ECW5: Dan Davis

If I had to choose one memory (although there are a bunch I could have gone with) it is the Western Tour that Chris Mackowski and I did last May/June.

We left Fredericksburg after the Luminaria on Saturday night and drove through the night to meet Steve Davis at Kennesaw Mountain. From there we went on to the July 22 battlefield and Stone Mountain. On Memorial Day, we went to Andersonville before turning west and driving to the State House in Montgomery and then on to Selma. From there, we headed west again toward Jackson, Mississippi. On Tuesday, we visited Raymond, Champion’s Hill and Vicksburg.

I have never experienced such a draining heat as I did at Vicksburg. I can’t really describe it, but it’s the kind of heat that completely saps your strength. It is something that has to be experienced. Despite the heat, the highlight of the trip came that evening when we went up onto a battery above the Mississippi and enjoyed a couple cigars.

On Wednesday we drove drove through Mississippi. We stopped at Elvis’ Birthplace in Tupelo and then went to Corinth (including its great “Stream of American History“) . We ended the day at Shiloh before going to dinner at the Catfish Hotel. On Thursday morning, we returned to Shiloh before striking north into Tennessee along the Natchez Trace. After a stop at Meriwether Lewis’ grave site, we went on to Franklin and then over to Stones River. Leaving the Hazen monument, we struck out for home.

I will always look back on that as an epic trip.