At Ringgold Gap, a pass nestled between White Oak Mountain and Taylor Ridge, Major General Patrick Cleburne, leader of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, successfully halted Union Army advances through Georgia. The outcome of this November 1863 battle prolonged the Civil War and significantly delayed Federal troops from reaching the Confederate stronghold of Atlanta. The engagement between Major Generals Hooker and Cleburne led to Cleburne's fame as the Confederacy's “Stonewall of the West.” Major General Cleburne protected the pass with strategic troop placement and concealment. The Army of Tennessee did not open fire until Union troops were within 100 yards, resulting in the loss of 500 Union troops; many of both sides were wounded.
Ringgold Gap Battlefield listing also includes a monument erected in 1898 by the state of New York to recognize the New York Brigade's (Union) participation in the battle, and the Ringgold Gap Wayside Park. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) begun the Ringgold Gap Wayside Park project in 1939 and the National Park Service completed the wayside signs and park area. The bronze plaques commemorate the historic event at this site and its role in two important campaigns of the Civil War, the Chickamauga-Chattanooga Campaign and the Atlanta Campaign.