Yay Battlefields!! (Wait, What???)

So we all know that I'm not a fan of battlefields, right?  We all know that I'm not a fan of them because we stare at a field all day and I can never keep track of who the good guys and bad guys are, right?  Today, I was pleasantly surprised and sort of enjoyed myself!  I was able to keep track of the good guys and bad guys and there was something pretty to look at at one of the battlefields, and at the other one I was able to visualize what transpired!  I don't think you understand how proud of myself I am for actually enjoying today's parks!  :-)

Our first stop was to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, which is where a Civil War battle took place in 1864 between General Sherman (the "good guys" depending where you are from...) and General Johnston (the "bad guys" depending on where you are from...).  At battlefields, we usually watch the movie in the visitor center in an attempt to try to make me understand what is going on.  Nine out of ten times, that's not the case.  Today though, was that one time!  What happened here was Sherman trying to make his way to Atlanta and Kennesaw Mountain was one of the last stops he had to defeat on his way there.  The Confederacy made it there before he did and had a lot of time to make some earthworks (or earthworms as I call them in an attempt to make a battlefield more fun for me).  They set up a 7-mile stretch of earthworks, including on top of what is called Dead Angle.  The battle here lasted a few days and Sherman kind of made a dumb move to directly attack Johnston's men, including at Dead Angle.  At Dead Angle, Johnston's crew set up camp on top of part of the mountain that overlooked an open field.  Sherman's crew went through that open field to try to break the Confederate line.  In a very short amount of time, about 3,000 people died, mostly Union soldiers, as they tried to climb up the steep open field to Dead Angle.  Here, I was able to visualize what happened because the landscape looks a lot like it would have looked like as described in the video!  What made this battle very strange is that Johnston and his crew knew that if they didn't defend Kennesaw Mountain then Sherman was going to obliterate Atlanta.  One night after several days of battle, the Union soldiers noticed it was eerily quiet on top of Dead Angle.  A few men approached and sure enough, Johnston's crew left, leaving Sherman and his men to go on to Atlanta.  I still don't understand why they left because they clearly had the tactical advantage at Dead Angle.  I know I sound super sarcastic retelling this, but I really am proud of the fact that I was able to follow along and enjoy a battlefield for once!

On top of the mountain - Atlanta in the distance

The tunnel the Union worked on digging to blow up the trench at Dead Angle.  They got about a hundred feet in and weren't far from completing it, but the Confederacy already left, so it wasn't needed.

Looking from the top of Dead Angle

Our last stop was Horseshoe Bend National Military Park.  This was the spot of a battle between the Creek Indians & Andrew Jackson on one team versus the Creek Indians (these were known as the Red Sticks).  The Creek Indians themselves were in a bit of a Civil War because Americans were doing what history books don't like to mention - they were kicking them off their land.  Some of the Creek Indians sided with Americans because there were a few treaties in place that gave them some land, but the Red Sticks didn't find that to be enough.  Long story short, the Red Sticks inhabited the Horseshoe Bend area of the Tallapoosa River and they were defending that from Andrew Jackson's crew, however Jackson and the other Creek Indians prevailed at this battle.

The white poles in the distance are where the Red Sticks had a barricade in hopes to prevent Andrew Jackson from moving further toward their village.

Tallapoosa River

The trees down below are where the Red Sticks set up a village of cabins.

We tried to end the day with a hike to a waterfall in Chewacla Park, but got rained out.  :-(  To make up for it, we found out we were under contract on our current house!!  We had dinner at Auburn Draft House and had a sampler of Alabama-made beers.

The Kolsch and the Brown were the best!