Spencer in Van Buren County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Camp Forrest

Spencer Artillery Range

— ca. 1941-1946 —

Camp Forrest Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Gillard, February 13, 2011

1. Camp Forrest Marker

Inscription. In January 1941, the Army began construction of the 30,617-acre Spencer Artillery Range as an annex of Camp Forrest. Intended as a firing range for heavy artillery, it was utilized by other units, including infantry. The 2nd Ranger Battalion practiced rappelling and bluff scaling here on the Rocky River Gulf. During the D-Day invasion, that same battalion scaled the bluffs at Point du Hoc near Omaha Beach in Normandy.

Erected by Tennessee Historical Commission. (Marker Number 2C 25.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Historical Commission series list. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1941.

Location. 35° 35.241′ N, 85° 28.25′ W. Marker is in Spencer, Tennessee, in Van Buren County. It is at the intersection of Shelby A. Rhinehart Memorial Highway (Tennessee Route 111) and Trail of Tears Road, on the right when traveling north on Shelby A. Rhinehart Memorial Highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Spencer TN 38585, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker

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is in Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau

and in the Highland Rim.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Trail of Tears (here, next to this marker); Gilbert Gaul, Civil War Painter (approx. 7.2 miles away); Fall Creek Falls (approx. 8½ miles away); Burritt College (approx. 11 miles away); War on the Plateau (approx. 11 miles away); Van Buren County Civil War Monument (approx. 11.1 miles away); Van Buren County Veterans Memorial (approx. 11.1 miles away); Van Buren County Veterans Monument (approx. 11.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Spencer.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Looking south on KY-111 at the nearby Trail of Tears Road. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, July 12, 2019

2. Looking south on KY-111 at the nearby Trail of Tears Road.

On west side of intersection is Greenfields Road.

Rangers from 2nd Ranger Battalion demonstrate the rope ladders they used to scale Pointe du Hoc. image. Click for full size.

Public domain

3. Rangers from 2nd Ranger Battalion demonstrate the rope ladders they used to scale Pointe du Hoc.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 1, 2019. It was originally submitted on February 13, 2011, by Tom Gillard of Tullahoma, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 2,199 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on February 13, 2011, by Tom Gillard of Tullahoma, Tennessee. 2, 3. submitted on July 16, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.