November 30, 1864 Battle of Franklin

   After the Union troops slipped past General John Bell Hood's Confederate forces camped at Spring Hill, Tennessee the night before, they began building entrenchments at Franklin. Their main line of defense was built across the Columbia Pike and at the home of Fountain Branch Carter. As Hood watched from Winstead Hill south of Franklin, he ordered his men at nearly dusk to charge into the Federal earthworks repeatedly.

Nov 29, 1864 Battle of Spring Hill

   On November 29, 1864, Union and Confederate forces skirmished at the small town of Spring Hill, Tennessee. Spring Hill is located on the border of Maury and Williamson Counties, about halfway between Columbia and Franklin. Confederate General John Bell Hood set up his forces to attempt to stop the Federals as they left Columbia, heading north. There were minor skirmishes along the Columbia Pike, and the Federals lined up west of the pike in order to protect the railroad. Casualties numbered only in the few hundred.

Small Business Saturday

   Small businesses, slowly vanishing. Find them today and give them business. Where would our country today be without them.
   Will you visit a small business in your town today?

Sam Davis, Boy Hero of the Confederacy

Sam Davis was a member of Coleman's Scouts, of the Confederate Army. While on a scouting mission, he was captured in southern Tennessee. He was held in Pulaski, TN for 7 days. He would not tell the name of his officers or who had given him the Union information that he was captured with, supposedly saying "I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend." He would be hanged in Pulaski on November 27, 1863. He was buried in a cemetery there, but someone from his family came and retrieved his body and took him to his home in Smyrna, Tennessee.

The Real First Thanksgiving-in Virginia

   Despite what most people think or are taught, there was a feast to give thanks before the Pilgrims up in Plymouth had their infamous gathering. Of course, most people also think that Plymouth was the first English settlement in America-more people should learn about Jamestown and Virginia. The plantation just north of Jamestown, known as Berkeley, was the place where the first official Thanksgiving was held.

Graves in Snow at Stones River

   I wish this were current, but it is not. Photo taken in February 2010.
   Both graves are located just outside the Hazen's Brigade Monument at Stones River Battlefield in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The back one is William Harlan, Cpl US Army, World War I. The closer one is Sgt William Holland, Co I 111 Regt US Colored Infantry, 1834-1909.

Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863

   On this day in 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. The speech was given at a dedication of the National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle was just a few months before, in July of 1863. The monument above is marked as the site of the speech, though it was likely not given at this spot. This marker is just inside the cemetery and was placed in 1912. The photo below is the Soldiers National Monument, another site often thought of as the site of the speech, but it was not. The actual site was more likely inside Evergreen Cemetery, which is just over a fence to the east. The Soldiers monument was dedicated in 1869.

Where would we be without maps?

   The week of November 15-21 is Geography Awareness Week. You can read more about it at this National Geographic website. The theme is "Explore! The Power of Maps!".

National Take A Hike Day

A quiet trail in the Great Smoky Mountains.

National Fast Food Day

   It's National Fast Food Day on November 16th, so go out to your favorite fast food restaurant and celebrate!

Pikes Peak

   On this day in 1806, Zebulon Pike first spotted the mountain that would later carry his name, Pikes Peak.
   In June of 1806, Pike lead an expedition to map some of the lower areas of the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. They started from near St Louis, just as Lewis and Clark had done, following the Missouri River. The group trekked across what would be Nebraska and then Colorado. On this day, November 15, they spotted this high peak which Pike called "Grand Peak". They wanted to scale the mountain, but with winter setting in they found they could not and wound up getting somewhat lost in southwest Colorado. They were eventually captured by Spanish soldiers and escorted back east all the way to Louisiana.
   Pikes Peak, located near Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the highest peak in the southern Rocky Mountains at 14,115ft. It also carries numerous Native American names, including "Tava" meaning "sun" by the Utes. The first (non-native) American to climb to its summit was Edwin James in 1820. It is a National Historic Landmark.

On The Road

   Yesterday I went to the book store and bought "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. I've never read it but it is one of those books that feels like everyone knows about. And given the subject matter, I feel like it is something I should finally read. Honestly, I can't recall the last time I go so into a book that I couldn't put it down and read the whole thing. Maybe something from Stephen King about 15 or 20 years ago. This feels like it will be one of those books. My only problem is I keep stopping to search Google maps to see if any of these places still exist. Most of them do not.
   And my wanderlust is kicking in even harder.

Throwback Thursday: Snow in Houston

   Winter of 1973 I'm pretty sure. The Houston, Texas suburb of North Shore. The apartments I grew up in. That's our apartment back there, lower right with the curtains open a little. It doesn't snow often in Houston, but when it does you take as many photos as possible!

Veteran's Day

   On this day, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day at the eleventh month in 1918, the first World War ended and this day became known as "Armistice Day", later known as "Veteran's Day". On Memorial Day in May we remember the lives of those who fell during service to our country. Today, Veteran's Day, we give thanks to all of those who have served in the military.
   We really should thank them every single day, and we really can't thank them enough.

Happy Birthday United States Marine Corps

   On this day in 1775, the United States Marines Corps were formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In a resolution by the Second Continental Congress, Captain Samuel Nicholas was tasked with raising two battalions of Marines in order to fight both at sea and on land against the British in the American Revolution.

On This Day: Fall of the Berlin Wall

   On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was officially opened so that East and West German citizens were free to travel between them.
   East Germany, and portions of Berlin, had been under Soviet control after World War II. As West Germany flourished, more people from East wanted to relocate. Eventually in the 1950s, East Germany decided they should make their border more difficult to pass and began building barbed-wire fences along it. By 1961, the Soviets had decided to completely close the border and construction of the Wall in Berlin began, completely enclosing West Berlin. It included a large area along it called "no man's land" for making clear areas to shoot those who attempted to leave.
   The wall changed over time and the large concrete sections that most people think of were constructed in the late 1970s. Over time, West Berliners painted the graffiti that is so associated with the Wall. Around 5000 people managed to escape by various means in the years the Wall was present. Possibly as many as 200 were killed attempting to leave. In 1987, Ronald Reagan gave his famous speech from West Berlin asking "Mr, Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" In 1989 other eastern Europe borders began opening and many East Germans were fleeing to other countries. So many people were leaving that finally on November 9 regulations were lifted to allow people to pass through the borders into West Berlin.
   In the weeks that followed, portions of the concrete wall were brought down and many were sent to museums around the world. The portion above is at the Ripley's Museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. However it is not on any authentic list I can find so I can't be certain it is real.

Rememberance

   Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

Mysterious Church in Colorado

Morley, Colorado is a ghost town. It was a railroad stop and a mining town, founded 1878 by Santa Fe Railroad. The mine closed in 1956 and everyone left. The only real remains are the ruins of the St. Aloysius Church, as seen here from the interstate.

National Register of Historic Places

   The National Register of Historic Places was created in the United States in 1966 after the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act. The NRHP is the official list of buildings, structures, sites and districts that have been regarded as deserving of preservation. There are more than a million places in the register, with roughly 30,000 added each year. Inclusion on the list does not guarantee protection, and many properties are lost each year due to demolition and neglect.

Throwback Thursday: Colorado Street Bridge

    Scanned from photo from trip in 1994. The bridge over Arroyo Seco in Pasadena. Famous for jumpers, probably close to 200 people have committed suicide here since it was built in 1913.

On This Day 1864: Battle of Johnsonville

  On this day in 1864 was the Battle of Johnsonville, Tennessee, in the Civil War.
~~Old Johnsonville(quoted from historical marker)~~

Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge

   Opened in 1994, this is the first segmentally constructed concrete arch bridge in the United States, with sections being cast in nearby Franklin, Tennessee. It is located near the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway that runs from west of Nashville to Natchez, Mississippi.

Historic Bridge Awareness Month

   The month of November is Historic Bridge Awareness Month. Old and historic bridges are being destroyed at an alarming rate. I understand that many need to be replaced by new bridges because the older ones are sometimes beyond repair. But I have also seen examples of those same old bridges being saved from destruction and given new life as pedestrian bridges. Rails to Trails and bike paths over those bridges that can no longer take on the weight of vehicular traffic. Please save historic bridges, they are just as important to the history of this country as any of the buildings that are saved from demolition.
   This month I will be posting photos of various historic bridges, some that have been saved, some that have been lost, and some that are in danger.

   ~Harrisburg Covered Bridge~ 400 yards south, this bridge was built over the East Fork of the Little Pigeon River in 1875 by Elbert Stephenson Early, an area resident who owned Newport Mills. The bridge had deteriorated and its loss was threatened until it was restored in 1972 through the joint efforts of the Great Smokies Chapter and the Spencer Clack Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
    This covered bridge, one of the few remaining in the state of Tennessee, was renovated again in 2004. It is located east of the town of Sevierville, north of the Smoky Mountains.
 

Parris Island: We Make Marines

  On November 1, 1915, Parris Island in South Carolina was officially designated a Recruit Depot for Marines. The Marine Corps have been stationed there beginning in 1891. About 17,000 new Marines are trained here each year. Graduation is an incredible event, and something I was so proud to see in 2012.