Day tripping.... (pt 1)

This is truly an endless hobby...for every one grave I visit I find five more that I would love to see...from the famous (John Brown) to the semi-famous (Stephen Foster) to the not-so-famous (Estes Kefauver--look him up) and the list goes on and on...and amazingly every time I think that I've come to the end of the people buried within a days trip drive of Nashville, I find yet another trip to make...So on President's Day, I loaded Major up in the car and we headed off.

My travel buddy striking a pose...

The first stop on our trip was the Greenwood Cemetery located just outside of Columbia, TN. Columbia is the location of the only still standing residence of James K Polk (outside of the White House of course) as well, as the final resting places of many of his family members. After wandering the cemetery, we located his parents graves, paid our respects and were off again....

Grave of Jane Polk, James K Polk's Mother

Grave of Samuel Polk, James K Polk's Father

Not far from Columbia, and located in a quaint little cemetery at the Zion Presbyterian Church, is located the grave of Samuel 'Rush' Watkins. For those of you familiar with Ken Burn's Civil War, you'll know that Sam's book, 'Company Aytch: Or a Side Show, to the Big Show' was used for examples of the life of a foot soldier fighting for the Confederacy.

The final stop was the completion of a visit that was set in motion in 2010 on one of hte DPT trips with both Effrin and William. On that trip, we were able to visit the grave of William Clark, of Lewis & Clark fame, and after returning to Nashville was shocked to learn that Merriweather Lewis was buried in Tennessee just about an hour drive from my home. The site where Lewis is buried is on
the Natchez Trace, and is the location where on the night of October 11, 1809, he likely took his own life.