Chickamauga: Snodgrass Hill
“Snodgrass is arguably the most famous family name on the Chickamauga battlefield,” says historian Lee White. “George Snodgrass was 53 years old at the time of the battle and lived with his third wife, Elizabeth, and seven of his children. One son, Charles, served in the Confederate army along with several other local men; however, like many other local boys, his devotion to the Confederacy wasn’t very strong, and he deserted in the summer of 1863.
“George made his livelihood by farming and was evidently fairly successful, having a respectable-sized farm and home along with respectable real and personal estate. When the sounds of battle were heard to the east on September 18 and 19, George refused to leave his home until stray bullets began to strike the house and the surrounding area—only then did the family flee to refuge in a nearby ravine, where several other families joined them.”
Other family names still dot the Chickamauga landscape: Brotherton, whose farm served as the epicenter of Longstreet’s assault; Glenn, whose farmhouse burned down during the battle; Reed, who lost a dear member of the family during the battle; Kelly, who’d be forced to live in their kitchen building after their home was burned by Confederate artillery; Viniard, driven to such desperation by the carnage that he later joined the Union army. The cost of war impacted more than just the armies–it left an indelible mark on the families who lived there.
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Text adapted from material in Lee White’s Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale: The Battle of Chickamauga, part of the Emerging Civil War Series.
was really intriuged by this battle site for my Grandfather name was Snodgrass
My husbands last name is Snodgrass, his dad told us he had no other family? So we have no clue as to whether or not we have any other relatives ? Could be related I suppose? Sherry snodgrass
My sister is the widow of Al Snodgrass.
I have a photograph of the Snodgrass house that my great uncle took in 1931 when he visited the battlefield . Story is that my ancestor fought for General Thomas at this site in 1863. There are two cannons and the house looks the same in the modern photos as it did in 1931 so it must have been the one built in the 1890s and the current one is a replica of that.
MY GRANDMOTHER ON MY MOMS SIDE OF THE FAMILY HAD A COUISN HIS NAME WAS THOMAS HOWE R. NEAL HE HAD A FAMILY HISTORY BOOK WITH ALL THE ANCESTOR THEIR KIDS WILLS SERVENTS LAND MY GRAND MOTHER WAS IDA BELLE SNOGRASS HER FATHER WAS MY GREAT GRANDFATHER HIS NAME WAS CIDNEY THEY CALL HIM CID THIS BOOK IS DATED ALL THE WAY TO 1695 MY GREAT GRANDFATHER DAD’S NAME WAS JACOB SNODGRASS MARRIED PARLEY MILLER THEIR KIDS WERE CLARISSA SNODGRASS,SAMUEL SNODGRASS, LONA SNODGRASS, JAMES SNODGRASS,CIDNEY SNODGRASS MY MOMS GRANDFATHER, AND LOUISA SNODGRASS CIDNEY’S FIIRST NAME IS JACOB SIDNEY “CID”HE WAS BORN IN JULY 14 1874 IN JEFFERSON COUNTY TENN. DIED JANUARY 23 1956 I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD HE WAS MARRIED TO CORDIE SMART AUUST 18 1894 CORDIE DIED SEPT. 22 1913 ANY WAY MY GEORGE SNODGRASS NAME W2AS REALLY WILLIAM GEORGE SNODGRASS JAMES SNODGRASS MOVED HIS FAMILY FROM CUMBER GAP HE WAS FEAR UNION TROOPS WOULD PASS . HE BOUGHT A FARM IN WALKER COUNTY BUT WAS BADLY TREATED THE FOLLING YEAR 1863 WHEN HIS FARM BECAME THE BATTLEGROUND SEPTEMBER 29, 1863 PART OF HIS HOUSE ONE BEDROOM LOG PART STILL STANDS .
Raymond Weaver says: my family lived in a two bedroom WAC apartment for two years. I was 3-4 years old. My dad, a combat veteran, was in the Active Army Reserve on burial detail. Thousands of bodies were being returned from Europe in sealed caskets for state-side burial. My dad was the Honor Guard Commander. I remember Mom looking out the window of our apartment (1646 Second Ave), to see if the Greyhound Bus stopped at the Museum. She could tell by the larger headlights. Our barracks had 7 other apartments in it. It was within 200 feet of Snodgrass Field. I see the masonry pillars and concrete slabs in the underbrush. The planted loblolly pines were killed by the pine beetles in 1997. All the barracks were razed shortly after we moved from there. I’m particularly interested in seeing a plat of South Post – also others who lived there after the Army left. I remember several family names.