Исторический справочник Джона Л. Митчелла описывает Чаттанугу накануне Гражданской войны

A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or index used to locate, identify and describe places. It contains details like businesses, populations and physical features. John L. Mitchell was a noted 19th-century publisher of state and railway gazetteers alongside business directories in the United States and Canada. In 1860, he created gazetteers for North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Mississippi. He also published John L. Mitchell's Tennessee State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1860-61. It listed locations and related businesses across the state on the cusp of the Civil War. What follows is Mitchell's description of Chattanooga, which is a useful snapshot of the city just before it joined the Confederacy: A flourishing and important post city of Hamilton County in the south-eastern part of the state is situated on the south branch of the Tennessee River, and near the Georgia state line, 12 miles south from Harrison, the capital of the county; 151 miles south south-east from Nashville, fare $6.00; 312 miles from Memphis, fare $12.00; 110 miles from Knoxville, fare $5.00; 138 miles from Atlanta, Georgia, fare $5.00; and by stage 112 miles from Jacksonville, Alabama, fare $8.00. Chattanooga is the terminus of five railroads, four of which — the Nashville and Chattanooga, the Memphis and Charleston, the Western and Atlantic, and the East Tennessee and Georgia — are completed. The North-East and South-West railroad are in the course of construction. The Tennessee River is navigable by steam about eight months in the year and by small boats at all times. Chattanooga is one of the most important and flourishing places in the state and rapidly increasing in wealth and population. It is beautifully situated and the base of "Look Out Mountain" — a noted summer resort. The mountain is elevated to the height of two thousand feet above the level of the Tennessee River, and from its summit a fine view is obtained of portions of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. At the base is the entrance to a celebrated cave, which has been partially explored some seven or eight miles, but its dimensions have not been fully ascertained. The surrounding country is liberally supplied with water power and timber, and the hills contain vast quantities of stone, coal and iron ore of superior quality. Native marble is abundant and is exported largely from this place. It contains one Catholic and four Protestant churches; a female institute and a male high school; and one Masonic Lodge and Chapter. Its two banks are: the Bank of Chattanooga, W. D. Fulton, Cashier; John Overton, President; capital $421,400; and a branch of the Union Bank of Tennessee, R. B. Campbell, Cashier; J. B. Johnson, President. Also listed are three weekly newspapers: the Advertiser, published by H. F. Cooper on Thursday; the Gazette, by James R. Hood on Saturday; and the Southern Reflector, by John W. Ford & Sons on Tuesday. An iron furnace and an extensive foundry and machine shop, a rolling mill in the course of construction, one sash, blind and door manufactory, one tannery, one distillery, two flouring mills, about thirty stores of various kinds, and numerous and varied trades and professions are also included. Population: 3,500. The county "capital" of Harrison was described as being situated on the south bank of the Tennessee River, which was "navigated by steamboats above and below this town." After noting the presence of "iron ore and stone coal" nearby, the article reported that the "village contains a court house, jail, and the county offices." One other notable location in Hamilton County was listed, "Loddy." Mitchell reported that "Loddy" was "a post office of Hamilton county, in the south-eastern part of the State, situated near Saluda creek, a tributary of the Tennessee River, about 110 miles south-east of Nashville." An 1860 map of the area also noted the name "Loddy," near "Saudi" Creek. One of these sources was likely consulted by a Confederate officer who visited Soddy in 1862, as he reported camping overnight at Loddy. After the war, the name of Soddy would suffer yet again, as Ohio railroad men sought to rename it "Rathburn." That is a story for another time. Local attorney and historian Sam Elliott is a former president of the Tennessee and Chattanooga Bar associations, the author of several books and articles on the Civil War and currently the chair of the Tennessee Historical Commission. For more on local history, visit Chattahistoricalassoc.org. Note: A reader inquired about the future size of Johnny Clem, the 4-foot tall, 12-year-old "Drummer Boy at Chickamauga" featured in the July 19 Local History article. Johnny grew to be 5 feet 6 inches tall and is thought to have weighed about 150 pounds on his way to retiring as brigadier general.