Encore: Huntsville and the World Stage

HUNTSVILLE AND THE WORLD STAGE – REMEMBRANCES HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Written by Nancy Wilkinson Van Valkenburgh Photos by Richard Van Valkenburgh

The first moon landing, known worldwide, was powered by the Saturn V Rocket designed under the direction of NASA engineers at Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal. But even from its earliest days, Hunt’s Spring (now Huntsville) touched the world and was touched by it.

Settlers started moving into what is now Huntsville and Madison County in 1805. The Cherokee and Chickasaw tribes officially ceded their land to the U. S. Government by a treaty in 1805-1806, leading to increased settlement from pioneers from several states including Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.

Some of these earliest settlers were Veterans of the American Revolutionary War. Some of them are buried in the Harris Hill cemetery which is located in a fast developing area on Highway 72 near Chase Industrial Park. The most recent Harris Hill home was demolished in May 2022 but its original cemetery survives as a result of the efforts of the Twickenham Town Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution assisted by family members and by Cole Walker, one of the last residents of the property.

In 1813, Alabama was again on the world stage as native tribes aligned with either Great Britain or the new nation, The United States of America, in the War of 1812. Word came that the hostile Red Creeks were threatening Huntsville, so troops under General Andrew Jackson marched 32 miles in five hours from Fayetteville, Tenn. to Huntsville without stopping. The spot where he was believed to have camped with his troops is in downtown Huntsville on Lincoln Street. Later information indicated the camp may have been located in what is now Brahan Springs Park.

In any case, the troops left Huntsville to go to Horseshoe Bend where they won the battle. Jackson later defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans, a victory which confirmed the status of the United States of America as an independent nation.

In 1898, the world again knocked on Huntsville’s door. The Spanish-American War was another revolution of the New World in Cuba against its Old World colonial ruling power, Spain, as the American Revolution had been against its own colonial power. The loss of life from the explosion of the United States Navy ship, Maine, precipitated the entry of the United States into the conflict with Spain in Cuba.

Among the American troops serving in the Spanish-American War was the 10th Cavalry of the Buffalo Soldiers. These Buffalo Soldiers were in several battles in Cuba including going up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt. They received six Medals of Honor. After that war, the 10th Cavalry under “Black Jack” Pershing was sent to Huntsville to recuperate.

The lineage of the 10th Cavalry dates to four African American units formed in July 1866 with soldiers who had fought in the Civil War. After formation, these units were sent to battle Native-American tribes in the west where the Cheyenne and Comanche tribes called them “Buffalo Soldiers.”

In 1918, Buffalo Soldiers and many others went to France to fight again with General “Black Jack” Pershing in World War I. During that war, France transported many men and horses in boxcars that carried 40 men or 8 horses.

The Forty-and-Eight boxcars also were used in World War II. And, after the terrible devastation of that war, Americans sent “The Friendship Train”, 700 boxcars worth of donated supplies to France. In 1949, as a measure of thanks from the French people, 49 boxcars of gratitude (Merci trains) filled with gifts from French citizens were sent to each state (48 at the time) with the 49th to be shared by Washington, D.C. and the territory of Hawaii.

In the years after it arrived from France, Alabama’s boxcar survived many perils

finally to be saved and restored by dedicated volunteers. Now housed in the U. S. Veterans Memorial Museum at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, it can be seen along with artifacts and equipment from the American Revolutionary War to the present.

As President Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” And we can add, so is its story. We are fortunate that freedom and its story survive here. n

Andrew Jackson was a special friend of Huntsville, visiting the Green Bottom Inn and racetrack, owning land, and visiting Masonic Meetings of the Helion Lodge.

Harris Hill Cemetery. Revolutionary War veterans rest throughout Madison County, their names enshrined at Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial Park. The Buffalo Soldier Monument is one of three in the nation: Cavalry Hill in Huntsville; West Point; and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The Merci Train given to Alabama after World War II can be seen at the U. S. Veterans Memorial Museum in Huntsville's John Hunt Park.