Home of Old Green Eyes — America's First National Military Park
3370 Lafayette Rd, Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free admission. Free parking.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved visitor center; battlefield roads and trails range from accessible to moderate
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1863 · Civil War · First National Military Park · Georgia Military History
The Battle of Chickamauga raged across two days in September 1863 in the woods and fields of northwestern Georgia, as General Braxton Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee fought General William Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland for control of the critical rail hub at Chattanooga.
The name Chickamauga — derived from the Cherokee language — carries multiple proposed meanings; 'River of Death' is the most commonly cited in popular sources, though scholars offer several alternatives.
The Confederate tactical victory was substantial: Rosecrans's army was routed, retreating to Chattanooga with Confederate forces in pursuit. But Bragg failed to press the advantage decisively, and when Union reinforcements under Ulysses Grant arrived and broke the Confederate siege at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge in November 1863, the strategic fruits of Chickamauga were lost.
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, established in 1890, was the first national military park in the United States. The visitor center opens daily at 8:30 a.m. The battlefield is open during daylight hours. Admission is free.
Sources
Old Green Eyes predates the national park's modern profile as a ghost destination — the legend has circulated in northwest Georgia for generations. A Confederate soldier, the story goes, had his head blown off by cannon fire during the battle and was buried without it. His spirit wanders the battlefield searching, identifiable by the green eyes that appear before the full apparition resolves.
The Brotherton Cabin, at the location where Confederate forces finally broke through the Union line on the afternoon of September 20, 1863, is described in paranormal research as the single most active structure on the battlefield. Cold spots, an intense overwhelming sense of sorrow, and sudden dread have been reported by visitors who enter the cabin with no prior knowledge of these accounts.
The Kelly House has generated accounts from park rangers, paranormal investigators, and casual visitors: figures looking through windows, standing in the doorway, moaning and praying voices audible from inside the structure when no one is there.
Neighbors have reported gunshots, moaning, and crying sounds from the battlefield on quiet nights. The moving lights seen across the fields after dark — which observers at a distance have described as flickering, lantern-like — are interpreted in local tradition as the lights of women searching for their husbands and brothers in the dark.
Notable Entities
Walk or drive the battlefield where 34,624 soldiers fell in September 1863. The Brotherton Cabin marks where Confederates broke the Union line. The Kelly House — where apparitions have been reported at the windows by park rangers and investigators — stands at the field's edge. Visitor center open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free admission.
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Fort Oglethorpe, GA
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was established by Congress in 1890 as America's first and largest national military park. It preserves the September 1863 Battle of Chickamauga, which produced approximately 34,000 casualties across two days, and the November 1863 Battles for Chattanooga that broke the Confederate siege of the city.
Aerial survey · USDA NAIPHenning, TN
Fort Pillow, built on a high bluff above the Mississippi River in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, was garrisoned in April 1864 primarily by soldiers of the US Colored Troops. On April 12, 1864, Confederate forces under Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked and overran the fort, then killed 229 of the 262 Black defenders — many after they had surrendered — in one of the most thoroughly documented atrocities of the Civil War.
Kennesaw, GA
The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, fought June 19 through July 2, 1864, was a major engagement in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Confederate forces under General Johnston held the mountain and surrounding terrain, inflicting roughly 3,000 Union casualties when Sherman ordered a frontal assault on June 27. Total campaign casualties near Kennesaw reached approximately 5,000. The NPS park preserves the mountain and surrounding battlefield including Kolb's Farm.