Living Our Dream

James White's Fort and the Holy Land Market

Heiskell (Knoxville), TN - Events of Thursday, October 2, 2014

We were planning to stop for a late lunch on our way back to the motor home after seeing the World's Fair Park we wrote about in our last post, but it was still too early for that even after adding a stop at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Therefore, we decided to stop at James White's Fort located only a few minute's drive from the art museum.

James White was a militia officer during the Revolutionary War. Following the war, he was given a grant of 1,000 acres of land at the confluence of First Creek and the Tennessee River at the present-day site of Knoxville, TN. He built a two-story log house on his land in 1786.

James White's log house

The house that currently sits on the site was reconstructed in 1968 using portions of the original house, which was moved to another location in the city in 1906.

Around 1788, White enclosed the house and several other buildings with a stockade fence creating a fort for protection from attack. In 1891, White set aside a portion of his land and platted the town of Knoxville. Knoxville was named for George Washington's Secretary of War, Henry Knox.

The tour of White's Fort is self-guided. Guests are given a well-written description of all the buildings and many of the artifacts contained therein. We began our tour with the kitchen of the main house. It was nicely set up with displays of tables, cabinets and various utensils from the 1700s and early 1800s.

Kitchen

The device shown below is a winding weasel used to measure yarn as it is wound up into a skein. The weasel has wooden, clock-like gears inside that count the number of revolutions. After the prescribed number of revolutions, the weasel would pop indicating the proper amount of yarn had been wound. This is the basis for the nursery rhyme, "Pop Goes the Weasel."

Winding weasel used for measuring yarn

From the kitchen, we moved to the main cabin with living space downstairs and sleeping accommodations for up to 20 people upstairs.

Downstairs of the main cabin

Other buildings in the fort are original structures from the 1700 and 1800s moved to the site from elsewhere in the area. The other buildings are set up to demonstrate various functions such as guest cabins, a smokehouse, a blacksmith shop and a weaver's house.

View of some of the other buildings within the fort

Smokehouse

Blacksmith shop

The weaver's house shown below presents an interesting juxtaposition to the modern downtown buildings in the background.

Weaver's house with modern buildings in the background

After our tour of White's Fort, it was mid-afternoon. Now we were finally hungry - really hungry. We had scoped out a place a few miles to the east of downtown Knoxville called the Holy Land Market. The market has many kinds of packaged foods from the Middle East as well as a deli. The deli counter also serves various kinds of Middle-Eastern food, and they get rave reviews on Trip Adviser, Urban Spoon and Yelp.

Holy Land Market

As we stood studying the menu board it was obvious it was our first visit. The owners, Walter and Denise, took their time helping us decide what to have. Denise gave us a printed menu that had descriptions of the dishes, and Walter explained some of the food in even more detail. Margery chose a Reuben sandwich, and Paul had lamb shawarma on a pita.

Shawarma refers to meat (chicken, lamb, beef, turkey) that is marinated in spices and is traditionally slow-cooked on a spit, although it can also be roasted or grilled. The meat is then usually thinly sliced and served on a plate with accompaniments, or the meat is served on a sandwich wrap similar to a gyro. Walter prepares the meat for the shawarma in-house.

While we waited for our food, Walter gave us samples of some of the delicious items in the deli case including some of the many different types of hummus. We sampled 6 or 8 different kinds - they were all delish as was the curry chicken salad! We were tempted to take home some hummus; but the chickpea base is not conducive to our low-carb diet. We "cheat" occasionally when we eat out, but we like to maintain our diets at home.

After our samples, Walter chatted with us a while longer until our food came.

Paul with his shawarma with Margery's Reuben in the foreground

Paul's shawarma was served on flat bread topped with pickled turnips. It was yummy! The meat was tender, flavorful and juicy; and the pickled turnips added a unique tang.

Margery's Reuben was outstanding! The house-made corned beef was piled high and was lean and tender. The Russian dressing was very thick, and its sweetness added a balance to the sauerkraut. The Swiss cheese also added a nice creaminess to the sandwich. It was without question the best Reuben we had ever had!

Walter and Denise are on a first name basis with all their regulars, and they go out of their way to treat new customers like long-lost friends. What good food and what great service! No wonder the Holy Land Market gets such outstanding reviews.

Left to right: Denise and Walter (owners) and George

With our bellies full, we headed back to the motor home for an evening of TV. The weather forecast was predicting rain followed by a cooling trend followed by more rain. We don't know what we'll find to do when the weather improves, but something is bound to come up, so stay tuned.

More Pink Palace

West Memphis, AR - Events of Monday, June 16, 2014

After finishing the natural history section of the Pink Palace Museum, we headed to the second floor where there were exhibits on the human history of the Memphis area.

Native Americans first arrived in the area about 11,000 years ago. They hunted and gathered food along the fertile Mississippi River and its tributaries. Over time, they began to stay for longer periods. They began to build more permanent houses and started farming. The first villages began to appear about 2,500 years ago. The museum had a display of Mississippian pottery and tools.

Europeans first came to the area in 1541. We learned about Hernando De Soto's expedition this past February when we visited the De Soto National Memorial in Bradenton, FL. Click here to read about that visit and the De Soto expedition.

When French explorers arrived in 1673, most of the farms and villages of the Mississippian people were gone, and swamps and forests had reclaimed much the land. The Native American population had been decimated by disease introduced by the Europeans. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, European settlers began to arrive in the area in larger numbers and pushed the few remaining Indians out.

Artifacts of early European explorers and settlers

Margery checking out tools the settlers used to build log cabins

Re-creation of a one-room log cabin

The city of Memphis was chartered in 1826. The demand for cotton was growing because the invention of the cotton gin in the late 1700s brought down the price of cotton and the Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s brought down the price of fabric made from cotton. In the 1840s, Memphis was undergoing a boom as cheap land for growing cotton and the presence of the Mississippi River for transportation attracted even more new residents. By 1860, Memphis rivaled St. Louis and New Orleans.

Not only did the Industrial Revolution make fabric and clothing less expensive, but it also made possible the manufacture of affordable furniture. Memphis had a growing and prosperous middle class. The photo below shows a typical, early Victorian, middle-class parlor.

Victorian-era furnishings and clothing

Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861 and briefly became a Confederate stronghold until it was captured by the Union in 1862.

Civil War display

Memphis was occupied by Union forces for the remainder of the war. Because of its strategic location on the Mississippi, Memphis became a Union supply base. As a result of the war and the Reconstruction period that followed, the economy of Memphis became depressed.

Just as the city finally began to slowly recover from the aftermath of the war, yellow fever epidemics in the 1870s further devastated the economy. Things got so bad, the city declared bankruptcy in 1879 and lost its city charter. Memphis emerged from bankruptcy in the 1880s and was rechartered in 1893. Memphis entered the 1900s as a fairly prosperous center for the cotton trade.

In our last post, we mentioned how Clarance Saunders began building the Pink Palace mansion in 1922. Building of the mansion was made possible by Suanders' success in the grocery business. Clarance Saunders had established a large grocery wholesale company in Memphis in the early 1900s; and in 1916, he decided to open his own grocery store which he called the Piggly Wiggly. The museum has a replica of the original Piggly Wiggly Saunders built on Jefferson Avenue in Mmephis.

Replica of the first Piggly Wiggly

Piggly Wiggly was the first true self-service grocery store. Customers, who were given shopping baskets, entered the store through a turnstile, made their way up and down the aisles picking up groceries as they went, and ended up at the check-out counter at the front of the store. By 1922, Piggly Wiggly had 1241 stores. The concept was so successful, other grocery stores quickly entered the self service market.

Inside the Piggly Wiggly

As we also mentioned in our last post, Saunders encountered financial difficulty as the result of some attempted stock market wrangling. He declared bankruptcy in 1923, lost his Piggly Wiggly empire and lost his unfinished Pink Palace mansion. We also explained how investors who bought Saunders' estate for the land eventually donated the mansion to the city of Memphis to be made into a museum.

From the Piggly Wiggly, we crossed the mezzanine to the mansion itself where there is a continuation of the cultural history of Memphis. There was a small display on the music of Memphis and on WWII.

There was also a display on the importance of cotton in Memphis. In 1931, Memphis and the rest of the country were in the throes of the Great Depression. A Memphis businessman proposed "cotton week" to promote the use of cotton. The Cotton Carnival, now called Carnival Memphis, was born. The carnival is held in the spring. It is a bit like Mardi Gras with parades, kings and queens, parties and a ball. It has been expanded to also include charitable events.

Costumes of past Carnival Memphis royalty

After we finished up in the mansion, we headed out to the mezzanine where there was one more exhibit to see. It was a temporary exhibit about insects called Twice Bitten. The exhibit featured several super-size insect heads including a bee depicted at 200 times actual size.

Bee 200 times actual size

There were also several gigantic, robotic insects including the praying mantis shown below.

Robotic praying mantis

Also included in the exhibit were about a dozen live tarantulas. The one shown below is a Mexican red knee.

Mexican red knee tarantula

After seeing the Twice Bitten exhibit, it was a little before 1:00, which was perfect timing for the 3D IMAX movie. The movie was on Jerusalem and was done by National Geographic, so the photography was excellent. It was interesting to see how Jerusalem became the focus of three major religions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

By the time the movie was over, it was almost 2:00, and we were hungry. As luck would have it, Central BBQ is right down the street from the Pink Palace.

Central BBQ

Central BBQ is our favorite place in Memphis to get ribs. Their ribs are prepared with dry rub. There are several kinds of sauce available - regular, mustard-based, vinegar-based and hot. We liked the regular, which is thick and sweet, mixed with vinegar-based sauce to cut the sweetness.

We had a slab of ribs for two for $25, which includes four sides. For our sides, we shared potato salad, onion rings, pork rinds, and mac and cheese. We usually like slaw with our barbecue, but we remembered from last year their slaw is a little too tart for our taste. The potato salad and onion rings were good, and the mac and cheese was okay. This was the first time either one of us had pork rinds, and we didn't care for them. The ribs, however, were delicious. They were smoky and meaty.

Margery with our slab of ribs

With our bellies full, we headed back to the motor home to relax the rest of the afternoon and evening and to watch the barges go up and down the river. Our time in Memphis was almost over. Stay tuned to find out where we headed next.

Tennessee State Museum

Goodlettesville, TN - Events of Saturday, October 19 to Sunday, October, 20, 2013

One of the things we found to do while we were in Nashville this time was the Tennessee State Museum. Since Saturday was the day we wanted to do our sightseeing and it turned out to be dreary, rainy, cold and blustery, we thought going to a museum would be a better option than an outdoor activity. Not only that, but the museum is free. The tolls, high campground fees, high fuel prices and our frequent eating out during our travels around New England this summer really put a dent in our budget, so free admission made the choice of the museum sound even better.

Since it was Saturday, we were even able to find a rare, free, on-street parking space about a block from the museum in spite of the fact the metered parking spaces along both sides of the street in front of the museum had "No Parking" signs on them due to a special event.

The Tennessee State Museum was created in 1937 by the Tennessee General Assembly to house World War I mementos and other collections of historical artifacts from the state. It was moved from the lower level of the War Memorial Building to the new James K. Polk Center in 1981 where it has more than 120,000 square feet of space, about half of which is devoted to exhibits. The remainder of the space is archives, storage and offices. The museum traces the history of Tennessee from the first Native Americans to modern times.

Tennessee was occupied by prehistoric peoples as far back as 15,000 years ago. The early people were nomadic hunter/gatherers. Around 1000 B.C., the people began to stay in one place for longer periods and began farming.

Margery checking out a display of early stone farming implements

The museum had some of the best stone implements we had ever seen. They were finely crafted, and some were even polished. The next photo shows stone axe heads (left) and stone hoes.

Finely-crafted stone farming implements

As the native Americans began farming, they needed more permanent dwellings. The houses were constructed from saplings that were placed upright in a trench. The tops of the saplings were then bent inward and intertwined to form the roof. Walls were covered with cane matting and then plastered with mud inside and out. The museum had a display of trowels made from baked clay that were used to smooth the mud covering. We had never seen implements like that before. The use of trowels instead of hands to smooth the mud demonstrates a high degree of sophistication.

Clay trowels for smoothing mud coating

Building mud-covered huts

The Spanish were the first Europeans to reach Tennessee in 1540 followed by the French and the British in 1673. Although the French claimed the entire Mississippi River Valley, the territory went to the British following the French and Indian War.

Some of the earliest frontiersmen who crossed the Appalachian Mountains into Tennessee from Virginia and the Carolinas were hunters and trappers in the early 1760s. The most famous of these frontiersmen was Daniel Boone.

By the way, back in the days of the early frontiersmen-hunters, deerskin was a common medium of exchange. Since one skin sold for $1, the terms buck and dollar became synonymous.

Later in the 1760s, permanent settlers began to arrive. Conestoga wagons were frequently used in the migration from Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas. Conestoga wagons are characterized by an upward curved floor and sloped ends that helped keep the cargo from shifting on rough terrain. Thay are named for Conestoga Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where the wagons were first built by German Mennonite immigrants in the early 1700s.

Conestoga wagon

There was a display of some of the tools used by the settlers for building cabins. Shown in the next photo are a broad axe, axe, maul, froe and auger.

Tools for building log cabins

Settlers couldn't bring much furniture with them, so most of it had to be made after they got to Tennessee. By the 1800s, furniture making in Tennessee had gotten pretty sophisticated. The next photo shows woodworking tools from the 1800s and includes a hand-cranked lathe.

Display of 1800s woodworking tools

Margery checks out a display of 1800s furniture

Tennessee has its share of famous, historical figures. Andrew Jackson, who became a hero by defeating the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, also represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives (1796-1797) and the U.S. Senate (1823-1825) and was the 7th president of the United States (1829-1837). He was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because of his assertive, hard-hitting personality. The felt hat worn at his inauguration is shown toward the left in the next photo.

Exhibit on Andrew Jackson that includes the hat worn at his presidential inauguration

Ather famous Tennessean is Sam Houston. We usually think of Sam Houston in connection with Texas, but he was born in Tennessee. Sam Houston represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1823 to 1827 and was governor of Tennessee from 1827 to 1829.

Houston traveled to Texas in 1832 and became involved in politics there. After Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836, Houston became Commander-in-Chief of the Texas army. He later became president of the independent Republic of Texas, and served as a U.S. Senator from Texas after it became a state.

Sam Houston display

Tennessee prospered during the antebellum period primarily because of cotton. The patenting of the cotton gin in 1794 boosted the demand for cotton and increased wealth all over the South. As we learned when we visited Lowell, MA this past summer, the Industrial Revolution in the early part of the 1800s greatly reduced the cost of fabrics that were manufactured in the North. This increased the demand for cotton even further. To read what we learned during our visit to Lowell about the Industrial Revlution and how it reduced fabric prices, click here for our stop at the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, and click here for the American Textile History Museum.

The wealth in the South meant the plantation owners could afford the finest. The museum had a parlor set up with the plush furnishings of the time.

Antebellum parlor

There were numerous silversmiths in Nashville before the Civil War. The museum has a collection of flatware, tea service sets and trays that line three walls of a good-sized room.

Part of the museum's silver collection

Early in 1861, Tennesseans voted down a referendum to secede from the Union. In fact, opposition to secession was so strong in eastern Tennessee, they wanted to form a separate, Union-aligned state. However, after the Confederates fired on Fort Sumpter in Charleston Harbor in April, 1861, Tennessee passed a referendum in June to become the last southern state to secede.

There were over 400 battles and skirmishes fought in Tennessee during the Civil War, many of which were Union victories. The museum has a large section devoted to the Civil War that includes uniforms, battle flags, weapons and other artifacts.

Civil War cannon and battle flag

From the Civil War and reconstruction era, the museum moves into more modern times. On display was a steam pumper built in 1900 and used to fight fires in Nashville. Steam from the boiler drove the pump to pressurize the fire hose.

1900 steam pumper used in Nashville

A history of Tennessee would not be complete without mentioning music for which Nashville is so famous. The museum has a temporary exhibit of dulcimers, which are stringed instruments that are part of the zither family. The earliest zither-like instrument was found in China and dates back to around 400 B.C. Other stringed instruments like guitars, violins and cellos have necks, but the strings of the zither/dulcimer family of instruments do not extend beyond the sound box. The sound box is the hollow box that gives the instrument its tone and resonance.

The exhibit includes several early forms of the zither including the ones in the photo below. On the left is a modern zither from the 1900s. The next one is a one-stringed Norewgian psalmodikon from 1859. The third instrument is a multi-stringed Hungarian citera from the early 1800s, and the one on the right is a three-stringed German scheitholt from the early 1800s.

Zithers

Another temporary exhibit features portraits of dozens of country singers. The singers shown in the photo below are (left to right) cross-over pop/country artist Darius Rucker, Chris Cagle and three portraits of Reba McEntyre along with the outfit she was wearing in the large portrait.

Portraits of country singers

As we were finishing up at the museum, we saw hoards of kids in Halloween costumes arriving. We saw signs for a "Haunted Museum" event when we first arrived, and we saw the Halloween decorations that had been put up in the museum (fake cobwebs, a few manikins dressed up like zombies and mummies, and pretend RIP gravestones here and there); but we didn't realize the event was that day since Halloween was still almost two weeks away. We suddenly realized the reason there was no parking on the street in front of the museum was because the Haunted Museum event was that day. Fortunately, we had gone early enough that we were leaving just as everyone else was arriving.

On Sunday, we hung around the campground, watched the NASCAR race and watched the weekenders leave the campground. To our surprise, an almost equal number of new RVs arrived throughout the day to take the places of the ones that left.

On Monday, we continued on our trek south. We'll tell you where we ended up in our next post.

Chattanooga, TN Part III: Chickamauga Battlefield

Hixson, TN - Events of Friday, October 13, 2012

The other main part of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is located about 20 minutes south of Chattanooga just over the line in Georgia. It is here Union and Confederate forces clashed on September 19 and 20, 1863 prior to the Battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge that we reported on in our last post.

It was a good thing we went to Lookout Mountain on Thursday so we could enjoy the spectacular views because Friday morning was cloudy and rainy. Fortunately, the rain stopped before we got to Chickamauga Battlefield, but the clouds persisted.

Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center

Chickamauga Visitor Center has more extensive information about the battle including an excellent video. That and the fact the Battle of Chickamauga Creek took place before the Battle of Lookout Mountain are good reasons why it would have been better to see Chickamauga Battlefield first. However, we wanted to take advantage of the clear weather to see Lookout Mountain, so Chickamauga had to wait until Friday.

When we arrived, we had about 30 minutes until the next showing of the video, so we checked out the displays of battlefield artifacts in the small museum in the visitor center.

One of the displays of battlefield artifacts

The visitor center also houses the Fuller Collection of American Military Shoulder Arms, which is a collection of 346 long guns, many of which are rare or even one of a kind.

A portion of the Fuller Collection of American Military Shoulder Arms

An electronic map at the visitor center is very helpful in visualizing troop movements before, during and after the battle.

Electronic map showing troop movements

Following the Union capture of the city of Chattanooga on Sept. 9, 1863, the Confederate troops withdrew to Lafayette (pronounced la-FAY-ette), Georgia where they received reinforcements. The Confederates were determined to re-take Chattanooga, so they began to march northward on Sept. 17.

The Confederates encountered Union troops south of Chattanooga, and there were a few skirmishes on Sept. 18. Fighting began in earnest on Sept 19 near the banks of Chickamauga Creek. Both sides fought hard all day, and the Confederates eventually pushed the the main body of the Union forces back to Lafayette Road. The following day, fighting resumed, and the Confederates tried to maneuver themselves between the Union forces and Chattanooga to cut the Union off.

As the Confederates were trying to outflank the Union forces, a gap suddenly opened in the middle of the Union line due to a miscommunication on the Union side. The Confederates smashed through, and the rout had begun. Some of the Union forces withdrew to Chattanooga right away, and others retreated to Snodgrass Hill where they took a stand. The Union troops on Snodgrass Hill held their ground against repeated Confederate assaults during the day, but they also eventually withdrew to Chattanooga.

After we watched the video, we headed out on the 7-mile, self-guided driving tour around the battlefield. Most Civil War battles were fought in open fields, but this area is heavily wooded which made keeping track of troops and communicating very difficult. That may be what caused the the gap in the Union line that allowed the Confederates to break through.

The road shown below passes the main area of the Union lines. Most of the monuments in this area were for various divisions from Ohio and Indiana.

Monuments line the road that passes the Union lines.

We found a monument for a regiment from our old home state of Pennsylvania.

Over on the Confederate side, the Georgia had one of the largest monuments. That is only fitting since the battle took place in Georgia.

Georgia monument

The largest monument in the Park is on Snodgrass Hill and is dedicated to the Union soldiers under the command of General Thomas who became known as "the rock of Chickamauga" because of the heroic stand he and his men took there.

Monument on Snodgrass Hill

Following the defeat of the Union Army at Chickamauga, the Confederates failed to follow through and capitalize on that defeat and re-take Chattanooga. The Union forces in Chattanooga were reinforced by October, and as we described in our last post, they eventually ousted the Confederates from Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and most of the entire area.

The failure of the Confederates to re-take Chattanooga sounded a death knell for the South. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, a.k.a Sherman's March to the Sea, was launched from Chattanooga the following spring. That campaign totally demoralized the South. General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.

On our way back to the motor home from Chickamauga Battlefield, we stopped at Qdoba in Chattanooga for a late lunch. Chattanooga isn't huge as cities go, but this is the first and only Qdoba we have ever seen in a downtown setting. They are usually in suburban strip malls.

Qdoba in downtown Chattanooga

With our bellies full, we headed back to the motor home for an evening of relaxation. We have one more report from Chattanooga. Stay tuned.

Chatanooga, TN Part II: The Battle of Lookout Mountain

Hixson, TN - Events of Thursday, October 11, 2012

As we said, the weather forecast was predicting clouds and/or rain for much of the remainder of our stay, so we did our outdoor sightseeing on Lookout Mountain on Thursday while it was still sunny. In addition to visiting Rock City, the other thing we did on Thursday was to stop at the part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park that is located at the northern tip of Lookout Mountain.

The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, which was the nation's first military park, was established in 1890 to preserve sites of both the Battle of Chickamauga and the Chattanooga Campaign that took place during the Civil War. Although there are several separate sites in the area relating to these battles, we visited the two main sites during our stay - the one on Lookout Mountain, and Chickamauga Battlefield, which is a little farther south right over the border in Georgia. We'll have more on Chickamauga Battlefield in our next post.

Chattanooga is located on the Tennessee River, and it grew rapidly in the early 1800s as a result of river commerce. The railroad arrived in Chattanooga in 1850, and Chattanooga subsequently became an important railroad hub.

With the river and railroads, Chattanooga was a location of strategic importance during the Civil War. Union forces began bombarding Chattanooga in early September, 1863, and they were able to occupy the city on Sept. 9. By controlling Chattanooga, the Union could not only cut off supplies to the Confederates farther south, but they could also use the railroads and river to supply their own troops and use Chattanooga as a base from which they could launch attacks into the Deep South.

After being ousted from Chattanooga, the Confederate forces withdrew a short distance to northern Georgia. They were determined to reoccupy Chattanooga and to keep the Union Army from advancing any farther south. After receiving reinforcements, the Confederates moved northward again and defeated the Union Army at Chickamauga Creek.

Following their defeat at Chickamauga, the Union forces withdrew back to the safety of Chattanooga, and the Confederates took up positions on several areas of high ground near the city - namely Lookout Mountain to the south and Missionary Ridge to the east.

Lookout Mountain is a ridge that starts at the south bank of the Tennessee River just below Chattanooga and runs about 85 miles south-southwest down into Georgia and Alabama. The northern end of ridge ends at a sharp point that sits 1,400 to 1,500 feet above the Tennessee River overlooking Chatanooga. This point is appropriately named Point Park, and it is part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.

There is a small visitor center at Point Park that has a few Civil War artifacts and a series of story boards showing the sequence of events during the battles that took place in the area from September through November, 1863. The Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought on November 24, 1863.

One of the main features of the visitor center is a 13' x 33' mural done in 1874 by James Walker depicting Union General Joseph Hooker as a hero on a white horse surrounded by his men below Lookout Mountain as they prepare to charge the Confederates. The Battle of Lookout Mountain was called the "Battle Above the Clouds" (which is also the title of the painting) because of all the clouds and mist that surrounded the mountain on the day of the battle.

Mural at the visitor center

Across from the visitor center is the entrance to Point Park. Admission to the park is $3 per person. America the Beautiful passes are honored for free admission. Point Park was built in 1903-1904 by the Army Corps of Engineers, and the entrance gate is in the shape of the castle symbol of the Corps.

Entrance gate to Point Park

Point Park features several plaques, a monument and panoramic vistas of the surrounding countryside like the one below looking toward Chattanooga. The spectacular views were the reason we wanted to be sure to visit Point Park on a clear day.

View of Chattanooga from Point Park

Although Confederate cannon fire from the mountain was ineffective against the Union troops that occupied Chattanooga because of the distance, the Confederates could easily see movement of troops and they could keep track of supply boats on the river.

Another view of Chattanooga

Panoramic view of Moccasin Bend of the Tennessee River with Chattanooga in the distance

Now on to the battle. On Nov. 24, 1863, Union General U. S. Grant authorized Major General Hooker to attack the Confederate forces on Lookout Mountain, but he did not authorize an all-out assault. As it turned out, however, Hooker more or less ignored the restrictions in Grant's orders, and the Union forces ended up successfully routing the Confederates from Lookout Mountain. The last Confederates escaped from the mountain after dark assisted by a total lunar eclipse.

On the following day, the Union Army defeated the Confederates on a lower ridge to the east of Chattanooga called Missionary Ridge. The Confederates withdrew the day after that farther south into Georgia again. These battles were the beginning of the end for the Confederacy.

In addition to the museum in the visitor center, there was also a small museum inside the park itself that had a display of numerous Civil War-era photos taken on Lookout Mountain. One prominent photo features a man standing on a pile of balanced rocks.

Old photo showing a man standing on balanced rocks

View of the same rocks today from a slightly different angle

Also in Point Park is the New York Peace Memorial that is topped by a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier shaking hands.

New York Peace Memorial

In our next post we'll tell you about our visit to Chickamauga Battlefield.