14 May
Today we backtracked a bit west and visited Fort Donelson National Battlefield visitor center, the actual battlefield and the cemetery. These are located just 30 minutes west of where we are camping. Fort Donelson was built by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River. The river provided a pathway to Nashville and the heart of Tennessee. Without going into a lot of detail, this area is steeped in history and was a key battle between Gen Ulyssys S. Grant from the Union Army and Gen Simon Buckner from the Confederate Army.
It was very interesting to see the defensive fighting positions still intact and all the cannons used to defend the fort.
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| Soldiers fought from these trenches |
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| Nana and one of many cannons |
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| Cannons used to defend the fort from attacks by river boats |
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| Magazine used to protect the powder |
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| Cannon balls |
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| Many cannons overlooking the river |
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| These four mounds were some of the first gun positions used to defend the forst from river attacks. |
Grant and his men were victorious and Buckner surrendered. The terms of the surrender were drawn up in this hotel.
Then we visited the Fort Donelson Cemetery. Iowa's soldiers were heavily involved in this battle. What a beautiful place.
After visiting Fort Donelson, we took a short break back at the trailer and then headed to Fort Campbell to visit the 101st Airborne museum. A very nice display dating back to World War II all the way through Iraq and Afghanistan. They have a great outdoor display area with various ground pieces as well as aircraft.
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| A-10 Warthog in the background |
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| Many different helicopters on display |
That about wraps it up for our stay at Fort Campbell. We were disappointed Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park did not work out, but in retrospect it was a good thing. We really had a great time here at Fort Campbell. There is a ton of history down here, and some great scuba diving too!!
Tomorrow morning we bug-out to Camp Carlson up by Louisville KY! Stay tuned for updates!
Those battle fields are amazing! Very interesting to see the cannon balls still there. I bet the 101st Airborne was neat to see. A lot of history, glad it worked out.
ReplyDeleteWe can't wait to see Gettysburg again and have plenty of time there.
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