Moving west through the Midwest

In July of 2017, we headed out west again but this time through the Midwest. Our first stop was Ft. Payne, AL and Little River Canyon National Preserve. The preserve is known as "Nature's Sanctuary". The Preserve protects 15,288 acres of land and many rare, threatened and endangered species. Year round beauty and all types of recreation abound. Fossils from the Paleozoic era are located in the sandstone cliffs and canyon walls. There is also an exceptional education center. 

We stopped for lunch a very interesting restaurant.

Next stop, Nashville. You know Nashville; music, Tennessee sippin' whiskey, and great barbecue.  But do you know about Stones River National Battlefield? Located in the town of Murfreesboro. Now a suburb of National, Murfreesboro was the state capital from 1818-1826. By the 1850's, Murfressboro boasted schools, stores, churches, a railroad, nearby estates, and over 2,000 white residents. Many of those residents owned enslaved workers. That all changed on Dec. 26, 1862, when General William Rosecrans marched with his Army of the Cumberland targeting Murfreesboro and General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee.  From Dec. 31, 1862 to Jan. 2, 1863, the two armies viciously attacked each other.  Each Army lost 1/3 of their men. The Confederates left the battlefield while Rosecrans marched into Murfreesboro and declared victory. An extensive fort and supply deport was built and became a launching point for campaigns that slashed through the heart of the South and dealt a deathblow to the Confederacy,  The battle was the touchstone that shifted the war's aims from restoring the Union to remaking the nation. 81,000 men fought on those few days and produced Union casualties of 13,249 and Confederate casualties totaled 10,266. Over 20,000 soldiers died and I had never heard of the battle. Shame on me. The term, "Hell's half acre" was coined for this battle. Confederates charged Union artillery and 1,800 men died in minutes. 

It was a sobering visit.

We next headed to Independence, MO and the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and National Historic Site. The site has numerous buildings including the Truman home, the Truman family farm, Bess Truman's family's homes and all are accessible. He was the most uncommon common man. Born and raised in Independence, married there, served in World War I as a Captain in the artillery, elected a senator, and then became Vice President to Franklin Roosevelt. His Presidency was nothing like what we have now. He announced the end of the war in Europe, attended the Potsdam conference with Churchill and Stalin, authorized the use of the atom bomb that quickly led to Japan's surrender. He established the CIA, desegregated the Armed Forces, ordered the Berlin airlift, and was elected to a second term. His popularity waned as the Korean War dragged on. The Korean War ended and when his term expired, he retired back to Independence. He died in 1972 at the age of 88. He is buried at the Presidential Library. 

Next time, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library.