Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Civil War Ride

Don over at Bamarides.com put together a ride to cover some of the Civil War historical sites around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. 16 of us met up and rode most of the day. We followed the trail of General John T. Croxton and his men after burning the furnaces at Tannehill on their way to destroy the University of Alabama. 
I had never heard of Trion, Alabama but I had heard of Vance. Funny how that happens, Trion was the first of three names.
The bridge where they crossed into Tuscaloosa was defended by University of Alabama Cadets and the Tuscaloosa Guard who even tried to destroy they bridge themselves before Croxton and his men could cross. Their efforts failed and Croxton took Tuscaloosa soon after making it over the bridge.
Remains of the bridge on the Tuscaloosa side.
 The Little Round House, one of a few University buildings not destroyed by the North.
The Mound on the Tuscaloosa quad, the marker explains it well.
The President's House was also spared, according to history, by the pleadings of the President's wife. The campus at the University is amazing and full of History. We didn't see but a fraction of all there is to take in.
We rode back on some of the twistiest roads in the area and got a good chance to have some kicks. We stopped a couple times so some could hit the roads again. Others just hung out to BS or explore nearby dirt and grass or wheelie and do burnouts. We rode until the sun went down losing a rider or small group here and there until just three of us pulled back into town. It was starting to get dark and the temperature dropped. I was ready for a cold one...


2 comments:

  1. Looks like it was a great ride. I may have to follow that route sometime. One day soon I'm going back up to Hog Mountain near Cullman to do some more Civil War stuff.

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  2. Planning extra time to stop and read historic markers is well worth it.

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