For the purpose of preserving and suitably marking for historical and professional military study, the fields of some of the most remarkable maneuvers and most brilliant fighting in the War of the Rebellion, those portions of highways in the States of Georgia and Tennessee in the vicinity of the battlefields of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, respectively, jurisdiction over which has heretofore been ceded to the United States by those States respectively and as to which the United States has heretofore acquired a perfect title, shall be approaches to and parts of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, and each and all of such roads shall remain open as free and public highways, and all rights of way which existed on August 19, 1890, through the grounds of the said Park and its approaches shall be continued. The lands and roads embraced in the area at and near the battlefield of Chickamauga and around Chattanooga, jurisdiction over which has heretofore been ceded to the United States by the State of Georgia and as to which a perfect title has heretofore been secured, together with the roads hereinbefore described, shall be a national military park, to be known as Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park. The said Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park and the approaches thereto shall be under the control of the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into agreements upon such nominal terms as he may prescribe, with such persons, who were owners of the land on August 19, 1890, as may desire to remain upon it, to occupy and cultivate their then holdings, upon condition that they will preserve the then buildings and roads, and the then outlines of field and forest, and that they will only cut trees or underbrush under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, and that they will assist in caring for and protecting all tablets, monuments, or such other artificial works as may from time to time be erected by proper authority. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to superintend the opening of such roads as may be necessary to the purposes of the park, and the repair of the roads of the same, and to ascertain and definitely mark the lines of battle of all troops engaged in the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, so far as the same shall fall within the lines of the park. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to cause to be ascertained and substantially marked the locations of the regular troops within the boundaries of the park, and to erect monuments upon those positions as Congress may provide the necessary appropriations; and the Secretary of the Interior in the same way may ascertain and mark all lines of battle within the boundaries of the park and erect plain and substantial historical tablets at such points in the vicinity of the park and its approaches as he may deem fitting and necessary to clearly designate positions and movements, which, although without the limits of the park, were directly connected with the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. It shall be lawful for the authorities of any State having troops engaged either at Chattanooga or Chickamauga, and for the officers and directors of the Chickamauga Memorial Association, a corporation chartered under the laws of Georgia, to enter upon the lands and approaches of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park for the purpose of ascertaining and marking the lines of battle of troops engaged therein: Provided, That before any such lines are permanently designated the position of the lines and the proposed methods of marking them by monuments, tablets, or otherwise shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior, and shall first receive the written approval of the Secretary. The Secretary of the Interior, subject to the approval of the President of the United States, shall have the power to make, and shall make, all needed regulations for the care of the park and for the establishment and marking of the lines of battle and other historical features of the park: Provided further, That State memorials shall be placed on brigade lines of battle under the direction of the National Park Service.
No monuments or memorials shall be erected upon any lands of the park, or remain upon any lands which may be purchased for the park, except upon ground actually occupied in the course of the battle by troops of the State which the proposed monuments are intended to commemorate, except upon those sections of the park set apart for memorials to troops which were engaged in the campaigns, but operated outside of the legal limits of the park. Notwithstanding the restrictive provisions of this paragraph, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized in his discretion to permit without cost to the United States the erection of monuments or memorials to commemorate encampments of Spanish War organizations which were encamped in said park during the period of the Spanish-American War.
(Aug. 19, 1890, ch. 806, §§1–11,
Act Mar. 3, 1891, and act Apr. 15, 1926, provided for a reduced area of the park and provided that title to such reduced area should be procured by the Secretary of War [now Army] as provided and that the Secretary of War [now Army] should proceed with the establishment of the park as rapidly as jurisdiction of the roads and approaches and title to the land might be obtained.
The first sentence of the last paragraph relating to the erection of monuments or memorials was added by act Feb. 26, 1896.
The proviso that State memorials shall be placed on brigade lines of battle under the direction of the Park Commission was added by act June 4, 1897.
Act Feb. 23, 1927 made appropriations for items specified and added provisions relating to monuments or memorials to commemorate encampments of Spanish War organizations.
Administrative functions of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park transferred to Department of the Interior by Ex. Ord. Nos. 6166 and 6228, set out as a note under section 901 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
National Park Service substituted for Office of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations referred to in Ex. Ord. No. 6166, §2, by act Mar. 2, 1934, ch. 38, §1,