The Chickamauga Battlefield, known simply as "the Battlefield" to locals, is the site of a bloody three day battle during the American Civil War. Now a national park, it is home to an impressive amount of wildlife, history buffs, and monuments to the events that took place on site. The most impressive of the monuments is Wilder Tower, named after Union Col. John T. Wilder, who led a successful defense of the hill against Confederate forces. Standing an impressive 85 feet high, spiral stairs lead to the top of the tower, giving those who climb an unmatched view of the park.
Legend has it that on a summer night many years ago, several young people dared one another to climb the tower (as a local to the area, I can attest to the likelihood of just such a thing occurring. Think of it as an intro to many "Hold my beer." moments). One young man took the challenge and scaled the lightning rod, which led to a gun slot, where he entered. Upon reaching the turret, he shouted out to his friends, who were nearby. Basking in the glow of achievement, he began his descent down the stairs. Suddenly, his friends heard screams from inside of the tower. In a panic, the young man ran down the staircase and jumped out of what he thought was the gun slot through which he had entered the tower. He was wrong. Mistakenly jumping out of the gun slot situated above his point of entry, he fell about 25 feet onto the concrete base of the tower, suffering great damage, and becoming paralyzed for the rest of his life. What could have frightened him so greatly? We'll discuss that in a later posting.
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