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George Rogers Clark NHP

Our first scheduled stop on this year's odyssey was the little town of Vincennes in southwest Indiana, and the George Rogers Clark National Historic Park. Surprisingly it was the westernmost front for the Revolutionary War.

The intent of the campaign was to weaken the British hold on the territory from Vicennes to Detroit. And in February of 1779 they set out to attack Fort Sackville in Vicennes. The route they chose was through "drowned country" of flooded marshes, wading at times through water, chest-high, and icy cold. And on February 25, 1779 forced the surrender of the fort.

Clark was a Virginia Colonel who had convinced the Governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry, that, "Great things have been affected by a few men, well conducted."

On the grounds today is the Visitor's Center, the Clark Memorial and the Old Cathedral. They overlook the Lincoln Bridge which was named for our 16th President who passed through here, during his youth, on his way to the Presidency.

Vicennes was also home to William Henry Harrison our ninth US President.

Lincoln Boyhood NM

A short distance from Vincennes, IN is Lincoln City and the location of the Lincoln Boyhood Home National Memorial. The first thing that is plainly obvious is the magnificent U-shaped Visitor's Center. Adorning the exterior are large murals carved in bas relief with excerpts of his speeches placed in panels above the carvings. The carvings themselves are of Indiana Limestone and the building appears to be of native granite. Proving once again what the Park Service can accomplish with a ton of money in the middle of nowhere.

There is also a Living History Farm located on the site that was closed at the time of our visit. The gravesite of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Abe's mother, is also at the park, but nobody knows the exact spot, even though a marker is placed near the farm. Lincoln lived in Indiana for approximately 10 years before moving with his family to Illinois.

We didn't see much of the site that day as the weather was horrendous. It started as a snowstorm and then rain and then back to snow again. By the time we left, we were lucky to get the 25 miles to the Wal-Mart campground in Owensboro, KY.

Fort Donelson NB

Fort Donelson National Battlefield is located in Dover, TN on the Cumberland River. It is the site of the Union's first major Civil War victory and was engineered by Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant. After the capture of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and subsequently Fort Donelson 12 miles away, he went on to become a Major General, Lieutenant General and finally the General of the Armies.

Another Flag Naval officer named Andrew Foote also achieved prominence for his participation at Fort Donelson. His ironclad gunboats softened up the Confederate positions at both forts during the siege. Later he was promoted to Rear Admiral.

There are many monuments and structures still at the Fort site even though the actual fort itself was an earthen works. Log huts built for weathering the winter and reconstructed water batterys overlooking the Cumberland are the centerpiece of the site.

A National Cemetery is adjacent to the fort where the Union dead were buried. It was surprising to learn that the Confederate dead were buried in mass graves on the battlefields and not in the cemeteries.

Shiloh NMP

Shiloh National Military Park is a site that I've been anxious to visit for several years and was never in the vicinity until this year. Shiloh is a famous battlefield site that I read about in school and it stuck in my mind all these years. It's located in southwestern Tennessee on the Mississippi border.

On the first day, there were approximately 40,000 troops on each side and after several back and forth skirmishes the day belonged to the Confederates. The confederate commander General A.S. Johnston (killed at Shiloh) did not realize that Grant's army was being refurbished to the tune of 17,000 additional troops all that night. By morning General Buell's men brought the Union force to 55,000. When Johnston attacked the next morning he was overwhelmed by the increased size of Grant's army and driven back forcing the end of the battle and another Union victory.

A National Cemetery is also located on the site however there are no Confederate troops buried there. There are 5 trenches at Shiloh where the mass graves of the Confederates are located. This is a fact I was surprised to learn.