Original subtitles

as many of the dead bodies as they could

bore the brunt of the fighting over two days

when the confederate army launched a surprise attack

while the union soldiers ate breakfast.

critics condemned grant's poor performance

and suggested that he was drunk leading up to the attack.

the next day he commanded his troops

to regain their lost territory,

and that's what they did.

ultimately the south was defeated again.

after the battle the union troops gathered

general grant's men

and buried them with simple wooden crosses.

in 1889 the shiloh national cemetery was created here.

there are 3,584 civil war dead-- 2,359 of them unknown.

andrew jackson, the 7th president of the united states,

arrived in nashville

when tennessee was still the frontier.

he bought 425 acres of land where he would eventually create

his stately southern plantation home, the hermitage.

jackson was not an aristocrat

like the presidents who preceded him.

local conservation groups are working

they lost more than 13,000 of their soldiers

in what was one of the bloodiest battles

fought on the western front.

today the battlefield is a national park.

among its 700 acres is the stones river national cemetery,

established in 1865

and filled with more than 6,000 union graves

and more than 2,000 unknowns.

more than 4,000 acres rest in private hands

and have been consumed by new development and urban sprawl.

he was a scrappy, short-tempered man.

to try and preserve this land

that is in danger of being paved over.

when the last cannons fired at the battle of shiloh,

located a little more than 30 miles away from stones river,

nearly another 24,000 soldiers

were killed, wounded or captured--

more than all the casualties of the revolutionary war,

the war of 1812 and the mexican-american war combined.

ironically, shiloh is a hebrew word

meaning "place of peace."

it resembles a piano, the fin tail of a cadillac,

from a frontier settlement to a thriving city

with a football franchise, a hockey team

and the slicker, glossier world of today's country musicians.

the country music hall of fame in nashville

is filled with mementos

most storied veterans. from some of country music's

patsy cline, elvis presley and johnny cash,

and one of its first inductees, hank williams, sr.

the building is 130,000 square feet.

depending on what angle it's viewed from

nashville has seen a transformation

a bass clef or a radio tower.

the museum is filled with artifacts

that trace the history of country music.

of country music nashville's rise as the capital

came because of the popularity of a radio station.

wsm began broadcasting in 1925.

a live radio show produced here

would change the country music industry forever--

it's the grand ole opry.

the first broadcast took place in october of 1925

ultimately causing the trail of tears.

at the hermitage he grew cotton

and advanced his political career.

jackson led the american forces to defeat the british

at the battle of new orleans in 1812.

his role in that battle

helped jackson win the presidency in 1828.

he served two terms.

probably the most controversial aspect of his presidency,

by modern standards, was his plan

to remove native americans from their land,

it came with a heavy price.

today the hermitage is a popular tourist destination

and one of the oldest historic site museums in the country.

situated as it is just outside nashville,

tennessee's state capital.

some people call it twang town.

locals call it nashvegas.

and while it is the state capital of tennessee,

it's best known as music city

and most of the worlds top country singers call it home.

rattle and snap plantation is an example

deep below the lake sits a turbine pump house

that releases water from the dam when needed

and then pumps it back up to the top

at a rate of seven million gallons per minute.

a modern marvel of engineering. today it's considered

the giant factory feel of this area

is in stark contrast to the rolling hills

plantation country. of middle tennessee's

this nearly 6,000-acre plantation

was won in a game of chance.

and sealed by an 8,500-foot-long dam.

of the lavish scale of many southern homes

built before the civil war.

william polk built the rattle and snap plantation

for his son george.

polk, one of the largest landholders

in tennessee at the time,

won the nearly 6,000-acre tract

in a game of chance that's played with beads.

the game was called rattle and snap.

built in 1853, belle meade is often called

the idea was to create a reservoir

an area hit hard by the great depression.

today the tva is the largest public power company

in the united states

and provides electricity for most of tennessee

and parts of alabama, georgia, kentucky, mississippi,

north carolina and virginia...

an area with a population of more than 8 million people.

in the 1960s the tva was looking for ways

to meet the growing demand for more power

to run new appliances in people's homes.

the "queen of tennessee plantations."

on top of raccoon mountain

and then funnel the water to a turbine

a thousand feet under the mountain.

it was called a waste of taxpayers' money,

wild-eyed, and impractical.

despite the scandal, the tva began work.

over eight years, a manmade lake

holding 60 million cubic yards of water

was created on top of the mountain...

with their fellow southerners in the confederacy.

it is said that the floors of the home

are still stained with the blood of soldiers--

and many of their ghosts are rumored to be here as well.

carnton was not the only place in tennessee

bloodied by civil war battles.

tennessee was the last state in the south

to join the confederacy.

but when president lincoln

called for rebel states to be subdued,

some tennesseans took up arms

were filled with the injured and dying.

the eastern part of the state

remained loyal to the union throughout the war.

more civil war battles were fought here

than in any other state except virginia.

one was the battle of stones river.

80,000 confederate and union soldiers

fought for three days.

there were over 23,000 casualties,

and although the union claimed a victory

and took control of middle tennessee,

and visits from presidents and business leaders.

originally spanning more than 5,000 acres,

nearly 150 people lived here-- mostly slaves.

today the property covers 30 acres

and includes the original mansion

and several of the original outbuildings.

it's owned by the association

for the preservation of tennessee antiquities.

outside of nashville sits the carnton plantation.

built in 1826,

the home was the location of large social gatherings

and played at this building-- the ryman auditorium--

but that all changed at four o'clock in the afternoon

of november 30, 1864,

when carnton came under attack by union troops.

in only five hours of fighting, more than 9,000 soldiers

were killed, wounded or unaccounted for--

most of them confederate soldiers.

the confederacy also lost 12 generals

as casualties that day.

soon the elegantly manicured lawns at carnton

outside of washington, d.c., and new york.

with memphis elvis's name is synonymous

and the city often gets credited as the home of the blues

and the place where rock-n-roll was born,

but its contributions to soul music

are often overlooked.

memphis soul got some attention in 2000

when the smithsonian institution

opened its 8,000-square-foot memphis rock and soul museum

just off beale street--

first permanent exhibition the smithsonian's

make the pilgrimage to graceland each year.

memphis soul was further honored in 2003

when the stax museum of american soul

was opened here.

in the 1960s, stax records

was the second best soul record label in the country,

after motown.

memphis soul was grittier and born out of the blues.

al green, isaac hayes and otis redding

are only a few of the artists who recorded at stax.

black and white musicians worked alongside each other at stax,

to record his first song.

and not too far away there's another one.

on july 5th in 1954,

sam phillips was sitting in his office here at sun records

when a 19-year-old walked in the door

and sang "that's all right."

that young man was elvis presley,

and the song became an overnight sensation.

during the hourly tours given here,

visitors can touch the microphone

and stand on the exact spot where elvis stood

a rarity in a largely segregated city.

for those who need a bigger fix of elvis,

just a short way south there's plenty to be seen

on old u.s. highway 51.

when he was just 22 years old,

elvis bought graceland, a 14-acre estate.

he died here 20 years later.

in 1982, graceland opened to the public as a museum.

tourists can even visit one of his private jets.

nearly 650,000 visitors

like this hawker sea fury

in the world. it's the sixth largest pyramid

once used as a sports arena and concert venue,

today it stands empty.

the nearby fedex forum took over as the main venue in town.

fedex forum is only one small part

of the federal express presence here in memphis.

are here, too. the company's headquarters

fedex is the largest employer in memphis

with more than 30,000 employees and a super hub at the airport.

sometimes even vintage world war two planes

at 321 feet tall,

fly over memphis,

a city that will always be known

for the rich musical traditions born here.

from its ancient eastern mountains

to its rolling central hills...

and very musical west end...

tennessee tells the story of america's expansion west,

and all of the celebration and sadness that came with it.

from the air, tennessee is a natural beauty--

rugged, inviting and infused with the spirit of a nation.

across from the motel

but that racial harmony came to an end in 1968

largely because of event that took place

not too far from stax recording studios.

this building is part of the national civil rights museum

founded to commemorate the events

of the 4th of april, 1968.

on that date, at 6:01 p.m., martin luther king jr.

was shot and killed here in memphis

at the nearby lorraine motel.

this building was originally the rooming house

addresses in popular music. it's one of the most storied

where james earl ray allegedly fired the fatal shot.

the museum chronicles the struggle for racial equality

from the days of slavery up through dr. king's death.

today, memphis is still known and visited

for the musical revolutions that began here.

it's also a five-time winner

award. of the "nation's cleanest city"

in 1991, planners wanted to create a visual landmark here.

they decided to build the great american pyramid.

an exact replica of the greek parthenon

was buried in the walls of the building.

completed in 1859,

the capital sits on a hill overlooking the city.

most prominent citizens many of tennessee's

are honored here.

president james polk and his wife are both buried here.

the greek revival building

is one of the oldest working state capitols in the country.

at the time nashville was dubbed the athens of the south.

so the citizens built themselves

and according to his wishes

celebration in 1897. for the state's centennial

so many of america's characters

have come from these rolling hills:

the famous frontiersman davy crockett and sam houston.

but many would argue that you'd have to head west

most vivid characters. to find tennessee's

separated from the rest of the state

by the tennessee river,

west tennessee has its own culture and folklore.

highway 61, also known as the blues trail,

nevertheless, today the opry is an institution.

from 1943 to 1974.

the grand ole opry

is the longest continuous running live radio show

in u.s. history.

in 1954, a teenager named elvis presley

walked through these doors and performed here.

when he was done, one of the show's organizers

told him he should stick to his day job

as a trucker in memphis.

elvis never performed at the opry again.

cuts north through the mississippi delta,

it's not just a tennessee icon

but also a potent symbol of american culture.

history began of course, nashville's

long before high-rise buildings

or when the first country singer came to town.

nashville became the permanent capital of tennessee in 1843.

two years later work began on a state capitol building.

the architect, william strickland,

died while the capital was being built

and here on beale street it was blues central.

their methods for creating music

would have a lasting impact on every form of american music,

beginning with the blues.

african american musician and bandleader w.c. handy

began to experiment with the unusual rhythms and cadence

of the former slaves' music.

at his headquarters on beale street,

handy wrote a wildly popular song called "the memphis blues."

handy brought the music to a much wider audience

and today is known as the father of the blues.

they would sing and clap, do field hollers and work songs.

by the 1920s, the sounds of the blues

rang out on the streets of memphis.

especially here on beale street.

in these clubs and restaurants

was played some of the hottest music in the country.

over the next 20 years, louis armstrong, muddy waters

and many other blues legends performed on beale street.

in the '70s, beale street

was officially declared "the home of the blues"

by an act of the united states congress.

cotton was king.

the birthplace of the blues--

and leads to memphis, the breeding ground

musical gifts to the world. of some of america's greatest

sitting right on the mississippi river,

in its early days memphis was a busy port city

and a center for the southern slave trade.

the soil and climate of much of west tennessee

were perfect for growing cotton

and as a result, much of the land here

was dominated by large plantations.

in the tennessee valley,

but having so much cotton was only good if it could be sold.

in 1873, the memphis cotton exchange was created.

cotton farmers would come to this building downtown

and sell their harvest to traders

who would then sell it to textile manufacturers.

the cotton was shipped out of memphis on steamboats

and in later years on trains.

the cotton fields were worked by slaves.

during their arduous days in the field

called the land the place of blue smoke

part of which is now a national park.

further south in the appalachians

sits the most visited national park

in the united states:

the great smoky mountains.

this national park covers more than 500,000 acres.

geologists believe these mountains

are millions of years old--

much older than the rocky mountains.

the cherokee indians living here

or were carried across the cumberland gap,

because of the smoky blue haze that sits over the mountains.

in the early 1900s,

lumber companies moved in and began logging here.

within 20 years,

despite the protests of conservationists,

two thirds of the trees had been cut down.

in 1934 congress established the great smoky mountains

as a national park.

animal species it's home to countless

including at least 700 black bears.

line its sides.

but even two centuries ago

it was the early american version of a superhighway.

called the cumberland gap,

it was one of the most important routes

for early settlers, native americans,

and possibly even bison.

the gap is a low point

in the cumberland region of the appalachian mountains,

where the states of virginia, kentucky and tennessee all meet.

steep cliffs that rise hundreds of feet off the valley floor

the park has more species of plants

scientists believe the path was created by stream erosion

that took place over millions of years.

american colonists, barricaded by the mountains,

were anxious for a way to expand west.

so pioneer daniel boone led a team of 30 men

to mark and cut a trail giving access to settlers

who used it to journey to the western frontiers

of kentucky and tennessee.

this part of the gap was called the wilderness trail.

hundreds of thousands of people either walked, rode

some were cynical about the choice of knoxville

today, it's known mostly

for a giant theme park called dollywood,

co-owned by tennessee native

and country music superstar dolly parton.

a vintage steam train runs through this 125-acre park,

which combines crafts native to this region

with thrill rides and water parks.

it was named dollywood to draw dolly parton fans

who might be coming to tennessee for another attraction.

knoxville was the site of the 1982 world's fair.

with no paved roads.

as the site for the fair.

a wall street journal writer called knoxville

a "scruffy little city."

maybe that was just the impetus the city needed.

the fair was the last successful world's fair held in america,

with 22 countries and more than 50 corporations participating.

11 million visitors came for the experience

and the fair made a profit of exactly $57.

today, the most striking reminder of the fair

is the sunsphere, a 266-foot tower

resting at the foothills

than any other area on the continent.

biosphere reserve it's an international

and a world heritage site.

bordering the great smoky mountains national park

is a beautiful but often overlooked treasure.

the 640,000-acre cherokee national forest

follows the ancient ridges

of the southern appalachian mountains,

their valleys filled with a chain of lakes.

of land in tennessee. it's the largest public tract

these roads were originally just a mountain trail,

and surrounded on three sides by the smokies is gatlinburg,

a destination for vacationing tourists.

the sky lift takes riders on a 500-foot ascent

over gatlinburg to the top of crockett mountain.

and the aerial tramway is one of the largest in the country.

the two 120-passenger counterbalanced cars

lift off to take passengers

wintertime ski runs. to gatlinburg's

in the 1900s pigeon forge was a small mountain village

the french and british also arrived

tennessee was home to the cherokee indians.

in 1540, spanish explorer hernando de soto

was the first european to travel

to what would eventually become tennessee,

on a quest to find silver and gold.

he crossed the mississippi near this point.

de soto never did find silver or gold,

and in 1542,

he died on the banks of the mississippi river.

more than 100 years later,

long before elvis got here,

to stake their claims here.

fort loudon,

the first planned fort on the western frontier,

was built by the british in 1756

to keep the french army out of the appalachian region

and to maintain the alliance

the brits had formed with the cherokee tribe.

but that alliance turned to disaster.

over time, betrayal and mistrust left the cherokee weary,

and they surrounded the fort

most controversial public works programs,

is bordered on the east by the majestic appalachian mountains

and on the west by the mighty mississippi river.

what lies between

is a spectacular range of images--

nearly 20,000 miles of rivers and streams,

stunning geological formations,

quiet fields,

where some of the bloodiest battles of the civil war

were fought.

it's home to one of america's

until the british families living there

and the most visited national park

in the united states.

what other state can claim ownership

of the grandest icon of country music,

the birthplace of the blues,

and the homes of the queen of soul

and the king of rock-n-roll?

an aerial trip through tennessee is a magical, musical ride

over timeless wonders.

its history and culture

today, this land is owned

by the eastern band of the cherokee indians,

and a museum to promote understanding

of the cherokee culture was built.

modern tennessee has three distinct regions,

officially known as three grand divisions.

west tennessee is made up

of lush farmlands, cities, and small towns

built on the banks of the mississippi river

and reaching to the tennessee river.

was said to be 95%.

are distinct from the rest of the state.

this region has had a significant influence

on american music.

middle tennessee is home to the state』s capital, nashville.

while memphis may have brought america

the blues and rock-n-roll,

nashville is the world capital for country music.

but our journey begins in eastern tennessee,

a region filled with dense forests

and breathtaking mountains.

or what he called "talking leaves,"

ran out of food and water.

the present-day fort is a replica of the original

and surrounded by a man-made lake.

it is recognized as a national historic landmark.

just south of fort loudon

sits the birthplace of a mixed-blood cherokee indian

named sequoyah,

now marked by a stylish museum complex.

fascinated by the european immigrants' ability

to communicate with marks on paper,

with a 75-foot high giant globe on top.

sequoyah was convinced

that a written form of language would help his people.

he spent 12 years working on a system of writing

for the cherokee language.

it quickly became

the official written language of the cherokee.

newspapers and books were printed,

and in just a few years

the literacy rate of the cherokee

one can see seven states.

sitting atop the mountain

is a one of a kind piece of americana.

part nature, part fantasy,

rock city features caves and ancient rock formations

carved by nature over millions of years.

as a tourist attraction rock city's history

dates back to before the great depression,

when a local businessman wanted to turn the area

into a residential community called "fairyland."

here it is said that on a clear day

lookout mountain rises up over the city of chattanooga.

about a hundred years earlier,

lookout mountain had grabbed the attention

of another man with dreams.

in 1852, colonel james whiteside built a road to his property

on the top of the mountain.

he called it point lookout.

during the civil war,

point lookout became an observation post.

the confederate army held the mountain

but in 1863 union forces led by general ulysses s. grant

the verdict was overturned on appeal.

news of the impending trial traveled quickly.

and this man, william jennings bryan,

known for his crusade against darwinism,

offered his services as a prosecutor for free.

an agnostic, that's when clarence darrow,

offered to defend mr. scopes-- also for free.

it was called the monkey trial

because of its association with evolution.

scopes was found guilty and fined $100.

however, a year later

won a decisive victory and took over the mountain

the rhea county courthouse is still in use,

and its most famous trial raised issues

debated in america to this very day.

chattanooga, the fourth largest city in tennessee,

is located on a seven-mile bend in the tennessee river

near the border of georgia.

on a song about a train, the town's fame rests

the invention of moon pies

and a poetically named civil war battle.

many walked barefoot the entire way

deemed chattanooga the dirtiest city in america.

embarrassed and humiliated,

city leaders mounted an $850 million cleanup.

today the city is vibrant and the air is clean.

today's highways heading west

bear no sign of an earlier, more painful journey.

it became known as the trail of tears.

from may 1838 through march 1839,

the federal government removed 16,000 cherokee indians

from tennessee, alabama, georgia and north carolina.

that the environmental protection agency

from east tennessee to oklahoma.

4,000 native americans it's believed that more than

died on the journey.

the development of raccoon mountain

is the result of another federal plan.

the tennessee valley authority was created in 1933

and signed into law by president franklin roosevelt.

its mission was to provide flood control

and cheap electric power,

and to improve economic development

to the men who fought and died here.

in what was called the "battle above the clouds."

today visitors can ride up

one of the steepest passenger railways in the world.

at the top of the incline sits point park,

part of the chickamauga- chattanooga

national military park.

the new york peace memorial,

featuring a union and confederate soldier

shaking hands,

is just one of the monuments

in july of 1925, john scopes was arrested for teaching darwinism.

when the civil war ended chattanooga continued to be

a major railroad hub and industrial center.

it was known as the dynamo of dixie

big band swing song and inspired glenn miller's

"chattanooga choo choo."

but the mountains that made chattanooga such a scenic town

also trapped in the pollution being created here.

in 1969,

walter cronkite announced on the cbs evening news

one thousand families left their small farming communities

is ten miles long and two miles wide--

the whole thing surrounded by a high chain-linked fence,

topped with barbed wire

and patrolled by guards on horseback.

this area used to be filled with small farming towns--

until 1942.

america was at war, and suddenly the farmers here

began getting visits from federal officials.

they only wanted one thing, all of the land.

reluctantly, and with little choice,

oak ridge, tennessee,

and soon thousands of engineers,

scientists and construction workers

swarmed into the new land.

construction began and three huge windowless buildings

were erected within months.

oak ridge had a secret.

of the 75,000 people who lived and worked here,

only one percent knew what was really going on.

workers were told, "loose lips sink ships."

meanwhile, some of the most brilliant scientific minds

of women's basketball here,

the window panels are layered in 24-carat gold dust

and an observation deck offers visitors views of the city.

third largest city knoxville is tennessee's

capital from 1796 through 1819. and was the state's first

the city sits on the tennessee river

and is home to the university of tennessee, the volunteers.

chartered in 1794, today u.t. has nearly 30,000 students.

but basketball is what the vols are most famous for--

women's basketball.

given the success and large following

in the united states

it seemed the only logical place

basketball hall of fame. to have the national women's

built in 1999, the hall of fame honors both men and women

who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball.

the ball that sits on the roof is 30 feet high, weighs 10 tons

and sits on top of a glass staircase

that was created to resemble a basketball net.

a few miles northwest of knoxville

is a town that was born in secrecy.

recognized by the national park service

the spring water piped into the distillery

from a nearby limestone cave.

ironically, lynchburg, tennessee, is a dry town,

so while the whiskey can be distilled here,

it can't be purchased.

following an infection from a broken toe,

daniel died from blood poisoning in 1911

and is buried near the distillery,

now a national historic landmark.

tennessee is home to 28 sites

from his secret ingredient--

as historic landmarks.

one of them, located 131 miles from lynchburg

in the small town of dayton,

was home to a publicity stunt

that turned into one of the most famous trials

in american history.

in this courthouse, in 1925, tennessee passed the butler act,

a law that made it illegal to teach any theory

that denied the biblical story of creation--

specifically, darwin's theory of evolution.

by the united states department of energy for federal projects.

were working to produce

the most powerful bomb the world had ever known.

oak ridge was part of the manhattan project,

highly secret initiative the american government's

to develop an atomic bomb.

and on august 6, 1945,

when america dropped an atomic bomb on hiroshima,

it ultimately brought world war two to an end.

even today, aircraft must keep their distance from the site

and the buildings are still used

tennessee, america's 16th state,

in the tennessee hills. oak ridge isn't the only secret

this is the home of the oldest registered distillery

in the united states

and its renowned whiskey, named after jasper newton daniel,

better known as jack daniel.

when he was just a teenager,

jack daniel bought his whiskey distillery

from a local lutheran minister.

he handcrafted the sour mash whiskey