Just a short drive down the Trace (mile marker 193) we entered the Jeff Busby campground. Not as nice as Meriwether Lewis but still nice for Free. The campground has 13 sites and so far, no more than 6 campers in all. We hiked the short trail and walked to the overlook for a view of the still vibrant color.
On the way south we stopped at the Pharr Mounds and a site on the old trace that has the graves of 13 unknown confederate soldiers. Pharr Mounds is the largest and most important archaeological site in northern Mississippi. Eight large dome shaped burial mounds are scattered over an area of 90 acres. These mounds were built and used about 100-1200 A.D. by a tribe of nomadic Indian hunters and gatherers who returned to this site at times to bury their dead with their possessions.
The Civil War left its mark on the Trace as it did upon the rest of the South. The soldiers marched, camped and fought along portions of this historic old road. A 5 minute walk on the Old Trace takes you to the graves of 13 unknown Confederate soldiers, thought to have been injured in a battle nearby. But the original markers have long been gone so little is known who these men were and how they died. The headstones face back toward the trace so people on the path can see the graves.
No comments:
Post a Comment