Inside Stones River

It's almost history! We are winding down our two-month volunteering stint here at Stones River National Battlefield. Looking back, we didn't know exactly what we'd encounter when we said yes to assisting with the "photo digitizing project." We agreed to give 24 hours per week each and we knew that we would have electrical, water and sewer hookups. Beyond that, there was some mystery. But mystery isn't all bad. And, we could always steal away in the night if we were totally disappointed, right?

No worry! It's been a very good time. We've enjoyed having a peek inside a national battlefield. It's interesting to learn not only about the historical events behind this location, but a little of what happens day-to-day, what the people operating the park are about.

I've mentioned in past posts some of the people we've enjoyed getting to know. There are two more guys who added a special flavor to our experience. John George and Brian Dempsey are the museum curators we worked with daily. They are seasonal employees, both working towards their PhDs in public history. Under their supervision we enjoyed scanning thousands of photos, slides and negatives.
John and Jerry humored me by posing for this photo as we took a break in the visitor center lobby. John made sure we had variety when the work may have been a little tedious. And we all had some laughs, too.

This historical photo collection introduced us to many facets of the park. The subjects run the gamut: living history, visitors, historical monuments, storm damage, ceremonies and construction, to mention a few. I've posted just two of these photos that I chose randomly.The overall goal is to make the photo collection available to the public online at the national parks service site. Equally as important is to protect the originals. By saving them online and on backup DVDs, the originals can be stored away in a freezer for posterity.

As a break in our photo-digitizing project, we were recently invited to assist with the Stones River museum inventory. "Sure!" we said. Here was a chance to get another look inside the park's artifacts. Along side Brian, we learned how museum pieces are archived by documenting the exact location and condition of everything from a Civil War era thimble to cannons positioned on the battlefield. There are drawers and cabinets filled with items recovered from the scene of the battle, the town of Murfreesboro, the state of Tennessee and the Civil War era in general.


Here Brian finds one of the inventory items from the 1860s in the museum drawers. He took us, with a smile and a helping hand, on an interesting trip inside the museum archiving process.

Preserving these items continues without end in sight. Just the other day one of the rangers found on eBay a Civil War era brooch engraved with the battlefield's name, the date of the battle and the name of a widow of one of the fallen soldiers. Archeological digs turn up battlefield artifacts all the time as well. Who knows what will be donated or discovered next. The museum work was one of those mysteries we didn't realize we would have the opportunity to experience before we arrived.

It's been a unique look at a piece of America. The place and the people are both compelling. Should you pass this way on your travels, you might want to stop and let these folks share the history with you.

Living History: What's It All About?

We've seen some excellent living history programs here at Stones River National Battlefield. Groups come often to the park to hear about the events of 147 years ago. Here's Ranger Jim Lewis giving one of his frequent presentations. This group is from the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Last Saturday evening we took a reverent walk through the national cemetery with 20 other visitors for the Hallowed Ground program. We met soldiers and civilians who told us their stories as we made our way along our path among the soldiers' headstones. They related how the battle and other events surrounding it affected them personally. Their emotional and history-based accounts gave a view of the terrible cost of the Civil War.

This weekend we are witnessing the annual battery demonstrations that involve firing of six cannons at once. A ranger sets the scene of the fighting and the artillery's impact on this battle. He explains the firing technique, step-by-step, as the thunderous booms begin.

Obviously, a lot of time and effort goes into these living history programs. This weekend people traveled to Murfreesboro from battlefields in other parts of Tennessee and in Georgia. They even brought cannons with them. The goal is for us all to contemplate the lessons of the Civil War, to realize the lasting impact and, perhaps, to learn from it. Another side of this living history is to teach about the tremendous pain and sacrifices of all those involved.

These scenarios are taking place at many national parks. After watching several it followed that we started talking about --- why? Why is this a wide-spread custom? Perhaps it's tradition to some degree. Why does it draw people in? Maybe it's curiosity, still a wonderment of how brother could fight brother or the intrigue of the stories of heroism. Could it be the connection for so many people to an ancestor, or two or more? Why do the people want to sleep in these encampments on weekends and wear the scratchy wool soldiers clothing? Maybe it's exciting to fire these historic weapons. Maybe some of them believe it's important to teach the lessons of the war. What do you imagine are their motivations?

Well, the two soldiers here, Elena and Elizabeth, are seasonal recruits working on their masters degrees in public history at Middle Tennessee State University. Historic preservation is a part of their psyche, studying about it, writing about it and living it. They provide interpretive programs five days a week at Stones River. Here they are demonstrating musket loading and firing with Jim.







Judging from the attention of the many visitors we've seen this summer at national park living history presentations, the program is a success. People ask questions or you hear various discussions as the crowd breaks up. It made us think about the issues, effects and results of the War of the Rebellion or the Civil War, or whatever title you have for it. What do you think? Why would these men (and women) leave their loved ones to endure such a nightmare? Why did this war happen? Was it justified? What did it accomplish? And the big one: Was the cause states' rights or slavery? Just a few questions for your next bar-b-q or campfire discussion. It was the living history that made me ask.

A Special Independence Weekend

Hope everyone had a great weekend celebrating independence in whatever way you chose. Ours was both traditional and unique. We were lucky to have time with Krissy (my daughter) and Ben (Jerry's grandson), two of our favorite people.

On Friday, the 3rd, Krissy, Jerry and I went on a short trip, about 40 miles south of Murfreesboro, to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, TN. Krissy is known to sip a little JD, so she was enthusiastic about the idea. Taking I-24 and US82 south through Tennessee walking horse country is a very enjoyable drive. We chose to go on Friday thinking that we would beat the holiday weekend crowds. No such luck! Lots of people had the same idea. But, actually, we caught someone leaving their parking spot and the JD folks are prepared for onslaughts with tours every 15 minutes. We had a friendly and informative tour guide lead us through the entire process – the bubbling vats of mash with yeast smells floating through our nostrils, the whiffs of whiskey dripping through the special JD charcoal and the three-story barrel houses with the brew just waiting to be approved by the panels of tasters.

Did you know that their oak barrels are made onsite and burned inside to give the unique charcoal flavor? Or that it takes about seven days for a drop of the 140-proof-stage liquor to filter through the charcoal in the final processing? Also, we learned that there is no set time frame for aging the world famous Jack Daniel's Tennessee sipping whiskey. It's not three, or five or seven years. It's strictly determined by taste. When the panel of tasters says it's ready, it's ready.

In case you don't know, Lynchburg is a dry county. The owner of the distillery succeeded in getting the legislature to allow them to sell the collectible decanters with Jack Daniels inside. No one wants to open them, right? We also learned that the reason it is a dry county is that in Tennessee there must be over 2500 registered voters in the county before liquor sales is allowed. And this is a very small county that will probably never reach that point. In fact, our tour guide lived outside the county. We enjoyed hearing stories about Jack Daniels, a 5' 2” determined entrepreneur, and many local history tidbits.

After our tour, of course we had to take the short walk over the crystal-clear flowing stream at the distillery to the town of Lynchburg. This is a tiny town that thrives on tourists. So we contributed to the economy by purchasing a few Jack Daniels items at the local hardware store, but no alcohol. Touring the distillery and the quaint town of Lynchburg was a fun way to start our weekend.

Fortunately, on July 4 the volunteers working here at Stones River National Battlefield were learning musket and cannon firing. Our photo here is (L to R) Jim Lewis, the ranger providing his expertise in artillery; and three soldiers for the day, Scott, Edmond - aka Elena, and Ricky- aka Rebekah. The historical displays were just in time for Ben to come visit with us. The four of us enjoyed watching the booming demonstrations together. And also learned more from the excellent exhibits in the museum inside the visitors center. We also had a chance to show Krissy and Ben where and what we are doing for these two months of volunteering here.

When it was time to take a break, we had some nice sweet watermelon that we found at a roadside stand on our way back from Lynchburg. Later, everyone agreed that the 4th wouldn't be complete without a burger. So we dodged the downpour and made our way to the Red Robin Gourmet Burger restaurant. Our first time to try this place. I have to say that's the best burger I've had in a long time. I splurged with bacon, guacamole. Jerry went for all the traditional fixins. Ben, just catsup. Krissy had a red-hot, deep-fried jalapeno concoction. Everyone was pleased.
Then we chose to just relax and visit for the rest of the evening. We even found a vantage point in the cemetery near our parking spot to watch a little fireworks with our 6,000 soldier friends. It seemed appropriate to celebrate with them.