Walking Tour 2015 - Rainy AND Fun!

At the Bottom Barn site

Well, Mother Nature had her way for the latest edition of the walking tour, but we still had 25 folks attend for the Saturday portion of the weekend.  It was quite enjoyable for me personally to help share the Perryville experience while experiencing for myself new ground, new revelations, and new learning from the likes of Chuck Lott, Stuart Sanders, and Kurt Holman.  Chuck's wealth of knowledge on the battle never ceases to amaze, Stuart's passionate and articulate delivery weaves an interesting story, and Kurt shared his expertise on the history of the park with a wonderful presentation during the evening session, followed by Stuart's talk on the aftermath of the battle.

While the rain dampened attendance (I truly expected, with nice weather, 50-60 attendees) it did not dishearten the story being shared and the attendees trooped on through the various downpours and misty conditions.  To be able to view Loomis' Heights from the Bottom Farm for the first time and see the positions of the 3rd and 10th Ohio from the that perspective was inspiring.  And to have attendees from Michigan, Missouri, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Ohio, and Kentucky was very uplifting for me personally.

And really, due to my Civil War touring buddy Andy Papen, I gave some focus studying the Peters Hill fighting in more detail than I have even given prior.  He and I spent a bit of time Thursday evening along the old Springfield Road, detailing positions and landmarks, to get a better feel for the lay of the land and unit positions.  Peters Hill is an area I want to be able to tour with the group in future years if arrangements can be made with land owners.  He and I also toured the Munfordville fighting on Thursday, and he and I, along with Guthrie Gray, walked the Dry Canteen Trail on Friday, covering the ten miles in four hours, enjoying the company of (mostly) friendly dogs and haughty Palominos.

We were able to visit the excellent Bluegrass Pizza on Friday, and enjoyed BBQ at the new Brother's BBQ and Brewing on Saturday (both located in Danville).  And that Amish grocery store outside of Perryville on the Lebanon Pike still make a mean deli sandwich!

And yes, there WILL be another tour next year, with hopefully one of the sessions covering the Confederate artillery positions.  More on that in the future!

Here is a link to additional photos on Facebook.