A day around town: Exploring Nashville

If you take a vacation but stay home it is called a stay-cation. This was just one day so can that be a stay-day?

I was concerned the Stay-day, yeah I'm keeping it, was going to get derailed by an enormous amount of rain we have had in the last week or so that catapulted this February into the record books for TN. Across the state rivers and creeks rose to various flood levels. Many parks are actually still underwater because the rain may have stopped but the numerous dams around TN are releasing water at different times and the flood watch will continue for at least another 24 hours. Luckily we just had to skip one stop but the majority of the Stay-day was unaffected.

Most of out stops came from information I learned from a book my Mom had bought me for Christmas "Secret Nashville." The book listed not only odd stops around the city but gave some background information on more popular tourist spots. I looked through it to find a nice little walking tour of downtown and then we hopped in the car for a few short drives to other spots. Our day did start a little late because of a rock slide on I-24 that caused a back up and may take at least a week for T-DOT to clean up and re-open the highway. But since we were going to skip one other stop it didn't really effect things too badly. My sister and I got to my Mom's condo and picked her up and headed out to our first stop:

1. Breakfast at Biscuit Love in Franklin - so this was not from the book instead it was recommended to us by one of the valet's at the Downtown Omni Hotel. Sometimes when we are planning to go to Nashville for the day and don't want to take the bus we will drive to the Omni Hotel to get our car valet parked and then eat at Kitchen Notes inside the Omni so that we can validate our parking and basically park for free. Chances are we were going to eat somewhere and Nashville has a serious parking problem. Bonus is that Kitchen Notes is always a good meal (For lunch and dinner I really recommend the burger and stone ground grits). On the day we were there we were finally checking out breakfast at Kitchen Notes. On our way out the valet asked us how it was and told us Biscuit Love had the best biscuits around.

So on his recommendation I looked up Biscuit Love. They began as a food truck and have grown into  three brick and mortar locations. I decided to go to the Franklin location which is their newest location. Right in downtown Franklin Biscuit Love has taken up residence in the Corn House. The house is a Queen Anne style building dating back to 1892, after the original home was destroyed by fire. The Corn family moved in around 1920, they were a prosperous family and owned Lillie Mills. Their patriarch Charlie Corn was apparently a character who was known for being very welcoming with a good sense of humor. The Corn family owned the house for over 60 years and then it became an event center before Biscuit Love moved in, as a result the 1892 home is well preserved with the original wood flooring and fixtures.


Now I don't know if I would say Biscuit Love biscuits are better than Kitchen Notes but they are different and really really good. I had the "East Nasty" a buttermilk biscuit with fried boneless chicken, sharp cheddar, and sausage gravy- next to it on the menu it said "voted best sandwich in America." It was the size of the plate and I don't know I would consider it a sandwich (since in my mind a sandwich can be held with two hands and eaten) but it was amazing and I know I will be ordering it again. We also split an order of Bonuts (fried biscuit dough, tossed in sugar, topped with lemon mascarpone, served over blueberry compote) between the three of us. The lemon mascarpone was super refreshing and very light on top of the fried biscuit dough.

Overall I'm pretty sure I will be visiting the other Biscuit Love locations and since I plan on returning to Franklin to explore its rich history I am sure I will be back to Biscuit Love in the Corn House as well.

2. Next began our walking tour of downtown. We parked at the Court House parking lot and began walking along James Robertson Parkway to one of Nashville's most well known tourist destinations: Bicentennial Park. We have been to the park before but the Secret Nashville book gave some insight into details that we had no idea about. For example at the start of the park is the largest map of TN. It is granite and is set in the concrete so you can walk over it and explore the different towns and counties of TN.

Just passed the map are two large American flags each standing for 100 years of statehood. Both of them are surrounded by 8 smaller TN state flags representing TN being the 16th state. And just beyond that is a splash area for children to play in during the summer that has 31 small fountains for each of the 31 main waterways of TN. The fountains are in front of a wall filled with facts and quotes about the waterways ofTN that have played a large part in the State's history and formation.





Once inside the park we came to the two thousand seat amphitheater with a spectacular view of the State Capitol behind it. Nashville has long prided itself as the "Athens of the South" and this theater is just one more connection to ancient Greece after all the word amphitheater has its roots in Greek: amphi means "around or on both sides" and theatron meaning "place for viewing." True to the amphitheaters of Ancient Greece this one is in the shape of a semi circle with the stage at the front.



We walked up the east side of the park along the walkway of counties where each county was represented by a circle giving the name and some information about the county ranging from history and formation to famous residents. Each circle also contains a time capsule. As we walked my Mom offered the idea of traveling to each county which made me wonder if I looked up the most interesting destination in each county how long would it take to drive?

At the north end of the park we came to the Court of Three Stars and Carillon of Bells. Something that maybe I had known but forgotten or just never really given much thought for was explained, the tri-star of TN represents the three regions of the state: East TN, Middle TN, and West TN. The Carillon of Bells had 95 pillars with bells at the top, each one representing the 95 counties of TN. Every 15 minutes the bells played bits of the TN waltz. On the hour it plays more of the Waltz and then the State Capital Bell answers. Near the bells was a small building with a piano inside of it that we think can control the bells. There was also a clock monitoring the time. While the bells are automatic I do wonder if the piano can be used at special events to play different songs?

We walked back on the West Side of the park along a wall that gave the history of TN. Since we were walking from north to south we travelled back in time. A little less than half way down we came to a memorial to WWII. In the Memorial is a globe that shows paths from TN to represent the different paths troops would have taken around the globe.



Then we came to a fountain pointing out that McNairy Spring had been discovered nearby and was an important source of fresh water for early residents.




As we walked along the wall we read different historical facts ranging from formation of schools, literature, musical accomplishments, disasters, and battles. The wall is broken into several fragments during the Civil War representing the fragmented country and state.

At the end (well beginning but we were going backwards) we came to a quote from James Weldon Johnson poet, diplomat, and activist:

"And God stepped out on space, 

and He looked around and said: 

I'm lonely- 

I'll make me a world."

3. As we walked around to our next planned stop we saw a historical marker across the street. It marked the old location of the First Baptist Church that served as the headquarters for the Nashville Sit-In movement. The Nashville Sit-Ins lasted from February 13th to May 10th in 1960. The non-violent movement aimed at desegregating the downtown lunch counters.






Next we continued walking around the State Capital Building towards Broadway. At Union street we turned left and began walking towards 7th Avenue where a historical marker claimed to show the spot where the Barn Dance that became the Grand Old Opry began.







4. Two blocks further down Union Street we came to a statue of Chett Atkins playing a guitar with an empty stool next to him. As we approached my Mom commented that she has walked past the statue many times and Meghan responded "but this time you are coming to see it."

5.  Next we crossed Union street to begin walking up fifth but first we detoured to a historical marker about the Tennessee Ornithological Society, the state's oldest conservation group.











6. Stop six was at the corner of 5th avenue and Church Street but before we got there we stopped at a couple more historical markers. The first was  a marker honoring  Sarah Estell.

We also passed Woolworth's and another marker for the Sit-In movement. It was at Woolworth's and three other downtown stores that the young students peacefully and with dignity staged their Sit-Ins. Through their good work Nashville became one of the first southern cities to desegregate lunch counters. Those students and many others continued their protest and fight for rights and in 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.








Stop six was supposed to be the Downtown Presbyterian Church however the church was locked and self guided tours are not allowed. I would have had to contact them ahead of time to arrange a tour of the Egyptian Revival styled Church. The location has been a Church dating back to 1814 but the current building was built in 1848 after a fire destroyed the earlier Church.  William Strickland who designed and over saw the building of the State Capital, until his death, was called on for this building as well. During the Civil War it was used as a hospital. During WWII soldiers who were traveling through Nashville, a major hub for rail travel, slept in the church by the thousands. In 1954 the Congregation sought a new location in the suburbs and the Church was in danger of being destroyed and replaced with a parking lot. However the remaining Church members who did not want to move with the help of the National Trust for Historic Preservation purchased the Church and it still stands today serving the community in a variety of ways.

7. As we walked up fifth the rest of the way to Broadway we came to the Ryman and a statue of Bill Monroe who is credited with being one of the pioneers of Bluegrass music.

And then we began walking up Broadway. The street was filled with tourists and music could be heard through the large open windows of the bars lining the street. We stepped into Music City Showcase one of the souvenir shops on Broadway and walked to the back where we found our next stop: A Willie Nelson fortune telling machine. For a dollar you can get some words of wisdom from Willie.












8. The next stop was on the way back to the car so we continued walking to first and Broadway to walk along the Cumberland and our parking garage. On the way we passed a historical marker calling out one of Nashville's first white settlers. Timothy DeMontbrun, which somehow became Demonbreun, settled and began trading furs in 1769 and became a permanent resident when he opened a store and tavern in 1790.

Also for the record it is pronounced De-mum-bree-un.





As we walked past the Hard Rock Cafe we saw a cool wall mural of a giant painter and tiny onlooker.

Then we came to Riverfront Park which due to the rain was more like River In Park. While the flooding is nowhere near 2010 it is still pretty high and you can see the steps of RiverFront Park disappear into the water. Also the statue across the River is not normally in the water.

We walked past Fort Nashborough, a recreation of the early 2 acre structure that had been built along the  Cumberland River. Included in it was a statue of James Robertson and John Donelson two of the earliest settlers and also the namesakes of two counties including mine, I live in Robertson county.














This brought us to what was supposed to be stop eight on the list. It was a brick street. When we got there though we were a little underwhelmed. The book made it sound like a unique brick or something however it was a pretty normal brick street. I've seen lots of brick and cobblestone streets which is why this didn't really stand out to me much. I mean it is a nice street but pretty typical.







9. Stop nine required a short drive across the Cumberland to East Nashville. There we found a wall mural of a hot air ballon that has a basket you can actually stand in. I love wall murals and one that allows the viewer to become part of it was to cool to ignore.

10. Another short drive away took us to a Civil War Memorial for the Battle of Nashville.

Also in the park is an Oak tree that has stood since the battle December of 1864. It has actually been classified as a Historic Tree because of the important history it has "witnessed."

11. The next stop was 40 music square west and Starstruck Entertainment. The building is surrounded by a brick wall and hidden in the wall is a heart shaped brick signifying music row as the heart of Music City.  

12. Stop twelve is truly a hidden gem in a parking garage underneath a row of stores right off Broadway and in the garage are a series of murals painted with acrylics by Brian Tull. The first one is titled "The Highway Has Always Been Your Lover." The inspiration came from a photo. The second mural is "Anabell" after Brian Tull saw Jesse Lee Jones, the owner of Robert Western World, 1952 Cadillac in an alleyway. The third is titled "Before We Abandoned It Out West" and is my favorite of the three.

Artist Brian Tull @artistbriantull

13. The next stop is an old silo in a West Nashville neighborhood called the Nations. On the silo is the image of Lee Estes, a highly respected member of the community who has lived there his entire life. I used to work near the silo and saw the stunning painting every day as I drove by. The artist is Guido Van Helten who is known for his paintings that look almost like black and white photographs.  

14. Our final stop was diner at the Patterson House a local Nashville restaurant that you could walk by and never realize it is a restaurant. It is famous for its cocktails and for strict rules about cell phone use. There are no pictures allowed inside the restaurant. 

And that concluded a great day of discovering Nashville.

From Shiloh to Vicksburg and a few stops in between.

As the end of January approached so did my realization that I had better use my vacation time or else it will be gone! Originally Meg and I planned on returning to Cape Canaveral for a rocket launch and then having time off to drive to clear skies for the lunar eclipse if Nashville looked like it would be cloudy. Well those plans got crushed when SpaceX moved the launch of the unmanned dragon capsule back to February 23 and I volunteered to bring my binoculars to a local park for lunar viewing during the eclipse.

Instead I made a new road trip that would take us to two Civil War Battlefields and a number of small stops in between them.

Initially I joked we would go while the government was shut down to avoid entrance fees at the National Parks. However I then picked one National Park that has no entrance fee sooooooo...

Shiloh is just three hours away from my house so we left early (4am) to be there very early. My thought was we could spend around two hours there and that left a lot of driving still to do through out the day. The weather was not very good as it had been pouring rain all night and was still on and off again raining when we arrived. As a result the fields were mud and we stayed mostly in the car driving the park loop. There were two reasons that I decided to look at National Parks that were Civil War battlefields. The first was just a general interest in history and the second was an interest in places being haunted. I know I am going to have to go back because the muddy fields and woods prevented me from walking around to many of the informational plaques that marked out battle lines, camps, and troop movements during the course of the battle.  As we drove the loop we did read what we could about the battle and took several photos.

The two day battle was one of the bloodiest of the Civil War. Day one saw a Confederate attack on Union troops meant to push them west away from the Tennessee River and into swamp land. Having the element of surprise in their favor Confederate troops took thousands of prisoners and by the end of the first day had pushed the Union troops back and taken over their camps and supplies. General P.G.T. Beauregard even sent a message to Jefferson Davis declaring victory. However despite being pushed back General Grant was also optimistic for the next day as he commented to General Sherman they would "lick'em" tomorrow.

I saw this sign for the Hornet's Nest which immediately got my attention. From the name I could guess it was some kind of fortified position that Union Troops used to attack from. Further research showed it was a position held by the Union which eventually fell at the end of the first day however it held up the Confederate troops withstanding somewhere between 8 and 14 separate charges before the Union soldiers were forced to surrender. Their resolve delaying the Confederacy certainly made the victory on day two possible since it allowed the time for reinforcements to arrive.

We stopped at several different points to take photos of the battlefields. As far as any haunted photos this is the closest I came to catching anything. We were at Bell's Orchard and as I looked over the photo I thought I saw two figures at the back center.

A slightly more closed in picture showing the tree and marker you will see the two shadowed figures at the center.

And this last photo is the closest shot I have of the figures. I found these figures really interesting because as we had been driving around the trees and forest area it made me think of Shakespeare's Macbeth when the prophecy is revealed that Macbeth would be defeated when Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane. With the amount of troops in these woods they must have seemed alive.


Once we finished up the loop we headed out of the park. As far as I can tell we were the only people there. No other cars ever pulled in and the visitor center was closed. Since this was during the shut down I will say there was no trash on the ground or overflowing trashcans. I don't know if staff from the park or maybe some locals have come in to maintain the park during the shut down or if maybe visitors are acting like decent human beings and taking their trash with them.

Once we left Shiloh we drove the short distance to Corinth to the National Cemetery located in that town. There we stopped at the grave site of SGT Julius E McKinney to pay our respects. Julius had enlisted in 1948 and was a member of the Heavy Mortal Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. In November of 1950 his regiment was deployed near the Chosin Reservoir. SGT McKinney was reported missing on December 2nd after several days of heavy fighting. He had last been seen on the east side of the reservoir. He was never listed on any POW lists and no one ever reported seeing him as a POW.  In March of 1954 his status was changed from missing to presumed dead. Due to recovery efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency collecting DNA samples taken from near the reservoir in 2004 SGT McKinney was positively identified and returned to his family for burial in 2018. For his time in battle SGT McKinney had earned several awards including the Purple Heart.

Now that we were in Corinth we decided to take a look around town and see some of the sights. We did have some specific things to see but we also walked around a little bit. First up was a wall mural for an old soda brand from Germany. It is available world wide but there are no franchises located in the US.

From that mural we quickly learned that Corinth has a new favorite Soda brand.

The offices for Coca-Cola Bottling Co. is located in Corinth and has been a big part of the town's history including an annual run around town. They also have a small Coke museum with lots of interesting Coke themed items.

From there we headed over to the Crossroads Museum which is, just as you would guess, right at the crossroads of the two train lines that meet at Corinth. Corinth was officially formed in 1854 known originally as Cross City, probably because of the rail road crossing. Traveling east and west was the Memphis and Charleston line and north-south saw trains from the Mobile and Ohio line. That position at the crossroads is what made the city so valued during the Civil War. There is a 60 minute downtown walk that we did not do because I didn't want to take the extra hour but I put that on my to-do list for later.

We did see a conductor statue as well as a refurbished train car outside the museum.

The Crossroads museum was on my list because of one particular item in it and I felt it was worth the $6 entrance fee. Bonus for us the young woman who manned the shop gave us student price which I did not argue at all.

Funny story about being mistaken for being young- when we were young (probably 16) we were at Yankee Stadium and it was bat day. Now for bat day if you were 14 and under you would get a Yankee bat and it was a full sized bat. It was awesome. So I went in and the person with the give away handed me a bat. I took it. I said, to myself, "to hell with my dignity that I am an old and mature 16 and not a foolish child of 14" and took the bat. My fatal flaw was stopping to wait for Meghan. The giveaway person went to hand her a bat and she exclaimed "I'm not 14" and then they took my bat too because they understood how twins work.  :-(

The museum covered the history of Corinth and was filled with train memorabilia and facts.  One interesting thing I learned about was the history of hot tamales in Corinth. The info card mentions that Ferguson's Tamales Cart selling tamales at baseball games and around town. Then in 1961 Jim (L.C.) Dillworth entered the Tamales business. He took a Schwinn bike and turned it into a tricycle and added the box on the back to sell hot tamales. For the next five years his tamales were sold in style all around town. Today the business is still run by the Dillworth family but not on a bike. We actually saw Dillworth's restaurant as we were driving into town. Had I not already had a lunch plan for Corinth we probably would have gone there.

We enjoyed learning about railroad slang, railroad jokes, and interesting facts. For example the people who hung around tracks and waved and cheered at passing trains were called Foamers, I never knew they had a name. And my favorite joke: why were the tracks mad at the trains? Because they are always crossing them. Or this super neat fact that in 1830 a train known as "The best friend of Charleston" carried barrels of ocean water from Charleston, South Carolina to the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee to celebrate the 'marriage' of the two bodies of water. Then in a moment of good timing a train actually approached the crossroad.

At the very end of the Museum we reached the display we had been coming to see:

It was carved by a father and daughter in 1904 with a tiny pocket knife that is displayed at the top left. The detail is phenomenal and it is carved with five different types of wood: Michigan pine, monzanita wood, buckeye wood, popular wood, and linwood. No paint and stain is used at all.












Then we were off to our lunch destination at Corinth: Borroum's Drug Store and the home of the 'Slugburger.' Dr. Andrew Borroum came to Corinth after the Civil War and began his practice. Recognizing that Corinth lacked a pharmacy he opened up his own and it has now been family owned and operated ever since. It was moved from its original location when the courthouse was built to a building that was built in 1843. The menu gives the history on the back of it. One neat thing about Borroum's is Dr. Borroum's books revealed that he accepted barter as payment for his merchandise some records show him accepting payment of eggs, chickens, vegetables, and other products. The only time accounts were marked closed was at the owners passing and every account was paid whether by currency or trade, so super cool. The company is over 150 years old and is being run by the seventh generation of the Borroum family.

In the 1930s the soda fountain was added as were malt milkshakes and the 'Slugburger' adding a new level of history to Borroum's. So what is a 'Slugburger?' That is a question that I did not google or anything before we went. I just knew that it was credited as being created by Borroum's and made famous in Corinth. Hugh Baby's in Nashville has a 'Slugburger' on its menu and I avoided reading the description but looked long enough to see that, sure enough, it also credits Corinth.  Well the 'Slugburger' was a product of the Great Depression and is a mixture of ground pork and beef, flour, and spices molded into a patty and deep fried. It is served on a hamburger bun with mustard, onion, and pickle.  It was originally sold for a nickel which was apparently called a slug and so became known as a 'Slugburger.' It allowed meat to go further when food and money were scarce. I ordered a coke, to get the great taste of a soda fountain soda, and added a side of onion rings. On our way out we each got a milkshake, strawberry for me and chocolate for Meg. Both delicious. Oh but they only take cash or check so that is a good thing for people to know before visiting.

That concluded this trip to Corinth but I know we will be back and possibly take the 60 minute walking tour and try Corinth's famous Tamales.



Next was a real quick stop to the birthplace of Tennessee Williams, which is in Mississippi for anyone who may think he was born in Tennessee for the obvious reason of his name.

Thomas Lanier Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi on March 26th, 1911 of his works "The Glass Menagerie" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" are my favorites. "Street Car Named Desire" is also one of his most famous works and arguably the one that assured his place as one of the great American writers. He adopted the name Tennessee Williams as his professional name in his 30s but I am not sure why. It may have something to do with his close relationship with his maternal Grandfather who worked at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.




Next was another long drive for a quick stop in Meridian, Mississippi. We entered Rose Hill Cemetery and stopped to read a poem written by Mary Elizabeth Frye in 1932:

"Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. 

I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there. I did not die."

Then we came to the grave's of the King and Queen of the Gypsies. Kelly Mitchell was born in 1868 and passed away January 31st, 1915 due to complications of child birth. She passed away in a Gypsy camp in Coatopa, Alabama and her husband Emil had her taken 40 miles west to Meridian for burial. The location was chosen for two reasons first Emil heard that Meridian was known as 'The Queen City' and saw it as a fitting burial location. The other reason was that Meridian had a refrigerated morgue which would give time for others to travel to the cemetery for burial. From what I found it took 12 days for guests to arrive for the funeral and her funeral was attended by over 20,000 American Gypsies. Emil passed away years later in 1942 and was buried next to Kelly. Today their graves are covered in offerings of jewelry and liquor bottles.

I don't know much about the hierarchy of American Gypsies so I wonder if King and Queen were more regional titles or covered all of the Americas since Emil was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He moved to the USA in 1862 and received US citizenship in 1884.  The Romany people have always been fascinating to Meg and myself partly, I'm sure, because their culture is so secretive. Meg is a huge fan of the work of Josef Koudelka who photographed Roma Gypsies in Europe (Essay about Josef Koudelka) and she has researched their traditions and culture.

Next we left Meridian to drive west to Vicksburg on highway 20. I like highway 20. It was a nice drive with very courteous and responsible drivers. I want to say for about 60-70 miles we had smooth sailing as everyone used the right lane for slower traffic and the left lane for passing. When passing if I had a car come up behind me who was traveling faster they would hold back so as to not tail gate until I was able to get back into the right lane and then they would pass. I don't know if that is normal for 20 but it was my experience I remember saying to Meg that is probably what the Autobahn is like. It continued until everyone slammed on their breaks when a sheriff's car was at the side of the road on the left which caused more of a hazard then the speeds being driven at before.

And then we reached Vicksburg and our final destination for the day. The plan was to check into our hotel room at the Cedar Grove Mansion and Inn and then head over to the Cottonwood Public House for some dinner and to sample Vicksburg's own Key City Brewing. At the front desk I did ask if they had any stories of being haunted or rooms that they would recommend which the staff member told me there were no haunted rooms. Now though I saw people saying the place was haunted it does not appear anywhere on their website, I just thought I would try. I did ask for the Library Suite because I had seen online it was used as  the morgue when Cedar Grove was used as a Union Hospital after the Siege of Vicksburg. With key in hand she showed us to our suite and I have to say it is probably the coolest hotel suite I have ever stayed in.

Before I go into the house and it's history I'm going to skip ahead to dinner since most of our looking around was after we had eaten and returned anyway. The Cottonwood Public House was a short drive away from Cedar Grove and parking was relatively easy to find in the down town area of Vicksburg. I liked Cottonwood's atmosphere from the moment I slid their giant barn door open and entered the restaurant. Seating was open allowing guests to choose their table. Once we sat we were greeted quickly and warmly.

Both Cottonwood and Key City had great looking logos. It had a good historic feel to it, obviously it is in an older building but they hadn't tried to brighten it up and make it feel modern. The brewing tanks were towards the front and visible from the street along with a list of what was currently in progress in the tanks. A quick glance of the beer list had each of us ordering a flight so as to sample as many of the large assortment as possible.

Definitely a good assortment of color and Solaire, a horchata wit, ended up being our favorite so we brought home a Crowler.  We also brought a Crowler for a friend who has a podcast called "Drinking Alone, With Friends!" described by them as "three old friends, three new timezones talking about beer, life and the pursuit of happiness." It is a fun and interesting podcast that I highly recommend.  Drinking Alone, With Friends!

As for food we got one of our favorite appetizers to try any place we go, fried pickles. And then the menu boasted a "Really Good Pork Sandwich." I ordered it and I can testify that it is really good. The menu doth not lie! We also finished the meal off with a dessert to split, sweet potato chess pie- that was fantastic!

Now super full and re-energized we headed back to Cedar Grove Mansion.

John Alexander Klein and his wife Elizabeth Bartley Day were the original owners of the home. They were married in 1842 and spent a year honeymooning in Europe, where they bought much of the furniture and decorations that are still in the home today. The mansion was completed in 1852. The Klein's had seven children but only three lived to adulthood: Eva Virginia Klein died around two years old and Harry Day Klein died at only three months. Two other children lived a little longer but Frank Howard Klein died at 12 due to illness and Willie Sherman Klein died at the age of 16 when he was accidentally shot by his own gun while walking up the stairs of the house.

With the house being completed in 1852 the Klein's had only a few years to enjoy its beauty before the Civil War began. John Alexander joined the Confederacy and was away fighting when Vicksburg fell under siege. The mansion survived the siege in large part because Elizabeth was related to General Sherman by marriage. As a result he kept her and the children safe and used Cedar Grove as a Union hospital.

However the house did not survive without some damage. The reason I had first heard of Cedar Grove was because it was listed on my favorite road trip website Roadside America because in the parlor a cannonball is lodged into the wall. Some say Elizabeth left the cannonball as a reminder to neighbors that held ill-will against her for being related to General Sherman that they did suffer attack during the siege as well. There is also remaining damage to the front door where a cannonball came through and a hole in the floor of the parlor.

The Klein family also survived the war with much of their fortune it turns out because of a very deceptive safe. John Alexander hid most of their money right in plain sight in the main dining room however no one knew it was a safe because of its solid wood covering.

It fit in very nicely as a serving table and covered its true purpose perfectly.

The Klein children who had passed away young were buried on the property and a small memorial garden still exists today but the bodies have been moved to the Cedar Hill Cemetery to be with the rest of their family a decision Elizabeth Klein made when the property was being sold. There are several other homes in Vicksburg that were originally the Klein's since the children who did reach adulthood were each given their own home as gifts.

There were lots of beautiful antiques through out the home including a Regina Music Box, petticoat mirror, and piano.

Now to our amazing suite! We entered the suite on the first floor which was an old comfortable looking library. Ninety percent of the books are original to the Klein family while others have been added by owners since then. A lamp sat on a glass table that housed Elizabeth Klein's old journals.

Just out of sight from the above picture is a narrow iron staircase that lead down to what was originally the home's wine cellar.

And our bedroom. Well, apparently I only have the entrance to the bedroom I failed to take a picture of the bedroom or large bathroom. Sorry.

I probably didn't take a picture because I was tired and wanted to go to sleep it had been a long day and Friday I wouldn't have thought to take any pictures because I would have assumed I did so already. We did try and ghost hunt a little bit by going up to the library and reading a children's story and then just hanging out for a bit with a recorder. I did get a strange heat signature on one of the chairs at the chess board. However while the image showed bright red it was really only a difference of two degrees so not much significance there. I also left a recorder over night while we were sleeping and picked up a couple of strange sounds but nothing really of note.

Friday we got up earlier than intended so we tried another ghost investigation technique, a Spirit Box. I had bought one on cyber Monday when it was on sale from Ghoststop.com. The thought behind this is that it sweeps radio stations and somehow ghosts are able to communicate through it. Honestly I'm not even going to pretend I know how that is possible or what would go into it. I do know that we tried it at Shiloh and with 55 minutes of driving around we did not get a single word from it. We did get a little bit of interaction in the Library Suite (well wine cellar portion of it).

With that finished we brought our stuff to the car and then returned inside for breakfast and to check out. The restaurant was closed, I'm not sure if that is due to improvements or just because it is off season, but we still had a pleasant breakfast of coffee, eggs, sausage, and a biscuit.  Then we checked out and headed to the Vicksburg Battlefield.

We pulled in and were surprised to find the parking lot rather busy. The gift shop was open and staffed with Park Rangers and the bathroom was open and obviously being cared for. People were parking and going into the visitor center like a normal ordinary day when our government actually functions. We both thought for a moment that perhaps we had missed big news and that both sides had come together and in an amazing moment of compromise had managed to function. Sadly that was not the case. The Park Rangers at Vicksburg were just there on their own working to give visitors the normal experience, minus of course paying to enter the park. I grabbed the tour map from in the visitor center and got back in to the car. Like we had done at Shiloh we had a voice recorder and the S-Box rolling. We ended up with one interaction. It was quick and I didn't even realize it at the time until I listened to the recordings but we apparently had some helpful spirits at the very beginning.  Meg asks if we are going to see the NY memorial, every state that had troops at Vicksburg has at least one memorial, I asked if it was on the yellow trail and before Meg can answer I hear two voice one says "it's there" and another says "yes." It was indeed on the yellow trail and we did indeed see it.

One of the first stops we came to was the Shirley House which is actually the only remaining Civil-War era structure in the park. It has been restored to look as it did in 1863. During the siege the Shirley house was the headquarters for the 45th Illinois Infantry.









As we drove around we thought it would make a very nice bike ride and we hope to return in better weather since it was still a very gray and gloomy day.

We passed all the state monuments except for TN which you can not access because the road is closed due to erosion. It has been closed for well over a year and there are sadly no plans to repair and reopen it at this time.

Now just like we had gone to Cedar Grove because of the cannon ball in the parlor wall I also had a specific monument that I wanted to see in Vicksburg. And it turn out it is a hidden gem. Unlike every other monument that you can see from the driving path for this one we had to get out of the car and walk a short distance to it but it was completely out of sight from the road. I'm glad I knew about it beforehand or else I may have just driven past. A lot of the state monuments are pillars with the state name just to give recognition to the troops but a few are different. This was one of those.

The monument was in recognition of soldiers from the state of Kentucky. Like several other states Kentucky had troops on both sides, Union and Confederate. This was truly a battle of brother versus brother. As an early sign in the park pointed out:

"officers and men arrayed in opposed lines from 1861-1865 were American citizen soldiers,

Union and Confederate alike . . ."

-Report on the National Memorial and Peace jubilee, October 1917.

And Kentucky felt that pain of separation unlike any other state because Kentucky was the birthplace of both Civil War era Presidents and it is that unique situation that makes their monument so poignant.

The monument shows Abraham Lincoln born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809 standing in front of Jefferson Davis born in Fairview, Kentucky on June 3rd, 1808. On the left side of the wall behind Lincoln is his bio, a quote, and a listing of the troops who served the Union during the battle of Vicksburg. On the right side of the wall behind Davis is his bio, a quote, and a listing of the troops who served the Confederacy during the battle of Vicksburg. The theme of the monument is very clear it is the state seal : United we stand, Divided we fall. This seal, adopted in December of 1792  six months after Kentucky joined the United States, is reflected in both Lincoln and Davis' quotes.



"With malice toward none: with charity for all: with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see to the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in: to bind up the Nation's wounds: to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all Nations."- Abraham Lincoln 1865.


"The past is dead let it bury its dead... Let me beseech you to lay aside all rancor, all bitter sectional feeling and to take your places in the ranks of those who will bring about a consummation devoutly to be wished- a reunited country." Jefferson Davis 1888.




Of course reunification is not easy. There are many wounds to be healed. And the monument also acknowledges that in a very subtle way.  As you approach Lincoln and Davis appear to be looking at each other; but they are not.

View from behind Lincoln

View from behind Davis

They both stare just past the other.

Facing Lincoln

Facing Davis

 A subtle message that the outward appearance of unity will not suffice. Both stand on the seal of Kentucky with the words: "United we stand" "Divided we fall." I wish this monument was not hidden back off the path and that more then just a small sign told visitors to take the walk back to it. I think of all the monuments and statues and plaques at Vicksburg this one most effectively serves as a reminder and a warning. One that, since I started this trip because of a government shut down, I would say we especially need.

As we were leaving we stopped at the Visitor Center to look around at the small displays inside. There we read stories about how the citizens of Vicksburg lived through the siege. One story told about Duff and Mary Green who had a son born in a cave as the family hid from the cannon fire. They named the baby William Siege Green. Curious I checked Findagrave.com to see if he was buried in Vicksburg. I did not find William Siege but I did find his parents. We had not been planning to stop at the cemetery in Vicksburg but decided to add it and see if maybe he was buried in a family plot and just not listed on the website.

Once we arrived at Cedar Hill Cemetery I went to the office to find the location of Duff Green's grave. The gentleman at the office, Venable, not only helped me find the plot for Duff Green but then told us about some other notable graves in the cemetery and showed us where they were. Unfortunately William S was not in the plot where Duff Green was buried nor was he in a separate plot owned by Duff Green but with other family members buried there. I only found the grave stones for Duff Green, his daughter Annie born in 1860, and Willie A. Lake who was Mary's sister.

It is of course possible that he was buried in one of the plots but did not have a head stone like his mother or that the birth of William Siege Green is just an urban legend.

However had we not taken the detour we never would have seen the grave of Estelle Brazier who died young at 21 and has a grave stone in the shape of a piano.

And we were both surprised when Venable offered to show us the grave of the Gypsy Queen.

Young Linka John died at only six so maybe more of a Gypsy Princess. Venable said that her family had been traveling east in a caravan when she passed away and was buried here. A short amount of research into her father did confirm a connection to Emil Mitchell, the King of the Gypsies whose grave we had visited the previous day. In a 1910 meeting when the previous Gypsy King, Zintchio Dimtro moved to Canada and Emil was named the new King listed at the meeting was Wasso Mitchell, John Williams-Steve Miguel, Miller George, and Eli John- Linka's father.

And finally buried in the Soldier's rest area where hundreds of Confederate soldiers from the Vicksburg siege and battle were buried is the grave of Douglas the Camel. Douglas was owned by Colonel W.H. Moore and served the 43rd MS Infantry. He was shot by a Union sharpshooter during the Siege.

Having spent way longer in Vicksburg then originally planned we left the cemetery and began the seven hour drive home. I do know there is at least one road trip that will come from this with a possibility of a second. At the battle field we read the story of young Orion P. Howe who served the Union as a musician when he was only 14. At one point during battle he ran to ask for more ammunition and was injured. Despite his injury he continued his mission and was noticed by General Sherman who wrote:

"What arrested my attention then was . . . that one so young, carrying a musket-ball wound through his leg, should have found his way to me on that fatal spot, and delivered his message. . . "

-General Sherman's letter recommending the Medal of Honor.

Orion became one of the youngest ever Medal of Honor recipients and is buried in Springfield National cemetery in Springfield, Missouri. We looked at how much time that would add and Meg proposed we detour but it would have added way to much to the drive home. 

The second possible road trip will be if I can ever find a clue as to where William Siege Green may be buried.