Day 3

I woke up early again this morning and set out on another hike while the family slept. It’s so peaceful hiking at such an early hour before anyone else gets on the trail. It was just me and the humming insects and the tweeting birds. It’s wonderful to disconnect entirely from the world even for a short time.

Last year, while I was still homeschooling G3, he wanted to read “Chickamauga” by Ambrose Bierce. He found an online list of the best horror stories ever written and “Chickamauga” was near the top. I am not sure if I would categorize it as horror, although it does effectively depict the horrors of war. To keep G3 happy and interested, I agreed to incorporate the story in our curriculum. We read it together and discussed not only Bierce’s craft but also his commentary on war.

Having read the story, it only makes sense that G3 would want to visit the Chickamauga Battlefield. And so, that is where we are headed today. It is a long day trip, but hopefully it will be worth the drive.

The Campaign for Chattanooga was important because it would dictate who controlled the railroads in the South. The Battle of Chickamauga began on September 18–my parents’ wedding anniversary—1863, and it lasted three days. It was the second most deadliest battle of the Civil War. Only Antietam, which occurred the previous year, was bloodier. It was a Napoleon Victory for the Confederacy, meaning they successfully forced the Union soldiers to retreat and then they slept on the battlefield. However, they neglected to to secure Chattanooga.

While at the battlefield we watched a brief video about the battle. When it was over, we drove around the field and then climbed up the Wilder Brigade Monument. Or rather G3 and I climbed. Kati rested in the shade. It offered a commanding view of the battlefield and the mountains in the distance.

Kati hates battlefields. She finds them all dreadfully boring. Every single one of them is a big open field where men died. And yes, if you look at it on the surface, she is correct. To really appreciate individual battlefields you need to delve into the stories that differentiate one from another. You need to know what happened. Who won. How that specific battle influenced the War. And why it matters historically. For G3, this specific battle mattered because he happened to stumble across the short story. As for Kati, I find her complaining and grumbling about battlefields rather comical. It offers comic relief during our long drives. G3 finds it frustrating. But lately, everything seems to set him off and make him cranky.

The National Military Park spans two states Chickamauga is in Georgia—G3 was happy to claim another state—and Lookout Mountain Battlefield In Tennessee. We went to one, so our visit would have been incomplete without the other. We got there just in time to listen to a Ranger talk. As far as talks go, it was long, too long, and somewhat repetitive. But it was also informative.

For the month of October, the Union men were holed up in Chattanooga. The Confederates controlled Lookout Mountain which meant supplies could not get to the Union troops via the Tennessee River. Slowly, Union soldiers started to starve. While moral fell, General Grant arrived, having recently won a major victory in Vicksburg. Under his command, the Union finally defeated the Confederate troops, securing both the Mountain and Chattanooga.

Kati hates battlefields so much she decided that for ever battlefield we visit, she gets two wineries. It doesn’t always work out that way, but it did today. Our first stop was Ocoee Winery. It was disappointing. There was no vineyard, just a winery set along a busy street. The owner buys his grapes elsewhere and the sommelier had the personality of sour milk. She seemed to want to get us out as quickly as possible. So we sampled and left.

Next we went to Morris winery which had an idyllic setting. The winery was set back in the vineyard—yes, they grow their own grapes—and it overlooks the mountains. Gorgeous. The sommelier was super friendly. She even offered G3 a tasting of grape juice—red and white. G3 really liked the white. The wines were okay, but not as good as Long Island or even Arizona. Since the tasting was free—bonus—and she even gave us a tasting of the wine slushies, we bought a bottle to drink at the campfire.

Our snack as we drove back to the campsite was cheese curds…our favorite road trip food. We haven’t come across a Culver’s in Tennessee so we got them at A&W. Shhhh…don’t tell Culver’s, but we like A&W’s curds more.

Since we are on vacation, G3 can’t go to Taekwondo, but that doesn’t mean he can’t continue to train. When we got back to the campsite we took out the combat sticks and practiced combat sparring. I’m not as fast nor as nimble as the kids and instructors he usually spars with, but I’d like to think I’m better than nothing. It was fun. I enjoyed it, even though if we were keeping score he’d have killed me.