Alabama & Tennessee

U.S. Space & Rocket Center – Huntsville, Alabama

In the dying days of World War II in Europe, some of Germany’s leading rocket scientists who had worked on wartime projects for the Nazis were faced with a dilemma: to the east the advancing Soviet Army and to the west the U.S. Army. These men, lead by Wernher von Braun, had developed the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile called the Aggregat-4 or V-2. Their capture would be a treasure of technical information for either side. The Germans feared the Soviets and decided their futures would be brighter if they surrendered to the Americans. Soon after Hitler committed suicide in his bunker, von Braun and his team of scientists surrendered to the U.S. Army in the Austrian Alps.

As part of a military operation called Project Paperclip, the United States planned to remove German technologies and scientists before they fell into the Soviet hands. In total, some 1,600 scientists, engineers, and technicians were evacuated to France along with equipment and weapons including V-2 rockets. In September 1945, von Braun and about 125 scientists on his team were sent to America where they were installed at Fort Bliss, Texas. There they worked on rockets for the U.S. Army and assisted in V-2 launches at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico.

In 1950, von Braun’s team moved to the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama which had been a large munition factory during the war. Here the German scientists designed the Army’s Redstone and Jupiter ballistic missiles, and began developing rockets solely for space exploration like the Jupiter C, Juno II, and Saturn I launch vehicles. It was one of these early rockets that sent the first U.S. satellite into orbit in 1958. Now a United States citizen, Wernher von Braun became one of the most prominent advocates for space exploration in the 1950s, writing numerous books and articles. Von Braun even served as a spokesman for three Walt Disney television programs on space travel, Man in Space.

In 1960, President Eisenhower transferred his rocket development group at Redstone Arsenal from the Army to the newly established National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The NASA facility in Huntsville was named the Marshall Space Flight Center and von Braun became the first director. One of the first rockets developed by the team at Marshall was the Mercury-Redstone which sent the first American astronaut, Alan Shepard, on a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961. Shortly after Shepard’s successful flight, President John F. Kennedy challenged America to send a man to the Moon by the end of the decade. Von Braun became the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, the super-booster that would propel Americans to the Moon.

With the July 20, 1969 moon landing, the Apollo 11 mission fulfilled Kennedy’s challenge and von Braun’s dream of manned space exploration. In 1970, NASA leadership asked von Braun to move to Washington, D.C., to head up the strategic planning effort for the agency. He left his home in Huntsville, but in 1972 he decided to retire from NASA and work for Fairchild Industries of Germantown, Maryland. He died in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 16, 1977.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama opened in 1970 and has one of the most extensive collections of space artifacts displaying more than 1500 pieces. Displays include rockets, engines, spacecraft, simulators, and hands-on exhibit. The center’s Rocket Park displays some of the historic rockets developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center including the Mercury-Redstone, Jupiter, Juno II, and the Saturn I. They also have a really nice collection of military rockets which shows the progression of technologies developed in Huntsville. One of the more interesting displays is a mockup of Skylab shown stowed inside its Saturn launch vehicle.

In the Shuttle Park, they have the space shuttle Pathfinder on display atop the external fuel tank along with the two solid fuel boosters. I wasn’t even aware that there ever was a space shuttle called Pathfinder. Apparently, this shuttle was a mockup made of steel and wood to test facilities for later handling the actual vehicle. Unlike the Enterprise which never flew in space but was used as a glider to train astronauts how to land a shuttle, the Pathfinder never left the ground.

The Apollo program gets full coverage in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration with artifacts outlining Apollo missions. Located at the entrance of the center, is a replica of a fully stacked Saturn V rocket that towers 363 feet over Huntsville. As you enter the center, there is a really interesting display that chronicles the life of Wernher von Braun including a V-2 rocket and his office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The building itself was designed to house one enormous artifact: a genuine Saturn V. The rocket is laid on its side and broken down into its four stages which allows guests to walk underneath the entire length of the rocket and explore its various parts. They also exhibit a lot of the components of a Saturn V like the engines, flight control computers, and instrument unit which controlled the five massive F-1 engines at liftoff. Unlike the displays at the Kennedy Space Center, I found the displays in Huntsville to offer much more technical details of the Saturn V which I really appreciated.

There are many amazing Apollo-era artifacts on displayed like the Apollo 16 command module which carried astronauts John Young, Charles Duke and Ken Mattingly to the Moon in 1972. They also have one of the Airstreams that were converted to a quarantine unit for astronauts returning from moon missions. One of the exhibits is a simulated lunar landing site complete with a lunar module and rover used to get around the surface. Guests can also get a closeup view of a Moon rock which was brought back by Apollo 12. The mockup of the Skylab was really interesting as was the chunk of debris from its July 1979 crash back to Earth.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is also home to Space Camp where aspiring scientists and astronauts can attend a space-themed camp. The activities at the camp include simulated space missions, space walks in a buoyancy tank, piloting a space shuttle, and manning a terminal in mission control. Campers even get to live and eat in a simulated space station…how cool is that!

Shiloh National Military Park – Tennessee

In the Bible, the Hebrew word “Shiloh” means “place of peace”. For two days in April 1862, the ground around a small rural church in southwestern Tennessee was the site of unspeakable carnage and some of the fiercest fighting in the American Civil War. The Battle of Shiloh took place between a small, undistinguished church named Shiloh and Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. In only the second year of the war, the battle was fought to decide who would control the all-important Mississippi Valley. Once the smoke cleared from the battlefield, the 23,746 casualties (dead, wounded, or missing) made it bloodier than all previous American conflicts combined.

In February 1862, the Union Army was riding high from victories in Tennessee after capturing Forts Henry and Donelson as well as the city of Nashville. The Army of the Tennessee was under the command of Ulysses S. Grant who had recently been promoted to Major General after his Western Campaign successes. In March 1862, Grant and his Union force of six divisions (approximately 48,000 soldiers) steamed up the Tennessee River and came ashore at Pittsburg Landing. This high-plateau site was well suited as the base of operations for the planned Union offensive against the Confederates in the Mississippi Valley. Grant was instructed by his boss, General Henry Halleck, to wait for the arrival of Gen. Don Carlos Buell and his Army of the Ohio before launching any attack on the Confederates.

Note: During the Civil War era, both militaries were accustomed to naming armies after the river of operations like the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio.

The senior-most general of the Confederacy, Albert Sidney Johnston, was in command of the Army of the Mississippi and following the Union victories in northern Tennessee, he was forced to abandon Kentucky and middle Tennessee. To prevent a Union advance into the Mississippi Valley, Johnston concentrated his forces at the strategic railroad hub at Corinth, Mississippi. Two of the most important railroads in the Confederacy passed through Corinth connecting the Mississippi River to the Atlantic seaboard. Anticipating a Federal move against Corinth, Johnston and his 44,000-man army planned to smash Grant’s army at Pittsburg Landing before Buell could arrive with reinforcements. On April 3, Johnston places his troops in motion, but heavy rains delayed his attack.

During the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, April 6, 1862, Confederate troops had moved undetected to within a few miles of the Union encampments at Pittsburg Landing. Union troops camping just south of small log church called Shiloh had grown uneasy through the night as they heard noises of potential troop movements. Col. Everett Peabody took the initiative to send out a patrol of about 250 men to scout what might be out there in the dark. At 4:55am on April 6, Confederate pickets engaged the Union patrol at Fraley Field and the Battle of Shiloh had begun. Desperate fighting engulfed the Union camps in the forest and fields around the church. The Union forces under the command of generals Sherman and Prentiss had been caught off guard as their men were still in camp sleeping or preparing breakfast. They briefly defended their camp positions before falling back around mid-morning to form new defensive lines near Duncan Field.

As Confederate soldiers entered the Union camps, they looted the tents for anything they could find particularly food and clothing. Johnston rode into the camp furious that his soldiers had paused the offensive to hunt for spoils allowing the enemy to retreat unopposed. The battle plan that Johnston had formulated called for the Confederate forces to drive the enemy northwest towards the swamps of Owl Creek and trap them out of the protection of their artillery and gunboats near Pittsburg Landing. However, due to the discipline breakdown in the camps, the Confederates were now pursuing the Union troops towards Pittsburg Landing and Grant’s defenses.

The midday fighting on April 6 was concentrated around Duncan Field where Union forces stubbornly defended their position for seven hours while suffering unparalleled casualties before giving ground. Parts of three Union divisions fell back into a thickly wooded area where they courageously defended for hours. This area became known as the Hornet’s Nest due to the stinging bullets and shells that whirled into the thicket inflicting heavy casualties on both sides. A group of 2,100 Union soldiers defending the Hornet’s Nest were cut off from the retreat and ended up surrendering to the Confederates.

The Confederates also sustained heavy casualties throughout April 6 as well. The 6^th Mississippi Infantry suffered 70-percent casualties while engaged in fighting near Rhea Field. During the afternoon, Gen. Johnston was wounded and bled to death from a leg wound in a ravine near the W. Manse George cabin. Johnston was the highest-ranking officer killed during the Civil War. Following Johnston’s death, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard assumed command of the Confederate army. As the fighting on the first day ended, Grant’s army had been battered and driven back two miles from Shiloh Church, but they still held the all-important river landing and had bought much needed time.

As darkness fell on April 6, it was clear that the Confederates had won the day by gaining ground and inflicting heavy casualties against the enemy. During a conference in the evening between Sherman and Grant, Sherman remarked, “Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?” Grant, unmoved, drew from his cigar and proclaimed, “Yes. Lick em tomorrow though.” Just after dark, Buell’s Army of the Ohio marched into Pittsburg Landing with reinforcements of 20,000 strong. Grant told his commanders they would counter-attack in the morning.

The morning silence of Monday, April 7 was shattered with sounds of Union gunboats on the Tennessee River pounding Confederate positions. Ulysses S. Grant was on the offensive with his fresh reinforcements that Buell had delivered. For six hours, outnumbered Confederates fiercely resisted advancing Union forces while giving up the ground they had gained the previously day. When they could hold no more, Beauregard ordered a retreat to Corinth in order to save his army. The battered Union forces did not pursue leaving in doubt the question of who would control the Mississippi Valley.

Following the battle, the ground was littered with the dead and equipment. Union burial squads buried many of the 1,728 Confederate dead right where they fell in one of five known mass graves. The Union dead were buried on the battlefield in individual graves with markers. In 1866, the War Department established a cemetery at Pittsburg Landing to bury not only the dead from the Battle of Shiloh, but also all the dead from operations along the Tennessee River. Workers disinterred the dead from 156 locations on the battlefield, and 565 different locations along the Tennessee River. Officially named Shiloh National Cemetery in 1889, the cemetery which overlooks the river holds 3,584 Civil War dead, 2,359 of them unknown. Tall stones marked the known dead and square, short stones denoted unknown soldiers.

Congress established the Shiloh National Military Park on December 27, 1894, to commemorate the April 6-7, 1862, battle that raged around Shiloh Church and Pittsburg Landing. Like many Civil War military parks, veterans played a crucial roll in establishing the position of troop movements and engagements in order to document the battlefield with markers. The Shiloh National Military Park was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933 and today the park is over 5,200 acres.

Centuries before the battle took place, a prehistoric town occupied the same high river bluff as the battlefield. A wooden palisade protected large earthen mounds and dozens of house sites. The six flat-topped mounds around a plaza probably served as platforms for important structures like a chief’s house or religious building. A dome-shaped burial mound south of the plaza held the remains of important residents. The Shiloh Indian Mounds National Historic Landmark preserves one of the few places in the eastern United States where the surface remains of prehistoric houses are still visible. The ancient people of this site left no written record, but archeological evidence suggests the town was abandoned for some unknown reason several centuries before the arrival of the first European settlers.

Graceland – Memphis, Tennessee

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953. Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. 

In 1954, Elvis began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. Elvis’ breakout year was in 1956 when he appeared on national television 18 times, had four number one hits, two number one albums, and starred in his first movie, Love Me Tender. At the height of his career, Elvis was drafted into the US Army and served two years in the 3^rd Armor Division stationed in Germany. It was while serving in Germany that Elvis met his future wife, Priscilla Beaulieu, and the couple were married in Las Vegas in 1967.

Following his stint in the Army, Elvis returned home to resume his movie career. During the 1960s, Elvis starred in 31 feature films and was one of Hollywood’s top box office draws and highest paid actors. Elvis was missing singing before an audience so in June 1968 he recorded one of his most iconic performances, the “68 Comeback” special, which aired on NBC television and reignited his music career.

On July 31, 1969, Elvis returned to performing in front of a live audience with the beginning of a four-week, 57 show engagement at the new International Hotel in Las Vegas. It was a triumphant return as the engagement broke all existing Las Vegas attendance records and attracted rave reviews from the public, critics, and his peers. Opening night was so successful that Colonel Parker renegotiated his contract on a tablecloth in the hotel’s coffee shop. Elvis also received a gold belt from the hotel for his championship attendance. Over the next five years, Elvis performed in a staggering 636 sold-out shows at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Elvis made television and entertainment history with his “Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii – Via Satellite” special which aired on January 14, 1973 before a world-wide audience of 1.5 billion people in the first live televised event via satellite in history. The remainder of his life was busy with recording new music in Memphis and performing before live, sold out audiences throughout the United States. On August 12, 1977, Elvis Presley died in his master suite at Graceland due to heart failure. He was 42 years old.

Graceland was once part of a 500-acre farm that was owned by the S.C. Toof family. The land had been part of the family for generations and was named after one of the female relatives named Grace. In 1939, Grace’s niece, Ruth Brown Moore and her husband, Dr. Thomas Moore, built the mansion which quickly became well-known to the locals of Memphis. After a year of tremendous professional and financial success, Elvis bought the home and grounds in the spring of 1957 for just over $100,000. He lived in the mansion with his parents, Vernon and Gladys, fulfilling a promise he made to them to provide the family a home. Elvis had other homes throughout the country, most notably in California, but Graceland was always his home base up until his death.

Tours of Graceland begin across the street at the Elvis Presley Memphis Entertainment Complex where you watch a short film about his life before you are shuttled across the street and up the long driveway to the mansion. The entryway to Graceland is adorned with stained-glass panels with peacocks on them and a “P” centered over the front door. As you enter the home, to the right is a formal Living Room which is decorated in white French Provencal furniture décor and features a custom 15-foot sofa. Through the stained-glass peacock panels is the Music Room which features a white piano. On the opposite side of the entryway is the Dining Room featuring a console television and blue drapes (Elvis’ favorite color was blue). The chandler over the table is something of legend as it was damaged by Elvis while demonstrating some karate kicks: he never had it repaired.  

The Kitchen is towards the rear of the house and is perfectly 1970s featuring many of the gadgets of the timeframe including an early microwave oven. There are also security monitors in the kitchen where Elvis and his staff could monitor the grounds. Also on the first floor is the Parents’ Suite where Vernon and Gladys Presley would have slept. The upstairs of Graceland where the Master Suite is located is off-limit to visitors. The staircase is very formal and features a portrait of a young Elvis. Mirrors are prominent throughout the mansion on both walls and ceilings, probably to make the home appear larger than in reality.  

While the first floor of Graceland is for family and formal hosting, the basement is clearly for fun and features several iconic rooms. The TV Room features a wall of three television sets which allowed Elvis to watch three programs simultaneously, an ideal he stole from President Lyndon Johnson. Elvis was very fond of watching football, boxing, and comedies like “I Love Lucy” and “Laugh-In”. The room is also famous for its bold yellow, navy and white color scheme with a lightning bolt – a nod to Elvis’ TCB (Taking Care of Business) logo. The room also features yellow shag carpet, a deep blue sectional, track lighting and chrome arc lamps. In addition to televisions, the TV Room also features a stereo system, complete home radio/jukebox system, and a pull-down movie screen.

The completely unique, vivid and intoxicating Pool Room is decorated with 400 yards of cotton fabric on the walls and ceiling. It took a crew of three about 10 days to cut, piece, pleat, and hang the fabric. Elvis stopped using the fireplace once the fabric was installed out of fear the room would catch fire. The twin billiard lamps above the billiard table were custom-made by Laukhuff Stained Glass in Memphis, the same artisan who did the other stained-glass work in the mansion. The room also features three Louis XV style chairs, a nostalgic art print of can-can girls, and two sofas covered with the same fabric as the walls and ceiling

Elvis never called the Jungle Room by that name; to him it was simply the den. However, thanks to its unique, exotic décor, the room became to be known as the Jungle Room once Graceland opened to the public in 1982. Originally a screened porch, Elvis added this area during the 1960s as an additional family room. Elvis’ favorite vacation spot, Hawaii, inspired the look of the room and all the Polynesian-inspired furniture was purchased locally in Memphis. The carved wood details, the faux fur upholstery and the green shag carpet – on both the floor and the ceiling – give the room it’s completely one-of-a-kind atmosphere. In the 1970s when Elvis began recording at home, the shag carpet made the Jungle Room a perfect recording studio. To complete the look, a waterfall was installed in 1965.

The backyard of Graceland featured an office for Vernon Presley, playground for Lisa Marie, and paddock for the many horses Elvis owned: he was quite fond of Tennessee walkers. In 1966, an addition was added to the back of the house to serve as a place to entertain guests, including Elvis’ slot car race track he enjoyed playing with friends. Once tours commenced at Graceland, this space became known as the Trophy Room where it displayed many of his awards including 71 gold, 94 platinum, and 34 multi-platinum discs. Today, the awards have been moved over to the museum space across the street and the Trophy Room exhibits artifacts from Graceland  and Elvis’ life. Also, in back of the mansion is a building which houses a gym and racquetball court. One of the first modifications Elvis made to the Graceland property was the addition of a kidney shaped swimming pool which he added in 1957. There are many photos and home movies of Elvis and his friends cooling off in the swimming pool that sits adjacent to the first floor’s music room.

The final stop on the tour of Graceland is the Meditation Garden, where Elvis and members of his family have been laid to rest. Originally, Elvis was buried next to his mother at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis. However, after a plot was uncovered to steal Elvis’ coffin and hold the remains for ransom, the Presley estate decided to move Elvis and his late mother to Graceland in October 1977. Also buried in the Meditation Garden alongside Elvis is his father, Vernon, his twin brother, Jessie, and his late grandmother, Mae. Following her death in January 2023, Lisa Marie Presley was also laid to rest at Graceland alongside her beloved father and son, Benjamin. Every year on the anniversary of Elvis’ death, a candlelight vigil is held at Graceland for family and fans alike.

Across the street from Graceland is the Elvis Presley Memphis Entertainment Complex which houses museums, gift shops, restaurants, and a music venue. There are numerous museums which allow visitors to experience his career and surround themselves with the things Elvis loved. The Elvis: The Entertainer Career Museum allows guests to immerse themselves in Elvis’ iconic career and see his amazing collection of gold and platinum records, movie memorabilia, and stage wear including jumpsuits, jewelry, capes, and more.

Elvis loved cars and the Presley Motors Automobile Museum showcases some of his favorite automobiles, including his iconic Pink Cadillac, Stutz Blackhawk, 1956 Cadillac Eldorado, Dino Ferrari, Mercedes Benz limousine, and Rolls Royce sedans.

The Private Presley: Elvis in the Army exhibit chronicles the two years that he spent in the US Army. There is an ICONS exhibit which showcases the artists that have been inspired by Elvis Presley, including Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood, Elton John, Kiss, Jimmy Hendrix, and many more. Following her death in 2023, the Lisa Marie: Growing Up Presley exhibit was enhanced and expanded to chronical Lisa Marie’s life and career.

Also on display at the complex are two airplanes that Elvis Presley owned and used during his career. Elvis purchased a 1958 Convair 800 in April 1975 and named it Lisa Marie after his daughter. He spent $800,000 having the jet remodeled which features a living room, conference room, sitting room, and private bedroom, as well as gold-plated seat belts, suede chairs, leather covered tables, and 24-karat gold-flecked sinks. He also owned a small Lockheed Jet Star named Hound Dog II which Elvis customized with a yellow and green interior. This smaller, less luxurious aircraft was primarily used for taking Elvis’ manager and his staff from city to city on his concert tours.