THE BATTLE AT RINGGOLD GAP: A HERO IS REMEMBERED!
This little park is easy to miss if you are not looking for it along Highway 41 just east of downtown Ringgold. We drove right past it but realizing what we had missed, we stopped on the return trip. Just look for the stone wall and the large statue.
This park consists of a historical monument to General Cleburne and several historic markers commemorating the Battle at Ringgold Gap and the beginning of the Atlanta Campaign.
With only 4100 Confederate soldiers, Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne successfully defended the city of Ringgold against an army of 20,000 Union soldiers. The bronze statue, erected in 2003, depicts a man in a reflective posture with a determined expression. It pays great respect to a man who faced a sudden call to lead a demoralized group of men. With the number of men he went up against, it was sheer strategy and tenacity that allowed him to stay in control as long as he did. He became known as Stonewall of the West.
This little park is a simple roadside park with picnic tables and not much else. It clearly exists as a Civil War Monument and should be respected as such. I read more