Tales from the road: Soaring over 'Fort Sweaty'/Fort Defiance

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The humidity was, like, a billion percent Sunday afternoon here in Middle Tennessee, so naturally I travelled roughly an hour from Nashville to Clarksville for a tattoo of Mrs. B on my forearm at Love Blood Ink (kidding) and a launching of my drone at Fort Defiance.

"Fly" Williams

Over the past year, I’ve examined impressive earthworks at Rocky Face Ridge, Ga., Petersburg, Va., Kennesaw Mountain, Ga., and points in between, so run-of-the-mill earthworks don’t float my boat. But the preserved works at Fort Defiance — built by slaves and soldiers for the Confederacy in November 1861 — sure are tall and well-preserved and may qualify for a spot on my Civil War Earthworks Power Rankings.

After parking, I made a beeline for the air-conditioned comfort of the Fort Defiance visitors center, where a sweet woman at the front desk gave me clearance for a drone takeoff. (Energized for a launching, I skipped the 18-minute movie and nice displays in the VC.)

Within minutes, I had my Ruko F11 Pro in the air, slicing through the oppressive humidity like a fireplace poker though ashes and soaring as high as 350 feet for views of the fort and Cumberland and Red rivers and Clarksville beyond. (Clarksville, by the way, is home of Austin Peay University, where one of my all-time favorite college basketball players — the legendary “Fly” Williams — averaged 29.4 points in 1972-73 but got waxed by Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAAs, 108-66. But I digress…)

Confederates abandoned the fort after soldiers commanded by U.S. Grant conquered forts Donelson and Henry upriver and wreaked havoc in the area in the winter of ‘62. But the Rebels reconquered the defenses in August 1862 before the United States Army took over the place for good the next month. The bluecoats called the place Fort Bruce.

On this muggy afternoon, someone should have rechristened it “Fort Sweaty” because I needed a change of clothes after only two 15-minute drone runs. Ugh. And we have no hot water for showers after the water heater went out Saturday.

Psst: Let’s keep my fort drone runs between us. Mrs. B is already worried the flying camera may take out a transformer in the neighborhood. And let’s keep history alive. 👊