Staff Photo by Dan Henry
Frank White, right, works with the 1st SE Tenn. Battery, to fire a cannon during a demonstration for middle schoolers September 18, 2008. Re-enactors spent today educating school children and preparing for the 145th Anniversary Battle of Chickamauga which is being hosted at McLemore's Cove in Walker County, Ga, September 19-21, 2008.

School students from across the region are at Chickamauga Battlefield today, visiting Civil War hospitals and hearing from Abraham Lincoln and former slaves.

The living history depiction is part of the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga. About 1,300 students visited Wednesday, and event officials are expecting as many or more today.

The anniversary events open to the public tomorrow at noon, and Vice President Dick Cheney will speak during opening ceremonies. His great-grandfather, Samuel Fletcher Cheney, was a sergeant with the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the crucial Battle of Chickamauga on Sept. 19-20, 1863. His ancestor’s actions during the Civil War are a passionate interest for the vice president, and he has visited Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park before.

The first battle re-enactment will be of the Battle of Davis Crossroads in McLemore Cove, scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday. Battle re-enactments also are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

The students also are listening to live Civil War music, learning about the daily life of soldiers, watching period blacksmiths at work, talking to Civil War surgeons and nurses and visiting a replica of a Civil War-era ironclad ship.

See tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for complete coverage.

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