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Orchard Knob was General Grant's forward outpost and headquarters during the Chattanooga Campaign. It was from here that Grant would observe and command during the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. There are multiple monuments and markers located here dedicated to Union forces. The three largest of which can be seen along the pathway to the summit: New Jersey Monument, Illinois Monument, and the Maryland Monument.

View of "The Final Struggle Begins" marker with two of Orchard Knob's monuments in the distance. (Photo by Dale Benington)

View of "The Final Struggle Begins" marker with two of Orchard Knob's monuments in the distance. (Photo by Dale Benington)

View of The State Of Maryland marker at the top of Orchard Knob. (Photo by Dale Benington)

View of The State Of Maryland marker at the top of Orchard Knob. (Photo by Dale Benington)

View of The New York Troops in Howard's Eleventh Corps of Hooker's Command marker at the top of Orchard Knob. (Photo by Dale Benington)

View of The New York Troops in Howard's Eleventh Corps of Hooker's Command marker at the top of Orchard Knob. (Photo by Dale Benington)

View of the Illinois State Monument at the top of Orchard Knob. (Photo by Dale Benington)

View of the Illinois State Monument at the top of Orchard Knob. (Photo by Dale Benington)
Shortly before 2 p.m. on November 23 Union soldiers were able to get the upper hand on their Confederate besiegers. The Federal soldiers had been holed up in Chattanooga since late September following their defeat at Chickamauga. Under General Grant's command Union troops would waste no time in reversing their predicament and bringing the fight to the Confederates.

At about 1:30 p.m. Union troops began what was only supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission to test out enemy defenses. General Grant wished to know if Confederate troops still held the immediate vicinity around their position. With these orders General George Thomas took some 14,000 soldiers and began his march to test the Confederate lines. Their goal was a small knoll a short distance away known as Orchard Knob.

What followed next was a very quick route of the Confederate defenders. Southern troops holding the knoll only numbered approximately 600 when Thomas' troops began their push. With one huge push Union forces were able break through the Confederate line and force a retreat from the crest of the knob. What had been a simple test to determine the enemies strength became the first Union victory of the Chattanooga Campaign. 
Bennington, Dale. "Battle of Chattanooga, 1st Day, Nov. 23." Historical Marker Database. September 1, 2012. Accessed August 12, 2016. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=58999 Bennington, Dale. "The Final Struggle Begins." Historical Marker Database. August 16, 2014. Accessed August 12, 2016. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?MarkerID=76292. National Park Service. "Orchard Knob: The Battles for Chattanooga." Accessed August 12, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/chch/learn/historyculture/orchard-knob.htm.