Wednesday we followed the route of the
Great Locomotive Chase all the way to Ringgold, which was also the route of the Atlanta Campaign
in reverse. There are several so-called
Pocket Parks or waysides like this one outside Cassville built by the Depression-era
Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930's with bronze relief maps of the various battles; we almost missed it, but for Mike's sharp eyes!
While looking at a clutch of roadside markers for the campaign on U.S. 41 at Adairsville we decided to visit the nearby town and its restored W&ARR Depot which contains a museum featuring the Chase. (Look for a future thread on the subject!) While waiting for it to open we accepted an invitation from a shop owner to look inside her gift/antiques mall/shop where I found and finally broke down and bought a 1960 edition of the classic 1898
Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War which I am currently reading, having started it on the wait for and return flight to Texas. Following our tour of the little museum we returned to the shop for wonderful pecan pie and spice cake!
Next stop was the W&ARR Tunnel at Tunnel Hill north of Dalton. We had been here before, back in 2014 but had missed also touring the house (above and below) where John Bell Hood had been brought after losing his leg at Chickamauga. Who should we meet in the parking lot but Bobby
@bdtex! (Unfortunately by then it was after 4 pm and too late for the tunnel or house tours, but we returned the following day on our drive to Ringgold.) I wanted to check out the sites in Ringgold I planned to visit during our group tour so we cut short the rest of the day. On our way back we stopped at the wayside at Mill Creek Gap briefly before going into Dalton where we ate dinner before returning to Alatoona for the second night.
Continued ...