Scenic Roots

"Scenic Roots" offers conversations that matter in the heart of Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley.From the mountains to the river, our conversations are rooted deep within every corner of our community - reflecting who we are, who we were and who we can become.We engage with the news that affects our community, behind and beyond the headlines. We build bridges that span from creators and innovators to storytellers and the outdoors. We focus on our challenges as many communities in one - as we celebrate what inspires us. We resonate with countless voices - in words and spaces, sounds and songs.We are "Scenic Roots."Ray Bassett hosts and produces "Scenic Roots" at WUTC.

Preserving The History At Tennessee’s Civil War Battlefields

WUTC | By Ray Bassett

Published September 12, 2024 at 11:26 PM EDT

Cannons at Shiloh National Military Park.

One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War was fought between Union and Confederate troops in Southwest Tennessee.

Nearly 24,000 soldiers died in the Battle of Shiloh, near Tennessee’s border with Mississippi, in 1862.

Today, the battlefield is preserved at Shiloh National Military Park.

Dr. Timothy Smith is a former National Park Service ranger at Shiloh who now teaches history at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

He is the first speaker in this fall’s Rita Vital Memorial Moccasin Bend Fall Lecture Series here in Chattanooga - presented by National Park Partners - on Monday, September 16th at the Tennessee Aquarium’s River Journey Auditorium, starting at 7 PM.

I spoke with Dr. Smith - and Tricia King Mims, executive director of National Park Partners.