Stone Mountain Park - Atlanta, Georgia

Stone Mountain on the outskits of Atlanta has been an object of fascination to me since I first saw it as a kid with my parents.

Once incorrectly billed as the largest granite monolith in the world, the mountain definitely looks like it should hold that title. The sight of the huge granite dome rising above the trees as you approach is unforgettable. There is a reason the old phrase "as solid as Stone Mountain" has such meaning in the South. The mountain has given up its rock for many of the finest courthouses, capitols and monuments in the South.

Stone Mountain has also witnessed a remarkable amount of history. Ancient Native Americans erected unusual stone walls on its crest that are thought by archaeologists to have served ceremonial functions. The walls are gone now, but are interpreted by displays atop the mountain. The mountain was one of the few major Georgia landmarks that Sherman couldn't destroy. One column of the Union general's army camped within site of Stone Mountain during the March to the Sea. With the smoke and flames rising from Atlanta dominating the western horizon, numerous soldiers paused from their work of burning, foraging and generally "making Georgia howl" to admire the beautiful mountain.

It was during the early 20th century that the United Daughters of the Confederacy conceived the idea of permanently honoring three Southern heroes - Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson - with a massive carving on the face of the mountain. The project was begun by the sculptor who went on to create the huge carvings of the presidents on Mount Rushmore and took more than 50 years to complete, but stands today as the largest carving of its type in the world.

To learn more about the history of Stone Mountain and the beautiful park that now surrounds it, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/stonemountain.

The Restored Streetcars of Fort Smith, Arkansas

One of the most enjoyable historic sites in the South is actually one that moves. The Fort Smith Trolley Museum in Arkansas gives visitors to the historic city a chance to step back in time with a nostalgic ride on a 90-year-old electric streetcar.

For 50 years, streetcars provided transportation for the people of Fort Smith. The first three cars were mule drawn, but by 1890 they were replaced with electric streetcars. Initially platform cars that could make for a chilly ride during the winter, they initially were refined to become quite outstanding ways to travel.

The streetcars, often duplicated in style by modern trolleys seen in many cities, were powered by electricity and rolled along rails that once spread out into a web of more than 30 miles in and around downtown Fort Smith. They gave way to modern buses, however, and for nearly 60 years vanished from the landscape of the city.

Thanks to the hard work and efforts of volunteers and supporting individuals and businesses, however, a historic streetcar line has been brought back to life in Fort Smith. The beautiful old cars roll again along 1.5 miles of track in the historic frontier city.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ARFSTrolley.

Moss Hill Methodist Church - Washington County, Florida

One of the most beautiful old structures in the South can be found in the rolling hills of the Florida Panhandle. Built in 1857, Moss Hill Methodist church is one of the oldest standing rural churches in the Sunshine State.

The church originated in the earliest days of the American settlement of Florida. It began as a mission of the South Carolina Methodist Conference and is known to have been active as early as 1823, just two years after the cession of Florida from Spain to the United States.

The early years of the church were turbulent as is demonstrated by the fact that the congregation met in a fort or blockhouse that stood just a few hundred yards from the structure that stands today. This log fort slowly deteriorated and the members of the church voted to build a new frame sanctuary that was completed in 1857.

Local tradition holds that the church was only the second structure in Washington County, which then included an empty expanse where today's popular resort of Panama City Beach now stands, to have glass windows.

Moss Hill Church played a key role in the War Between the States and stones in the nearby cemetery preserve the memory of a number of its members who were taken prisoner while serving with the local home guard. Carried away to Northern prison camps, they died there far away from home and never returned.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/mosshill1.

The Historic City of Van Buren, Arkansas

If the streets of the beautiful Arkansas city of Van Buren look familiar, there probably is a good reason.

The Arkansas River community doubled for Biloxi, Mississippi, in Matthew Broderick's popular film "Biloxi Blues." The movie made use of numerous settings in and around Van Buren and nearby Fort Smith, including the Boston Mountains, downtown Van Buren and the Arkansas River.

First settled as a trading post and timbering community, Van Buren gained its present name in 1831 when a post office was established there. The name honors Martin Van Buren, who ironically had not yet become President of the United States when the town was named for him.

A stop on the famed Butterfield Overland Stage Route in the years before the Civil War, the growing town saw its commerce all but die during the war years. Occupied by Confederate troops for the first two years of the war, Van Buren played an important role in both the Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove campaigns and the graves of scores of Confederate soldiers can be seen in the city's Fairview Cemetery.

Actual fighting reached the city when it was attacked by the Union Army of the Frontier on December 28, 1862. The attacking force arrived so fast that the citizens of Van Buren were stunned by cavalry riding and fighting along their main street as they watched from the wooden sidewalks.

Today, Van Buren is a charming and prosperous city with a beautiful downtown area. It boasts numerous historic sites and is popular with visitors. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/vanburen.

Isaac C. Parker, the Hanging Judge of Fort Smith, Arkansas

The years following the Civil War were a time of great violence and turbulence in the Indian Nations of today's Oklahoma.

Hundreds of outlaws converged on the Nations, convinced they would be safe there from apprehension by law enforcement officers. They preyed on the innocent citizens of the Nations with impunity, also striking across the borders of Arkansas, Texas, Kansas and Missouri to rob, rape, murder and pillage.

To bring law and order to the region, a former militia officer and Congressman from Missouri was named the U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas. His name was Isaac C. Parker and he became remembered in Western lore and legend as the "Hanging Judge" of Fort Smith.

Parker recruited a brave and daring team of deputy U.S. marshals who rode far and way through the frontier region to bring justice to the unfortunate people preyed upon by the outlaw gangs. These lawmen were memorialized on the big screen in such films as "True Grit" and "Rooster Cogburn" starring John Wayne and "Hang Em High" starring Clint Eastwood. The Hanging Judge was a key figure in all three of those films, as well as in many others.

Parker earned his legendary title because he sent more than 70 outlaws to the gallows in Fort Smith, more than any other Federal judge in U.S. history. Most people do not know, however, that the judge was actually an opponent of capital punishment. Parker didn't believe that it stopped crime, but he imposed the sentences because under Federal law of the time, death was the only legal sentence for many of the crimes tried in his court. Modern generations have also all but forgotten that more than 60 of Judge Parker's officers lost their lives in the line of duty.

The legend of Judge Isaac Parker remains very much alive in the charming and historic city of Fort Smith today. His gallows have been reconstructed and numerous artifacts from the judge's battles against such outlaws as the Dalton gang, the Rufus Buck gang, Cherokee Bill and even Belle Starr can be seen today at Fort Smith National Historic Site. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ARFS6.

C.S.S. Chattahoochee - The Last Wooden Confederate Gunboat

On a walk through the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia, the sheer size of the exhibit containing the wreck of the ironclad C.S.S. Jackson is so astounding that it is easy to walk past the next without recognizing its dramatic significance.

Sitting next to the wreck of the Jackson is a section of the stern of the C.S.S. Chattahoochee, the last surviving Confederate wooden warship. The rest of the ship still rests covered with mud on the bottom of the Chattahoochee River, for which it was named, but the stern section was raised at the same time as the hull of the Jackson and is now on exhibit in the museum.

The C.S.S. Chattahoochee was commissioned on January 1, 1863, at the Confederate Navy Yard in Early County, Georgia. She was then a ship of high hopes. Richmond had sent Lieutenant Catesby ap R. Jones, fresh from his historic service as commander of the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimac) in its battle with the ironclad U.S.S. Monitor, to take complete the new vessel. Jones brought with him a number of other officers and men who had served in the Battle of the Ironclads at Hampton Roads, a clear indication of the importance the Confederacy placed in the C.S.S. Chattahoochee project.

Armed with a powerful 32-pounder rifle, a 9-inch gun and four 32-pounder smoothbores, the Chattahoochee had three retractable masts and two independently operating steam-powered propulsion systems that allowed her to be maneuvered around sharp river bends. The vessel was the most powerful Civil War warship ever to operate on the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint River system.

Unfortunately, she was also the victim of the worst Civil War naval accident to take place on Florida's inland waters. On May 27, 1863, the Chattahoochee was raising steam at Blountstown, Florida, as an early season hurricane swept in from the Gulf of Mexico. One of her gauges was malfunctioning and water was poured into a boiler that was already red hot. It vaporized instantly and exploded through one of the pipes leading into and out of the boiler. Sixteen men were scalded to death where they stood and others were severely injured. Panic followed and the ship was intentionally sunk to the bottom of the river out of fear that the gunpowder in her magazines might explode.

The C.S.S. Chattahoochee was raised a few months later and towed up to Columbus, Georgia, where she was refitted. When Union troops attacked the city in April of 1865, she was set ablaze by her own crew to prevent her capture. The wreck remained in the river for 100 years until it was discovered during a search for the C.S.S. Jackson. The stern was raised at that time and constitutes one of the two original warships now on exhibit at the National Civil War Naval Museum.

If you would like to learn more about the career and horrible explosion aboard the Chattahoochee, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/csschattahoochee. You can learn more about the museum at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/navymuseum.

Albert Pike's School House - An Arkansas Reminder of the Father of Modern Freemasonry

This little log one-room school house in Arkansas holds a unique place in American history.

Its one-time teacher was Albert Pike, who later became a Confederate general and is remembered today as the father of modern Freemasonry.

Pike came to what was then the western frontier from Massachusetts in 1831. An avid explorer, he took part in several hunting and trading expeditions into Texas and New Mexico, walking over 1,100 miles on foot. Exhausted by such rigors, he came to the frontier city of Van Buren in Crawford County, Arkansas, in 1833. He took a job teaching in the little school house that still stands today, educating the youth of rural mountain country in America's time honored way. They sat on wooden benches and wrote on slates as he instructed them in reading, writing and arithmetic.

From here Pike went on to command troops in battle during the Mexican War. He developed a strong attachment to Masonry during the 1840s and in 1859 was elected as the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Southern Division of the Scottish Rite. In 1871, in fact, he published Morals and Dogma, which is considered one of the principal public documents of modern Freemasonry.

Although he opposed secession, Pike stood by his adopted region and was appointed a brigadier general by the Confederacy in November of 1861. He commanded in the Indian Nations of what is now Oklahoma and led troops in battle at Pea Ridge.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pikeschoolhouse.

Grave of one of DeSoto's soldiers? - Van Buren, Arkansas

One of the most unexpected historic sites in the South can be found in the old section of Fairview Cemetery in Van Buren, Arkansas.

It is called the Mystery Grave and local legend holds that is the burial site of one of the men who explored Arkansas with Hernando de Soto and his expedition of Spanish conquistadors in 1541. The origin of the story is not known, but it probably has much to do with the eroded appearance of the stone slabs from which the grave is made and various theories that DeSoto might have made it as far up the Arkansas River as Van Buren during his travels west of the Mississippi.

Another more recent theory is that the Mystery Grave is actually the burial place of a Viking explorer. This unusual theory revolves around claims that Vikings actually lived in Oklahoma more than 1,000 years ago and left such markers as the Heavener Runestone. Self-taught Viking researcher Gloria Farley believed that strange carvings on the Mystery Grave were actually inscriptions left by ancient, unrecorded explorers.

There are markings on the grave, but it appears more likely they are Masonic symbols which provide a probably clue as to the true origin of the unique historic site. So what is the real story of the Myster Grave? Please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/mysterygrave for a possible answer.

Siloam Springs, Arkansas - Historic City on the Oklahoma Border

First settled in around 1835, the modern city of Siloam Springs gained life as an important trading post located just inside the line dividing Arkansas from the Cherokee Nation of what is now Oklahoma.

During the Civil War, the area was devastated by passing armies. Blunt's Division of the Union Army of the Frontier spent much of 1862 camped just north of Siloam Springs and his foraging parties ravaged the area as they searched for food, forage and other supplies. Blunt intentionally destroyed private homes belong to secessionist families across the area and drove the inhabitants away from their lands and farms. Two significant battles - Old Fort Wayne and Prairie Grove - were fought nearby in 1862.

After the war, the area slowly rebounded and in 1879 notice was taken of the numerous mineral springs in the vicinity. The city of Siloam Springs was incorporated in 1881 as visitors swarmed the area in the belief that "taking the waters" of mineral springs could heal them from numerous illnesses and ailments. Within one year of its incorporation, 3,000 people lived in Siloam Springs and the city did a brisk business as a health resort.

A major flood destroyed much of the downtown area in 1892, all but ending the city's days as a health resort. The railroad soon arrived, however, and the community rebounded as an important trading center for the agricultural districts along the border. Siloam Springs today is a charming city with a beautiful downtown area that preserves some of the more than two dozen natural springs in the area. It is also the home of John Brown University and is located just across the border from Oklahoma's famed Natural Falls State Park, setting for the popular movie, "Where the Red Fern Grows."

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/siloamsprings.

Battle of Chickamauga - Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia

On September 19-20, 1863, Confederate and Union armies collided in northern Georgia in one of the most violent battles in American history. By the time it was over, the Battle of Chickamauga had cost the two armies more than 34,000 men killed, wounded or missing in action.

The site of the massive engagement is now preserved as part of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, which is located in and around Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Chickamauga Battlefield is the largest unit of the park and is located just south of Chattanooga at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.

The battle developed when the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by General Braxton Bragg, moved to intercept the Union Army of the Cumberland, led by General William S. Rosecrans. The two armies had waved a campaign of maneuver for several months as Rosecrans advanced on Bragg with an army of 60,000 men. The Confederate general had a much smaller force of 43,000, but held his army intact and withdrew down through Tennessee to North Georgia.

The tide of the campaign turned, however, when General James Longstreets Corps from the Army of Northern Virginia arrived in Georgia to reinforce Bragg. Now at the head of an army similar in size to that of Rosecrans, the Confederate general turned on the Federal army along the west bank of Chickamauga Creek.

The battle began on the morning of September 19, 1863, and for two days the two armies mauled each other on a battlefield that was heavily wooded in place. One the first day, Bragg pushed back the Union lines for more than one mile. Then, on the second day, he started a hammering attack on the Federal left flank that forced Rosecrans to begin shifting troops in that direction. In doing so, the Federals accidentally opened a gap in their lines. When Longstreet's Division attacked, Confederate soldiers led by General John Bell Hood stormed through the gap and pierced the Union lines. The Federal army crumbled and the Confederates won one of the most complete tactical victories of the war.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/chickamauga.

Shiloh Indian Mounds - Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee

The ground on which the Battle of Shiloh was fought was actually of great importance hundreds of years before that Civil War engagement.

Archaeologists believe that a section of the battlefield, overlooking the Tennessee River, was once the central town of a powerful Native American chiefdom that vanished an estimated 800 years ago. Because the Shiloh land was preserved as part of one of the country's first national military parks, the Shiloh Indian Mounds have also been protected from plowing, erosion, looting and other threats. As a result, it is one of the best preserved Mississippian era Native American sites in the country.

All but one of the mounds, which have been designated a National Historic Landmark, are pyramidal in form, with flat tops on which structures of various types once stood. The other mound, oval in shape, was used as a burial site for high status individuals. The entire site was surrounded by a strong palisade made of upright poles plastered with clay.

Surrounding the mounds, the villages of the town were built of "wattle and daub" construction, meaning basically that their walls were made by weaving smaller branches through stronger upright posts and then plastering the whole with clay. When the town was abandoned 800 years ago, the houses gradually collapsed, but the rings left by the falling walls can still be seen today. Shiloh is one of the few places where above ground traces of prehistoric Native American structures are visible.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/shiloh4.

Battle of Shiloh - Shiloh, Tennessee

In April of 1862, Confederate and Union forces mauled each other for two days around a small log church that gave the battle its name - Shiloh.

The Battle of Shiloh was so violent and deadly that it send shock waves across both North and South. The massive battle in the woods of Tennessee left more than 23,000 men and boys dead, wounded or missing. It forever changed the face of war and began to make clear the horrendous cost in blood that the nation would pay before the conflict was decided.

Shiloh today is one of the most pristine Civil War battlefields in the nation. Preserved as Shiloh National Military Park, the battlefield is still in fields and woods just as it was in 1862. Cannon and monuments dot the landscape and visitors can see such places as the Hornet's Nest, where more than 60 Confederate cannon destroyed a Union force of 6,000 men; Bloody Pond, where soldiers of both sides bathed their wounds and turned the water red with blood, and Pittsburg Landing, the objective point of the Confederate army.

To learn more, please visit our new series of pages on the Battle of Shiloh by clicking www.exploresouthernhistory.com/shiloh1. Be sure to check out the additional links at the bottom of the page.

Battle of Jenkins' Ferry - Sheridan, Arkansas

The Red River Campaign of 1864 was one of the most disastrous Union efforts of the entire Civil War.

The campaign as planned called for two Union armies to converge on the strategic city of Shreveport, Louisiana. The first, led by General Nathaniel Banks, advanced up the Red River to Alexandria, Louisiana, and was closing in on Shreveport when it was thrashed at the Battle of Mansfield by the much smaller Confederate army of General Richard Taylor. The defeat so unnerved Banks that he soon was in full retreat back for the Mississippi River, with Taylor nipping at his heels.

The second army, led by General Frederick Steele, marched from the Arkansas cities of Little Rock and Fort Smith and headed southwest for Shreveport. Confederate resistance stiffened as these forces joined and advanced, but supply shortages forced Steele into the fortified city of Camden in southern Arkansas. The Cofnfederates then won major victories at Poison Spring and Marks' Mills as Steele struggled to find provisions for his hungry army.

Finally deciding that he could do no more, Steele turned his army back for Little Rock. Confederate forces did their best to slow him until their reinforcements could come up. On the afternoon of April 29, 1864, they caught him as he was trying to move his wagon train across a pontoon bridge at Jenkins' Ferry on the Saline River.

The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry opened in earnest the next morning at dawn as Confederate troops surged forward into the river swamps of the Saline to attack the Union army. The Federal soldiers took up positions behind hastily constructed breastworks and beat back repeated Southern attacks. Unfortunately for the Confederates, their assaults were poorly coordinated and they were unable to prevail even after catching Steele's army in an exposed position.

The weather was extremely rainy during the hours leading up to the battle and the men of both sides fought in water that was from a few inches to a few feet deep. The conditions were among the most miserable of any battle of the war. It was the last significant encounter of the Arkansas phase of the Red River Campaign.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/jenkinsferry1.

Historic Pensacola Village - Pensacola, Florida

The Historic Pensacola Village is a unique large scale exhibit of historic sites, structures and museums in downtown Pensacola, Florida. It provides visitors the opportunity to walk back in time through numerous eras of Gulf Coast history.

The structures preserved in the village and open for guided tour include homes dating back to the Colonial era. The LaValle House, for example, is a French Creole home that was built in 1805 when Florida was still a Spanish colony. Inside, visitors can see how Pensacola residents lived during that era.

Nearby stands the Julee Cottage, the home of a free black woman named Julee Panton during the years before slavery was abolished. It is one of the few places in America where visitors can learn about the lives of free African Americans during the slave years.

Other highlights of the village include Old Christ Church, built in 1832 and used as a stables by Union soldiers during the Civil War; the 1871 Dorr House and the Folk Victorian style Lear-Rocheblave House. Pensacola's Colonial Archaeological Trail also passes through the historic village, providing exhibits and other information on ruins dating from the colonial era that have been uncovered by archaeologists in the downtown era.

To lear more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pensacola2.

New Fayetteville Section Now Online

A new section exploring the history, historic sites and natural wonders in and around the beautiful Northwest Arkansas city of Fayetteville is now online.

To visit, please click www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fayetteville.

Consistently ranked as one of the top ten places in America to live and work, Fayetteville is a charming and progressive city located on a plateau surrounded by the beautiful Ozark mountains. Founded in 1828 and incorporated in 1836, it is the home of the University of Arkansas and sits in one of the most historic regions of the South.

During the Civil War, major engagements were fought within 30 miles of Fayetteville. The Battle of Pea Ridge, to the north, was one of the largest encounters of the war to that point when it took place on March 7-8, 1862. It was followed on December 7th of that same year by the Battle of Prairie Grove. Both battlefields are now beautifully preserved park areas within easy access of the city.

Other historic sites in and around the city include the site of the Battle of Fayetteville, numerous historic homes and structures, the Confederate and National cemeteries, Devil's Den State Park and the Cane Hill battlefield.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fayetteville.

Arkansas Trail of Holiday Lights

One of the most unique free attractions of the Christmas season is the statewide Trail of Holiday Lights promoted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

The state has put together a directory of the best lighting displays across the state, broken down by region, to help residents and visitors enjoy some of the prettiest scenes of the season. From the towns of the Delta to beautiful mountain settings in the Ouachitas and Ozarks, the driving tour is great family fun.

The photos seen here are of one of the stops on the trail, the courthouse and town square of Paris, Arkansas. Located almost in the shadow of Mt. Magazine, the tallest mountain in the state, Paris is a beautiful and historic community that has turned its central square into a winter wonderland of more than 100,000 lights.

You can read more about the Paris lights and follow a link to the official site of the Arkansas trail of Holiday Lights by clicking www.exploresouthernhistory.com/parislights.

DeSoto State Park - Fort Payne, Alabama

If you are looking for something a little different to do with the family over Christmas vacation, you might be surprised to discover how wonderful of a place Alabama's DeSoto State Park can be during the winter.

This is the time of the year that the park's numerous small (and one huge) waterfalls are often at their best. The spectacular sight of crystal clear water tumbling over rocks and through the ravines and canyons of the park adds sight and sound during the season after the fall leaves are gone.

In addition, the park features miles of hiking trails, a very good restaurant, chalets, cabins and a hotel/lodge. The white lights of the lodge office combine with the beautiful green and red of wild holly to create a nice touch of holiday cheer.

In addition, DeSoto State Park offers easy access to the Little River Canyon National Preserve, a magnificent national park area just a couple of miles away. The canyon is quite picturesque during the winter, as the waterfalls flow well and the reduction in vegetation provides spectacular views.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/desotopark1 and to see photos of the park in winter, be sure to visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/desotowinter.

Confederate Battery on Jekyll Island, Georgia

A major and beautiful resort area on Georgia's Atlantic Coast, Jekyll Island is steeped in the history of America.

Guale Indians once occupied the island, followed in turn by the Spanish, English, Americans and Confederates. Now noted for its spectacular beaches, stunning marsh views and magnificent historic district, Jekyll Island was once a strategic point for the Confederate military as it tried to defend Brunswick harbor from Union attack.

Southern troops built earthwork batteries faced in part with iron taken from railroad lines and placed heavy cannon on the island. The batteries were occupied into 1862 when General Robert E. Lee, then assigned to oversee the defense of Georgia, decided that his limited forces and artillery were too dispersed. He recommended the evacuation of the batteries on Jekyll Island and the guns were moved to Savannah.

The remains of the Confederate batteries are one of the most overlooked historic sites on Jekyll Island. Although the earthworks themselves are located adjacent to the runways of the island's airport and are not open to the public, they can be viewed from a small picnic area on River View next to the airport.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/jekyllbatteries.

Pearl Harbor Day - December 7, 1941

It was 68 years ago today that Japanese aircraft and submarines carried out an unprovoked attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was "a date which will live in infamy."

Beginning that Sunday morning, three waves of Japanese aircraft as well as a small group of submarines attacked both military and civilian targets in Hawaii. It was an attack carried out without warning and without a declaration of war by the Empire of Japan. By the time the fighting was over, 2,345 U.S. servicemen and women and 57 civilians had been killed. Another 1,282 were wounded.

It was the attack that mobilized the Greatest Generation - men, women and children - to stand up for their country and win a war that preserved freedom for the citizens of our own country and many other countries fore 68 years (and counting). I have had the honor, in my life, of knowing several Pearl Harbor survivors and I remember them today with great respect.

There are many places across the South where you can learn more about World War II and the men and women who fought it. Almost every community in our region has either a World War II memorial or the graves of World War II veterans in its cemeteries. Here are a few that might be of interest:

• Battleship U.S.S. Alabama - Mobile, Alabama


• Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore - Pensacola, Florida


• National Naval Aviation Musem - Pensacola, Florida


• F.D.R.'s Little White House - Warm Springs, Georgia


• Fort Gibson National Cemetery - Fort Gibson, Oklahoma


• Fort Moultrie - Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

Hot Springs National Park - Hot Springs, Arkansas

If the cold weather that swept across the South this week has you dreaming about warmer places, there is a place in Arkansas where the steam rises from the mountain sides 365 days a year.

Hot Springs National Park, located in the heart of downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas, preserves the famed "hot springs of the Ouachita." The stunning historic site is considered by many to be America's first national park, and with just reason. The U.S. Government set aside thousands of acres surrounding the springs in 1830 to prevent their exploitation by private developers and preserve them as a national resource.

Long before the action was taken, however, the hot springs had gained fame. They are mentioned in documents relating to the Hernando de Soto expedition of the 1540s and by the 1700s were frequented by early French explorers and fur trappers. President Thomas Jefferson sent an expedition to find the springs in 1804 and by the 1820s visitors from across the United States were already making the trek into the Arkansas mountains to soak in the mysterious waters that many still believe hold healing powers.

By the time of the Civil War, Hot Springs had become a major resort area. Soldiers marching past during the Red River Campaign described a community evacuated due to war. In the years following the War Between the States, the resort rebounded quickly and even attracted the likes of Frank and Jesse James, who vacationed - and committed at least a couple of robberies - in the area.

They were not the only unsavory types who made their way to Hot Springs. The community became known for its gambling and nightlife during the 1920s and 1930s and attracted the likes of Al Capone before Governor Winthrop Rockefeller finally shut down the gambling and cleaned up Hot Springs in 1967. Since then it has developed as a marvelous family resort and treasured historic site.

Steaming water flows down the mountain year round and visitors can even enjoy a soak in slightly cooled water from the springs in a restored historic bathhouse and at several other spas in Hot Springs. As a result, the city is popular year-round. Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs also boasts one of the finest Christmas lighting displays in the South.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/hotspringsindex.