In the Footsteps of Ulysses

 Ulysses S. Grant that is, Not the Greek one!

Cindy and I took our pup Sammy to the Land Between the Lakes area to see how our new pup would do as a camping dog.  In the midst of camping, I was able to sneak in a nice battlefield tour.  The area we were camping in is right next to the Fort Henry trail system that traces the route Grant took when moving his forces from Fort Henry to Fort Donelson in the opening phases of the American Civil War in the Western theatre.

The park website can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/fodo/index.htm

Cindy and I walked along a trail that followed the old wagon road that Grant used to move his artillery.  In many places you could still see the sunken road running parallel to the modern footpath, as in the photo above.

It wasn't all hard work, as Sammy had a great time in the stream blowing bubbles.

We would have had to blow bubble too to visit Fort Henry.  The Fort is now submerged under Kentucky Lake since the TVA damned the Tennessee River!

This is a small section of the Fort Henry trail system.  We walked a couple of these loops, but beware if you try it, the connector trails are not always maintained as we found to our dismay as we walked through grasses and briars as tall as we are!

While I don't have a picture of it, we came across the graves of five confederate soldiers, the first casualties of the battle.  They were killed when their own artillery piece exploded.  It was an odd little cemetery surrounded by a dilapidated and unmaintained snake rail fence on three sides.  Someone had put tacky little solar powered lights near each plaque, which was a bit discordant.  There were also flag holders with confederate battle flags, as well as, somewhat surprisingly for this area, a couple of US flags as well.  There were no period markers visible, so I don't know if the plaques were on actual burial sites or were just an approximation.  Many coins were laid on the plaques by visitors as a show of respect for the deceased soldiers, which was another surprise given the remoteness of the site.

Unlike Fort Henry, Fort Donelson escaped the rising waters of TVA damns and is still an interesting battlefield to visit which is very well maintained, though the visitor's center is still in a trailer of sorts while the permanent structure in under construction (which apparently it has been for 7 years!)

Cindy and Sammy near a thirty pound Columbiad!  The guns of Fort Donelson devastated the Union fleet of gunboats, despite their novice crews.

Coastal artillery lined the banks of the Cumberland blocking Union access to the river.

Cindy and I were exhausted after a short hike up and down the ridges leading to the fort, but it was an incredibly hot day and we were running short on water.  Cindy and Sammy stayed under the shade of this lovely Magnolia, while I hitched a ride back to the visitor center with some helpful construction workers.  I have always found that the vast majority of folks are lovely and willing to help given the opportunity to do so.

The Dover Hotel was the site of the confederate surrender to U.S. Grant.  It was here that he earned the nickname Unconditional Surrender, due to what the confederate General Buckner called his ungenerous terms.

There is a small museum in the hotel that is well worth a visit.

While I can't imagine the exterior was able to be salvaged when the hotel was saved, but I believe the three chimneys are original to the structure.  I wondered if the floorboards could be as well.

Cindy very much enjoyed our tour of the battlefield which combined a little history and culture with the natural beauty of the area.  Give it a visit if you get a chance!