Little Pieces of History (06-01-21)

 Along the way to MA, we spent two nights in the small town of Elizabethton TN.  It was obvious this was a historic area, and I assumed it would be Civil War era, but I was wrong.  This town played a role in the Revolutionary War.

In the 1700’s this area of Tennessee was Cherokee country. In fact, anything on the western side of the Appalachian Mountain peaks was Cherokee, and anything east of it was English territory.

 England signed an agreement that they would “stay out” of the Cherokee side- and made it illegal for colonists to settle here. Except, some of them really wanted to move here, so they did. They called the area Watauga, named for the river that meanders through the area.

This group of settlers leased the land from the Cherokee, and eventually bought it from them, in what was known as the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals. With the purchase of 20 million acres, it was the largest  private real estate transaction in the history of the U.S. (Unfortunately, the governments of North Carolina and Virginia refused to acknowledge the purchase so it was nullified). So, anyway,  everything was going along swimmingly, until the revolutionary war started. 

At that point, the Cherokee aligned themselves with the British, and the colonists were essentially surrounded. England gave the settlers 20 days to move out, or they would be attacked by the Cherokee. Claiming hardship, the settlers asked for and were granted, a 20 day extension. They had no intention of leaving, having pledged allegiance to the Second Continental Congress- they just wanted more time to prepare themselves and set up a defense.

Mathew Talbot, the local miller, volunteered his homestead for the town defense, fences were put up, and Fort Watauga was created.

On July 21, 1776, going about their daily business, many of the women were outside the fort, milking cows, when the Cherokee attacked. Everyone made it in before the fort gate was locked- except Bonnie Kate. She ran around looking for a way in, and threw her cap over the fence so they would know where she was. Climbing as best she could, she was yanked over the top of the fence by John Sevier ( they married 4 years later).  After 2 weeks of bloodshed the colonists persevered, and the Cherokee left in defeat.

In 1780, the Overmountain Men (people who had settled on the western side of the Appalachian mountains) including those from Watauga, were involved in another, well known battle. The battle of Kings Mountain.

They were in hot pursuit of British Major Patrick Ferguson, who was trying to beat down the Patriots. Becoming aware of being chased, Ferguson retreated until he found a place where he could take a stand-Kings Mountain.

Riding through the pouring rain to confront the British force, the patriots wrapped their guns and ammunition in blankets and coats to keep them dry. Once they arrived, the 900 colonists surrounded the British and attacked. In less than an hour, Ferguson was killed, and his second in command  raised the flag of surrender. Historians consider this battle one of the major turning points in the war for independence.

Our final interesting stop along our route brought us from the revolutionary war to the civil war, and from Elizabethton TN to Middletown VA. Looking for a place to stay, I decided to forgo the parking lot at the local Elks lodge, and booked our first stay at a Harvest Host property.

Usually Harvest Host is a brewery, winery or a museum. The expectation is that if you stay there, you will purchase wine, beer, food, or whatever else the host site offers.  This was a farm. A beautiful, historic farm.

The owner was very friendly and we chatted with him for quite a while as we parked behind his barn. He told us of the woes of getting the property recognized by the historical society (the original section of the house was built in 1790), and the history of the property.

The Battle of Cedar Creek took place in October of 1864, one of the more decisive civil war battles in the Shenandoah Valley. The short version is that the Confederates, led by General Jubal Early were well on their way to victory when the general decided to halt the attack in order to reorganize.

That pause gave enough time for General Sheridan to arrive with more Union troops and the North ultimately won the battle- the Confederacy never regained a foothold in the Shenandoah Valley.

Continuing our conversation, I asked Bob “what his deal is”. As I mentioned, most HH sites expect you to buy something in exchange for parking.  Well, Bob doesn’t sell anything. However, he does have a 501C. During Covid he was looking for ways to help those in need, and he focused on providing food and essentials to those less fortunate. It grew from he and his friends filling up their trucks with food for the food bank, to something more substantial and organized.

He thought Harvest Hosting would be an easy way for him to increase his ability to help. We were very happy to make a donation to his cause (https://thorndalefarmva.com/friends-of-thorndale-farm).

Stafford, VA (04-29-13)

This is a first for us- we are driveway camping!  Usually when someone offers for us to stay in their driveway, we decline.  Most people, even when we tell them we are 36 feet long, have no concept of how big we actually are.  But Charley and Deloris are RVers and have spent time in our rig.  We met them in the Florida Keys and when they heard we were headed this way, they offered their driveway to us. 

It still wasn’t easy getting in, but we made it, and we’ll be here for a couple of days before we leave for the other side of Washington DC.

In the meantime we are having fun spending time with them, and exploring this area.  I didn’t know that Stafford was the boyhood home of George Washington, but I do now!  There are a ton of civil war sites in this area, including a brand new park, 10 minutes from Charley’s house.  We went with them and their son Jake to opening day, when they had a re-enactment of a Union Winter Camp.

Charley and Jake were surprised to see that it was a Union camp, since so many of the sites around here are Confederate. 

After having our fill of the  Civil War, we ate at our first “Five Guys” hamburger place.  The burger was excellent, as were the fries.

The weather hasn’t been the greatest, probably because, as Charley says, we moved too far north too fast.  Since it rained the next day, Paul and I decided to head to Quantico, to the National Marine Corp Museum, so we could stay inside all day. This is a free museum, dedicated to all things Marine Corp, and it is very well done.

The Marine Corp was started in 1775 and has been a vital part of our Armed Services ever since.  On the legacy wall there are plaques with pictures and hand written notes from marines.  The notes answered the question “why did you join the Marines” and the answers ranged from the philosophical to “ I was bored after high school”.

There are numerous rooms with information from different eras, including some “immersion” scenes, where you walk into a room and are inside a battle scene, complete with audio and visual. This scene depicts the “frozen Chosin Reservoir” during the Korean War.

The scene below represents the Viet Nam War- you enter through the airplane into a room that is hot, noisy with gunfire, and depicts a medivac situation.

There was an entire room dedicated to the music of the Marine Corp. The Marine Band was established by Congress in 1798, but became more well known under the direction of John Phillip Souza in the late 1800s.  At this virtual stage, we could press a button and listen to the Marine Band play a Souza march. I listened to all 4 that were available, of course.

The last room was a memorial for September 11, 2001

There was a timeline showing the events of the day, and it was all mesmerizing to me.

 

Reading cryptic signs simply stating things such as the time each plane became non-responsive to air traffic control, or when each plane’s GPS tracking device was turned off, was chilling. That day is so etched in our collective memories, it was odd to listen to the conversation of some nearby young teens who were discussing how old they were when it happened. They were all too young to remember it. 

Even though the weather was wet, we only had one more day, so we headed to Fredericksburg to tour the battle sites there.  Fredericksburg was the site of one of the first urban battles.  It was literally fought in the streets and most of the town was destroyed.

Originally a Confederate town, the Union army, led by General Burnsides, arrived to seize Fredericksburg for the North.  Unfortunately for him, he made a few huge tactical errors.  The most costly one was a timing error. He needed pontoon bridges in order to cross the river, and they were two weeks late in arriving.

During those two weeks, General Lee was busy amassing his troops. By the time Burnsides was able to cross the river, the Confederate army was 85,000 men strong, and held the easily defended hillsides of the town. As a result, the battle was one of the bloodiest, one sided battles in the Civil War.  In one day alone, 7500 Union soldiers fell- some wounded, some dead.

With the battle still raging, Richard Kirkland, a confederate soldier, couldn’t stand the injured Union troops cries for water.  He filled canteens full of water and under enemy fire, brought the canteens to the wounded.  When the Union soldiers figured out what he was doing, they stopped shooting at him and cheered him on.  He is called the Angel of Marye’s Heights.

Fredericksburg was at the epicenter of many Civil War battles, and there are over 20,000 Civil War graves in this area.  Very few headstones contain names- most of them are unknown soldiers.

Virginia is for lovers? (04-22-13)

If Virginia is for lovers, then how come so many battles were fought here? We’ve settled ourselves in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, to explore the wealth of history in this area. We’ve also taken some time out to do some long range planning, and have made several reservations for later in the year.  We booked a spot at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in October, and we booked a month at an RV park in San Diego for Christmas. With those chores out of the way, we started exploring.

Yorktown:

We’ve spent a lot of time visiting Civil War sites over the last few months, but now we are going even further back in time to the Revolutionary War.  In 1776, after years of arguing and fighting with England, the Congress of the U.S. colonies wrote and signed the “Declaration of Independence”, declaring the united States of America to be an independent nation, free from allegiance to the British Crown.

Of course, England didn’t just roll over, and in the following years, a war between the two countries raged on. In some ways it was a Civil War- people living here were English subjects and some considered thoughts of independence to be treason. In 1781, there was no victory in sight for either side.  It was during that timeframe that the battle of Yorktown took place.  Yorktown was held by the British at that time, and General George Washington was situated in New York, preparing to engage the British there.  He heard that a French fleet was headed towards Chesapeake Bay and the town of Yorktown, to maintain control of the harbor for the colonies.

Why so dark?
This is the actual tent used by George Washington. 
Low lighting helps protect the artifact.

Washington decided to take advantage of the edge the French would give his troops, and changed his plans.  He did everything he could to convince the British that he would soon attack New York, even setting up a fake camp, complete with empty tents.  In the meantime, he and his men headed to Yorktown. By the time he arrived, he had amassed an army of 17,000 troops.

Yorktown- many buildings were built in the early 1700s.

In cooperation with French troops, Washington led the fight against the British at Yorktown, who were led by Lord Cornwallis.  After several weeks of fighting, Cornwallis was left with no option but to have his 7000 troops surrender.  The siege of Yorktown was the last major battle of the Revolutionary war.

The original Purple Heart was a patch that was
worn over the heart area of a uniform.

One of the interesting displays was about the Purple Heart Medal, and it’s origin. When General Washington ordered the attack on Yorktown, he told his men not to use their muskets- only their bayonets.  He felt that reloading would slow them down and distract them too much, so the British lined up and essentially mowed down the first row of American soldiers (the first “line” was appropriately called The Forlorn Hope). After the siege, Washington created the decoration The Purple Heart to honor soldiers for “singularly meritorious action”. It’s one of the highest military honors and is only given to those who have “given of his blood in defense of his homeland”.

Circling Atlanta (04-01-13)

  Moving from one side of Atlanta to the other, we found a spot in a COE campground on  Allatoona Lake. In theory, we had quite a few more things we wanted to see in the Atlanta area, before heading a little further north.  Once again, the weather is not cooperating, with rain and temperatures in the 30s at night.  Usually by afternoon it warms up, but only for a couple of hours.  Add to that the fact that the Final Four arrived, and Atlanta became a zoo and we really didn’t want to venture into the city very much.

One of the major reasons we made the swing over this way was so we could see my cousin Brian and his family.  Brian and I grew up near each other and I babysat him when he was young.  It used to make his mother laugh that I would let him cook dinner for me at the age of 10, and I would clean up behind him.  He has always wanted to be a chef.  To say he succeeded would be an understatement.  He is the managing partner in a company that owns, among other things, some of the best restaurants in Atlanta.  He asked us which restaurant we wanted to visit, and I chose Der Biergarten because I had heard so much about it.  We were not disappointed!  The food was great and we were treated like royalty. 



Paul practices being a grandpa with Harrison



We made plans to have dinner at Brian’s house the following night.  He warned us that the “Final 4” coming to Atlanta meant that as of Thursday, he would no longer be available to socialize, so we took advantage while we could. 

Once again I took very few pictures. It’s so frustrating that I forget to snap them when people are around! I did take a few with my phone, while we were hanging around playing with his two sons, and I took one of the dinner table. I sure am glad he likes to cook! 

We had salad, quail, lamb, duck, steak, and paella. Amazingly good food and of course, Margaritas made from fresh squeezed limes.









While researching things we might want to do while in Atlanta, we discovered that the most visited historic battlefield, Kennesaw Battlefield, is here.  It is visited 50% more than Gettysburg, which I am guessing has something to do with its proximity to a major city.  Since we could combine history with hiking, off we went to Kennesaw.  To get our exercise, we hiked a very pretty 6 mile loop through the woods (Cheatham Hill).  At the Visitor’s Center, while reading about the Battle for Atlanta, I began to wonder why, in particular, was this battle significant?

So here’s the short version of what I found out.  First, the battle itself:

Kennesaw is a small mountain outside of Atlanta that in 1864 was held by the Confederacy.  General Sherman, of the Union Army, was ordered to take Atlanta, and Kennesaw was the last “hill” in his way.

  In June of 1864 he set up his men at the base of the mountain, and prepared to storm up the hill. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way he wanted, and a significant number of his troops were slaughtered as they tried to make their way up the hill. At one point, a fire broke out in the land between the two armies.  There were many wounded men still on the battlefield and the two sides agreed to a brief ceasefire while they rescued the injured from the flames. 




Realizing that he wasn’t going to be able to plow through the Confederate troops, Sherman made an important decision.  He went around the Kennesaw Mountain, and marched right into Atlanta.
So, why was the battle for Atlanta important? It’s importance was mostly political, not military.  When the Union entered into the Civil War, it was assumed the conflict would last about 3 months, after which time, the southern states would be assimilated back into the Union. 3 years later, there seemed to be no end in sight.  The war was costing the taxpayers a back breaking 2.5 million dollars a day.  Election time was fast approaching, and Abraham Lincoln’s political opponent was making noises about a compromise with the southern states.  In order for Lincoln to win the election, the tide needed to turn.  The north needed some decisive victories to show that the war was winnable.  The taking of Atlanta was one of those victories, and Lincoln was re-elected by a large margin.

Stone Mountain, GA (03-29-13)

Closer and closer to Atlanta we go….

Stone Mountain is a well known tourist attraction in Georgia, and has a little bit of something for everyone.  There are rides for the kids, but we blew past those without checking them out.

There is hiking, including a 1 mile hike straight up Stone Mountain.   

We definitely had to take a couple of breaks along the way to catch our breath.  It was a short, but pretty steep trail.

Those who wanted to enjoy the view but not hike a mile straight uphill, could take the tram. Either way, the view was great once you got to the top.

There are also hikes that go around the base of the mountain, like this, the 5 mile long Cherokee trail, with pretty views of grist mills and covered bridges along the way. 

The next day we rode our bikes around the loop to check out the several museums that there are onsite, including this outdoor museum exhibit about the rock quarrying that was done in this area from the mid 1800s to the 1970s.

 

  Of course, the carving on the mountain is one of the main attractions and is enjoyed both during the day, and at night.

The sculpture, a memorial to Southern generals and their horses, was started by Gutzon Borglum, who left the project before it was finished, and soon thereafter started carving Mt. Rushmore. At 90 ft tall and 190 ft wide, the carving on Stone Mountain is actually larger than  Mt. Rushmore’s artwork. This one is 11 ft deep, and a dinner party was held on General Lee’s shoulder.

Since it was Easter weekend by this time, the place was pretty busy.  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great for those people who only had a couple of days to camp here. At this time of year they do a nightly laser/slide/fireworks show on the side of the mountain.  It was one of the best we’ve seen, with a variety of Georgia based music as well as some patriotic songs.

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Thanks to some kind of projector, the horses grow legs during the evening show. They are shown galloping during a section of the show about the Civil War.

The park also has the requisite shopping area and I did a double take when I walked past the display of hats.  Even though I don’t need another hat- I couldn’t resist getting one with my initials on it!

F. D. R. (State Park) 03-27-13

We stayed a short 3 days in Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park, but we kept busy the whole time we were there.  My original idea was to spend our 3 days hiking- every single day, just because there are plenty of trails there, and we haven’t had a chance to do much hiking.  As it turns out, we really need to get back into shape!

Once again it was brought home to us that we went too far north too fast.  Temperatures here at night are in the 20s- and they stay pretty much in the high 40s-low 50s during the day.  That wrecked our plans for hiking the first day, so we decided to tour F.D.R’s little White House instead. 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man

Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with Polio as a young man.  At that time,Polio could affect anyone, at any age, and had varied symptoms, usually in the form of some type of paralysis. In Franklin’s case, his legs were the most affected and he struggled to walk, using canes, braces and a wheel chair for most of his life. 

It’s a sign of the times that the general public, even after he was elected as President, either wasn’t aware of the fact that he used a wheel chair, or didn’t feel it was important, and there are actually very few pictures of him sitting in a wheel chair.  As a wealthy man, he had his wheelchairs and braces custom built for him, and even designed the special steering system for his car, so he could drive himself.

 
Elected as President in 1933, in the midst of the depression, FDR implemented an amazing amount of programs and strategies for getting the U.S. back to work.  He called it “The New Deal”- a comprehensive plan to alleviate unemployment and restructure the economy.  Of course, we can’t say that every program was successful, but my eyes were bulging out of my head when I read the list of things he accomplished as President.  Here are some of them:

• F.D.I.C. Insurance program for banks
• C.C.C.- Civilian Conservation  Corp- a program for putting young men to work building infrastructure in our national/state parks. Their work is still standing.
• Public Works Administration
• F.A.A. – Federal Alcohol Administration
• F.C.C.- Federal Communications Commission
• F.E.R.A.- Federal Emergency Relief Administration
• S.S.A- Social Security Administration and Unemployment Insurance
• R.E.A. Rural Electrification Administration (more on this later)

He also started the March of Dimes, and although it isn’t a government program, it is still in place to this day.
In addition to all that, he was President when World War II broke out and guided the United States towards a victory.  Sadly, he died suddenly just months before the war ended.

Warm Springs, Georgia

The history of Warm Springs Georgia can be divided into two eras- pre-FDR and post-FDR.  Before FDR found out about the warm springs in this town, it was a high end resort where the rich came to play.

Then Roosevelt heard that bathing in the spring water is very beneficial for those with Polio. He came here, and felt that although the water wasn’t a miracle, his muscles felt stronger, and it could be an important therapeutic tool to combat Polio.

He was instrumental in opening a treatment center here, where thousands of kids and adults came for relief from Polio.  Once a vaccination was developed in 1955, Polio became a thing of the past and the treatment center was used for other illnesses.

 
There are still treatment centers in the area, but the original one for Polio has been turned into a museum.  You can walk into the pools as part of the tour.








On the same grounds as the museum, is FDR’s little White House, a cottage he bought and stayed in as frequently as he could, while visiting the springs.

Its a very small cottage, really cozy.  FDR was here, working while having his portrait painted, when he died. 

The portrait was never finished, but the artist used it to complete a second portrait- so now there are two.

 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  When FDR saw his electric bill for the cottage one time, he was shocked to see that it was 4 times the bill for his large house in New York. He did some investigating and discovered that in rural sections of the country, the people who had electricity, paid outrageous prices for it, so many farmers went without it. That’s why he started the Rural Electrification Administration.

Columbus, Georgia

One of the things we love is when we talk to other travelers and hear the words….”oh, have you seen this yet?”  Especially when we had no idea that “this” was even in the area, so no, we hadn’t seen it yet.  That was the case with Columbus, GA.  A woman we met at the campground suggested that we make a day trip there to see the sights.  

We drove the 40 miles to get there, parked the truck and walked to the banks of the…..Chattahoochee River!

I, of course, immediately started humming Alan Jackson songs.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you don’t listen to country music!  I will say, I guess I am not surprised to see that the river looked quite muddy.

Muddy or not, though, there was plenty of wildlife, especially turtles!
We ate lunch at a local diner, and walked a little of the 15 mile river walk.







Our other stop that day was at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus.  Yes, another Civil War Museum.  In one sense, I have seen plenty of war museums, but on the other hand, by not trying to take in everything in the museum, I can focus on the parts that interest me, and that helps fill in the blanks in my history knowledge, while not overloading my brain.

Being a naval museum, there was a lot of focus on the Ironclads of the Civil War. This is the remains of an Ironclad boat that was pulled out of the river.  The metal framing outlines the parts of the boat that are missing.

Nearby there was an example of the thickness of the hull on the ironclad ships.

Here’s a model of what an Ironclad would have looked like before it sank.  The “small” holes in the sides have cannons sticking out of them.

There were many artifact displays as well.  This one caught my eye. This tool is called a Battle Rattle.  It is used on ships to sound an alarm because it’s rattle could be heard over the sounds aboard ship.  It looks to me  like a beefed up New Year’s Eve noise maker!

As I read through the timeline display of the Civil War, I was amazed at just how many battle sites we have visited in our travels over the last 4 years.

  One of the displays gave the history of the USS Constitution, a ship I am familiar with because I grew up in Boston, where “old Ironsides” still resides (although nicknamed “ironsides”- she is not an ironclad).  Built in 1797, she is the oldest commissioned warship still floating. I was living in Boston in 1997 when she sailed under her own power for the first time since 1881.  It was an awesome thing to see.





By the time the Civil War came about, The Constitution had seen all the active duty she was going to, and was used by the Union side as a training vessel.

On our last day at this campground, the weather finally warmed up and stopped raining long enough for us to hike.  We chose the Wolf Den trail because it is about 7 miles long and features a waterfall.  Points of interest along hiking trails are tough to come by in some areas, so we love it when we can find a trail with something to see.