Nov 9-11, 2026. Feeling lazy today, so this will be truncated. Spent a couple days in the small historic town of Savannah, TN before heading back up to Nashville to exchange my rental car. Savannah is close to the Shiloh battlefield, and Grant returned to and resided in a Savannah home by the river each night after the day’s bloodshed.

Savannah has the Tennessee River Museum which showcases historical artifacts from the Civil War, the Steamboat Era, Native American history, and of course the Trail of Tears. The building contains a lot more than one would think given its small size, and I recommend it to anyone in the area. My focus was on the Trail of Tears, so I didn’t take photos of other exhibits.

Also stopped along the Tennessee River and stood at the place where more than 600 Cherokee people were forced to cross in 1838.

On my way up to TN yesterday, I revisited the Natchez Trace Parkway and the two Trail of Tears-related spots. One is where the Bell Route passed, the other is by the Benge Route.