Daily Archives: August 1, 2011

Temporary Closure of Wilder Tower at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Posted on August 1, 2011 by javal| 1 Comment

The Wilder Brigade Monument (Wilder Tower) on the Chickamauga
Battlefield will be closed to the public from Monday, August 8 through
Friday, September 2, 2011. The closure is necessary in order to replace
the tower’s stairway handrails, along with the safety railing at the top
of the tower. Read more »

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WILSON’S CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PRESENTS “Prisoners of War and Their Families: The Forgotten Casualties of War”

Posted on August 1, 2011 by javal| Leave a comment

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield presents “Prisoners of War and Their Families: The Forgotten Casualties of War”, an exhibit commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, and National POW/MIA
Recognition Day. The exhibit will open on Monday, August 1, and continue through Friday, September 30.

The POW exhibit will be displayed in the Special Exhibit Room of Wilson’s
Creek National Battlefield Visitor Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Sunday. The exhibit will feature objects and historic documents
from Confederate prisoner of war camps located at Andersonville, Georgia,
and Camp Ford, Texas, and the Union prison camp, Johnson’s Island,
located near Sandusky, Ohio. Read more »

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Park to Close If U.S. Defaults?

Posted on August 1, 2011 by javal| Leave a comment

The Gettysburg Battlefield could close if Congress fails to extend the debt ceiling, but the visitor center could stay open because it is run by a private foundation.

National Park Service spokesman David Barna said he didn’t know if Gettysburg National Military Park would close in the event of a default.

“We don’t know what would be funded and what would not,” he said. “We just cannot speculate.”

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‘Napoleon’ of Union Army Clashes With Lincoln

Posted on August 1, 2011 by javal| Leave a comment

After the Union defeat at First Manassas, President Abraham Lincoln began what would seem like an all too common occurrence during the Civil War. On July 27, 1861, Lincoln replaced Brigadier General Irwin McDowell with Major General George B. McClellan. While Lincoln’s new general was destined to build the Army of the Potomac into a fighting force, he also became a pain in the President’s neck.

McClellan never lacked confidence, excelling in military and civilian business endeavors. Prior to the Civil War, McClellan served as an engineer with Robert E. Lee during the Mexican War and ran a railroad business.

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The art of the war: Chattanooga’s Hunter Museum displaying Civil War photographs

Posted on August 1, 2011 by javal| Leave a comment

The Civil War was fought over hundreds of square miles in this area, from Chickamauga Battlefield to Orchard Knob to Point Park, up at the tip of Lookout Mountain, often appearing above a layer of clouds that hang mid-mountain like a monk’s fringe.

Growing up here, one saw Civil War-era cannons perched everywhere, dug for minie balls - buried pieces of ammo - in deserted lots and ended many a high school date on Missionary Ridge near Civil War monuments. The war was, and is, an integral part of Chattanooga’s fabric.

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Posted in Arts/Books, Museums

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The Confederate we still don’t know

Posted on August 1, 2011 by javal| Leave a comment

On July 31, 1861, exactly 150 years ago Sunday, the Richmond Examiner reported that Gen. Robert E. Lee, who at that time was serving as a confidential military adviser to President Jefferson Davis, was on his way to western Virginia (now West Virginia) to consult with other Confederate generals there about campaign plans. His “inspection” tour, as the newspaper called it, became Lee’s first experience as a field general, and things did not go well from there. Confederate forces, operating in mountainous terrain that proved nearly impossible to defend, suffered defeat at the battle of Cheat Mountain, which took place over several days during the second week of September.

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Marking a Memory: Gautier residents working to preserve Confederate soldier’s grave

Posted on August 1, 2011 by javal| Leave a comment

Nestled on the eastern end of the Historic Gautier Cemetery across U.S. 90 from the Old Place, a wooden tombstone stands tall amid others made of stone and marble.

The headstone marks the grave of J.C. McCall who, at the age of 14, joined the Confederacy and fought in two major battles of the Civil War in 1862.

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A look at the history of Macomb’s Civil War cannon

Posted on August 1, 2011 by javal| Leave a comment

What’s a park without a cannon? In the early 1900’s this was a question that was undoubtedly asked by the Civil War veterans of McDonough Post #103 of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.). Chandler Park had been in existence about a decade since its donation to the City by C.V. Chandler in 1893 and the Soldier’s Monument was already present. About 1906 the Post proposed to acquire a cannon for the park and appointed comrades G.W. Reid, A.J. Pace, W.J. Franklin, A.B. Campbell and Albert Eads as a committee of five to find one. All they desired was a small field cannon suitable as a saluting gun to commemorate holidays and other public events. Little did they realize where the search for an artillery piece would lead.

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Posted in Artifacts, General

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