Inspiring Women of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
by Jennifer Crutchfield, National Park Partners
The Chickamauga Chattanooga National Military Park holds a unique place in history, established as a reunion of opposing soldiers, voted on by veterans of the battle and established 26 years before the National Park Service was formed. It is also a place that introduces us to two incredible women who were both wartime pioneers blazing trails for the country and their gender.
Mary E. Walker (photo courtesy of the US Library of Congress)
Mary Edwards Walker was born in 1832 in upstate New York and boldly entered Syracuse Medical College to earn a Doctor of Medicine, traditionally an all-male degree. After the Civil War broke out, she began working in Union tent hospitals in Virginia and Tennessee, performing operations under fire at the Battle Chickamauga. She was the first female surgeon in the US Army and spent a lifetime working to improve rights for her gender.
In April 1864, Mary crossed enemy lines to treat wounded civilians, was captured, and arrested by Confederate forces as a spy. She was held prisoner of war in harrowing conditions and later awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery. For the remainder of her life, Mary continued service as a suffragette, known for her pants, top hat, and bravery. When questioned for her attire, Mary was famously quoted as saying, “I don’t wear men’s clothes, I wear my own.”
Once the United States entered War II, Fort Oglethorpe became an inductions and processing center as well as a major training center for the Women’s Army Corps. The 6888th Central postal Battalion was the first Black WAC unit sent overseas during the war. Major Charity Adams led this battalion, over 800 women, as they deployed overseas to face a seemingly insurmountable task.
Major Charity Adams (photo courtesy of the National Women’s History Museum)
Born in Kittrell, North Carolina, she was first in her high school class, studied Math and Latin in college and became a teacher. In 1942 she enlisted in the WAAC and became its first African American officer, rising to lead the 6888th. Following training at Fort Oglethorpe, the unit’s 855 women were tasked with clearing a backlog of mail that had stretched for nearly two years in the European Theatre.
The 6888th left Fort Oglethorpe to begin a harrowing trip across the Atlantic. The ship was pursued by submarines, many women became seasick, and they encountered harrowing conditions before arriving in Birmingham, England to face unheated aircraft hangars full of undelivered mail. Their motto was “No mail, no morale,” and tasked with accomplishing its goal in six months, her team worked around the clock, sorted 65,000 pieces of mail each day and finished the job in three months.
Visitors to the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center will enjoy museum exhibits on the Battle of Chickamauga and Campaign for Chattanooga, as well as the Fuller Gun Collection. A bookstore is administered by America's National Parks and an orientation film is shown every half hour. The Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center is open daily from 8:30 am to 5 pm.
Nearby, the 6th Cavalry Museum engages visitors in the stories of historic Fort Oglethorpe, including the 6th Cavalry, Camp Greenleaf, the 6888th Battalion, WACs and more. Guests can enjoy the exhibits, stories, and historic vehicles Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 4 pm.
Chattanooga’s parks are places of reflection, honoring both natural beauty and the stories of people and events that they represent. This sampling shares just two incredible women who impacted Chattanooga, our country, and our history but each monument, plaque and interpretive element tells another story, just waiting for your family’s next adventure.