|
Chattanooga
Missionary Ridge Railroad Tunnel (1852-53), accessible only by railroad tours given by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, 4119 Cromwell Road, Chattanooga, 423-894-8028.
Directions: I-75 Exit 4. Follow Hwy 153 to Jersey Pike. Turn left and cross over Hwy 153. Take a right onto Cromwell Road and go a short distances. Look for Tennessee Valley Railroad sign on the right.
The best way to experience the Civil War’s reliance on the railroads of southeast Tennessee is by taking the museum’s train through the Missionary Ridge Tunnel, a 979-foot long tunnel built largely by African American slaves in the late 1850s. Federal troops in 1863 fortified the ridge entrance to the tunnel to protect it from sabotage. Keeping the tunnel open was critical to supplying the U. S. Army’s march on Atlanta.
|
