147 year old war photography

Some 200 historic black-and-white images from the American civil war are published in the new book, “Historic Photos of Chickamauga Chattanooga” by James A. Hoobler. The book follows “Historic Photos of Gettysburg” and is part of a planned series.

“It’s the most traumatic event in American history — the only time we went to war with ourselves and the only time when part of the country has been invaded, conquered and militarily occupied.” The book’s wartime images and narratives trace events from the campaign for Tullahoma, which set the stage for the two-day clash at Chickamauga in September of 1863, to the two-month midfall siege of such Chattanooga locales as Brown’s Ferry, Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. link

Hoobler, senior curator of art and architecture at the Tennessee State Museum, says the book has been in the works for twenty years. He previously authored the photographic essay of occupied Nashville and Chattanooga, “Cities Under the Gun.”