Taking in a little history

Bob and I are history lovers and have always been interested in Civil War history. Since we knew we were going to be near Chatanooga, we planned a day to stop and see Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain.
Chickamauga was the second deadliest battle in the Civil War after Gettysburg.  This National Battlefield is set up very well with markers and a map you can follow to see what happened in different areas.

We started in the Park Visitor Center where we watched a video that reviewed the events of this battle.

Then we got in our car and drove to the different stops. There are many monuments commemorating the men who fought and died here.  

I think the split rail fences that were prevalent in those times are so picturesque.

This tiny cabin was home to a family of 9, but when the battle broke out, the family took refuge in a ravine and the cabin was used as a hospital.

The inside of the cabin.

This monument was dedicated to men from Michigan who fought in this battle.

" But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or to detract. The world will little note what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

Abraham Lincoln

Our next stop was at the top of Lookout Mountain, which meant driving up another curving mountain road.

Look at this view of Chatanooga when we got to the top!

This site was the continuation of the battle at Chickamauga. The Union army fought their way up this mountain as clouds were covering it.  It's hard to imagine.

We really enjoyed our day reviewing all this history.  Excuse our squinting - it was brighter that the photo shows!

Our last stop of the day was our hotel.  I had seen good reviews for this old hotel and we decided to stay there inside of our usual chain hotels.  It was a fabulous place!  It's the Read Hotel in Chatanooga and it totally exceeded our expectations.  It was opened in 1872 and has had some famous guests; Al Capone, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill...  It looks like a place you would stay in the roaring twenties and if you are ever in Chatanooga, you should stay there!

The Read Hotel

Overlooking the lobby

A telephone room

One of the staircases

A Billiards room

Even the elevator was classy!

Our room

Look at the bathroom!

The view from our room at night.  We were on the 9th floor.

The next morning we started our 2 day drive home.
We drove 2005 miles and were in 10 states including Michigan. We enjoyed some beautiful cities, had some crazy adventures and saw God's hand in His creation.  We met some really nice people and connected with friends.  It was a wonderful trip, but it's always good to be home again!