Historic Battlefields/Military Parks

[Dr. Bob]

Have any in your neighborhood?

We have the Oregon/California/Mormon Trails run by our house (now all paved over here in town) right by Fort Caspar. This was a major fort on the Trail, named after Lt Caspar Collins who was killed in the Battle of Red Buttes on the edge of what today is our city.

Already had a fort named for his dad (Fort Collins in Colorado) so renamed the Platte Bridge Post "Fort Caspar".

And you?

 

[mioque]

Battlefields.
Operation Market Garden basically happened in my 'backyard'. And the same can be said of parts of the Dutch war for independence (the siege of Nijmegen among others), better known as the 80 years war (some would say that the Americans had it easy).

Military parks.
There is "Het Nationaal bevrijdingsmuseum 1944-1945"
http://www.bevrijdingsmuseum.nl/en/

 

[Major B]

The Columbus (KY) and Belmont (MO) battlefields, where the "Battles of the Chain" were fought. The Confederates had stretched a giant anchor chain across the Mississippi River, with the ends being defended at Belmont and Columbus. This chain effectively stopped Union gunboats and troop ships from moving down river. Columbus is 28 miles from here.

The two battles are notable:

1.As U.S. Grant's first battles/victories
2. For what did NOT happen--Grant's hat was shot off, but not his head.
3. For Grant being temporarily relieved because of his troops' undisciplined behavior (they broke formation and looted the Confederate camp at Belmont, and almost lost the battle after the Confederate forces regrouped).


http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/mo009.htm

 

[Major B]

Fort Massac (Revolutionary War) is just north of the border in Southern Illinois.

http://www.historyillinois.org/frames/markers/102.htm

 

[Jim1999]

Old Fort Henry, Kingston, Ontario, built to defend Canada against a yank invasion. Kingston was the original capitol city, but was moved to Ottawa in case of an invasion. By the way, Fort henry was never fired upon and remains a key tourist site to-day. It gets almost as many visitors as do the five local federal prisons in Kingston....

http://www.forthenry.com/home.htm

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Dr. Bob]

Originally posted by Major B:
The Columbus (KY) and Belmont (MO) battlefields, where the "Battles of the Chain" were fought.

I've been in that area doing a reenactment of the Belmont. We (yankee scum) actually got ferried across the river and march up to the battlefield area. Super time and wonderful people.

 

[NaasPreacher (C4K)]

Our town (Naas) has been a breeding ground for battles. Every foreign invader and rival king has burnt this town for about 1500 years. Our only real battle was during the Uprising of 1798 when Irish independence fighters tried to storm the gaol (jail for our American friends) but were repulsed at the gates.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Actually know NOTHING about Irish history. Think you could add to the thread I've started? Thanks.

 

[Roy]

In Mobile, we have Blakeley Park, Civil War battle site, and there's the bay where the battle of Mobile Bay took place. On the Bay, there is Battleship Park where Battleship Alabama is moored. All worth seeing.

Roy

http://www.siteone.com/tourist/blakeley/

http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/redir?src=websearch&requestId=62a73c156392dfea&clickedItemRank=1&userQuery=battleship+park&clickedItemURN=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ussalabama.com%2F

 

[Roy]

Originally posted by Dr. Bob Griffin:
We have the Oregon/California/Mormon Trails run by our house (now all paved over here in town) right by Fort Caspar.

Do you ever hunt for relics in your area, Dr. Bob?

Roy

 

[Dr. Bob]

The area that was Fort Caspar (only area settled in the 1840-67 era) is small today. When working on the Fair Grounds next to it, bulldozers turned up a cache of 20+ civil war bayonets. The fort was the LARGEST storage area west of the Mississippi. TONS of buckles, parts of harness, reins, wheels, etc as 350,000 people and 3.5 million livestock moved thru here in 25 years!

It was dismantled and floated down river when the Oregon Trail stopped functioning and the Bozeman Trail to Montana began. Fort Fetterman was about 50 miles east; from their the new trail turned north.

Nothing remained in our area. Nothing. Until 1888 when the CY (Carey) ranch for cattle was founded. When the railroad send a spur that stopped in central Wyoming, a city sprung up at the terminus.

Took the name Caspar from the map of the old fort (couple miles west) and it was misspelled by the telegraph - hence, Casper.

 

[TWade]

Valley Forge National Park, PA is one of my favorite places. It is a huge park that circles ten miles of Revolutionary history. Brandywine Battlefield is also close by.

I have also traveled to Yorktown, VA to visit the Moore House where the British surrendered.

May I mention Mount Vernon? A GREAT place to visit.

I would like to visit Gettysburg someday.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Grace - LOVE those sites, too. Was out in King of Prussia for business and spent a day off just wandering Valley Forge.

And when you get ready to visit Gettysburg, let us know. A couple of hours and you can follow the flow of the battle, but I have a few "extra" stops on your journey that are not-to-be-missed.

Bob

 

[TWade]

Posted by Dr. Bob:
And when you get ready to visit Gettysburg, let us know. A couple of hours and you can follow the flow of the battle, but I have a few "extra" stops on your journey that are not-to-be-missed.

Excellent. Thank you!

 

[td]

Live 10 miles from Andersonville National Cemetary. The site houses the National Prisoner of War Museum and the infamous Civil War prison.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Old adage - "winners write the history", so Andersonville becomes the epitome of evil.

Elmyra (Hell-myra) in upstate New York had a worse death rate and, because of its horrible climate, worse lasting effects on the survivors.

Rock Island (quad cities in Illinois) was so bad that when the Union could not get enough volunteers to fight, they recruited troops from that POW hell-hole to go west - allowing the regular troops guarding the frontier to come back east and fight the rebs.

My unit (3rd US Volunteer Infantry, Company I) was 107 men stationed here at the Platte Bridge Crossing - later Fort Caspar. 103 Confederates who would do ANYTHING to get out of Rock Island and 4 yankeescum officers.

 

[Clay Knick]

I live in Virginia. There are a few
battlefields and historical places
of interest here and in NC. Just a
few.

Clay

 

[Bible-boy]

I used to live in Manassas, VA: 1st and 2nd Manassas.

From there I was close to following Civil War battlefields: Ball's Bluff (Loudon Heights), Fredericksburg, Chancelorsville, Wilderness, Sharpsburg, Harper's Ferry, Getteysburg, Brandy Station (largest cavlery battle in the western hemisphere), Richmond, and Petersburg.

 

[LadyEagle]

There are a few around Tennessee, LOL!

If you ever read up on Nashville Civil War history, you will be shocked at what went on downtown Nashville, I mean appalled. Right here in the Bible belt.

Apparently some Union men didn't see some Southern belles as the enemy, LOL!

A brief link

 

[Dr. Bob]

Stayed in Nashville some years back (snazy hotel in the converted train station downtown) and walked all over the area. No trace of the War remained.

But drove just a few minutes down to Franklin and was amazed that even in a large urban area there were still buildings with the marks of the battle, etc. Impressive for a little town.