Many people don't know that Kristanne was a gunrunner for the South during the Civil War. It's true. She was also a close adviser of the Confederate braintrust. Jefferson Davis' controversial decision to replace General Johnston just prior to Sherman's final assault on Atlanta? That was Kristanne's idea. So were the grey uniforms, for that matter. She thought they would resist the rigors of multiple laundering better than some brighter color. That's Kristanne up top, getting ready to show me how to clean and fire a cannon. She's a multitalented woman, I tell you.

Those cannons you see are in the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia. The park includes a number of battlesites from Sherman's Atlanta campaign against the Tennessee Army of General Johnston. In a pitched series of battles, Sherman and the Union army hounded the Confederates further and further in retreat with a series of flanking maneuvers. Badly outnumbered, the Confederates had no choice but to retreat steadily, occasionally counterattacking at specific points in the Union lines where they perceived weaknesses. These, however, were few and far between. Eventually, the Confederates found themselves pinned against Kennesaw Mountain. They dug in madly to better face the Union charge.

By all accounts, the fighting was terrible. Relying on their superior numbers, the Union Army sent wave after wave of attackers into the Confederate lines. The Confederates, well dug into a huge series of earthen trenches, repulsed them time and again with small arms fire and fixed bayonets. Confederate soldiers spoke of the "hills of Union casualties piling up to our trenchtops." After six days of pitched fighting, with lines dug in as close as thirty yards from one another, the Confederates abandoned their defenses at Kennesaw Mountain during the night and retreated towards the Chattahoochee River. The Union had lost 3,000 men; the Confederates, 800. Sherman, of course, disregarded the casualties and pressed on, eventually taking Atlanta and marching on to the sea. And, in case you missed it, the Union even won the war. It's true.

Kennesaw Mountain was really incredible. All those trite cliches about "history coming alive?" Well, they got trite for a reason -- sometimes, they're actually descriptive. I was so inspired by the whole experience that I actually bought the first nonfiction book in more than five years that I actually intend to read -- a history of the Civil War. I'll let you know if I have any more revelations along the lines of, "The Union won." I like to keep y'all informed. We headed north into the Chattahoochee National Forest, looking for scenery. We found it at Amicalola Falls State Park, as you can see there at the left. These were, in all likelihood, the smallest, least impressive falls to ever merit a state park. I'm just glad we cheated them out of the $2 dollar parking fee they tried to squeeze out of us -- I've seen my brother, Russ, pee bigger streams than this sucker. Sid sez stay away.

We moved further north, looking for camping. Crossing the Appalachian Trail (details in tomorrow's installment), we espied a State Park. Full. On to a private campground featuring the World's Loudest Kid. This fellah was top-volume 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We had to tip our hat to the youngster -- world class lungs, I tell you. Anyway, we eventually got to sleep about 1:30, waking up at 7:30 as the kid read everybody in the campground jokes off the back of his juice boxes at full volume for what must have been close to an hour. Kristanne thought they were actually pretty funny, but I didn't get most of them. Anyway, the kid definitely has a future as a stadium vendor, I tell you. Either that, or a carnival barker. Anyway, we close with another look at my "Jimmy" t-shirt, just 'cause I like it so much. See you next time!

Total Miles for 7/12 = 170

Next Stop -- Smoky Mountains

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