Rossville Gap

Here is the third Iowa monument at Chattanooga, the first two were mentioned here and here. Iowa monuments seem to all have text that offers a parting salvo to the Confederates. This one is no exception. The inscription reads:
"May this shaft register alike the sacrifice of our fallen brothers and our purpose to perpetuate their memory by citizenship worthy of the heritage they left us, a re-united and glorious union."

This monument is in Rossville Gap, in a sliver of land surrounded by roads. That makes some sense as the gap naturally constricts the flow of traffic to a smaller point. Add a monument to the mix and I'm sure the city traffic planners have long wished the monument was 100 yards up the ridge so they'd have a bit more room to add lanes. Interestingly if you stay on this road it will take you directly to the Chickamauga battlefield. As such I have driven past this monument probably more often than I have any other monument as I travel between Chattanooga and my normal hotel in Fort Oglethorpe.

This is the spot Hooker's column reached before turning and making their attack along the ridge back towards the north. Hooker and Sherman were to hit each flank and roll the line towards the center where Thomas was waiting. Instead Sherman failed, and Hooker and Thomas ended up winning the day.

On one of the last pieces of high ground of Missionary Ridge before descending into Rossville Gap is this Missouri monument, wedged into a sliver of land between two roads. I do not think there are any better pictures of mine that illustrate how the ridge has grown up around the monuments, which I'm sure seemed pretty isolated when they were erected a hundred years ago.

The monument is for the 3rd, 12h, 17th, 27th, 29th, 31st and 32nd Missouri Infantry and Battery F of the 2nd Missouri artillery (all US).