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Trip Day:
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203
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Latitude:
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36°25.54'
N
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Locks Today:
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0
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Miles Today:
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36
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Longitude:
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087°34.51' W
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Locks Total:
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93
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Total Miles:
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4,240
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Location:
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Cumberland, TN Abandoned Lock Wall
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Our little cove off Dry Creek proved to be a quiet and safe anchorage for the night. A light mist greeted us as we crawled out of bed and peered out. 
Within a mile we officially crossed the state line—welcome to Tennessee! This is bass boat territory—within that mile we must have seen 20 bass boat fishermen. This area is also steeped with history. In 1862 Union troops moved a fleet of four ironclad ships, two timberclad ships, transports and hospital boats upriver intent on attacking confederate Fort Donelson. Union forces were able to encircle the fort and forced 13,000 Confederate troops to surrender. It was the first major victory for the Union and General Ulysses S. Grant gained national prominence. 
The gun emplacements on the hill are still visible where Ft. Donelson stood. Ft. Donelson National Cemetery, where more than 500 Civil War soldiers were buried, is nearby.
Around the bend the historic Dover Hotel still stands. On a February Sunday in 1862 General Grant rode up to this building and accepted an unconditional surrender from the Confederate General Simon B. Buckner. At mile marker 90 we entered the 8,862-acre Cross Creeks National Wildlife refuge. Prehistoric sites have been found dating back to 8,000 B.C. in this area.
The TVA Cumberland steam plant, with its 1,000-foot high stacks, began operating in 1973. The tall stacks are no longer in use, the 600 foot new technology stacks made them obsolete. The Cumberland City ferry crossed in front of us—it is the only ferry still operating on the Cumberland.
We tied off on an abandoned wall of the old Lock & Dam “C” at mile marker 108.5 for the night. We are just outside the channel, but secure.
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