KNOX_Countyfinds
Established Users
If any of you live in East Tennessee or are familiar enough with the Civil War history of this region please provide me with some input...
On top of Cherokee Bluff; what is presently the Cherokee Bluff Condominiums (greedy realtors) there was a large Confederate emplacement of cannon. I'm not sure how many were there or what type of cannon they used, but a large number of artillery pieces were emplaced there at one point.
Legend has it when the Federals finally took Cherokee Bluff, the Confederates pushed at least one if not more cannons over the Bluff into the Tennessee River below to avoid capture. The cliff is about 300 feet high and slopes between 70 and 80 degrees down into the water. Since the Civil War ended, Fort Loudoun Lake was formed raising the water line about 30 feet or so up the cliff wall.
Whatever lies beneath the muck and silt there should be well preserved since little oxygen can reach the metal(s) to react with it.
I am a native of Memphis and have heard plenty of stories about divers and treasure hunters alike finding old shipwrecks and barges on the bottom of the Mississippi River containing all sorts of things. I have visited Vicksburg and have seen the 160 ton Civil War gunboat someone salvaged from the River in the 1960's. This ship still had 90% of the wooden planks and whatnot preserved beneath the silt.
There is another sunken barge just north of Memphis that was shipping HUNDREDS of 1946 or 1948 Plymouth automobiles. Whenever someone needs a rare Plymouth part from that era, a diver is hired to go retrieve parts or whole cars from the barge for a surely hefty price. I've heard of entire cars being pulled up and put back on the road with minimal restorative work needed.
Sorry I left on a tangent there! If anyone has heard of these sunken Confederate pieces please fill me in. I would like to attempt a recovery effort (if in fact the legend is true)and hope no one has beaten me to it.
Finding the guns would be easy; the recovery process would be a little tougher.
I'm sure these gun(s) are in excellent condition since the Mississippi River contains more pollutants per liter of water than the Tennessee does. Considering the slope, the barrel of the piece is probably OK but the wheels probably splintered on the way down.
Again, I have nothing to back up this claim, it's just a word-of-mouth story I have heard from 3 different individuals around Knoxville.
Thanks for any info.
On top of Cherokee Bluff; what is presently the Cherokee Bluff Condominiums (greedy realtors) there was a large Confederate emplacement of cannon. I'm not sure how many were there or what type of cannon they used, but a large number of artillery pieces were emplaced there at one point.
Legend has it when the Federals finally took Cherokee Bluff, the Confederates pushed at least one if not more cannons over the Bluff into the Tennessee River below to avoid capture. The cliff is about 300 feet high and slopes between 70 and 80 degrees down into the water. Since the Civil War ended, Fort Loudoun Lake was formed raising the water line about 30 feet or so up the cliff wall.
Whatever lies beneath the muck and silt there should be well preserved since little oxygen can reach the metal(s) to react with it.
I am a native of Memphis and have heard plenty of stories about divers and treasure hunters alike finding old shipwrecks and barges on the bottom of the Mississippi River containing all sorts of things. I have visited Vicksburg and have seen the 160 ton Civil War gunboat someone salvaged from the River in the 1960's. This ship still had 90% of the wooden planks and whatnot preserved beneath the silt.
There is another sunken barge just north of Memphis that was shipping HUNDREDS of 1946 or 1948 Plymouth automobiles. Whenever someone needs a rare Plymouth part from that era, a diver is hired to go retrieve parts or whole cars from the barge for a surely hefty price. I've heard of entire cars being pulled up and put back on the road with minimal restorative work needed.
Sorry I left on a tangent there! If anyone has heard of these sunken Confederate pieces please fill me in. I would like to attempt a recovery effort (if in fact the legend is true)and hope no one has beaten me to it.
Finding the guns would be easy; the recovery process would be a little tougher.
I'm sure these gun(s) are in excellent condition since the Mississippi River contains more pollutants per liter of water than the Tennessee does. Considering the slope, the barrel of the piece is probably OK but the wheels probably splintered on the way down.
Again, I have nothing to back up this claim, it's just a word-of-mouth story I have heard from 3 different individuals around Knoxville.
Thanks for any info.
