Hiking Tour Just a Few Weeks Away!

Cincinnati (headquarters of this blog) had some beautiful weather yesterday, and it really made me want to get down to Perryville and do some hiking (I spent the day cleaning up a parking lot and shelter area at a state memorial in Ohio).  It is just a few short weeks until the first hiking tour, and if the weather cooperates, it should be a really great time.  The Louisville hiking group added this event to their calendar, and have several folks planning to attend.  Add that PR to the mentions on the Historic Perryville Facebook page and the Danville visitor's website and I expect to see at least thirty folks join me on this first of what will hopefully be several hiking tours at Perryville.  I will be pulling out the Perryville books tonight, particular Kenneth Noe's definitive work, to refresh myself on the facts and human interest stories I want to share with the group.  Hopefully these folks will find the tour interesting enough to visit and support Perryville Battlefield in the future.  In these times of budget cuts, the direct involvement from the general public can go a long way to supporting an entity such as Perryville.  Perhaps a few will join the Friends of Perryville Battlefield as well.

This first tour will be a rehash of the tours I have given in the past for hiking groups.  Ironically enough the tour I give is very similar to the one I attended during the Civil War Trust's annual conference and led by Ed Bearss.  We will cover Cheatham's attack in decent detail, while touching on the Confererate pushes towards Loomis Heights.  We will walk Tour Stops 1 through 22, which should give us about four miles of walking and three hours on the battlefield.  Because my audience is made up of hikers and the general public, I will spend a bit of time going over Civil War tactics and the Perryville Campaign in general to give folks a base of knowledge as to why Perryville and Kentucky was so important.  Ed Bearss mentioned that the Antietam and Perryville Campaigns were more significant than Vicksburg and Gettysburg in terms of the South being able to win the war.  I tend to agree, but then again I am rather partial to both Perryville (close to home) and Antietam (pristine national park where Buckeyes played a large role).

Hike starts at 11:00 on Saturday, April 23rd.  Meet at the Visitor's Center by 10:45.  Bring sunscreen, a hat, water (at least two liters) and something to snack on.  Sturdy shoes or boots are recommended.

Pictures of the spring hiking tour will be forthcoming, just to show you what you missed!