Living on a boat for months at a time, always brings its own set of challenges and adventures. Traveling throughout the Great Lakes and the rivers has opened our eyes up to the huge amount of commerce that takes place daily as the Barges and Tugs traverse the rivers with their wares. On this last segment of travel along the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, we encountered many historical aspects of our country with regards to The Civil War.
When our boat was at Prizer Point in Western Kentucky, we would hear planes and helicopters late at night. Once we started traveling up the Cumberland River towards Nashville, we encountered Fort Campbell which is a United States Army Base and the source of the aircraft we had heard. Further up the river as we approached Clarksville, we encountered Fort Defiance. This Fort was built by the Confederate troops in November 1861 to control and protect the approach to the river. The fort sits ~200 feet high up on a bluff overlooking the Cumberland with 3 mounted cannons. During the war it changed hands multiple times, but ultimately the Union Army took possession. The city of Clarksville currently owns and runs the Fort Defiance Park which features an earthen fort and walking trails as well as an Interpretative Center.
Our next encounter with Civil War History, involved the Shiloh National Military Park. We visited the park with Barb and Jim, a looper couple from Indiana. The visit proved to be very sobering, informative, and educational. I am quite familiar with Gettysburg and have visited the battlegrounds there twice, but I was not that familiar with the major battle that took place at Shiloh. This battle was fought near a church named Shiloh and Pittsburg Landing which is located on the Tennessee River. This very bloody battle started with the Confederates surprise attack which incurred major damage to Grant’s Army of the Tennessee. Fortunately, the Army of the Ohio was nearby and were able to join Grant’s army via the Tennessee River at Pittsburg Landing. The combined Union armies were able to launch an unexpected counterattack on the Confederates which negated their previous gains and caused them to withdraw and head further south. This key Civil War Clash in SW Tennessee was the deadliest battle. Three decades later the veterans from the North and South joined together to preserve and honor the legacy of the over 24,000 men who lost their lives at the battle of “Bloody Shiloh”. As we walked around the National Military Park, it was eerily quiet and quite sobering especially for this Ohio girl. As we came down the Tennessee River, we saw the spot at Pittsburgh Landing where the Army of the Ohio had come across and were able to join ranks with the Tennessee Army.
As we continued our travels up the Tennessee River towards Chattanooga, we were able to spot the mountain where another battle had taken place during the Civil War.
Once we arrived in Chattanooga, we took a tram up to Lookout Mountain where the “Battle Above The Clouds” had taken place. At this battle skirmish, the Confederates were holed up at the top of the mountain. The Union Army with a heavy fog screening their movements, slowly advanced up the slope of the mountain and were able to capture an entire Confederate picket post without firing a shot. With the Union Army continuing to advance on a different slope, the defeated and outnumbered Confederates withdrew from the mountain giving Grant his second victory in his fight for Chattanooga.
The picture above was taken at the top of the mountain and provides a visual clue of the winding river.