From March 15th Baldwin CountyNow "Cannon replica to fire to mark opening of Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa" by Curt Chapman. The hotel is located near Fairhope, Alabama and overlooks Mobile Bay. Unfortunately, this would not be a place I could afford to stay. A one night special which includes the Bellingrath Garden starts at $253. More than I'd be willing to pay. Found a $179 deal.
A replica of an 1862 Tredegar Ironworks bronze cannon will be fired at the grand opening of the new resort and 365 days a year. It was commissioned four months ago by Dr. David Bronner, CEO of the resort. Tredegar Ironworks was the Confederacy's premier arms maker.
It will be the featured attraction of a new cannon park and, if firing live ammunition, could throw a 6 pound projectile 1,523 yards with a 1.25 black powder charge.
The Civil War
The original structure of the Grand Hotel was built in 1847 and was used as a base hospital during the Civil War when it was garrisoned by the 21st Alabama.
More than 300 Confederate soldiers died there and are buried in a mass grave shoulder-to-shoulder at Confederate Rest, a cemetery on the hotel grounds. Burial records were kept at the hotel until destroyed in a fire in 1869.
World War II
During WWII it was part of Operation Ivory Soap. The Army Air Corps was given permission to use the hotel as a Maritime Training School. No soldiers wore combat boots in the hotel to protect the beautiful hardwood floors.
Officers and enlisted men lived in the hotel Navy-style. Floors were referred to as decks and bathrooms as heads.
Around 5,000 men went to war from here and took part in various Pacific landings.
Now, Operation Ivory Soap is an interesting name. I guess because it floats and doesn't sink.
A Hotel with Quite a History and an Appreciation of Its Heritage. --B-Runner
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