Day 151 Riding Out the Rest of the Storms in Pebble Isle

Our marina neighbors from Florida took off early this morning shooting for their next stop. Three of us opted to stay here till all this mess goes by. Winds weren't as bad as they predicted but the weather changed hourly - one minute it would be a gorgeous, sunny fall day then it would turn gray followed by rain. Did a load of laundry and made barbecue ribs with Blues Hog sauce that I picked up on a Missouri shopping trip. Yumm. John did the third oil change. Jack cuddled with all his "babies". He actually had the best idea for a day like today. It was hard to plan anything, but we did squeeze in a field trip to the local Civil War battlefield. A peaceful, pristine park where we saw deer,  turkeys and eagles; however, 150 years ago, it was quite different. The battle of Johnsonville took place here. It Is where the Confederacy scored a small but dramatic military victory in the fall of 1864, going down in world military history as the only time the cavalry defeated a naval force. This area was originally known as Lucas Landing, but was renamed for Andrew Johnson. Johnsonville was a sleepy river community before the Civil War. After the Union Army took over Middle Tennessee, it completed a rail line known as the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad that would hook up with boats bringing supplies south along the Tennessee River. The idea was to provide another way to send supplies into Nashville, which was union occupied after 1862. While Sherman was destroying Georgia, the Rebels came up with a plan to retake Nashville. 3,000 Confederates were sent to destroy Johnsonville and the railroad that carried supplies...and they did. The boats that they captured are still at the bottom of the Tennessee River. The bottom two pictures are of the battlefield. In the rear of the graveyard you can see a redoubt that still exists from the battle. They were dug by soldiers to hide behind. On November 1st and 2nd, they are having a reenactment here with residents from NEW Johnsonville and the surrounding area - would love to see that. Weather is still suppose to be dreary and rainy tomorrow so trying to decide whether to boat or not to boat.