The 145th anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga may draw the largest gathering Walker County has seen since the Blue and Gray barbecue of 1889, said John Culpepper, Chickamauga City manager and history guru.

“This is going to go down in the history of Walker County,” Mr. Culpepper said of the anniversary, which begins today with events just for students.

Thousands of students from North Georgia and East Tennessee, along with thousands of Civil War re-enactors and thousands of spectators are expected.

About 14,000 Confederate and Union veterans and their families came to Chickamauga in 1889 for “the great barbecue,” Mr. Culpepper said. The event was an effort to mend divisions after the Civil War, and it sparked the effort to establish the nation’s first military history park.

This week, the battle anniversary may draw 20,000 to 30,000 people to Walker County, beginning today with the schoolchildren, officials said.

The School Days events continue into Friday, and some 5,000 fifth- and eighth-grade students are registered for the unique educational opportunity, organizers said.

They will see infantry, artillery and cavalry demonstrations, hear Civil War music, and see living history demonstrations of blacksmithing, a field hospital, merchants who followed armies and other aspects sof Civil War life.

The public events begin Friday, and Vice President Dick Cheney will help jumpstart the event when he speaks during opening ceremonies, Mr. Culpepper said.

“We’ve been working with the Secret Service,” he said. “My job is to get the electricity to the podium” where the vice president will talk about his connection to Chickamauga.

His great-grandfather, Samuel Fletcher Cheney, was a sergeant with the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, seeing action at the crucial Battle of Chickamauga on Sept. 19-20, 1863.

The region expects an economic boost from the events.

“The cities in Walker County will be impacted tremendously by the event,” said Stephanie Snodgrass, director of tourism and public relations for the Walker County Chamber of Commerce.

“Tourists will stay in area hotels, eat at local restaurants, visit other attractions and generally invest their money in the local economy,” she said.

Many of the area’s hotels have been booked for some time, Mr. Culpepper said.

The event also will draw media attention to the area, and entice visitors to come back again, Ms. Snodgrass said.

It is a unique opportunity for entertainment and education, officials said.

“At this event they will experience a re-enactment that will stimulate their senses,” Ms. Snodgrass said. “People will hear cannons, smell smoke, and see sutlers in action as they would have been 145 years ago.”

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