Votes and Runaway Trains

May 24, 2016

Camping World Campground
East Chattanooga, Tennessee

We keep getting mixed up with the time, so we got a later start this morning.  I don't understand how the time on Dad's phone can be different from mine.

To get a more complete idea of the Civil War battles in this area, we went to the Chickamauga Battlefield.
 
Among the many monuments on the battlefield is the the Wilder Brigade Monument.  It has 132 steps inside that lead to an observation deck.















 You'll notice that there are no photos from the top.  We only climbed up to the first window which looked more like an arrow slit.















By the time we finished with the museum,  gun collection and battlefield tour it was late afternoon so thought we'd make a quick stop at the Western & Atlantic Railroad Tunnel.


 



As we drove up to the museum, we saw the edge of the road was almost obscured by numerous campaign signs.  This seemed very odd since we didn't see many signs in other parts of Tunnel Hill, GA.  It turns out that the museum was closed and was being used as a polling place today.

Our disappointment at missing the museum quickly dissipated when we got a private tour of all the remaining structures and the tunnel.  It was nice to ride in a golf cart instead of walking the entire route.

The Clisby-Austin house was used as a hospital during the Civil War.  After Confederate General John Bell Hood was severely wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga, he was brought to this home along with his amputated leg.  Since soldiers frequently died after amputations were preformed, Hood's amputated limb was brought to the hospital with him so when he died, his entire body could be buried at one place.  Hood recovered from his injuries and so his leg was buried alone on the property.

This is a nifty piece of furniture.















When the top is raised, a fold up bed is revealed inside.

The entrance to the W & A Railroad Tunnel.

"The Great Locomotive Chase" ended near this tunnel.  The Union men involved in the attempt to steal the Confederate engine, "The General" were later awarded the Medal of Honor.  The southern men who caught them were not.