The Chickamauga Battlefield National Military Park in northwest Georgia is the site of one of the Civil War’s fiercest battles. With 34,000 casualties, Chickamauga, which occurred Sept. 18-20, 1863, is regarded as the war’s second-bloodiest engagement (next to Gettysburg) .
Today, various monuments and exhibits throughout the 5,300-acre park describe the battle, drawing nearly 1 million visitors each year.
Last weekend, though, several of us Georgia Botanical Society members were there for another reason: In addition to its rich history, Chickamauga is a botanical treasure, harboring unique natural habitats and several of Georgia’s rarest plants.
We were there to explore some distinct ecosystems known as cedar glades. As our trip leader Mike Christison of Marietta explained, cedar glades are grassy openings where limestone bedrock is exposed or covered in patches by only a few inches of poorly drained soil. Each is only a few acres in size. The climate is harsh -- extremely hot and dry in summer and cold and wet in winter.
As their name implies, cedar glades’ dominant plant is the eastern red cedar, about the only tree that can withstand the harsh conditions. Even so, most of the cedars that we saw in the glades last weekend were stunted -- including some that are probably several hundred years old.
Though uncommon elsewhere in Georgia, cedar glades are particularly well developed in the Chickamauga Valley. Despite their austere conditions, the glades have a remarkable beauty and host a rich array of wildflowers and other plants.
“It’s pretty in here; I love it,” Christison said as he led us through a glade. “Only a very few visitors probably ever see these places.”
Altogether, more than 300 plants grow in cedar glades. Many of them are highly specialized to withstand the thin soils, geology and harsh climate. A few occur only in the glades.
Among the blooming plants that we saw in the glades last weekend were the hairy phlox (lavender flower); hoary puccoon (yellow); fire pink (red); birds-foot violet (purple); glade sandwort (white); wild garlic (purplish white); early buttercup (yellow); western daisy (white), lyreleaf sage (purplish); and nettleleaf sage (lavender).
We also found in bloom a particularly uncommon but beautiful plant, the purple-flowered Nashville breadroot. We dubbed it our “plant of the day.” That was premature, however, because we later found a large patch of breathtaking shooting stars in bloom.
“This is the real find of the day,” declared our co-leader, Rich Ware of Rome.
In the sky: The moon will be first quarter on Sunday -- rising out of the east around lunchtime and setting in the west around midnight, said David Dundee, an astronomer at the Tellus Science Museum. Mercury is low in the east just before dawn. Venus shines brightly in the west at dusk and sets about three hours later. Mars rises out of the east a few hours after sunset and will appear near the moon on Monday night. Jupiter is very low in the west at dusk. Saturn rises out of the east a few hours after sunset and will appear near the moon Friday night.
If you go
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
The 5,300-acre Chickamauga Battlefield near Fort Oglethorpe was the scene of the last major Confederate victory -- in September 1863 -- of the Civil War. In 1895, it became the first and largest military park created by Congress -- and the model for most national military and historical parks to come. It is now one of the nation’s best preserved Civil War sites. Its visitor center has an outstanding museum. The park also is the home of rare natural habitats called cedar glades, which harbor several plants found nowhere else in Georgia.
Directions: From Atlanta, go north on I-75. At Exit 350, take Battlefield Parkway (Ga. 2) west for seven miles to Fort Oglethorpe. Turn left at Lafayette Road (U.S. 27 South). Go one mile on Lafayette Road to park entrance and visitor center on right.
All units open sunrise to sunset. No entrance fee. Visitor center open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed on Christmas and on New Year's Day. Restroom facilities at visitor center.
Address: P.O. Box 2128, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. 30742. 706-866-9241. www.nps.gov/chch.
