The battle of Chickamauga was fought September 18 to 20, 1863, between the Confederate Army of the Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland. Today the site is peaceful, but on those three days Hell had visited Earth.

A distant hint of butternut
In silence came the host
Across the fields to where the bluecoats lay
In woods beside a little stream
Where men shared nervous talk
And thought of home that warm September day
The drums grew louder as the ranks
Of iron willed men drew close
Then halted as the files were shaken out
Then with a cry the lines advanced
Into the bluecoat flame
On either side was never any doubt
Amid the flags and bugle calls
The dying and the slain
Lay still in place in God’s embracing arms
And there they’d stay ‘til the sweet sound
Of bugles called them home
To see again their mothers and their farms