Ring of Fire
May 11, 2019
Ring of Fire
I think that I get my love of military history from my
father. He was a war buff and had hundreds of books around the house as I was
growing up about battles, weapons, and all manner collectable items from
various wars. Among those were a number of rifles from World War Two as well as
swords that belonged to various officers beginning in the Civil War. His most
famous piece was a sword that had belonged to General George Meade who was one
of the Union commanders at Gettysburg and who coincidently built many of the lighthouses
in the Florida Keys including Sand Key.
Even more odd was that one of my first jobs in Key West was
working at Reef Relief for DeeVon (Meade) Quirolo who was a direct descendant
of the famous General Meade. My father used to take us to Civil War battlefields
when I was a kid and it is something that I have always enjoyed doing in to my
adulthood. Driving from Key West to Indianapolis offers numerous opportunities
to visit some of the most historic battlefields from the Civil War and I took
advantage of the proximity to visit two.
The first was the site of the Battle of Chickamauga which
was fought on September 18-20, 1863. The battle was fought between the Army of
the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of
Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg, and was named for Chickamauga Creek, which
meanders near the battle area in northwest Georgia (and ultimately flows into
the Tennessee River about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northeast of downtown Chattanooga).
The battle was a major Union defeat and was the first major
conflict in the State of Georgia. It was a terrible fight and only Gettysburg
surpasses it in the number of casualties. The battle offered only a brief moment
of victory for the Confederacy because by November of 1863, the Union was
victorious and captured nearby Chattanooga in what is considered by many to be
one of the turning points of the war.
The next battlefield that I visited involved many of the
same combatants yet was held earlier and farther North, near Murfreesboro,
Tennessee from December 31, 1862 through January 2, 1863. Of the major battles
of the war, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both
sides. Although the battle itself was inconclusive, the Union Army’s repulse of
two Confederate attacks and the subsequent Confederate withdrawal were a
much-needed boost to Union morale after the defeat at the Battle of
Fredericksburg, and it dashed Confederate aspirations for control of Middle
Tennessee.
Both of these sites have wonderful visitor centers and have
maintained the actual areas where the conflict was waged in as close to their
original states as possible. Of course as at almost all major Civil War sites,
there are literally thousands of memorials and markers honoring those who
fought there. There is also a National Cemetery at Stones River.
The wooded areas and land on either bank of the Stones
River, where much of the most intense fighting occurred are particularly
beautiful natural areas and it is tough to reconcile all the death and
destruction that happened there with the quiet, beautiful natural solitude that
is found there now.
My next stop had nothing to do with the Civil War and more
to do with my love of music, specifically the music of the legendary Johnny
Cash. I had never visited the Johnny Cash Museum located in downtown Nashville,
Tennessee and it was someplace that had always intrigued me. I have never been
a huge fan of Country Music, but have always loved and respected Cash. The museum boasts the largest collection of
Johnny Cash memorabilia in the world and once inside, it is easy to see that
that claim is true. Anything Johnny Cash related could be found on display and
there was a long and successful career and life to cover.
Officially authorized by Johnny Cash’s estate, this museum
is an authentic dedication to the music career and life of Johnny Cash. As you
embark on an in-depth journey through the Man in Black’s eventful and amazing
life, you’ll have the pleasure of viewing hundreds of interactive exhibits and
artifacts that make up the most complete collection of Johnny cash memorabilia
in the world.
Included in the exhibit are Cash’s personal guitars and
other instruments, handwritten lyrics, personal items such as important papers
and things such as his high school yearbooks, a collection of his stage
costumes and clothing, personal letters and correspondence, original tour
posters, albums and singles and much more. They even have nice examples of his
artwork, which I was totally unfamiliar with.
posted by Michael and Kathy @ 7:09 AM
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