Joe Wheeler State Park

We’re in another beautiful state park resort, complete with lodge, restaurant, marina, cottages, campground, golf course, trails and more. The scale of these southern publicly-run recreation facilities is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the Upper Midwest.

I must admit at being unfamiliar with the park’s namesake, and found the story of Joseph Wheeler to be fascinating. Born in Georgia to parents from New England, his upbringing was split between the north and south. A diminutive young man, he barely met the minimum height requirement for admission to West Point, and earned his commission in the U.S. Army, graduating 19th out of 22 in his class.

Despite his connections to the Union, he always considered himself a Georgian, and joined the Confederate Army when the Civil War began. “Fighting Joe,” as he was nicknamed, was seemingly everywhere during the war, and he fought in almost every major engagement until he was captured and imprisoned covering the escape of Jefferson Davis when Richmond fell.

After the war, he was elected by Alabamans to the U.S. House of Representatives and served eight terms. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Wheeler volunteered for military duty at age 61, and was appointed a major general by President William McKinley. He saw combat in both Cuba and the Philippines before retiring in 1900, and is one of only two men to serve as a General in both the Confederate and United States Armies. (Bonus points if you can name the other; answer at the end of this post). 

We spent the day both indoors and out, learning more about the Loop route, and our fellow Loopers. The weather is beautiful, with highs in the low 80s and overnight lows in the upper 50s. We had drinks aboard Balclutha Too with new friends Steve, Darci, Janette and Doug before an outdoor dinner, with games and a DJ. After, we got our photo taken on the red carpet: 

Bonus question answer: Fitzhugh Lee, nephew of Robert E. Lee, was the only other officer to serve as a General in both the Confederate and U.S. Armies.