We came down the Tennessee River and stayed at the Clifton Marina at Clifton, TN. A couple days earlier I had determined that the boat house batteries were failing and would not supply enough current to supply the load overnight (mainly the refrigerator and anchor light.) So I located a marina on our route that could get replacement AGM batteries and I had them order the 4 batteries I needed. So we were locked into staying at marinas until we reached Muscle Shoals. We did borrow a courtesy car at Clifton to see the city. One highlight was this old ferry crossing location that Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forest used to move his troops back and forth across the Tennessee River during the Civil War. On one operation in 1863 he moved across on a ferry and then had it sunk to allow his troops to come back later and use it for movement back across.
At some point in the Civil War the Federal troops occupied the town. They used this Presbyterian Church to stable horses. They knocked out some of the bricks at the front door to widen the opening. Evidence of the damage is still visible.
More of the layered limestone formations along the Tennessee.
Shiloh, Tennessee was one of the bloodier battles of the Civil War. A near defeat of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Union Army was turned into a Federal victory with the help of reinforcements and gunboats brought down the Tennessee River. When the Confederate surprise attack started on April 6, 1862 Grant was eating breakfast in this house, the Cherry Mansion, in Savannah, Tennessee. This house is about 9 miles up river from Pittsburg landing which was a steamboat landing used by the Federals to land troops and supplies. Leaving breakfast quickly Grant took a steamboat to the battlefield and help lead a defense and eventual victory.
This is Pittsburg Landing the Civil War era steamboat landing. Grant stepped ashore here to lead his troops. The Confederates overran the Union troops to within a few hundred yards of this spot. On the second day April 7, Union counterattacks drove the Confederates from the field of battle.
Right in downtown Florence, Alabama is the location of the Wilson Lock and Dam. The old lock completed in 1918 is on the left. The current lock when built in the 1950's was the worlds highest single lift lock. At 93' of lift, it is now the sixth highest.
After reaching the J's Landing Marina at Muscle Shoals and getting our new house batteries, we rented a car for two days to see the cities in the area. We headed East to Decatur, AL and passed the home of General Joseph Wheeler. A famous Calvary General of the Civil War, he also lived to lead US Troops against the Spanish in the Spanish American War in Cuba in 1898. The other sign tells of his daughter Anne's service in the Red Cross in the Spanish-American War and WWI.
We toured some of the Civil War sites in old Decatur. Then we drove up to Huntsville, Alabama where we toured the historic train station and this hardware store that is over 100 years old although now just a museum and gift shop.
The Twickenham Historic District is a wonderful area of Federal and Greek Revival homes. Many in the area close to downtown were pre-Civil War.
The significance of this house is that is was the birthplace of famous Civil War Calvary General John Hunt Morgan.
This McDowell home was owned by a Union sympathizer during the Civil War. Apparently, he passed on intelligence to the Union and often flew the Union flag.
Our first stop the next day was at Hellen Keller's birthplace in Tuscumbia, AL. This was her parents' house and where she lost her sight and hearing after and early childhood illness.
If you saw the movie or play "The Miracle Worker" you will be familiar with the scene at the water pump where Anne Sullivan, puts Helen's hand in the pump water to get her to understand the word water. This was her first word association and clicked something that led to her future successes as a world renown author and
lecturer. Of interest to Lion's Club members would be the display they had erected. The Lion's Club took on the plight of the sightless as their fundraising project.
Another highlight we visited in Muscle Shoals was the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. We learned that several Muscle Shoals recording studies developed a sound that created top hits starting in the 60's and reaching a peak in the 70's and 80's.
This display claimed that Rocket 88 was the first Rock & Roll hit.
Moving over to Florence, AL we visited the Pope's Tavern. This Inn was on a main road north and south created by Andrew Jackson to move supplies between Nashville and New Orleans.
Another landmark in Florence was the birthplace of W.C. Handy. Handy is credited with being the Father of the Blues.
Handy composed the St. Louis Blues on this piano.
I couldn't leave the area without a little more Civil War, so we drove 45 minutes west to Corinth, Mississippi to an excellent Interpretive and Visitor Center for the Shiloh Battle and the battles and occupations of Corinth.
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