Travel Tuesday

Well, we're still not traveling. But yesterday, we went to Stones River Battlefield to do an Adventure Lab cache. That means you have to go to several area and collect clues to solve the puzzle. We hadn't toured the battlefield since 1985. It's a beautiful place. We had gorgeous weather--not too hot (unless you were in the sun too long) and barely any humidity.

This is the Stones River National Cemetery.

I love the sentiment of this poem.

These are authentic cannon. I'm not sure if they are from this battle or not, but they had them all throughout the park.

This is the Hazen Brigade Monument in Hell's Half Acre. They were the only unit to hold their position against the Confederate soldiers. It's the oldest Civil War monument in the country.  

It  was built just 6 months after the battle in 1863.

It's hard to read the stones now.

Some of the fallen soldiers were buried here.

This area is called the Slaughter Pen. The carnage was so bad that General Sheridan's men said that it reminded them on the slaughterhouses in Chicago---hence the nickname. If Sheridan's men had not held the line here, the outcome of the battle could have been very different!

So we had a great day. It just felt good to go somewhere. This is only 50 minutes from our house, but it felt like a road trip. We don't get on the highway much these days!

PS I verified all of these facts with Butch because:

1. I cannot keep the generals straight--as to whether they are Confederate or Union. It would help if everything was somehow color coded. Blue for the Federals and Grey for the Confederates.

2. By the time we got home I'd forgotten much of it. Butch had to set me straight as I mix things up.

We're trying to get around to see as much as we can before our history is erased!!