Upcoming April, 2018 Civil War Excursion

James N.

Colonel
Annual Winner
Featured Book Reviewer
Asst. Regtl. Quartermaster Antietam 2021
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Location
East Texas
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Tomorrow, April 3, @1863surgeon Doug Garnett, his son Bradley, and Yours Truly (above, Doug and I during the 2007 145th Anniversary Shiloh event) are setting off on what may prove to be a questionable Adventure - mainly because of the erratic, unseasonable weather! - driving from Northeast Texas to Gettysburg and back. I don't propose to post all my photos from such a massive undertaking in this thread but will attempt a sort of running account as time permits on the order of some of those made recently by @bdtex . We hope to include Franklin and Stones River, Tenn.; Lexington, New Market, and other sites in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia; Harper's Ferry, W. Va.; Antietam and Frederick, Md.; Gettysburg; and returning via Manassas, Chantilly, Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania, and Appomattox, Va., and who knows what else - maybe even Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Tenn-Ga. and Vicksburg, Miss. We'll keep you posted on our progress!
 
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Tomorrow, April 3, @1863surgeon Doug Garnett, his son Bradley, and Yours Truly (above, Doug and I during the 2007 145th Anniversary Shiloh event) are setting off on what may prove to be a questionable Adventure - mainly because of the erratic, unseasonable weather! - driving from Northeast Texas to Gettysburg and back. I don't propose to post all my photos from such a massive undertaking in this thread but will attempt a sort of running account as time permits on the order of some of those made recently by @bdtex . We hope to include Franklin and Stones River, Tenn.; Lexington, New Market, and other sites in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia; Harper's Ferry, W. Va.; Antietam and Frederick, Md.; Gettysburg; and returning via Manassas, Chantilly, Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania, and Appomattox, Va., and who knows what else - maybe even Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Tenn-Ga. and Vicksburg, Miss. We'll keep you posted on our progress!
That sounds like an incredible trip, I like the fact that you’re not sure where you will end up, some of the best trips can be those that aren’t to rigid, have fun guys.
 
Day 1 - So far, a day of boring driving with nothing of interest to report. We crossed East Texas and Arkansas entirely by the Interstate and tonight having covered about 550 miles are now only about an hour outside Franklin where we propose to spend the entire day, so hopefully tomorrow there will be more! The weather so far has been mild, in the 70's but the front is due tonight with 40 forecast for the morning and tomorrow's high around 54.
 
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Day 1 - So far, a day of boring driving with nothing of interest to report. We crossed Arkansas and tonight are only about an hour outside Franklin where we propose to spend the entire day tomorrow, so hopefully there will be more!
No stops at any CW site in Arkansas?
 
Day 1 - So far, a day of boring driving with nothing of interest to report. We crossed East Texas and Arkansas entirely by the Interstate and tonight having covered about 550 miles are now only about an hour outside Franklin where we propose to spend the entire day, so hopefully tomorrow there will be more! The weather so far has been mild, in the 70's but the front is due tonight with 40 forecast for the morning and tomorrow's high around 54.
Is it raining where you are now? Looks like y'all are gonna be having very pleasant daytime temperatures for the next few days.
 
No, we're aiming for the seat of war farther east, and also drove right by the site of Forrest's fight at Parker'sCrossroads. (It was already well past closing time for the visitor center anyway.)
We drove right past it on our way home from Franklin last June. It was torture. :D
 
Day 2 - Spring Hill And Franklin, Tennessee
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Wednesday morning we got underway with serious Civil War touring at Spring Hill and Rippavilla Plantation. Conditions were cool but the strong breeze made the morning quite chilly. Above from left to right, Yours Truly, Doug Garnett (@1863surgeon), and his son Bradley.

Rippavilla Plantation House
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We didn't take the tour of Rippavilla itself but instead visited a long time with Chuck, one of the volunteers there, who explained the battle for us. I did however get good photos of the mansion house above and below. Here at breakfast following the failure of Ben Cheatham's corps and Nathan B. Forrest's cavalry to cut the Franklin Pike and the subsequent Federal escape from the incipient trap Hood was said to be "... as wrathy as a rattlesnake."

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Federal Defense Lines at Spring Hill
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We were only able to see a little of the actual battlefield at Spring Hill before heading north towards Franklin; these views are near the center of the Union defense line.

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Winstead Hill Outside Franklin
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Winstead Hill served as the command post for Confederate commander John Bell Hood; from here he watched the assault on the Federal lines late in the afternoon November 30, 1863. Note the redbud in full bloom.

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Memorial stones for four Confederate brigadiers killed or mortally wounded in the battle; Pat Cleburne and Hiram Granbury have other individual markers (not pictured).

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Carter House and Its Dependencies, Franklin
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Photography isn't permitted in any of the historic houses on tour at Franklin so I was only able to get shots around the grounds. Here's the front of the main house above and Doug and Bradley listening to our guide on the back porch below.

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The dependencies left to right above are a slave house (moved to this location after the battle and therefore showing no battle damage); the brick smokehouse; and the frame office. The Carter property stood at the center of the Union defense line and suffered considerable damage during the battle.

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The southern-facing sides of both the smokehouse and office show extensive battle damage from musketry and rifle fire from the attacking Confederates. Until just in the last year these buildings could only be seen up close because of two non-period buildings which have now been removed.

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The white frame office has been recently restored and the south-facing wall left purposely without interior facing to dramatically reveal the numerous bullet holes which have perforated it during the battle.

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Below another recently restored vista of the Carter buildings viewed from the northwest side where postwar buildings have been removed. This is the area crossed by the Western Federal brigade commanded by Emerson Opdyke which sealed the breach here made by Pat Cleburne's and William Bate's assaulting Confederate divisions.

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