Sherman Reservation on the north end of Missionary Ridge was a long and grassy ribbon of peace and quiet on Thursday afternoon.

With no other visitors spotted, I had the place to myself after climbing the steep hill entered near where Lightfoot Mill Road meets an out-of-the-way extension of North Crest Road. I felt for less than an hour as if I were on a mini-vacation, or at least temporarily owned a nice estate.

Chattanoogans or other visitors unfamiliar with the place might be surprised to come upon an open field at the top of the ridge about 400-500 yards long and 75 yards wide, with some of the grass on the edges higher and not mowed, making the setting look a little like a golf fairway.

The lay of the land also goes down to a valley in the middle of the long stretch, and trees — including several old ones — surround the grass. The trees on the west end were my friend on this hot day in function as well as in aesthetic appearance, as they provided shade while I lightly jogged back and forth.

This land could easily be Farmer Brown's meadow, I thought, except for some Civil War markers dotting the space and showing that it belongs to Uncle Sam and is part of National Park Service land. I could not help but think that the tall and secluded Iowa monument — one of several identical ones the state placed around Chattanooga — looked like a trophy, while some of the smaller, box-like Illinois markers reminded me of large stone coffins or mini-mausoleums. Both descriptions could be metaphors for the fighting that occurred around Chattanooga, I thought.

Some information online says that on Nov. 25, 1863, during the last day of Civil War fighting in Chattanooga, Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s men had attacked the northern end of Missionary Ridge in this area also called at the time Tunnel Hill (with no relation to the place in Georgia), but they were held back by the artillery and forces of Confederate General Patrick Cleburne’s division and failed to secure the hill here. The artillery cannon reminders at the top of the southern end of the field part of the reservation hint of that.

However, the Union had been successful overall in the assault on Missionary Ridge and took Chattanooga back in its hands before the Civil War fighting moved into Georgia.

Some lectern-like tablets or large plaques tell the story of both sides also throughout the grounds, although I did notice several places that just had posts, perhaps indicative of the news-making event of May 2025 and possibly other times when some tablets or plaques were removed and stolen, perhaps for their copper value. Most Chattanoogans, as well as most of the soldiers who fought in the war for more nobler reasons, might find the thought of committing such a crime on an old battlefield simply for a little money atrocious.

Although Sherman Reservation is in a secluded part of Chattanooga 15 or 20 minutes from my home near Northgate Mall, I felt very safe and at peace here. It was probably the opposite feeling that the soldiers had long ago. Any stress I had quickly went away, and only the very hot August temperatures kept me from staying longer than about 45 minutes.

I have been here between about five and eight times since I first discovered it in 2020, when I realized a beautiful rolling field opened up like a hidden geographical gem at the end of the quarter mile climb up a wooded path. And each visit is quite enjoyable, and I always wish I could come back sometime with family and enjoy a picnic on a pleasant day.

And in the colder season, you get a nice view back toward East Chattanooga, parts of the downtown area and the mountain ridges, adding to the experience.

A road also comes in from the west side near the end of that North Crest Road extension, and walkers or joggers can come in that way.

Maybe the National Park Service people, perhaps going in with the city of Chattanooga, can make it into an even better place to visit and in the process protect both people and markers.

After all, the setting is simply priceless within a rapidly developing Chattanooga and provides opportunities for both remembering and rejuvenation.

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jcshearer2@comcast.net