand Junction. Construction of the tunnel was started by the Chattanooga, Harrison, Georgetown and Charleston Railroad which went bankrupt before the work was completed. The tunnel was completed by the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad as part of their Chattanooga Branch. The railroad named the tunnel after Col. James A. Whiteside-a well known Chattanoogan and major stockholder of the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad.

References

External links

Missionary Ridge Neighborhood Association
{{authority control Ridges of Tennessee Landforms of Hamilton County, Tennessee Geography of Chattanooga, Tennessee Landforms of Walker County, Georgia Ridges of Georgia (U.S. state) Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park