Lake Charles, Then Home

Stayed in a real hotel and slept in a real bed at L’Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  This was a special stop to see Jen Kober’s Homegrown Comedy Show.  Jen is an up-and-coming comic to keep your eye on.  If she comes to your town, or anywhere close, make a point to go see her.  Check her website jenkober.com for her schedule.  No, she did not pay me to post this, but yes, we are acquainted.

Drove home the next day and put WindDancer to bed. 

 

There is a lot to reflect on after this trip.  It was proved to me over and over again that people are really, really nice.  Our country is filled with wondrous sights and it would take more than a lifetime to see it all.  Our history is rich with heroes and villains.  Politics aside, Americans just want to do what’s right and be left alone. 

And there’s no place like home.

Vicksburg

Another ancestor - my third great-grandfather - died in the civil war, this time at Vicksburg.  This was a 46-day siege for control of the Mississippi River and ended with a Union victory, essentially severing the Confederacy and it's supply routes.

There is a 16-mile driving tour through the battlefield with many stops along the way explaining what happened at that particular spot.  The tour takes almost two hours but is well worth the time.  The visitor center has several exhibits plus a film introducing the battle.

This was the last historical stop on my vacation.  Just a few more days and I will be back home, trying to digest all I have seen, learned and experienced these past several weeks.

Forts and Prisons

The things we can learn when we least expect it!  I visited Fort Pulaski this week which was built as part of a coastal fortification system after the War of 1812.  It contained 25 million bricks and was considered invincible.  After Georgia seceded from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War, the state transferred the fort to the Confederate States of America.  Eventually the Federals attacked the fort.  What was once invincible was now falling to the Union which was using new technology in their cannons that ate through the fort’s seven-foot-thick walls like no artillery could ever do before.  Within 30 hours the Confederates surrendered the fort to the Union.

Fort Frederica, down the coast from Fort Pulaski, was an early Georgia settlement when England was still colonizing America more than 250 years ago.  Settlers from England set up the fort as a military town to defend against the Spanish, who also laid claim to the land between St. Augustine and Charleston.  The town was populated not only with soldiers, but tradesmen of all kinds;  literally butchers, bakers and candlestick makers.  The Spanish advanced to within sight of the fort, but were beaten back by the British.  Within a week the Spanish evacuated the area.  Born of war, the fort expired with the coming of peace.  Without the money brought in by several hundred soldiers, the shopkeepers, tradespeople and the town could not prosper.  It had outlived its purpose and stands today as a reminder of the grim struggle for empire in the southeast during colonial times.

I did not know, until doing my genealogical research in Tennessee several weeks ago, that someone in my family had been kept prisoner at the infamous Andersonville Prison during the Civil War.  Until then I had no idea I had any Union ancestors at all.  So I was even more interested than I had been before, having read the novel by MacKinlay Kantor twice.  I arrived just in time for a ranger-led tour of the prison grounds accompanied by a very informative talk.  The ranger told us about the unbearable conditions suffered by the prisoners in the relatively short time the prison was in operation.  After watching an interesting film about the life of Andersonville prisoners, I asked about finding more information regarding my relative and was told there was a computer station in the visitor center that could help.  I entered the name and up popped information about him!  His rank, regiment, cause of death and location of his remains!  I was thrilled.  A helpful ranger showed me the layout of the Andersonville Cemetery and I went looking for Private Philip Conaster.  I found his resting place easily and spent a few minutes reflecting on history and family.  I placed a coin on his headstone and wondered if he, or his widow, would have had any idea that someone would be paying respects to him and shedding a tear five generations later.

The battlefield at Kennesaw Mountain was also the site of the demise of one of my ancestors, although I did not have the success in tracing him as I did at Andersonville.  I was able to merely verify he had been there, but I got the name and email address of the historian who may be able to help me.

One more Civil War site to visit, a few more stops along the way, then I will be headed home.  With the assistance of local Starbucks stores in the absence of decent internet at campsites, posts will continue as adventures warrant.

Not to Worry

A series of lousy internet connections has prevented me from posting.  I will catch up soon.

Fort Sumter

After running errands this morning I went to Fort Sumter.

This is where the first shot of the Civil War was fired that started the whole shebang.

On the way back to the campsite, just as I was turning in to the driveway, a familiar 'clunk' came from my brakes.  Not willing to put up with this nonsense any more, I called a tech recommended by the folks in the office who will come out tomorrow and fix things once and for all.  I'd rather lose a day of travel than lose my life or take someone else's.

Congaree National Park

I must have been very tired because I slept almost twelve hours last night.  Woke up and the sun was getting so warm the air conditioner in WindDancer had kicked on.  Hope this means there will be no rain for a while;  it was getting tiresome.

Continuing the National Park theme, Congaree was on the list today.  This park is 26,000 acres of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in a wetland system of the Congaree and Wateree rivers.  This time of year is Mosquito Central, and my four-mile hike in the park was accompanied by much buzzing in and around my ears.  I was enchanted by the trees, though, and I was pretty much by myself on the hike so I could hear the sounds of nature too.  As you can see, it's really a swamp - some of the trail was flooded due to the recent heavy rains.

Interesting tree trunk, isn't it?

There was wildlife, too.  Birds, frogs, lizards and of course mosquitoes!  One of the signs on the trail stated there were alligators, too, but all I saw in the lake was this snake and these turtles on a log:

It was quite hot and very humid, so I was ready to get to a campground where I could clean up and rest for the evening.  I followed a sign on the interstate that said there was a campground just a mile and a half away.  Followed the sign for three miles, and no campground.  So between the internet service on my cell phone and the GPS on the dashboard I found a lovely spot where I'll spend the next few days.

Speaking of the GPS, I fear I have been traveling alone too long:  I apologized to the GPS after I accidentally knocked it off the dashboard after stopping for gas.  Fortunately it did not answer me.

Revolutionary Ideas

Today I visited the only two Revolutionary War National Military Parks:  Cowpens and Kings Mountain, both in South Carolina.  I was unaware of Cowpens until I saw the National Parks Service sign on the highway and decided to investigate.  The battle took place in January of 1781 when Continentals and militia from Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas won a decisive victory over the British.  It was after this battle that British Gen. Cornwallis abandoned South Carolina to the Patriots and marched north to his eventual surrender at Yorktown.  The visitor center had a film created by the History Channel in addition to the exhibits.

Kings Mountain was another matter.  I was familiar with this battle, as my 5^th great-grandfather was involved in it.  Robert Bean fought under General Elijah Clarke with the Patriots in October of 1780 to decimate American Loyalists to “turn the tide” of the American Revolution, according to Thomas Jefferson.  Yes, it was a battle of Americans against Americans.  No British were involved.  The visitor center here had a full 30-minute History Channel film about the battle and the exhibits were the best I’ve seen yet on my trip.  I left feeling very proud of my ancestor.

Rain and More Rain

Wish I could send some of this rain to my friends in Texas.  Rained last night and most of today.  Hate driving in it, especially when sharing the road with 18-wheelers;  they leave rooster tails of spray for the longest time!

Enjoyed Biltmore Estate in the rain.  That's one big house!  Kind of like an American Downton Abbey.

Now that I'm securely tucked in the deep Southeastern US, there are lots more Civil War sites to visit and one or two surprises are in store.  Stay tuned!

Side Trips and Misbehaving Brakes

I found some lovely side trips that turned my four hour trip from DC to middle Virginia into a seven hour trip.  The first was to Manassas Battlefield.  If I’m not mistaken, one of my ancestors was killed or wounded at the Second Manassas battle.  I’ll have to check on that later. 

After the battlefield I went on my way and took a hard right turn when I came across the Shenandoah National Park.  I just had to take a trip on Skyline Drive!  About ten miles into the drive I discovered I was going the wrong way if I wanted to make it to tonight’s campground before dark.  Sadly, I had to retrace my route and get turned the right way.

That’s when it happened.  I was braking to slow my descent and the RV shook so badly I had to grip the steering wheel to avoid losing control.  I tried again.  Same thing.  I had visions of losing my brakes completely on the winding roads of Skyline Drive.  I drove as slowly as was practical, braking gently to maintain control.  I tried braking harder a few times with the same result – hard, hard shaking.  I was truly frightened.  I came to level roads and thought of pulling over and calling roadside assistance.  I braked again.  No problem.  I sped up and braked again.  Everything was just fine.  So was it only a problem on hills?  Easy enough to find out in Virginia, everything is hills.  Next time I came to a steep hill I braked and there was no shaking at all.  WTH?  Over the next two hours on the way to the campground all brake tests passed with flying colors.  I have no idea what caused the problem, nor do I know what fixed it.  I just know I will be testing the brakes often on the remainder of the trip.

On a lighter note, you know you're a nerd when you look at the freeway exit to Verona, VA and the first thing that crosses your mind is, "Two Gentleman of...".

Stick a Fork in Me

I'm done!  Done playing tourist in DC, that is.  I've seen every site I wanted to, plus many more.  Today was gloomy and rainy so things went at a slower pace.  I revisited the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial and proceeded to the Washington Monument which is closed due to earthquake and hurricane damage.  The road to Arlington Cemetery was closed due to a traffic problem relating to a gathering close by.  But I visited the National Cathedral and was awed by the architecture.  It, too, sustained damage in the earthquake of 2011 and a few of its gargoyles are now housed inside after being toppled by the quake.  Here is a picture of one of the interior walls, still damaged:

And here is part of the inside of the cathedral:

Since it was gloomy outside, I could not get a good picture of the rose window.


Starting tomorrow I will be on my way home, but it will take a few weeks at least.  I plan to stop wherever something looks interesting and stay as long as it takes to satisfy my curiosity.  There will likely be days with no blog posts and other days with lots of news.



Thanks for sharing my journey with me!

A Monument-al Day

Today was spent hunting down all the wonderful monuments in this city.  It was a fast and furious day because I wanted to see as many as possible.  Please enjoy this journey with me:

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

He loved his little dog Fala!

The Lincoln Memorial

The World War II Memorial

The Korean War Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial

More meaningful since I just visited his home last week.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

The Viet Nam War Memorial

I also went to the White House...

...but of course there was no chance of a tour because of the sequester.  Boo, sequester, boo!

Archives, Art and Air

This is Wednesday's entry.  I guess I was so tired I failed to publish it until Thursday.  Sorry!
 

Easy trip into DC, now that I’ve done it once already.  Made my way to the National Archives first, to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  The museum is more than that, though;  it shows how records are kept and there are displays of fascinating original records including Abraham Lincoln’s telegrams to his generals.  In order to actually access the archives, though, it is necessary to enter through another door.  I did not have any of my genealogical records with me (too heavy to schlep around), but I decided to see if I could find documentation of my adoptive father’s military service in WWI.  In order to search anything in the archives, one must have a Research Card.  So I filled out some forms, handed over my ID, had my picture taken and was the proud owner of my very own Research Card.  After telling the staff the nature of my quest I was informed those records are kept in St. Louis, Missouri.  Yetch!  But the card is good for a year, so if I am so inclined I can return and look for other things.

A few blocks away is the National Museum of Art.  I spent a great deal of time with the Old Masters and wandered through other galleries discovering artists both familiar and new to me.  I especially enjoyed the Degas bronze collection.

Down the street is the Air and Space Museum.  They say this is the most visited museum in the world.  The history of flight is documented from the Wright Brothers to the conquest of space.  I attended a movie about the formation of stars and don’t think I missed a single exhibit.  I enjoyed the history of spy planes and looked closely at the Spirit of St. Louis, the subject of one of my favorite movies.

I had originally intended to visit the Smithsonian Castle, but it was nearly dinner time and I needed to return to the campsite.  The castle will be first on tomorrow’s itinerary, to be followed by monuments, I think.

Hopping Along

Easily found my way from the campground to DC.  Did I mention the campground has bus service to a metro station?  Yes, the bus makes a stop right here.  I think I failed to mention, though, that my campsite is just about as far as you can get from the office – and the bus.  There are hundreds of campsites here and it takes about 12 minutes to walk up to the office.  So I went up there this morning, bought a Metro pass, got on the bus and was delivered to the Metro station several minutes later.   Followed the crowd into the station and loaded some money onto the shiny new Metro card, breezed through the turnstile and boarded the train.

I wanted to take a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour and had planned where to exit the Metro to catch one.  I “hopped on” the next trolley but did not “hop off” until it had made a full circuit.  That gave me time to decide what I wanted to see most and to plan the rest of the day.  One of the more recent museums in the Smithsonian family is the National Museum of the American Indian. Since I have distant Creek heritage I was interested in seeing this one.  There are many exhibits explaining Native history, beliefs, and contemporary Native life.  Artifacts, a film and a Native Foods Café are also part of the museum.  I had lunch in the café, enjoying a meal based on the indigenous foods prepared daily.

I must admit I just wandered around the area for quite a while, trying to decide what to do next.  I decided to look for Ford’s Theater, where President Lincoln was shot.  I hopped back on the trolley until it stopped in the general area of the theater.  A National Parks ranger gave a presentation on the history of the theater and retold the story of the famous actor who changed American history forever.   

The story finished across the street, where we were able to visit the house and the very bedroom where Lincoln drew his last breath.  Many artifacts are on display in this house, including a handle from the coffin that bore the President to his resting place. Eww.

Preferring not to be out by myself after dark, it was time to go back to the campground.  The return trip was a breeze and I was back in time to plan tomorrow’s sightseeing.

To DC

Mostly a travel day today, between Gettysburg and Washington, DC.  Stopped in Frederick, MD to see the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.  Do you see a pattern here?  Many of the ranger-led discussions I chose in Gettysburg and a few special presentations at the reenactment site were regarding Civil War medicine.  Yes, I could almost give a lecture myself by now.  This museum was very well done, with interactive exhibits and lots of instruments from the period.

The campground in the DC area is very large, and has transportation from the campground to the Metro station.  So I will not have to unhook and drive WindDancer daily to get to where I need to be.  There was even an orientation session at the campground to acquaint us with the finer points of traveling the Metro.  I have a long list of things I want to see here, so in a day or so I should be a pro at jumping on and off the subways.

Stay tuned...

Last Day at Gettysburg

Back to the reenactment site today, to purchase all the goodies I had looked at on Thursday.  Two books, one about the Gettysburg Address and the other about Civil War canines.  Both authors signed their books for me.  Then over to the “Witness Tree” booth where I bought more than I should have, but when will I ever get the opportunity to get a piece of the trees that stood at the time of the battle and the address?  One item was shaped into a paperweight and the other contains a bullet, a coin, the piece of the tree, and a photograph from the period indicating the tree itself.

Once again I attended a discussion of Civil War medicine.  Each presenter has something new to tell us, and this one actually performed a leg amputation on a mannequin using tools from the period.  It was emphasized that sterilization was nonexistent in the war, primarily due to the fact that the correlation between a sterile environment and infection was not understood.

Then off to the grandstands and my front-row seat for the final battle of the entire reenactment this year.  The cannon were so loud that some car alarms were activated. 

 This time, like last time, was narrated to help us understand what was happening.  As soon as it was over it began to rain.  I had taken a shuttle to the site today, so I hurried to catch one back to where I had left WindDancer.  Too late.  A few hundred people were in front of me, and as we waited for the next bus and the next, the rain pelted down on us and the wind chilled us to the bone.  I tried as best I could to protect my purchases, but the Gettysburg Address book and the Witness Tree item containing the photograph were damaged by the rain.  Every time I look at them I will be reminded how we all stood out in the rain getting soaked to the skin.  Lucky me, though; instead of crawling soaking wet into a car and driving to a hotel to change, I was able to jump into WindDancer, dry off and get into some dry clothes right away.

Gettysburg Day 4

Today was spent attempting to complete everything there is to do at Gettysburg National Military Park.  First thing in the morning I was in line to buy tickets to an attraction I had been looking forward to:  the film, "A New Birth of Freedom", narrated by Morgan Freeman;  the Gettysburg Cyclorama painting created in 1884; and the new Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War.  This threebie was superbly well done, and I had never seen a cyclorama before.  It combines the huge, 360-degree painting with an overhead canopy and a three-dimensional diorama to create the illusion of being surrounded by the action of Pickett's Charge on the third day of the battle.  Imagine being in a circular room with a mural of the battle painted on the walls, so no matter where you stood, you are in the middle of the action.  This is all accompanied by music and narration.  Astounding.

The museum tells the story of the battle through 12 galleries, including artifacts, exhibits and additional films.

Dwight D. Eisenhower's farm is close by, and tours are offered.  Fearful of missing something, I hopped on a shuttle and wandered around the home and grounds.

Poor George Spangler!  In the blinking of an eye his farm was turned into a corps field hospital during and after the battle.  Today it is a place to learn about Civil War medicine.  Here is a typical doctor's kit, including a doll which was used to smuggle medicine past military inspectors.  A little girl and her mother would travel freely, and even if the mother's belongings were inspected, not even the most hardened soldier would disturb a little girl and her doll.

So it was a full day at the visitor center.  Tomorrow will be spent taking care of housekeeping in WindDancer;  no excursions planned.

Gettysburg Day 3

A very long day at the Civil War reenactment site, a few miles from the National Park.  Somehow it doesn't seem right that it takes almost an hour to drive seven miles;  there was a two-mile backup getting into the site, then poor WindDancer rocked and rolled across a pasture to the parking spot.  I jokingly said if I had milk in the RV it would have been butter by the time I parked.

This is a Living History area that not only hosts the battle reenactments but also presents talks by people in 1863 garb discussing topics applicable to the time.  Today I listened as General Robert E. Lee told us about his plans for battle and also chronicled the history of secession in the United States;  there had been several states threatening to secede from the union since the founding of the country, and most - if not all - of those had been Northern states.

Of course, there were the tents filled with souvenirs and food.  I purposely took very little money and no credit cards today.  I wanted to make a wish list for when I revisit the site in a few days.  I could spend my entire next check on the books offered!  Also, there were trees that "witnessed" the battle and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address that have since been harvested from the battlefield and their wood has been made into everything from paperweights to walking sticks.  These "Witness Tree" items are very tempting!

The battle reenactment was accompanied by a narration from a Civil War historian explaining what was happening on the battlefield.  That was very helpful, because all I saw was lines of soldiers and horses and smoke from cannon.  And the 15 rows of people in front of me.

Very glad I wore a broad-brimmed hat (photo not available), because despite the clouds it would have been easy to get a sunburn!

Gettysburg Day 2

Busy day at the Gettysburg National Military Park.  It was rainy in the morning when I took the free shuttle to attend the park ranger's Spangler's Spring program where I learned that the battle for Culp's Hill continued from the day before (at Spangler's Spring), and Confederate General Ewell's troops launched repeated attacks on the Union troops of the 12th Corps. 

Back at the visitor center, in a tent on the grounds, I heard a talk about how Civil War soldiers were equipped, what made up their rations, and what their daily lives were like.  This was similar, but not as extensive as, the talk I heard at the Museum of the Confederacy in Appomattox.  Next there was a 30-minute overview of the battle presented by a park ranger in a nice cool theater inside the visitor center.

But the comfortable temperatures were to be only temporary.  The rain had stopped and now it was humid.  There was a reenactment of  Pickett's Charge at Cemetery Ridge located about a 20-minute walk from the visitor center, mostly uphill.  By the time we arrived I felt I had assaulted the ridge myself!  The reenactment was historically accurate, and it ended with a playing of Echo Taps.  I found myself quite emotional, realizing how many lost their lives 150 years ago today.

More reenactments tomorrow.  Early to bed for this little rebel.

Gettysburg Day 1

What an amazing program the National Parks Service has prepared for the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg!  Every day they run free shuttle buses to various parts of the battlefield significant to that day’s battle.  I took the shuttle today and went to Little Round Top, The Wheatfield, The Peach Orchard and the High Water Mark.  Each of these stops had Park Rangers explaining what went on there July 2, 1863 and there were also reenactors in uniform at Little Round Top.  Here is a Federal Signal Corpsman:

(I have learned to ask teenagers to take pictures with my iPhone.  They do not hesitate, and they take really good pictures.  That was not the case in Memphis when I imposed on a retired couple.)

Tonight I will review the complimentary Commemorative Events Guide furnished by the National Parks Service and The Gettysburg Foundation to plan my remaining five days here, keeping in mind I have special tickets to reenactments on Friday and Sunday.  So much to do!

Catching Up

Back online after several days of cybersilence.  Here’s what has happened in the meantime:

Got a new tire, expertly installed, and went on my merry way to Appomattox Courthouse.  Of course this is not a courthouse at all, it is the name of the town, and it is where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant to effectively end the civil war.  They met at the house of Wilmer McLean and Lee used the parlor of their home when he surrendered to Grant.

There are several buildings in the National Park that have been preserved and restored to reflect the look and feel of the settlement in 1865.  In one of these buildings a park ranger gave a history program on Civil War medicine, complete with examples of implements and tools used by physicians of the day.

Down the road from the National Park is the Museum of Confederate History, a collection of artifacts and documents detailing stories of the Confederate government, the military, civilians, and enslaved and free African Americans.  These exhibits show events leading up to, during and following the war.  Old gentleman in confederate uniform –who looked for all the world as if he had been there - showed and described the supplies each soldier carried, including the “housewife”, a sewing kit.

Back to the less-than-desirable campsite.  Took a shower in the bathhouse, but not sure I was cleaner when I left than when I entered.  I had never used a pull-chain shower before!  Could not wait to get out of here.  It was my birthday, and a couple who was traveling in the same brand of motorhome as mine invited me to a birthday dessert:  Pete and Liddy provided a HoHo with half a Klondike bar topped with blueberries for the celebration and it was delicious!

The next morning I made my escape from the campground early and drove to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. 

 Monticello is a World Heritage Site, and Jefferson designed every aspect of the home over the course of 40 years.  In addition to his public life he contributed to horticulture, paleontology, archaeology and astronomy.  A man of diverse talents, he also founded and designed the University of Virginia.  Leaving Monticello, I found a place to camp for the night in Front Royal, Virginia.  They claimed they had internet, but it did not extend to my campsite.

Monday morning, July 1.  Time to head for Gettysburg which is one of the main reasons for this trek.  On the way I came across Harper’s Ferry so I stopped and took a shuttle to what they called the Lower Town. 

Abolitionist John Brown led an armed group in the capture of the armory in 1859. Brown had hoped he would be able to arm the slaves and lead them against U.S. forces in a rebellion to overthrow slavery. After his capture in the armory by a group of Marines (led by U.S. Army Colonel Robert E. Lee), Brown was hanged, predicting in his last words that civil war was looming on the horizon, a prediction that came true less than two years later. The most important building remaining from John Brown's raid is the firehouse, now called John Brown's Fort where he resisted the Marines.

To Gettysburg at last, where the campsite has real, honest-to-goodness internet.  Today will be spent exploring the town of Gettysburg, not going to the actual battle site.