SUGAR BAY, LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES, KY TO NEW JOHNSONVILLE, TN

Tuesday, September 9th, 2014

Day 36
Miles Traveled: 59
Total Miles Traveled: 976

  We saw some beautiful and historic scenery on this section of Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River.  We saw remnants of an old railroad bridge that was used by the Louisville & Nashville Rail Road.  A large portion had been removed, but a small span still remains.  Dan's great grandfather, Jim Dougherty, served in the Union army during the Civil War.  Part of his duty during his service was guarding this railroad closer to it's Nashville origin.

Old L & N Railroad Bridge - span remaining

  Of particular interest was an old abandoned building.  It reportedly was used for shipping grain, and, when the area was going to be flooded to develop Kentucky Lake, the building was built so well that attempts to destroy it failed.  So, officials decided to leave it.

Old abandoned building

  There was also a section of beautiful islands with rolling hills as a backdrop.

Island scenery

  American history is not left out on this section of the river.  The picture below is Pilot Knob.  It rises 200 feet above the river.  On November 4th, 1864 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest set up men on artillery at the base of this hill and opened fire on Johnsonville, to cut off the supplies to General Sherman's army.  By the end of the day, 33 Union vessels had been sunk, two trains were destroyed, warehouses containing over six million dollars worth of supplies burnt down, and 150 Union soldiers were captured.  In contrast, Forrest had only 2 men killed, nine men wounded and two guns lost.  This was pretty good for a gentleman who had no military training.  Forrest mustered into the military as a private and ended the war as a lieutenant general - a feat that's never been accomplished by any other American.  Pretty impressive!

Pilot Knob

  We ended our cruise at Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN. 

Pebble Isle Marina