Entry DENIED!

We left Goodlettsville this morning with the intent to visit the Tennessee State Capitol. An overnight thunderstorm was still in full swing when we got up this morning, and for awhile the downpour was about 3.9" per hour according to the news channel before it temporarily went off the air.  Everything settled down about 10, so we went for it, hoping that the weather would favor us.

The State Capitol is only about 20 minutes south of our "campground" via I65, so Gus hardly got warmed up and we were there.  Finding a parking spot took another 20 minutes, and it was at a state park two blocks and 100' lower in elevation from the Capitol. We thought that a nice walk would be ok, so we opened the car doors to be greeted by a 30 mph breeze.  Donna instantly lost all the effort she had put into fixing her hair this morning, and her mood matched the "wind-do". Well, it's already undone, so we started walking toward the Capitol, only to be greeted by a 142 step set of stairs.

We reached a nice landing, and a view of the city to the north, then turned and saw a 98 step set of stairs leading to the Capitol Building!

Finally we were at the level of the Capitol, and strolled the grounds.  We visited the gravesite of President Polk.

And a statue depicting President Andrew Jackson during the Battle of New Orleans.

Around the building we went, searching for the entry.  We came upon another statue of President Andrew Johnson.

Finally, a sign directed us to the North Entrance.  North? I don't even know what day it is, how am I supposed to know my directions in Tennessee? Oh yeah, the sun….

The approach to the Capitol was pretty impressive, and we were looking forward to our tour!

Unfortunately, the state police in Tennessee take their job of protecting the seat of government very seriously, and denied us entry unless we had two photo ID's and went through a metal detector. We've had to go through metal detectors before, but never with this type of security. In fact, of the Capitol buildings that we've visited, only two have even had a security presence, and only one has required a metal detector.

Today, Donna had left her ID in the car, and we weren't about to walk all those steps again just for that.  With a quick glance at the building lobby, we exited the building.  Maybe next time, maybe not.  It didn't appear all that impressive from the lobby in any case.  We waved good-by as we walked down the steps to the car.

At loose ends, we decided to eat lunch while we reviewed our options.  Tennessee is well in the South, and as such has a lot of Civil War history, so we decided to visit a minor battle site a few miles away.  Called the Battle of Hartsville, it took place on December 7, 1862, and was a solid victory for the Confederacy.

The battle was noted in the Tennessee Trails information, and we saw that there is a self guided car tour of the battle site. When we got to Hartsville, however, we couldn't find out where the battle took place. After an hour of driving around looking for something exciting, we stopped at the Chamber of Commerce (closed), then at the Trousdale County Courthouse (open with court in session).  The County Clerk told us that the Courthouse had been pressed into service as a hospital during the battle, and still shows some damage as a result, but is still in full use by the county! She was able to give us a brochure that detailed a drive with numbered markers identifying various significant battle events.

For example, this is the ford through the Cumberland River that was used by the Rebs to get some 1300 men and their artillery and equipment across in the dead of night. Consider that the river is only chest deep, but in December was ice cold with 4" of snow on the ground!

Col. John Hunt Morgan of the Army of Tennessee learned that the Federals had established a garrison at Hartsville. He sought approval for an attack from General Braxton Bragg, and after receiving that approval, he left Murfreesboro with a force of 2400 men, and a plan to slip across the Cumberland, attack, and return across the river to safety. Instead of the 1500 men that his scouts had estimated the Federal force to be, it was in reality almost 4000. With the element of surprise and excellent planning, Col Morgan succeeded beyond his expectations, capturing over 1800 Federals and killing or capturing 262, along with a large amount of much needed supplies.  He and his men and their prisoners were transported back across the river before reinforcements could arrive. (No boats, remember; this was jump in and go). From a different point of view, this is the ford that they used. The Battle of Hartsville was a huge morale booster for the South, and is considered to be the most successful cavalry battle of the war.

The village cemetery contains several graves of Confederate soldiers killed that day, along with a monument to the heroism of the Kentucky boys that fell.

One headstone caught our eye; a gentleman who was born in the 18th century! Talk about a connection to the past! The farther east we travel, the farther back in time we go. Cool!

This little town, with its little know story of heroism for a cause, keeps a quiet vigil over its own.