A Civil War Experience and a Dinner Cruise

Yesterday, we traveled with a group of our fellow conventioneers by bus for a tour of some of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga Civil War battlefields and related sites. I've always been interested in learning more about the war and have read many books about it. When I worked in Washington years ago, I visited Gettysburg and many of the battlefields in northern Virginia. This was my first visit to a battlefield so deep into the south. Someday I'd like to add Shiloh and Vicksburg to the list.

For Henry, this was a new experience. He knows a little about what the war was, but although I suspect he learned lots yesterday, I'm pretty sure also that the heavy emphasis on explanation by our tour guide and park rangers made the time a little less fun than the more active things we have done. Nevertheless, there were frequent "wows" throughout the day.

I did not realize that the Chickamauga Battlefield was the second place added to our National Park system after Yellowstone. It is a huge park, comprising nearly 6,000 acres of ground, and it holds many more monuments than appear at Gettysburg, for those of you who may have seen that battlefield. I enjoyed learning about the battle, the significance of it related to Chattanooga as a key transportation hub, and the subsequent battle for Chattanooga itself. The loss of Chattanooga to the Union may have represented the clearest turning point toward the South's eventual defeat.

Henry was fascinated by the monuments and also the many artillery pieces on display.

Because the park is so large and is protected ground, it has become a serious wildlife refuge almost as a byproduct. We saw does with fawns, which Henry loved, and this gorgeous butterfly near the visitors center.

At one point, our tour guide, who is a local history teacher and serious Civil War buff, had our group attempt a forced march. For me it brought home the futility of the decades of reliance on this historical method of confrontation between lines of troops. I'm not sure what Henry thought of it, since he seemed more interesting in pitching pine cones into the woods "behind the lines."

At lunch time we were hosted at the Gordon-Lee mansion in the nearby city of Chickamauga. Henry liked the porch and the rocking chairs there.

Next, we were driven to the top of Lookout Mountain and Point Park, another National Park. Here we learned about the subsequent siege of Chattanooga and the eventual Union victory. During the battle and siege there, Lookout Mountain played significant roles for both sides.

The views from Lookout Mountain were amazing and may have represented the biggest "wows" for Henry during the day.

Someone kindly offered to take this picture of the two of us near a Confederate artillery piece.

The conclusion of the tour was a visit to the National Military Cemetery in Chattanooga, which was quite large and very beautiful in its way. The most interesting thing for the two of us was seeing this monument. (Henry took this very nice picture!) You probably know of the so-called "Great Train Chase" featured in the old Disney film starring Fess Parker. This monument is in honor of the Union soldiers and a Union civilian (Andrews, who was deemed a spy by the South) who lost their lives at the conclusion of the chase. Seven graves form an arc directly behind the monument. For us LCCA folks, this was an especially interesting thing to see–there have been several presentations on the chase as a part of the convention. Henry knows a little about the story and enjoyed seeing this too. Maybe I'll find the movie for him sometime.

Finally, at the end of the day, we enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Southern Belle riverboat. We were able to get up to one of the flying bridges off the pilot's cabin for some great views as we were underway. That is where I got this shot of my grandson and week-long buddy. He looks like he is having fun.