Welcome Aboard, Southbound from KY Lake

It feels great to get started on the next phase of the journey.  Frank and Carol Kersting are joining me for this leg of the journey. Having Carol on board makes me think of the Kelly McGuire song Woman Behind the Wheel. It will be a pleasure to have them both aboard.

We will be heading down the Tennessee River through the Tenn-Tom Waterway to the Tombigbee River. The Tombigbee joins the Alabama river just above Mobile Bay. When we get to Mobile Bay we will put the mast back up on Lesson Plan and she will feel whole again.

A little history about how this trip became possible. In 1810, the citizens of Knox County, TN (Knoxville) petitioned the U.S. Congress to build the waterway that would shorten the distance for trade with New Orleans, Mobile and other ports along the Gulf of Mexico by more than 800 miles. Shortly after Alabama joined the union in 1819, the state hired an engineer to survey its rivers, including a possible connection with the Tennessee River.

The first federally sponsored engineering investigation of the waterway was conducted during the Grant Administration in 1874-75. The study concluded that the U.S. Corps of Engineers could build such a project that included a total of 43 locks and a channel four feet deep,  but its commercial limitations made it impractical. Other studies were conducted by the Corps in 1923, 1935, 1938 and 1945 that eventually led to congressional approval of the waterway in 1946.

Strong opposition from key members of the Congress from other regions of the nation and from the railroad industry (can you spell payola) prevented any further development of the waterway until 1968 when President Johnson first budgeted funds to start the project’s engineering and design. Construction finally began in 1971 but due to lawsuits from various groups the project took over 12 years to complete. The Tenn-Tom officially opened to commerce on January 10, 1985 (just 110 years after it was first proposed).

We will join in the flow of commercial and recreational vessels that travel the Tenn-Tom Waterway route and navigate its 13 locks.

Along the way we will pass through some historic sights. The civil war landmarks for The Battle of Fort Henry and The Battle of Shiloh.  Over 23,000 soldiers died in the battle of Shiloh. I have heard and read that it is a moving experience to visit this battlefield. However, there is no access to the National Memorial from the river.

We will also pass by the remains of the old Rooster Bridge where in 1979 severe flooding kept the bridge from lifting. The tow boat Cahaba got caught in the flow and ended up going under the bridge (mostly underwater). The incident is documented here.

Lesson Learned: Sometimes it takes a long time for a federal project to be completed.  Just kidding I already knew that. But, I will leave you with a question today. Lesson Plan has traveled up the US East Coast through the Erie Canal, the Great Lakes, Midwest Rivers and we will soon be in the Gulf of Mexico, all by water. Does that make the Eastern part of the US an Island? Things that make you go hmmmm.

Check out the map for more pictures (click on the way point and then the link). If you are not signed up for the email delivery, you can do so at this link.

"A ship in a harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for." William Shedd