What's to see in Tennessee?

[Sapper740]

Wife and I are planning a trip to Sevierville, TN next Fall. She's tied up in the convention she's attending so I'll be free to explore the surrounding area with Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg on the itinerary. Anyone know of military museums, Civil War historic sites, or antique malls within a day's drive of Sevierville?

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[Bob Womack]

That's the area where I grew up.

You should know that Knoxville was Northern-sympathetic in the Civil War, which made for some really interesting history. The famous Sultana Disaster, when an overloaded steamship carrying survivors of Andersonville Prison home blew up near Memphis, is memorialized with a stone in a church's front yard in Knoxville off Maryville pike. Around 1,167 Union soldiers died. A large number of the victims were from the 3rd (Union) Tennessee Cavalry who were from East Tennessee.

There's Bleak House, which was the headquarters of Longstreet during the Knoxville Campaign. As the Confederates pulled out west and were followed by the Union, Confederate Sharpshooters set up in the house's tower and shot General Sanders as he pursued. There are sketches of the sharpshooters and their blood on the walls.

There's the Tennessee Aviation Museum off highway 411 just east of Sevierville. There are several WWII aircraft in the museum including a flying P-47.

If you like guitars, Music Outlet is one of the largest Martin dealers in the country and is located in a big white mansion on Winfield Dunn Parkway in Sevierville.

But the real treasure trove is two hours southwest in Chattanooga with multiple battlegrounds, museums, and memorials. i went to college on Lookout Mountain, site of one of the last battles in the area. Chickamauga battlefield was where the Spencer Repeating Rifle debuted, with carnage resulting.

Don't miss the mountains, though. They are the best attraction.

Bob

[Aragorn243]

We spent a week in Tennessee a couple of years ago and loved it but we were much further west. Main trip was for the Shiloh battlefield and in the process saw a couple of other minor battlefields in the area. Secondary was Nashville but there is a lot to do there also and it's very nice. We stayed in Corinth which is in Mississippi for the Shiloh portion and just west of Nashville for that. I'm sure you could drive to Shiloh for the day but it's pretty far from where you are at and you'd need a very early start and it would be a long day.

I think Bob meant southeast for Chattanooga/Chickamauga. I was there many years ago, Kennesaw Mountain is also there so you're getting three battlefields in one location. As far as battlefields go, it isn't well monumented but then I'm spoiled living very close to Gettysburg. You can do the driving tour easy in a day. Shiloh is the second most monumented battlefield, I spent four days there but I was photographing all the monuments and markers. Driving tour is a day there also. I actually wore out a brand new pair of skechers in four days there. I was walking cross country in the woods a lot. I'm thinking SGT York's birthplace is in your vicinity but much further north. There are a few things there that we almost stopped at on our way home but we determined it was too far out of our way. Knoxville has at least Restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives TV show that my wife made note of.

If I ever had to leave Pennsylvania for some reason, Tennessee would be my destination. I really liked it. We will probably go back at some point but our next vacation is Vicksburg.

[Sapper740]

Thank you gentlemen, I've added much of what you've mentioned to my itinerary.

[Aragorn243]

Nashville specifically has the Grand Ol Opry (Ryman Theater), the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Tennessee State Museum and Capitol complex. Bell Meade Plantation, Belmont Mansion, Cooters (Dukes of Hazard Museum), The Hermitage and the Marathon Auto Works complex and museum, the Parthenon. Took us two days to see all that. Parkers Cross Roads was the other small battlefield we visited. Savanah has a nice museum and is the site of Grant's headquarters for the Shiloh campaign. It was 2021 when we were there. Doesn't seem that long ago, especially since we were to go to Vickburg two years later. Missed that. Life goes fast.

[MAC702]

My mom grew up in Sevierville, before she ran away as a teenager to live with her aunt in Los Angeles. I made it there a few times to meet and visit relatives. Leave lots of time between planned destinations to stop at random places you'll pass unexpectedly that will be little treasures of Americana.