I finally got out of the house to go on a hike in the nearby Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. I chose to hike the Pigeon Hill trail up Little Kennesaw Mountain with a small group of equally isolated friends, so it was pretty low risk.
This mountain was where the remnants of the Confederate army entrenched to keep General Sherman out of Atlanta. He eventually circumvented the mountain, but a whole lot of fighting went on here. The nearby town of Marietta was mostly razed by fire as Sherman passed through, polluting wells, destroying homes, and generally causing untold misery on the local population. Of course, this was nothing compared to the damage he would do to Atlanta just a few days later.
The Great Locomotive Chase also passed through Marietta some time before. It’s a fascinating story which I cannot do justice in just a few words, but the gist is this:
Three Union sympathizers stole a train named The General and set course north towards Sherman’s advancing army. The conductor of the train and two other men ran on foot after them until they took possession of a hand cart, which he continued the chase with. Eventually, they were able to commandeer a smaller locomotive, which they used to speed up the pursuit.
The defectors on The General performed acts of sabotage along the way, which slowed them down enough to let their pursuers catch up. Stopped by a sabotaged track, the pursuers took possession of a southbound train and continued north in reverse. The conductor and his men were able to alert a town north of them before the telegraph lines were severed, leading to the eventual capture of the defectors.
But now, some brief DOTS, all coming from the same location days apart.
It’s been awhile since I last saw a vent-windowed Cherokee. Pretty good shape overall.
Then, all of a sudden a massive RV enters.
How ya doing, Oppo?