We visited the bloodiest Civil War battlefield in Kentucky, Perryville. The confederates won the battle but, as in much of war, could not maintain their gains for lack of men, supplies and ammunition. So, even though they won, they retreated out of Kentucky and surrendered the Ohio River as a key transportation route to the North.
One of the interesting stories from this battle came when a commander from the South saw some troops ahead who were firing on his men. He mistook them for Confederates and rode up saying, "Stop firing on friends." When he got to the top of the ridge, the commanding officer ask him to identify himself. It was then he realized that he had mistakenly ridden into the Union line. He mumbled his name and then rode down the line hollering, "Cease fire." He then rode back to the Confederate line and told them to fire and will and they mowed down the Union soldiers. The commander was so flustered from his face-to-face encounter with the enemy that he didn't effectively follow up his brigade's pounding of the Union soldiers!
We drove to the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. It is a National Historic place now. The Shakers believed their leader Ann Lee was the second coming of Christ. They were named Shakers because of their charismatic trembling in their services. They didn't believe in marriage and even separated married couples who converted. Consequently they didn't have any children except orphans they raised. So, they eventually died out. They believed in simplicity and hard work. One of their slogans was, "Heart to God, Hands to work."
