Manifest Destiny

by Jim Cook

Title

Manifest Destiny

Artist

Jim Cook

Medium

Photograph - Photo Infrared Camera Art

Description

Manifest destiny was the belief that America was destined to expand from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific. In doing so, settlers would move to the fringes of occupied territory into a wilderness. These frontier people would farm the land but oftentimes a fort with stockade walls offered protection during conflicts with Native Americans.
The scene pictured here is from the interior of Fort Watauga near what is now Elizabethton Tennessee.
Fort Watauga figures heavily in Tennessee's history as well as American history. 1776 the settlers repelled an attack by a band of Cherokee Indians led by the famous war chief "Dragging Canoe".
1780 saw the Overmountain Men meet at Sycamore Shoals (Sycamore Shoals is a rocky stretch of the Watauga River very near the fort) and march over the mountains to rout the British Loyalists at the Battle of Kings Mountain during the American Revolutionary War.
Fort Watauga was reconstructed on land not far from its original location. The shoals and fort are maintained by the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park. An interpretive museum is on the grounds and a lovely walking path along the river is also a great place to view nature.

Uploaded

February 1st, 2022

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