Upcoming April, 2018 Civil War Excursion

Is your friend Doug enjoying all this in spite of his "infirmaries"? Is he finding that there is an incredible amount to see of Civil War history- more so than he thought.?
It's hard to tell - he'd been to several places decades ago but most of his "visits" consisted of driving up; getting out and looking around for a few minutes; then driving off again. Unfortunately, some of these stops have been little better.
 
Day 12 - Stillness at Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park

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The tiny village of Appomattox Courthouse existed solely because of the eponymous county court house in its center, seen above as a modern (1960's) reconstruction by the NPS. Below, the village looks much as it did on April 9, 1865 from the vantage point of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant as he approached it to confer with his opposite, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

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Above, another of the markers placed by the Virginia Historical Society in the 1920's under the direction of Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman.

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Buildings surrounding the courthouse square above include various commercial buildings which accommodated people living in the county who primarily visited town only on days when court was actually in session.

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One such was the Meeks General Store above, which is now furnished much as it might have been in the nineteenth century. The Clover Hill Tavern below was taken over by the Union forces after the surrender and turned into a print shop to provide the thousands of passes and paroles necessary for Lee's 28,000 men so they could proceed from here to their homes.

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One room in the tavern has been set up as it might have appeared, with portable army printing presses and parole papers drying on makeshift lines stretched across the room.

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A case in another room contains actual paroles for soldiers and officers like surgeon Maj. Dr. Hunter McGuire pictured below, one of a gallery of paroled prisoners of war posted on one wall.

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Below, one of the tavern's dependencies, a servant's quarters.

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The Wilmer McLean House
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Naturally the most important structure at Appomattox is the home of Wilmer McLean who had relocated to the remote village following the Battle of First Manassas in July, 1861 when his house there had been taken over as Confederate headquarters and damaged by shellfire.

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Supposedly seeking a quiet corner, his house was again pressed into service as the meeting place for the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant.

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The much larger courthouse building was supposedly found to be in a shabby, run-down condition by Lee's aide-de-camp Col. Charles Marshall who then accosted McLean who was nearby, asking if there was another suitable location for their meeting. No doubt to his regret, McLean again offered his home for a military purpose, the two generals meeting in his parlor above.

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Following their conference, the house was plundered by Union officers seeking souvenirs of the momentous event. Tables, chairs, and other family belongings were carried off, often without payment. Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan purchased the small spool-legged table above used by Grant, handing it over to his subordinate George Custer as a present for his wife Elizabeth who treasured it until her death, willing it to the Smithsonian.

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The furnishings in the house today like the marble-topped table above where Lee sat are all reproductions of original furnishings which now repose in various museums; Lee's table today is in the museum of the Chicago Historical Society.

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Upstairs furnishings consist of period antiques similar to those the McLeans would have owned like those in the bedrooms above and below..

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As with many houses of the period, the kitchen below is separate from the house and also served as quarters for the family house servants.

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Even the house itself is a reproduction or at best a reconstruction: around the turn of the twentieth century it was sold to entrepreneurs who dismantled it, intending to relocate it as a tourist attraction. Their plan fell through, leaving the piles of bricks and lumber to deteriorate until the U. S. Government acquired the property in 1940. Following World War II the house was rebuilt using what materials could be salvaged after a half-century of neglect.

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Appomattox Confederate Cemetery
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This small cemetery contains the graves of eighteen Confederate and a single Federal soldier killed at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, in one of the final battles fought by Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, immediately prior to Lee's surrender.

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Their remains were moved here soon following the war from scattered graves where they had fallen; the small cemetery is now located within the grounds of Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park and is maintained by the U. S. National Park Service.

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The monument nearby is another dedicated to the last days of Lee's fabled Army of Northern Virginia and its soldiers.

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Fantastic write up James N. !!! Thanks for sharing everything with us. It's too bad we couldn't meet up when you were here in Manassas. That would have been another whole day however involving discussions of ancestors, various aspects of the ACW and looking through all of my pics of the movies I was in and comparing our reflections with the "Hollywood" experience.
 
Appomattox' Civil War Museum aka Museum of the Confederacy
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I feel much better after visiting this place which is just off the highway and a short distance from the entrance to Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park. It contains many of the objects formerly displayed in the old Confederate Museum in downtown Richmond, Virginia, especially those most relevant to Appomattox. The name has been changed to reflect the merger with the facility at Tredegar but the contents here, despite the new name, are almost exclusively Confederate memorabilia from the museum beside the White House of the Confederacy.

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Most appropriate to the new location are items belonging to Robert E. Lee. Almost the first object seen upon entering the galleries is Lee's famous "Maryland sword" as he called it, the handsome and costly British-made presentation sword worn during the surrender negotiations with General Grant in the McLean House. This sword had been a wartime gift from an admirer in Maryland and was imported through the blockade in 1862. The photograph made in Richmond the following year is displayed in the background showing Lee wearing the sword.

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The uniform and gauntlets Lee wore are displayed in another case, as is one of the death masks made in Lexington.

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Many other uniforms of Confederate notables and humble enlisted men are in the collection, preserved and displayed along with many other items such as swords, firearms, equipment, and personal belongings. Below, the handsome but sadly moth-eaten frock coat that belonged to Patrick Cleburne, killed at Franklin. Cleburne was wearing a new officer's sack coat at the time of his death, so this coat survived in Arkansas until it was donated to the then-forming Museum of the Confederacy.

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Above, other Confederate uniforms displayed along with photos of their owners. Below, a display incorporating another of the museum's extensive collection of Confederate flags, banners, and guidons. The sword pictured belonged to C.S.N. Commander French Forrest.

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Below, the uniform and photo of Confederate General Thomas Muldrop Logan.
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Appomattox' Civil War Museum aka Museum of the Confederacy
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I feel much better after visiting this place which is just off the highway and a short distance from the entrance to Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park. It contains many of the objects formerly displayed in the old Confederate Museum in downtown Richmond, Virginia, especially those most relevant to Appomattox. The name has been changed to reflect the merger with the facility at Tredegar but the contents here, despite the new name, are almost exclusively Confederate memorabilia from the museum beside the White House of the Confederacy.

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Most appropriate to the new location are items belonging to Robert E. Lee. Almost the first object seen upon entering the galleries is Lee's famous "Maryland sword" as he called it, the handsome and costly British-made presentation sword worn during the surrender negotiations with General Grant in the McLean House. This sword had been a wartime gift from an admirer in Maryland and was imported through the blockade in 1862. The photograph made in Richmond the following year is displayed in the background showing Lee wearing the sword.

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The uniform and gauntlets Lee wore are displayed in another case, as is one of the death masks made in Lexington.

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Many other uniforms of Confederate notables and humble enlisted men are in the collection, preserved and displayed along with many other items such as swords, firearms, equipment, and personal belongings. Below, the handsome but sadly moth-eaten frock coat that belonged to Patrick Cleburne, killed at Franklin. Cleburne was wearing a new officer's sack coat at the time of his death, so this coat survived in Arkansas until it was donated to the then-forming Museum of the Confederacy.

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Above, other Confederate uniforms displayed along with photos of their owners. Below, a display incorporating another of the museum's extensive collection of Confederate flags, banners, and guidons. The sword pictured belonged to Confederate Naval Officer French Forrest.

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Below, the uniform and photo of Confederate General Thomas Muldrop Logan.
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I love that Museum. Visited it in January 2015. I don't remember exactly how long I was there but I know I could've stayed an hour or more had time permitted. My trip started in Lynchburg but I did not have much time for sightseeing there. Would like to go back.
 
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More of the collection's outstanding collection of flags is seen here; above, a battleflag displayed with more uniforms. Below, one of them with an elaborate rendition of the battles fought by the unit it belonged to.

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Also in the case is a letter written by General Jubal Early and a Confederate saddle.

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According to the description, the tattered banner below was one of only two brought back from the field of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg by Garnett's Brigade of Pickett's Division.

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Above, another battleflag; below, an early war secession flag.

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Below, patriotic Confederate sheet music, including General Lee's Grand March and The Bonnie Blue Flag.

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There are also many cases devoted to Confederate arms, equipment, and personal items like these examples.

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Although somewhat under-represented, items like the imported doll above depicts activities on the Southern home front. Below, this cabin was moved from a location nearby where a living history demonstration was going on; Doug can be seen on the porch at the right talking with some of the volunteer civilians.

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Next - Chickamauga and Chattanooga
 
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Day 14 - Chickamauga and Chattanooga

Since Day 13 of our trip was spent entirely on the road driving from Virginia through Tennessee to Chattanooga there are no photos and little to tell other than that unfortunately the beautiful weather we had experienced since leaving Gettysburg a week earlier disappeared in the downpour that ushered in another bout of unseasonable cold weather. When we rose the following morning is was again hovering around freezing and we saw a few snowflakes in the morning on our way to Chickamauga. As we were leaving the Visitor Center, the sky was clearing but the wind was still cold and the day uncomfortable.

Chickamauga Visitor Center
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Outside the huge auditorium where the NPS film describing the campaign and battle is shown there is what is said to be this sole surviving example of a nineteenth century artillery battery wagon, restored and painted to represent the one of the Chicago Board of Trade Battery, a unit organized and paid for by a Chicago business consortium.

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The museum gallery is dominated by the large portrait above of Confederate General James Longstreet, donated to the park by his widow.

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Forgive my blurry photo above of the diorama depicting the battle.

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One of the museum's treasures is the personal Spencer Rifle belonging to Colonel John Wilder, commander of the Illinois brigade of Federal mounted infantry known as the Lightning Brigade. Wilder was postwar a mayor of Chattanooga and ramrod for the creation of the very first National Battlefield Park here at Chickamauga-Chattanooga.

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Another rare cavalry or artillery item is this traveling field forge, necessary for any unit with a large component of horses.

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The interior of an officer's tent displayed above; personal weapons and an assortment of belt plates below.

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The Claud E. Fuller Gun Collection
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The Fuller collection or United States firearms ranks as one of the best in the country. Included are multiple examples of all regulation military shoulder arms along with many rare and seldom-seen variants. They occupy multiple cases like the few pictured here and date from the beginning of firearms through at least the Second World War, although the thrust of the collection is the development of arms in the eras of the flintlock and percussion systems.

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Shoulder arms of the Civil War are especially well-represented from the products of the National Armories at Harper's Ferry and Springfield to their contract versions and European imports such as those from Britain like the Enfields, Austrian Lorenz's, and other countries as well. below however are my favorites, those produced by the Confederacy at Richmond and Fayetteville, N. C., using captured machinery from the armory at Harper's Ferry.

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Day 14 - Chickamauga and Chattanooga

Since Day 13 of our trip was spent entirely on the road driving from Virginia through Tennessee to Chattanooga there are no photos and little to tell other than that unfortunately the beautiful weather we had experienced since leaving Gettysburg a week earlier disappeared in the downpour that ushered in another bout of unseasonable cold weather. When we rose the following morning is was again hovering around freezing and we saw a few snowflakes in the morning on our way to Chickamauga. As we were leaving the Visitor Center, the sky was clearing but the wind was still cold and the day uncomfortable.

Chickamauga Visitor Center
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Outside the huge auditorium where the NPS film describing the campaign and battle is shown there is what is said to be this sole surviving example of a nineteenth century artillery battery wagon, restored and painted to represent the one of the Chicago Board of Trade Battery, a unit organized and paid for by a Chicago business consortium.

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The museum gallery is dominated by the large portrait above of Confederate General James Longstreet, donated to the park by his widow.

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Forgive my blurry photo above of the diorama depicting the battle.

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One of the museum's treasures is the personal Spencer Rifle belonging to Colonel John Wilder, commander of the Illinois brigade of Federal mounted infantry known as the Lightning Brigade. Wilder was postwar a mayor of Chattanooga and ramrod for the creation of the very first National Battlefield Park here at Chickamauga-Chattanooga.

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Another rare cavalry or artillery item is this traveling field forge, necessary for any unit with a large component of horses.

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The interior of an officer's tent displayed above; personal weapons and an assortment of belt plates below.

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The Claud E. Fuller Gun Collection
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The Fuller collection or United States firearms ranks as one of the best in the country. Included are multiple examples of all regulation military shoulder arms along with many rare and seldom-seen variants. They occupy multiple cases like the few pictured here and date from the beginning of firearms through at least the Second World War, although the thrust of the collection is the development of arms in the eras of the flintlock and percussion systems.

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Shoulder arms of the Civil War are especially well-represented from the products of the National Armories at Harper's Ferry and Springfield to their contract versions and European imports such as those from Britain like the Enfields, Austrian Lorenz's, and other countries as well. below however are my favorites, those produced by the Confederacy at Richmond and Fayetteville, N. C., using captured machinery from the armory at Harper's Ferry.

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A scout. :D
 
Lee and Gordon's Mills at Crawfish Springs
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I had long wanted to find this spot outside the park, although nothing actually occurred here during the battle. The mill owned by Lee and Gordon was the principal local landmark and to many people represented where the battle took place and was the designated gathering place beforehand for the scattered elements of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland, as described on the Civil War Trails marker below.

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Above, the waters known here as Crawfish Springs were swollen by the recent rains that had plagued us the day before; the millrace is seen at the bottom right.

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The Battle Begins at Reed's Bridge
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The site of Reed's Bridge across Chickamauga Creek is another that lies outside the boundaries of the park, although the signage below attests to its current ownership by the Civil War Trust. I asked at park visitor center and was told that additions to any NPS park land must by law be contiguous to current holdings, so it's uncertain that it will become a part of Chickamauga-Chattanooga NMP anytime soon. It was here that elements of Confederate cavalry commanded by Nathan Bedford Forrest encountered and drove away Federal cavalry of Robert Minty, beginning the three-day affair.

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The bone-chilling wind and cold was a notable discouragement to sightseeing and photography; since I have visited Chickamauga relatively recently back in 2014 and made a thread about that visit, this time I opted only to photograph those areas bypassed or missed previously like the marker below.

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The Wilder Tower Area
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In this area following the Confederate breakthrough September 20, 1863, the Lightning Brigade of John Wilder attempted to hold back Rebel forces with their Spencer rifles, but to little avail. They too soon retreated back toward Chattanooga serving as a rearguard for the fleeing Federals.

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In addition to Wilder's mounted infantry, other units of Federal cavalry are represented by monuments and statuary like the First Tennessee (Union) above; note the beautiful and abundant dogwoods in full bloom despite the cold!

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Thomas' Stand on Snodgrass Hill
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The Snodgrass cabin served as headquarters for Union Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, whose stand here earned him the name Rock of Chickamauga. His Fourteenth Army Corps was joined by the Reserve Corps led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and together they withstood the assault of Braxton Bragg's army until nightfall.

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On my most recent previous visit, time caused us to cut short our two separate visits here and the Snodgrass Hill area was missed on both, so I paid more attention than usual here.

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Union artillery played a major role in Thomas' stand until nightfall allowed him to disengage and slip away to join Rosecrans' army at Chattanooga; unfortunately word of the retreat failed to reach one of Thomas's brigades, resulting in the capture of most of three Union regiments.

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Use of this and other battlefield cabins, sheds, and barns as field hospitals both during and after the great battle is described on the marker below; according to its text, the butcher's bill for Chickamauga was in excess of 18,000 Confederate and 16,000 Federal.

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Next - Lookout Mountain
 
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Lookout Mountain at Chattanooga
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By the time we reached Point Park on the northern tip of Lookout Mountain the sun had come out allowing for good photography; Doug said this was the first visit here he'd made when the mountaintop wasn't socked in by clouds! Unfortunately, however, if anything the wind was even worse here atop the mountain, so his observation time was limited. Above, the entrance to Point Park was deliberately patterned after the turreted castle insignia of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers who built the park in the 1890's.

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In the NPS museum across the street we briefly visited James Walker's huge painting commissioned by Union General "Fighting Joe" Hooker to commemorate his part in the Battle of Lookout Mountain.

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Above, the New York Peace Monument, dedicated by Union general Dan Sickles in the 1890's. Below it's in the background of two Confederate-used twenty-pounder Parrotts that were placed here before the battle.

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Above and below, two guns of Garrity's Alabama Battery over look the actual battlefield around the Cravens House where most of the action took place. These Napoleons were not here at the time of the battle, November 24, 1863.

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Two views taken with telescopic lens of the Cravens House Battlefield from the position of Garrity's Battery; the Cravens House is partly obscured at the left, with two tall Union monuments visible nearby. This is my first visit that the vegetation here allowed such a view.

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Another Confederate battery atop Lookout Mountain was that of Capt. Van Den Corput of Georgia, below.

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View above along the path leading to the Ochs Observatory; below, the view from there of Lookout Valley and the area of Brown's Ferry on the Tennessee River.

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The view above overlooks the Moccasin bend of the Tennessee River and Raccoon Mountain in the distance; below, the modern city of Chattanooga sprawls across a landscape once filled with the camps of the Union force gathered there by Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant to break the tenuous siege by the Confederate army of Braxton Bragg.

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Unfortunately due to constraints of time and weather we cut short our Chattanooga visit that afternoon; unfortunately the sign above was as close as I got to Missionary Ridge, Orchard Knob, or the National Cemetery.

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Next, Vicksburg!
 
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Great write up!!! A friend of mine had an ancestor that survived Chickamauga. He was in the 1rst GA Sharpshooters, Wilson's brigade, Walker's division along with the 25th, 29th and 30th GA infantry, supported by the 4th LA battalion and Howell's GA battery of artillery. Like so many others during the ACW, this soldier later succumbed to illness by Dec. 1863; died in March 1864 due to chronic diarrhea. He left behind a wife and 6 children. Great pics of Chattanooga and Look Out Mountain!!!!
 
The Battle Begins at Reed's Bridge
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The site of Reed's Bridge across Chickamauga Creek is another that lies outside the boundaries of the park, although the signage below attests to its current ownership by the Civil War Trust. I asked at park visitor center and was told that additions to any NPS park land must by law be contiguous to current holdings, so it's uncertain that it will become a part of Chickamauga-Chattanooga NMP anytime soon. It was here that elements of Confederate cavalry commanded by Nathan Bedford Forrest encountered and drove away Federal cavalry of Robert Minty, beginning the three-day affair.
Spring rains have the Creek way up. The spot on the opposite bank where you can see where the wartime bridge was is underwater. Great pics.
 
All Good Things... Day 16 - Vicksburg and Home!

Day 15 was another devoted entirely to travel, as we crossed Alabama and Mississippi from Chattanooga, Tennessee to reach Vicksburg. When we arrived, it was too late to tour, so we turned in relatively early before our last full day of touring and travel on what proved to be one of the best weather days we experienced on the whole trip!

Union Avenue

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Union Battery DeGolyer overlooking the site of several attempts to storm the Confederate defenses of Vicksburg. The view below shows the Louisiana State Monument along the ridge in the background.

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Below, another view of Battery DeGolyer with the huge and imposing Illinois State Monument visible in the left center background.

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Below, in this area the ground has been cleared, opening up a viewshed between Union and Confederate trench lines. The house at right has been variously the park headquarters, a museum, and residence for the park superintendent. Near here grant met Pemberton to discuss surrender terms on July 3, 1863.


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Above and below, a handsome thirty-pounder Parrott mounted on a siege carriage along the Union line.

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Below, another Federal gun position mounting much smaller James rifled six-pounder guns.
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Damage to a portion of Confederate Avenue caused by Hurricane Sandy has caused temporary closure of the park road south from Fort Hill on the north; after visiting Grant Circle and Sherman Circle the tour route backtracks to Graveyard Road where it switches over to Confederate Avenue.

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Along Confederate Avenue
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Above, the Missouri State Monument was placed along Confederate Avenue in the section of trenches held by the Missouri Brigade across from Union troops also from that state. The monument depicts soldiers from both sides on panels flanking the central female figure representing the divided state. The Mississippi State Monument below is logically the most elaborate of those representing the States of the Confederacy.

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above and below, groups of statuary at the corners represent various types of Confederate officers and soldiers, much in the style of the Virginia monument at Gettysburg. The large monument has been recently restored; however some past damage is still evident.

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Behind the Mississippi Monument and therefore unseen by most visitors is this huge Confederate-used Dahlgren smoothbore cannon below.

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Lookout Mountain at Chattanooga
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By the time we reached Point Park on the northern tip of Lookout Mountain the sun had come out allowing for good photography; unfortunately, however, if anything the wind was even worse here atop the mountain. Above, the entrance to Point Park was deliberately patterned after the turreted castle insignia of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers who built the park in the 1890's.

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In the NPS museum across the street we briefly visited James Walker's huge painting commissioned by joe Hooker to commemorate his part in the Battle of Lookout Mountain.

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Above, the New York Peace Monument, dedicated by Union general Dan Sickles in the 1890's. Below it's in the background of two Confederate-used twenty-pounder Parrotts that were placed here before the battle.

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Above and below, two guns of Garrity's Alabama Battery over look the actual battlefield around the Cravens House where most of the action took place. These Napoleons were not here at the time of the battle, November 24, 1863.

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Two views taken with telescopic lens of the Cravens House Battlefield from the position of Garrity's Battery; the Cravens House is partly obscured at the left, with two tall Union monuments visible nearby. This is my first visit that the vegetation here allowed such a view.

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Another Confederate battery atop Lookout Mountain was that of Capt. Van Den Corput of Georgia, below.

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View above along the path leading to the Ochs Observatory; below, the view from there of Lookout Valley and the area of Brown's Ferry on the Tennessee River.

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The view above overlooks the Moccasin bend of the Tennessee River and Raccoon Mountain in the distance; below, the modern city of Chattanooga sprawls across a landscape once filled with the camps of the Union force gathered there by Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant to break the tenuous siege by the Confederate army of Braxton Bragg.

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Unfortunately due to constraints of time and weather we cut short our Chattanooga visit that afternoon; unfortunately the sign above was as close as I got to Missionary Ridge, Orchard Knob, or the National Cemetery.

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Next, Vicksburg!
Thanks for those pics sir. I was with a group tour on my one visit to Lookout Mountain and we did not get to go to the Craven's House. Our trip on the path down the mountain was hasty too. I intend to explore Lookout Mountain a lot more on our trip in October.
 
All Good Things... Day 16 - Vicksburg and Home!

Union Avenue

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Union Battery DeGolyer overlooking the site of several attempts to storm the Confederate defenses of Vicksburg. The view below shows the Louisiana State Monument along the ridge in the background.

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Below, another view of Battery DeGolyer with the huge and imposing Illinois State Monument visible in the left center background.

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Below, in this area the ground has been cleared, opening up a viewshed between Union and Confederate trench lines. The house at right has been variously the park headquarters, a museum, and residence for the park superintendent. Near here grant met Pemberton to discuss surrender terms on July 3, 1863.


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Above and below, a handsome thirty-pounder Parrott mounted on a siege carriage along the Union line.

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Below, another Federal gun position mounting much smaller James rifled six-pounder guns.
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Damage to a portion of Confederate Avenue caused by Hurricane Sandy has caused temporary closure of the park road south from Fort Hill on the north; after visiting Grant Circle and Sherman Circle the tour route backtracks to Graveyard Road where it switches over to Confederate Avenue.

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Along Confederate Avenue
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Above, the Missouri State Monument was placed along Confederate Avenue in the section of trenches held by the Missouri Brigade across from Union troops also from that state. The monument depicts soldiers from both sides on panels flanking the central female figure representing the divided state. The Mississippi State Monument below is logically the most elaborate of those representing the States of the Confederacy.

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above and below, groups of statuary at the corners represent various types of Confederate officers and soldiers, much in the style of the Virginia monument at Gettysburg. The large monument has been recently restored; however some past damage is still evident.

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Behind the Mississippi Monument and therefore unseen by most visitors is this huge Confederate-used Dahlgren smoothbore cannon below.

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Good stuff James. Great weather and looks like the park had been mowed shortly before y'alls trip.
 
Good stuff James. Great weather and looks like the park had been mowed shortly before y'alls trip.
Not so the National Cemetery! It was all grown up and looked almost abandoned; fortunately part of it was being mowed even while we visited the USS Cairo Museum.
 
Fort Hill
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We followed the rest of the park tour route along Confederate Avenue past the NPS Visitor Center and under Clay Street to the area of the Railroad Redoubt and Texas and Iowa State Monuments and back along that portion of Union Avenue to the normal end of the tour. From there it was necessary to drive along Clay Street into Vicksburg to the turn toward the Courthouse, which we'd seen previously so proceeded to the northern entrance to the park road at Fort Hill which anchored the Confederate left as described on the marker above.

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As usual, I was interested in the large pieces of ordnance to be found at various locations in the park like this 24-pounder smoothbore manufactured in the 1830's. Above, Bradley is visible just behind the sign at far left.

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USS Cairo Museum
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Our final stop was at the USS Cairo Museum built into the side of the hill across from the National Cemetery where the hull of the gunboat of that name is on permanent display under a protective cover. The real treasure here, however, lies in the thousands of artifacts salvaged from the wreck before it was raised back in the 1960's, including all the ship's guns and their original carriages like the one above, now sporting a fiberglass replica burst barrel.

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I photographed only a few of the many displays of the artifacts, sorted by use; above is the ship's buoy, tip of an anchor fluke, and leg irons from the brig. Below, various condiment jars and bottles from the kitchen area on the main deck.

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Items of armament and weaponry include cannonballs and shells of various calibers and artillery implements like the brass naval gun locks above; and smallarms for the crewmembers including swords and sword scabbards, pistols and revolvers, and even percussion muskets below.

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Above, Cairo's deck gun was found to be missing when she was raised; this complete example including its original wooden carriage was from one of her sister gunboats in the River Fleet. Below, more humble items belonging to crew members include belts and buckles, scissors, and even a cap tally at bottom and sailor's still-knotted silk necktie or scarf below right.

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This visit brought to an end our whirlwind tour of famous Civil War sites. From here, we returned to Interstate 20 and drove for the remainder of the day across Louisiana and East Texas. I arrived back home around 9pm and Doug and Bradley continued for another hour to their home north of Paris, Texas. I hope you have enjoyed our sixteen-day excursion!
 
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