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In November 1863, the US Army launched a series of attacks to break the siege of Chattanooga. One of the first of these attacks came at a hillside in eastern Chattanooga called Orchard Knob. During the assault on Missionary Ridge, General Ulysses S. Grant stood atop Orchard Knob as he used the vantage point to observe the attack.
Because the city grew over much of the battlefield, Orchard Knob is one of the best preserved sites from the Battles for Chattanooga, and it is the heard of the Orchard Knob Neighborhood, a vibrant community that surrounds the park.
On Monday, November 23, 1863, thousands of Union troops flooded from Chattanooga's eastern fortifications and arrayed themselves in front of Orchard Knob. Their goal was a reconnaissance in force. Surging forward, they engulfed the knob and a little over 600 Confederates of the 24th and 28th Alabama Infantry Regiments. The fighting ended in minutes.