First stop of the day was visiting Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Much to our surprise, it was fantastic! It was the place of two bloody and significant battles during the Civil War. In fact, 28% of all casualties of the entire war occurred here. The Confederates won the first battle at Chickamauga forcing the Union Soldiers to retreat to Chattanooga. The Union Forces, under Grant, rallied and managed to defeat the Confederates pushing them further South. Disheartened Confederates wondered: “Is the fall of Chattanooga truly the death knell of the Confederacy”?
This park was established in 1890 and became the first military park in the U.S. It was created by veterans of both sides of the war. 24 years after the battle, they realized that the country still needed to heal. This park honors veterans and casualties from both sides. There are monuments placed all over the battlefields honoring the fallen soldiers. The museum was very informative and the film we watched was so moving, it actually made me tear up. Ironically, I got this news alert on my phone today. “160 years ago today in Springfield, Senatorial candidate Abraham Lincoln said, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free.’”
We stopped just outside of Chattanooga to eat at “The Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe.” It was a groovy kind of bbq place. Imagine if Haight Ashbury and Tennessee bbq came together. It was pretty good ‘cue, and the vibe made me feel at home.
Next stop, Cannonsburgh Village, a replica of life in Tennessee over a span of 100 years from the 1830’s to the 1930’s. I just love visiting living villages and taking a step back in time. I think we’ve seen at least a dozen of them on our road trips over the years. (Our all time favorite is still Upper Canada Village). Mmm, we were actually expecting a bit more. This living village was more a collection of old buildings and a nice place to stretch your legs. Highlights were the Porsche Tractor circa 1959 - who knew?, the Russell Steam Tractor circa 1903 and the replica grist mill. What made it kinda weird was that a Christian Revival Rap event was going on in the shared park space. So, as we were walking around looking at old timey stuff, VERY loud speakers were blasting out rhyming lyrics about Jesus. It made for an odd juxtaposition. Oh, and there was also the world’s largest cedar bucket. So there was that.
Interesting time travel day. We went into Tennessee, then dipped back into Georgia, back into Tennessee heading west and then heading back east into the Appalachian Mountains for our campsite. The time zone kept changing back and forth from Eastern to Central time. Tomorrow we head back into Eastern time so we are just living in the twilight zone for now. The Tennessee Appalachia Mountains are so gorgeous! We crossed over the Cumberland River several times. Our campground is very small, but nestled in the woods. It looks like a lot of it was built by the CCC. There’s a swinging bridge and a sweet little lake. As we climbed higher and deeper into the mountains we lost cell coverage (no surprise). I’m shocked that we might have cell at the site. I have one bar hanging on for dear life. Hopefully, this posts tonight.
