Sunday, March 21, 2021

Crooked Creek Civil War Museum

A gem of the area we were in is the Crooked Creek Civil War Museum in Vinemont, AL. Fred Wise, the owner, purchased 400 +/- acres for $500 an acre back in 1981. He later had it surveyed and found he had 600 acres.

As he worked to clean up the property he began finding bullet holes in rocks and cannon balls in the stone walls. It turns out his property is the site of a Civil War battle where Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and Union Colonel Abel Streight fought for several hours at Crooked Creek, then went on to engage in the Battles of Hog Mountain and Day's Gap in April 1863.

He says "I didn't know this was an actual battle site when my wife, Brenda, and I bought the land in 1981, but learned about it after four years here. The hillsides were all grown up, thick with weeds under the trees, and we didn't know that beneath the brush was proof a battle had happened here. But once we started clearing off the hills, we found concave holes where soldiers had entrenched themselves for protection during battle and bullet holes in big rocks."

The pistol I'm holding has 10 notches in the wooden handle. Couldn't do that today as the evidence would be held against you!

He said the worst thing he did was destroying a pile of rotted logs across the creek. "At the time, when we first bought this place, I thought the debris was jamming the creek. Little did I know those logs were probably a part of history," he said, shaking his head. "I've regretted doing that ever since I found out what I destroyed." The logs were actually part of a bridge that the Union Army used to move their cannons and equipment across the creek.

Wise had been a Civil War buff and collector before he bought the land, but once he realized the historic significance of his property, he made plans to preserve the area. Today he hosts visitors at the museum housed in the old Vinemont Stagecoach Inn, which he bought and moved years ago to preserve a piece of Cullman, AL history.

Confederate flag, complete with bullet holes

The museum has had visitors from foreign countries including New Zealand, Denmark, South Africa and about every state in the USA. One visitor said her great-grandfather, who was with the 1st Alabama Calvary, was captured in the battle at Crooked Creek. He had passed along valued historic documents, which she donated to the museum. 

Wise is a great story teller and makes the battle come alive as he explains the drama which occurred so long ago. "You have to imagine what this place looked like back then, and from historic records I've studied, it says these hillsides were covered with thick pines and provided cover for advancing soldiers." A book for sale in the museum, The Lightning Mule Brigade - Abel Steight's 1863 Raid into Alabama, gives some insight into what happened at Crooked Creek, with a personal account by a Sergeant from the 3rd Ohio Union Calvary. "After sundown we came to Crooked Creek, the crossing of which was found tedious owing to the delay in doing so to allow the thirsty animals to drink. The enemy pressed us severely, and came near cutting off the Third Ohio, which was bringing up the rear. After crossing, Colonel Hathaway took the Seventy-third into position, where it dismounted, formed into line, advanced a short distance, ranks, stopping them long enough for the Third Ohio to cross."

In another passage, one of the Confederate soldiers writes about the Battle of Hog Mountain, two miles past Crooked Creek. "The pine trees were very tall, and the darkness of their shade was intense, the mountain where the enemy was posted was steep, and as we charged again and again, under Forrest's own lead it was a grand spectacle. It seemed that the fires which blazed from their muskets were almost long enough to reach our faces. There was one advantage in being below them; they often fired above our heads in the darkness."

Wise knows the details of each item displayed, which includes a rare 1863 cooking pot, unit insignias, an authentic 1862 Allegheny Arsenal saddle, as well as other Civil War saddles; a Confederate Lorenz-Jager .72 carbine, modified by Indians, and other weapons. He has unearthed bullets, a brass cannon ball, belt buckles and other artifacts on his property. Some Civil War collectors have donated cherished items.

Fred Wise
Also on the property is an 1830s cabin originally from Somerville, near Decatur, which was re-assembled at the museum site. It serves as a bed and breakfast, although you "have to make your own bed, and your own breakfast."

Wise says you can't put a price on the history of this place. "I even discovered that Davy Crockett and the Tennessee Volunteers passed through here on their way to join Andrew Jackson in the fight against Creek Indians."

The museum is also the burial site of about 80 Confederate soldiers, although there are no markers or records. After the war, the Union Army retrieved the bodies of their fallen soldiers, moving them to a military cemetery. But the Confederate soldiers remained in their unmarked graves.

All of this history is priceless. But the real gem is Fred Wise himself, a treasure of information who gives you a personal tour and stories about the items in the museum, as well as the ghost hunters that have come to investigate reports of paranormal activity. He has pictures of apparitions that are very hard to dispute.


Photo of ghost soldier

(Some of the above information is from my own conversation with Fred Wise, and some is from the Alabama Tourism website.)

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