THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGNS. 



1 57 



At this stage the immediate t opo.^ra [ih \- of Chattanooga and its 

 vicinity became important in determining the military movements. 

 Looking at the relief map it will be seen that the city lies at the western 

 side of the great valley elose to where the river breaks into the plateau. 

 It winds through Sand Mountain in a deep gorge which narrows in 

 places, making the current so swift that an ordinary steamboat could 

 not ascend without aid from teams or men on the shore. When the 

 river reaches a long, narrow trough, called the Sequatchie valley, it 

 takes this easier path and flows sixty miles before again crossing the 

 plateau in its indirect course to the Ohio. Near the city the river flows 

 to Lookout Mountain and then doubles on itself, flowing northwesterly, 



r 



Lookout Mountain from the Bank of the Tennessee River. Hooker's forces as- 

 cended the north slope and the battle took place on a small plateau or shelf, seen about hall 

 way up the mountain. 



almost parallel to its course, for several miles. This is the famous 

 Moccasin bend, so called, of course, from its rough resemblance to an 

 Indian's moccasin. At the apex of the bend towers Lookout Mountain, 

 the most conspicuous feature of the vicinity. Geologically it is a part 

 of the plateau from which it is separated by a narrow erosion valley. 

 It is capped by a sandstone stratum which slopes to the south, where 

 it finally merges into the general level in Alabama. Its bold profile 

 against the sky at once attracts the eye, and the name is decidedly 

 appropriate, since on a clear day several states can be seen from the 

 summit. The ridge, for so it must be called instead of 'mountain,' 



