Tag Archives: Civil War

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

August 5, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was authorized in 1890, the first park of its kind in the United States. It covers multiple battlefields from late-1863 that straddle the Tennessee-Georgia borderline. Though the Confederate army initially won at Chickamauga, Georgia, the Union took control of Chattanooga, Tennessee after the arrival of General Ulysses S. Grant with reinforcements in November. Like Fort Monroe in Virginia, this area then became a beacon for escaped slaves, eventually numbering 2,000 people.

Highlights

Museums, film, driving tour, Point Park, Ochs Memorial Observatory, Cravens House, cannons

Must-Do Activity

Point Park sits on top of Lookout Mountain offering awesome views of the city of Chattanooga and Moccasin Bend on the Tennessee River. It is also the home of Ochs Memorial Observatory and museum, one reason Point Park charges an admission fee. The nearby National Park Service (NPS) visitor center displays the 30×13-foot painting The Battle of Lookout Mountain by James Walker. At the Chickamauga battlefield, a seven-mile long driving tour explains what happened there on September 20, 1863. The National Military Park also entails seven small military reservations and the Phelps Monument along the road atop Missionary Ridge, east of Chattanooga.

Best Trail

There are miles of trails atop Lookout Mountain and Ochs Memorial Observatory is only accessible by trail (and many stair steps). It contains a museum dedicated to the Civil War and American Indians, specifically the Cherokee who passed through Moccasin Bend (which has its own three-mile loop trail) on the Trail of Tears in 1838.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The entrance to Point Park is designed to look like the Army Corps of Engineers insignia.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/chch/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per person to enter Point Park or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

All roads paved, but there is limited free parking available at the NPS visitor center near Point Park.

Camping

Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia is about 20 miles southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Related Sites

Fort Donelson National Battlefield (Tennessee-Kentucky)

Shiloh National Military Park (Tennessee-Mississippi)

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (Georgia)

Point Park offers an excellent view of Chattanooga on the Tennessee River

Explore More – Why did President Abraham Lincoln consider capturing Chattanooga (a town of only 2,500) as important as Atlanta?

Virginia

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park

July 27, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park

Virginia

Managed by National Park Service

Established 2002

3,712 acres

Website: nps.gov/cebe

Overview

The Shenandoah Valley was the Confederate States of America’s “breadbasket” in the 1860s and thus had strategic importance during the Civil War. This led to numerous skirmishes and the fight that took place on October 19, 1864 is commemorated at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. Not all the land within this park is owned by the federal government, but the National Park Service (NPS) has acquired some acreage and completed a significant amount of work to improve its interpretive signage since our first visit in 2016.

Highlights

Morning Attack Trails, driving tour, Hupp’s Hill Museum, Belle Grove historic plantation

Must-Do Activity

If you need the stamp for your NPS passport, stop at the Visitor Contact Station located in a strip mall in Middletown, Virginia. There you can pick up a free guide to help you follow the driving tour focused on the October 19, 1864 battle fought at Cedar Creek. There is also a free app available on the park’s website. Managed by a non-profit that organizes an annual two-day reenactment of the battle (which is worth seeing), Hupp’s Hill Civil War Park offers a free museum year-round. You can also pay to take a tour of the manor house at Belle Grove.

Best Trail

The Morning Attack Trails are located next to the NPS Headquarters off Highway 11 with interpretive signage placed on the 300-yard long 8th Vermont Monument Trail, 0.6-mile Thomas Brigade Loop, and 0.7-mile Hayes-Ramseur Loop. The 19th Corps Trails connect the 128th New York Monument on Highway 11 with Belle Grove Plantation.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Available for guided tours (fee) between April and December, the manor house at Belle Grove Plantation dates back to 1797. Union General Philip Sheridan used the house as his headquarters in 1864 and most of his 31,600 troops camped on the property.

A large historic house with a symmetrical facade, situated on a grassy hill surrounded by trees, with other structures in the background.

Peak Season

Fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/cebe/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

Admission charged for guided tours of Belle Grove manor house and entrance to Hupp’s Hill Museum.

Road Conditions

Some of the roads on the driving tour are unpaved and not recommended for buses or RVs.

Camping

Head for the hills to camp in Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and George Washington National Forest.

Related Sites

Gettysburg National Military Park (Pennsylvania)

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (West Virginia-Maryland-Virginia)

Manassas National Battlefield Park (Virginia)

Nearest National Park

Shenandoah

View of the Cedar Creek battlefield in Virginia, featuring informational signs about the Battle of Cedar Creek, a green landscape, and a historical marker. — Signs along Highway 11

A view of a National Park Service sign beside a wet road, with a fallen tree branch on the grass and overcast skies. — Signs along Highway 11

Explore More – Belle Grove was owned by Isaac Hite, Jr. and his wife Nelly, who was the sister of which U.S. President?

Louisiana

Cane River Creole National Historical Park

June 29, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

In colonial Louisiana, the word “Creole” referred to any New World product, from architecture to livestock to human beings (and was not specific to any ethnicity). South of Natchitoches, Louisiana the Cane River National Heritage Area follows an abandoned meander of the Red River, with two antebellum cotton plantations protected as Cane River Creole National Historical Park. This National Park Service (NPS) site was authorized in 1994 and continues to be developed; meanwhile it provides an interesting perspective on a unique culture and excellent photographic opportunities.

Highlights

Oakland Plantation, Magnolia Plantation, historic buildings, pecan picking

Must-Do Activity

Oakland Plantation dates back to the late 1700s and survived the Civil War intact, but in the wake of Reconstruction tenant farming created a new form of indentured servitude. Self-guided tours of the site take you through the mule barn, general store, and several cottages. When we visited in November 2016, park volunteers were only offering one tour per day, but were happy to spend time talking with us inside the old general store. Slave/tenant quarters are also preserved at Magnolia Plantation downstream, but the main house (which was burned during the Civil War and rebuilt) is privately owned and closed to the public.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

Nothing says you are in the South like the crooked branches of live oak trees. Live oaks drape over the bottle-lined garden at the Oakland Plantation main house.

Peak Season

Fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/cari/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Kisatchie National Forest has a small campground three miles north of Natchitoches off State Road 117.

Related Sites

Natchez National Historical Park (Mississippi)

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (Louisiana)

Poverty Point National Monument (Louisiana)

Explore More – Cane River National Heritage Area covers 40,000 acres, but how large is Cane River Creole National Historical Park?

Texas

Fort Davis National Historic Site

June 3, 2021 Raven About The Parks 1 Comment

Overview

The base of the Davis Mountains is the wonderfully scenic setting for Fort Davis National Historic Site, originally active from 1854 to 1891. It was manned by U.S. troops except after Texas seceded during the Civil War, which is ironic given that it was named for Jefferson Davis. Confederate forces obviously saw this as enough reason to occupy the remote frontier fort for a year. The park preserves its 1867 layout, when the fort was rebuilt following five years of abandonment.

Highlights

Museum, film, historic buildings, Davis Mountains State Park

Must-Do Activity

After the Civil War, Fort Davis became famous for posting African-American “Buffalo Soldiers.” Maybe this is why they chose to cast 7-foot-2-inch tall Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the cowboy hat-wearing narrator of the park’s introductory film. That in-and-of-itself is worth the price of admission. The dry Chihuahuan Desert air has preserved the 21 remaining buildings well. Throughout the day, bugle calls on the loudspeaker will hearken you back to frontier days.

Best Trail

A self-guided trail leads around the 523-acre property and enters six buildings: the commanding officer’s quarters, lieutenants’ quarters, barracks, commissary, hospital, and officers’ servants’ quarters. There are other trails here and in neighboring Davis Mountains State Park, but be aware that the fort sits at 4,900 feet of elevation.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The morning we visited, mule deer were feeding on the lawn in front of the restored buildings.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/foda/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per person or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

Access roads paved

Camping

If you enjoy spending time at this beautiful spot, consider camping in adjacent Davis Mountains State Park, which offers good stargazing.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)

Big Bend National Park (Texas)

Shelters like this one were built by Native Americans in the Chihuahuan Desert.

Explore More – Who was the first black graduate of West Point military academy briefly stationed here (before a controversial court-martial later overturned in 1976)?

District of Columbia

Lincoln Memorial

May 6, 2021 Raven About The Parks 6 Comments

Overview

Abraham Lincoln has even more National Park Service (NPS) sites dedicated to him than Theodore Roosevelt (and both are carved into Mount Rushmore National Memorial). The Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the National Mall in Washington D.C. is by far the busiest with around 7-million visitors annually. President Lincoln will always have his place in history for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War.

Highlights

Bookstore, statue, view of the National Mall

Must-Do Activity

The Lincoln Memorial was inspired by Greek temples and features 36 Doric columns, a giant statue of the seated man, and two large murals. Be sure to walk to either side of the statue to read two speeches: his Gettysburg Address of 1863 and his Inaugural Address of 1865. We looked long and hard for a penny-crushing machine at the Lincoln Memorial. We thought it would be awesome to have that building stamped onto a penny.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

If you ever have the chance to visit the National Mall in Washington D.C., do yourself a favor and come after dark. Seeing the white marble and limestone shining under spotlights is quite spectacular (but you might need a tripod for photographs).