Chattanooga's Tennessee River waterfront underwent major changes during the Civil War. The Confederate troops who occupied the town in the spring of 1862 constructed forts and batteries near the river. When Union Gen. William S. Rosecrans's army shelled Chattanooga in August 1863, three forts lined the riverfront from near the present-day Hunter Museum of Art on your left to Cameron Hill on your right across the river. During the Union army’s occupation of Chattanooga (September 9, 1863–Summer 1865), the appearance of the riverfront again changed dramatically. Extensive logging operations stripped trees from the hills along the riverbank. A large sawmill at the base of Cameron Hill turned the felled timber into planks and framing for warehouses and other military structures that were built throughout the town.
