Family Field Trip...

We had a wonderful day last Friday. Thanks to Robin St. James for asking if we wanted to participate in it!

This was a field trip that we tried to take back in the fall and it got rained out! It wasn't really a reenactment as much as little "snapshots" of the Battle at Fort Sanders that took place during the Civil War.

We learned all kinds of things that we didn't know. The students were divided into groups and sent to stations to learn about the battle. I didn't know that the Union won this battle or that the fort was simply made out of earth with ditches around it.

Our first stop was the fort. Soldiers there told us about the fort, about life for a soldier, and about the battle.

Then we went and met a woman who told us about having two sons, one who went with the North and one who was fighting for the South. She talked about having your crops and animals taken and learning to live off of the land while trying to survive. She ended her talk with looking up to the mountain and saying that each day she looked at that mountain and said "I will look to the mountain from whence cometh my help--my help is the Lord."

Next we were given a lesson on the weapons of war from the 1600's to World War I. We learned how a battle could be won by simply having the right weapon at the time. It also made me thankful for those who were willing to face death to keep us free as a country.

Last we listened to a young man who was a Confederate who explained what they faced that day at the Battle of Fort Sanders. He talked of them charging across the "killing field" to get to the fort and then falling into a ditch they thought was shallow but instead swallowed them up over their heads. The battle only lasted about 20 minutes but it was deadly for the Confederates that day.

We ate lunch together and listened to Civil War music being played. Very relaxing to sit and eat and visit.

Last of all we headed back to the fort to watch the cannon being fired and listen to Mr. Lincoln. The man playing Mr. Lincoln was very, very good. In his talk he quoted the Gettysburg Address and his address he gave when leaving Illinois.

It was a field trip that will long be remembered by our family! A little walk in time past in Tennessee on a beautiful spring day!