Florida Spring Tarining 2018 - Day 62

It rained again last night but had ended when we got up this morning.  The skies were still cloudy however and it was a lot cooler.  We got a little bit of a late start, leaving around 11:30 am after getting gas.  We only had 200 miles to go though and the later start helped the traffic situation going through Chattanooga on I-24.

In Chattanooga we turned NW towards Nashville, turning left at Murfreeboro south of Nashville then SW through rolling hill country to join the Natchez Trace Parkway.  We then headed SW on the parkway to the RV Park where we are staying tonight.  We had a hard time finding the park due to poor instructions and bad directions on the GPS.  We are here now however and buttoned up for the night.  The park is a huge Thousands Trails campground, but is best described as “rustic” and sprawling around a man-made lake.  It looks most of the people here are permanent/semi-permanent residents.  We haven’t seen any other overnighters.  No banjo music however. We are also off the grid with no Internet or TV service (cable and Antenna).  We are not going anywhere tonight, because we didn’t unhook and the temperature is presently 42 degrees and windy.

The Natchez Trace Parkway was established as a unit of the National Park System in 1938 and was officially completed in 2005.  The Parkway commemorates the most significant highway of the Old Southwest.  It stretches 444 miles from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS through the three states of Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi and 10,000 years of history.

The trail that became the Natchez Trace goes back many centuries.  It bisected the traditional Native American homelands of the Natchez, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations and was a trading and transportation route for them.  As the United States expanded westward in the late 1700s and early 1800s, growing numbers of travelers used the trail, turning it into a clearly marked path. In 1801 President Jefferson designated the Trace a national post road for mail delivery between Nashville and Natchez.

In the early 1800s through the mid-1820s, “Kaintucks” from the Ohio River Valley floated cash crops, livestock, and other materials down the Mississippi River on wooden flatboats.  At Natchez or New Orleans, they sold their goods, sold their boats for lumber and walked or road horseback back home via the Old Trace.  As the road improved, stands (inns) provided lodging, food, and drink to the travelers.

Today the Parkway creates a greenway from the southern Appalachian foothills of Tennessee to the bluffs of the lower Mississippi River.  There are many historic landmarks along the way and the Trace crosses four distinct ecosystems and eight major watersheds.  It is habitat for 1,500 hundred species of plants, 33 mammal species, 134 bird species and 70 species of reptiles and amphibians.  The parkway also has limited access and commercial traffic is prohibited.  Traffic at this time of year is virtually non-existent. It is still early spring (or late winter) here.  The trees are just starting to bloom and it is cold at the moment.  I am sure it will be busier during the summer.

The plan tomorrow is to visit various stops along the parkway as we head south to Tupelo, MS. Our first stop tomorrow is the nearby Meriwether Lewis Monument and Gravesite.  Lewis stayed here on the Trace in 1809 on his way back to Washington, DC and died under mysterious circumstances from gunshot wounds.  Many believed he had taken his own life while others were later convinced that he was murdered.

Pictures - Day 62

Florida Spring Training - Day 61

Rain was on the way when we woke up this morning.  The first wave came through around 9:00 am, not severe but just light rain.  So, instead of taking the Incline Railway up Lookout Mountain this morning, we decided to do laundry instead.

After the laundry was done, the rain stopped although the next wave was forecast to come through later in the afternoon and be more extensive.  We still wanted to see Lookout Mountain though, so after lunch at the nearby Cracker Barrel, we drove up the mountain instead of taking the railway.  The rain started again as we arrived on top and by the time we left, is was coming down pretty good, but again no thunder and lightning.  The view from the mountain was mostly obscured by the low clouds but we were able to get a glimpse here-and-there of Chattanooga and the surrounding river valley.

The area we visited on the mountain is called Point Park, part of the Chattanooga and Chickamauga National Military Park.  It is on the north end of the park and  has excellent views of the surrounding area (when the weather is clear).  The rest of the mountain is mostly residential with many expensive-looking homes.  There are also several tourist attractions besides the Incline Railway, including Ruby Falls, Rock City, and a Civil War battle show, a digital projection of the battle with an adjoining Civil War Relic and Weapon Collection.  All charge admission and are mostly tourist oriented.

The Battle for Lookout Mountain was part of the Battle for Chattanooga and is known as the "Battle Above the Clouds".  It was fought in November 1863 after the breakout of the Union forces from the city during the siege by the Confederates.  The siege had followed the Union defeat at Chickamauga in September.

From early October through Late November, the Confederates occupied all the high ground and had the City surrounded. In late October, the Union forces, now under General Grant, successfully opened a supply route into the city.  On November 24th, Union troops under Gen Joseph Hooker swept the Confederates off Lookout Mountain in a battle fought mostly above clouds covering the valley below.

The Confederates then withdrew to Missionary Ridge where the next great battle of the campaign was fought.  It was marked by the famous charge up the ridge without orders by veterans of General Thomas'  14th Corp, seeking revenge for their defeat at Chickamauga.  The daring charge drove the Confederates off the ridge causing their army to retreat south towards Atlanta.  The Union victory was one of the most decisive of the war, opening up the gateway to the South's industrial heartland and cutting off major supply and transportation routes for them.

After driving down the mountain we headed back to the RV park  SE of town, joining the congested traffic on I-24, the connector route at the convergence of major interstate highways connecting Birmingham, Nashville, Knoxville and Atlanta.  Chattanooga was, and still, is a major transportation hub.

We had a light dinner in the RV and retired  early after a busy day.  It was a good visit despite the rain and it was great to see the battlefields that played such an important role in the Civil War.  The RV park was also a good choice.  It had all the accommodations we needed  and even a monument to a Union regiment placed by veterans that were encamped here during the Battle of Chickamauga. 

Like many battlefields such as Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, a lot of encroachment and development occurred after the war that precluded preservation of the battlefields for future generations. Historical preservation of these battlegrounds is an important part of our national heritage and helps recognize and help understand the sacrifices made by so many in support of their cause during the Civil War. It was good that the Chickamauga Battlefield has been preserved  before it was plowed under and developed.  It is a lasting monument to the many men who fought and died here and the ferocious battle that occurred.

Tomorrow, we drive up towards Nashville then down the Natchez Trace as we continue our history tour on the way home.

Pictures Day 61

Florida Spring Training 2018 - Day 60

We toured the Civil War battlefield of Chickamauga, TN today.  The battlefield is part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Battlefield just south of the city of Chattanooga.  The park is managed by the National Park Service and was the first such park set up in the United States. It was authorized by Congress in 1890, dedicated in 1895 and has served since then as a model for most national military and historical parks.

We started our tour at the visitor's center and watched a 28 minute film about the battles in the area.  It was well done and very informative.  We then toured the visitor's center and got information to do a driving tour of the Chickamauga battleground.

The battle was fought in September 1863 between the Union Army of the Cumberland, under General William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army under General Braxton Bragg's Army of the Tennessee.  The key objective was control of Chattanooga, TN, a small city on the banks of the Tennessee River that cut through the Appalachian Mountains.  The city also was the convergence point for four major railroads.  If the Union could capture Chattanooga, it could cripple Confederate supply lines and provide a major departure point for invasion of the south towards Atlanta.

The Union forces originally occupied the city after Bragg was outmaneuvered by Rosecrans, forcing the Confederates to evacuate the city and the surrounding heights.  Rosecrans continued south but was surprised by Bragg's army that had regrouped.  The two armies then met south of town at Chickamauga. Between September 18-20, 1863, the two armies battered each other.  The South gained the advantage when a Union miscommunication on troop positioning left a huge gap in the Union lines. The Confederate troops stormed through the gap, causing panic and confusion forcing the Union forces to retreat back into Chattanooga.  The Confederates than occupied the surrounding heights and decided to put the city under siege until they surrendered. The battle for Chickamauga came at a terrible cost.  Union forces engaged over 58,000 troops and had 16,000 casualties with over 1,600 killed and 4800 captured or missing.  The Confederates engaged about 66,000 troops with 2,700 killed and 2,000 captured or missing.  The total wounded on both sides was over  26,000, many with horrible wounds that only had minimal, if any, primitive medical care.

The siege continued into November when the Union forces, now under U.S. Grant, were reinforced.  They attacked out from the city, driving the Confederates off Lookout Ridge and. after a decisive battle, captured Missionary Ridge.  The Confederates were then forced to retreat, opening up the route south for the Union Army.  This also transformed Chattanooga into a supply and communications base for General Sherman's upcoming invasion of the south.

After leaving the visitor's center, we did the driving tour of the battleground.  The grounds are well maintained with numerous monuments to the various units that fought there, both north and south.  It was a great tour with detailed descriptions of the various engagements and who was involved, and a fitting tribute to everyone who fought there.  We have visited a lot of Civil War battlefields, and Chickamauga is one of the best.

We are planning to take the Incline Railway up to the top of Lookout Mountain tomorrow and "look around" a little.  Missionary Ridge is fully developed and nothing there has been preserved except for a few roadside monuments.

Pictures- Day 60