The British Are Coming!!!!!

We're headed into Colonial Williamsburg to see those things we missed on our first day's visit and also to be a part of the excitement of having the British march into town to seize the colony. There was a long procession of British Commanders on their horses, British Infantry and the Scottish mercenaries marching into Williamsburg. Much yelling was being done by both sides and the Britsh had no qualms in arresting anyone who did not see eye to eye with them or who was not willing to pledge their allegiance to the King!



General Cornwallis rode up to the capitol building and ordered that the American flag be removed and the Britsh flag fly over the capitol. Once this was accomplished, the British commenced occupation of the town.

After the seige had taken place, we decided to walk down to the Governor's Palace and take the tour thru that building. I've placed a picture of the palace on the original Williamsburg blog so I won't repeat it on this one. The Governor's Palace was the residence of seven royal governors and the first two elected governors of Virginia, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. We are viewing the inside and outside as if Lord Dunmore, the last British governor of the Virginia colony lived there. He liked very lavish things and the Ballroom had a specially built heating stove while the dining hall off the ballroom was always furnished with gold plates, goblets and silverware. The dining when there is a Ball, is interesting in that it is made up entirely of sweets and drinks. Once the guests have eaten and drank, they return to the ballroom for more dancing. Most of the Balls did not end until 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. the next day.

The grounds encompassed ten acres of formal English gardens which included mazes, ponds, and flowers of all types.
After visiting the Palace, we decided to drop by the George Wythe (pronounced "with") house. Mr. Wythe was a pofessor of law and teacher of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe was first among Virginia's signers of the Declaration of Independence. Washington used the house as his headquarters in 1781 before the siege of Yorktown. In addition to the house, the grounds contain four major outbuildings and a garden plan which reflects a plantation layout. Furnishings in the home are a bit lower standard than in the palace, no gold plates, but still very beautiful and reminescent of a well-to-do eighteenth century Virginia household.

Though we were running out of time, we wanted to stop by the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, both accessed through the underground of the old Public Hospital. The Old Public Hospital was opened in 1773 and was North America's first institution devoted solely to the care and treatment of the mentally ill. The Folk Art Museum is also the first museum in the United States devoted to American folk art. It includes selections from Mrs. Rockefeller's original collection, paintings, sculpture, furniture, and weather vanes, just to mention a few of the items. (By the way, in case I forgot to mention this somewhere in my posts on Williamsburg, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was the person responsible for funding Colonial Williamsburg. ) The Dewitt museum is home to an extensive collection of American and British antiques, including furniture, metals, ceramics, glass, paintings, firearms, and clothing dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Both of these museums were just opened in February of this year. We could have spent an entire day here, but since we still had more to see in Colonial Williamsburg, we walked back the few blocks to the main part of town and stopped at the Bruton Parish Church.

Many prominent men of the Revolution attended Bruton Parish Church, including Thomas Jefferson, George Washington (Jan is standing in his pew box in the picture below), Richard Henry Lee, George Wythe, Patrick Henry and George Mason. An Episcopal church, Bruton has been in use since 1715 and still serves an active congregation. This original building still houses the old bell, made in the same year and by the same person as the "Liberty Bell". It still rings and is clear as can be. Imagine, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson heard this same bell ringing just as we did!You will notice that the sides of the pews are quite high. This was done so that the entire family could sit in the pew box in a circle and bring warm coals to sit on the floor to keep their feet warm during the winter months. They closed the doors on the pews to keep the drafts out.

By the time we walked back to the visitor's center, we felt like we had made a pretty good dent in Colonial Williamsburg. We saw most of the things we wanted, however we could have still spent at least one more day to see everything. They have a different schedule every day of things that are going on in the main part of the town, in addition to just going thru the buildings. Sometimes, they have Patrick Henry giving a speech, or a slave telling you about their lives, or George Washington delivering an address to the townspeople. You could definitely fill up a week with no problem. However, since we are headed to Washington DC, we figure we'll get to see even more interesting things and learn more about the history of this wonderful country of ours. We hope you'll continue to tag along with us for the Washington DC leg of our trip. Since McKenzie couldn't go on any of these excursions, we did want to mention her in the post by letting you know that she has her own store in Colonial Williamsburg.

Stay healthy and be kind to one another. We miss all of you and wish you could be here with us, but at least hope that you can experience some of the fun we are having thru this blog.
"Life is Good!!!!"

Norfolk and Virginia Beach

It is definitely too hot to try to go somewhere and spend the entire day outside. So, George had found a place he wanted to visit in Norfolk. George and Shirley are camped about 20 miles from us and decided to go along on the trip. We drove over to Rowena's which is a small shop that makes all kinds of scrumptuous pound cakes, jams, and sauces and has a wonderful little tea shop. Rowena's began in 1983 when friends and family urged Rowena Fullinwider to sell her jams and cakes which were already favorite gifts and charity bake sale items. Today, Rowena's is a million-dollar business that ships its foods nationwide and overseas. The tour begins in the retail store. All four of us went crazy, taste testing the different cakes and sauces. I had called yesterday to see if they would give us a tour of the facility. We had found them in the book George got for Christmas last year titled "Made in America". It has been very useful and we have found many companies that offer tours of their facility that we wouldn't have known about if it wasn't for the book.

George taste-testing the jams

Rowena has two extra large mixers which originally belonged to the sailing vessel, U.S.S. United States and you could make a meal licking one of their huge beaters. They are especially proud of the two enormous six-shelved rotating ovens that can cook 25 large cakes or 240 small loaf cakes in an hour. After the cakes are cooked, they are hand wrapped, labeled and put into the freezer. Rowena also bakes for certain restaurants and people by contract (Paula Deen is one of those who contract her to bake pound cakes for her restaurant).

We've got our hats on and are ready for the tour!

The tea room was very charming and serves teas, sandwiches, fruits, and of course Rowena's cakes and jams with her specialty being carrot jam. It was so good, that Shirley and I both bought a jar to take home. While we were there, Rowena came in and introduced herself and we had a nice talk with her and her husband, whom we called Mr. Rowena, but I believe his first name was Bill. As we left the shop, Daphne took a picture of all four of us in front with the mermaid and "Mr. Rowena".

After leaving Norfolk, we drove over to Virginia Beach. Once again, it is very crowded and there are very few spaces to park unless you want to pay $10 - $20. We walked down to the Atlantic Ocean, took a few pictures, picked up some sand for my shell collection from all the different beaches we have visited, and headed back home. The homes were definitely much nicer than any of the other coastal places we had visited, though. It was definitely too hot for us and we enjoyed stopping off at George and Shirley's motorhome and having a nice cold drink before we came home.

Tomorrow is going to be our last day of sightseeing in the Williamsburg area as we want to take Saturday to rest up a bit and get all those household chores done. Join us on our last day in Colonial Williamsburg and see what we find. We've been alerted that the Britsh are coming to take over the colony, so it should be exciting! Hugs to all of you!!!

Historical Triangle - Jamestown

Memorial Church at old Ft. in Jamestown

Today we are heading out to Jamestown, with our first stop being at historical Jamestown where three major themes of American History had their beginnings -English colonization, growth of representative government, and questions concerning African Americans, slavery and American Indians.

George & John Smith

This story began in December, 1606, when ships carrying 104 men and boys left London, a voyage that took five months, and anchored in the James River to establish the colony of Virginia, with Jamestown as its capital under a charter granted by James I to the Virginia Company of London. For the Virginia Company, this was a business venture to exploit Virginia's natural resources. Virginia at this time, encompassed an area that today stretches from Maine to North Carolina.

The colonists described Virginia an excellent place to live, rich in gold and copper, wood, sassafras, and pearls. All the things the Virginia Company hoped to market. The Powhatan Indians welcomed them and trade was immediately set up between thse colonists and the Powhatans. A triangle fort was built to protect them from Indian attack as well as possible attacks from the Spanish.

In 1608, Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatans, made regular and frequent visits to Jamestown. Captain John Smith believed she saved his life several times during the colony's first years.

Statue of Pocahontas (the one on the left)

During the winter of 1609, the Powhatans became disenchanted with the colonists and felt they were infringing on too much of their land. They waged a war and the colonists were afraid to come outside the fort to hunt for food for fear of being murdered by the Indians. They began starving and at the time that Lord de la War arrived with supplies and new settlers in 1610, only 90 of the colonists have survived.

In 1613, Captain Argall kidnapped Pocahontas and brought her to Jamestown. While a hostage, she received lessons in Christianity, converted and was baptized. Her marriage to John Rolf in 1614 helped to establish peaceful relations once again with the Powhatans. In 1614, John Rolf began cultivating tobacco plants and became very successful. Pocahontas, Rolfe and their infant son, Thomas, visited England in 1616. The Virginia Company felt that this would show the English nobility how successful the colony had been in helping to spread Christianity to the Indians. Pocahontas died on March 21, 1617 and was buried in Gravesend, England.

In 1619, three very important things happened. Elected burgesses met in the church at Jamestown - the beginning of representative government in the western hemisphere. Secondly, Africans arrived and are traded to the colonists, and thirdly, 90 unmarried women arrive and though men outnumbered women by three to one, in time family life took root.

We took the walking tour of the historic town site which included Old Town and New Town. In the Old Town section was the remains of the fort, the 17th century church tower and Memorial Church. Currently, digging is still going on for artifacts and the sections of log walls stand above archaeological remains of the original palisades. The walls enclosed about one acre in a triangular shaped fortification. There is also an Archaearium where you can see artifacts that tell the story of James Fort. In New Town, brick replicas mark the excavated foundations of the expanded settlement.

Archaeology site at original fort

Having spent all morning here, we decided to travel about a mile down the road to the glass house where artisans demonstrate the craft of 17th century glassblowing. Glassblowing was one of Virginia's first industries, started in 1608 by German and Polish craftsmen. Unfortunately, it was never much of a success due to illness and accidents.

Since 2007 is the 400 year anniversary of the beginning of Jamestown, the glassblowers were making glass bottles to commemorate the event. Glass consists of 60% sand, 15% potash, 15% soda ash, and 10% lime. The natural color of most glass is green because most sand contains iron oxide or rust in it naturally. To change the color, a small amount of metal must be added, e.g. , manganese makes clear, carbon makes brown, tin makes white, cobalt makes blue, silver makes yellow and copper or gold makes red glass. Today the glassblowers use natural gas to melt the sand mixture at 2350 degrees in 7 hours. In 1608, hardwoods were used and it took about two weeks to achieve a hot enough heat to melt the sand mixture.

Our final leg of this journey was to visit Jamestown Settlement which is a living history museum offering a wide range of activities, demonstrations and tours. They had a wonderful 30 minute movie about the colony's first two decades. They also had a fantastic museum, which we didn't get a chance to go thru due to running out of time. Definitely a place to come back too sometime. In addition to this, there was a full scale recreation of the James Fort as they assumed it would have looked, complete with wattle-and-daub houses with thatched roofs. Wattle-and-daub is many thin sticks with mud heavily caked between them.

We saw a Powhatan Indian Village with reed huts and got a glimpse into the daily life of the Powhatans. Yes, we did learn something - how to tan a hide. First you stretch it out in the sun and tediously scrape all the fur off with a clam shell. Once that is done, you use the brains from the animal and mix it with bear grease and let the hide ferment to make it soft and pliable. Finally it is hung in the hut and allowed to cure from the smoke pit, which will then give it the wonderful tan color that we are used to seeing. (Wal-mart seems a lot easier.)

Finally, there were replicas of the three ships, Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery that brought the colonists to Jamestown.

By 4:00 p.m, we were definitely dragging and had more information than we ever thought we could retain so we headed for home. Hope you enjoyed our trip thru history. One final thought, though Jamestown never became the "great city" John Smith envisioned in 1608, this small colonial settlement did enable England to establish a permanent presence in North America and plant a culture that would shape a nation!

Watch for the next blog, we are off to Norfolk and Virginia Beach - George has found a place that bakes pound cakes and we are planning on taking a tour! Sounds pretty yummy!

Historical Triangle - Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown

Sunday we arrived in Williamsburg and Monday morning we started out bright and early to see what was at Colonial Williamsburg. We had been warned that it would take several days to see everything there so we bought a ticket that gave us free reign to come and go as we like to all three sites (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) for the week we are here. I'm sure this posting will be in several segments, but I'll at least catch you up to date on what we have done on Monday and Tuesday.

Capitol Building at Williamsburg

As I said earlier, we went to Williamsburg on Monday and spent the day walking around Colonial Williamsburg. It is a living history museum that has set the standard for historical restorations around the world. As you step into the 301 acre historical area, you embark on a journey into the heart of America's beginnings. You can experience life on the eve of the American Revolution when you visit the historic buildings, encounter "people of the past", and discuss current events of the 1770's with tradespeople, shopkeepers, enslaved servants or maybe even Thomas Jefferson.
Martha Washington arriving at the Capitol

We toured the Capitol building where the members of the House of Burgesses met, walked down the streets and into the wigmaker shop, the milliner's shop, the printing shop and many more. Martha Washington arrived in a carriage to speak to the people on behalf of her husband. We attended a reeactment of an 18th century trial and listened to two cases brought before the judge and his "jury". A corp of drums and fifes marched down the palace green and into the street leading to the capitol building.


We also toured the Randolph Peyton home. This tour was different from any other we had done as we all participated and did role-playing as servants or members of the household. I was Mrs. Randolph Peyton. My husband was one of the wealthy genteel and a member of the House of Burgesses. When he died, I was left with lots of money and lots of land which I continued to take care of with the help of the 27 slaves. Needless to say, I was terribly upset when I heard that there was talk of abolishing slavery. George played the part of Mr. Randolph's manservant, Johnny who was at the beck and call of his master and slept at the end of his bed on the floor. At some point, Johnny ran away to freedom.



There are new and different events going on all day long every day. And, if that's not enough for you, there are also evening performances such as ghost walks, a witch trial, and a candelight choral concert. Needless to say, we were really tired by the time the day was over. But tomorrow is another day and we don't want to miss out on anything.

Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Williamsburg


Tuesday, we decided to go to Yorktown. We haven't seen everything at Williamsburg yet, but we'll do the rest later in the week. Yorktown was the end of "Colonial" America and the birth of "America". On October 19, 1781, the decisive military campaign of the American Revolution culminated with the British surrender to combined American and French forces under the command of George Washington. The Siege of Yorktown effectively ended the six year struggle for American independence and set the stage for a new government and nation. Besides the battleground, there is the Yorktown Victory Center which encompasses a history timeline; a continental army encampment where costumed historical interpreters offer a glimpse of camplife with their tales of poor pay, harsh discipline, and meager rations of bread, beans, and meat; and a 1780's farm.


Encampment tent for high ranking officers



After the British surrender, most Virginians lived and worked on small farms that usually included a wooden house with one or two rooms, a detached kitchen, a tobacco barn, and fenced crop fields. Most small planters owned one to three slaves who worked alongside the family in the fields and gardens. Tobacco was the cash crop of choice.





Smoked Meats, fish, and Dried Herbs stored for winter



Tobacco Plants


For those of you who have indicated that you like hearing about all the history, I'll try to summarize the timeline leading up to the war.


1750-1763 - After 1750, as the colonies matured, the British and Americans disagreed more and more on their respective roles within the empire. The war with France had forced the British to loosen control over the colonies in order to gain their cooperation. With victory, however, the British attempted to tighten their colonial rule. With a growing population, expanding economy, and freedom from French threat, the colonies increasingly resented British interference.


April 1764 - Parliament passes the Sugar Act to raise money from the colonies through import taxes. In response, Boston merchants refuse to buy English luxury goods.


March, 1765 - The Stamp Act, the first tax to affect all the colonies equally, becomes law. The Quartering Act requires the colonies to provide lodging for British troops.


May, 1765 - Virginia's House of Burgesses adopts Patrick Henry's Stamp Act Resolves, protesting taxation without representation.


August, 1765 - Angry mobs force stamp distributors to resign and many merchants and other patriots agree not to import British goods.


March, 1766 - Bowing to pressure from British merchants, Parliament repeals the unsuccessful Stamp Act but restates its supreme authority over the colonies.


June, 1767 - The Townshend Acts impose duties on glass, tea, and other items imported into the colonies. The Americans react by adopting nonimportation agreements and refusing to buy British goods.


March, 1770 - British soldiers, sent to support local British officials, fire into an angry Boston crowd and kill five people. This incident soon becomes known as the Boston Massacre.


April, 1770 - Realizing that the Townshend Acts are discouraging the purchase of British goods, Parliament repeals all the taxes except that on tea, which cannot be grown in North America. Having doubled in only 20 years, the population of Britain's thirteen North America colonies now exceeds two million.


May, 1773 - The Tea Act gives the British East India Company a monopoly on sales. In protest, patriots in New York and Philadelphia force ships to return to England without unloading their cargoes of tea.


December, 1773 - Patriots dressed as Indians board ships in Boston harbor and dump more than 300 chests of tea overboard to prevent its unloading and sale.


March, 1774 - Parliament passes the Boston Port Act, closing the harbor to all seaborne trade as punishment for the Boston Tea Party.

1774 - The events that followed the passage of the Tea Act demonstrated how irresolvable the conflict had become, and marked the turning point in relations between Britain and the colonies. Parliament's harsh response to the Boston Tea Party served to unify all thirteen colonies. Realizing the need for a unified defense of their rights, all the colonies sent delegates to the First Continental Congress in September 1774 to forge a common plan of action. Political leaders were kept informed of news through an effective system of correspondence, as they worked to develop new governing institutions. Widely read political pamphlets motivated Americans to take a stand, and prepare to defend themselves. Armed struggle appeared inevitable.


February, 1775 - Parliament declares Massachusetts is a state of rebellion. British General Gage is authorized to use force to control the colony.


March, 1775 - Patrick Henry gives his renown speech "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" He urges the Virginia Revolutionary Convention meeting at St. John's Church in Richmond to authorize arming a militia force to defend colonial rights.


May, 1775 - Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys capture Fort Ticonderoga, New York and it heavy artillery from the British. The Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.


June 1775 - Battle of Bunker and Breed's hills, Boston. British win the struggle but suffer heavy losses. George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental forces. Congress enacts Articles of War.


And of course, the rest, as they say, is history!


We also saw the Yorktown Victory Monument which symbolizes the victory of the American and French troops over General Cornwallis. The Monument was authorized by Continental Congress on October 29, 1781 just after news of the surrender reached Philadelphia. Actual construction began 100 years later and was completed in 1884. The original figure of liberty atop the Victory shaft was severely damaged by lightning. A new work replaced it in 1956. The shaft of Maine granite is 84 feet in height to which Liberty adds another 14 feet.
Yorktown's most ardent patriot was Thoas Nelson Jr., who led the local "tea party" and tossed tea off a merchant ship in Yorktown harbor in November 1774. From 1761 to 1775, Nelson served in the virginia House of Burgesses and then two years as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia where he signed the Declaration of Independence. In June 1781, he was elected the third governor of Virginia, succeeding Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Nelson's Home


While in Yorktown, we also visited the Watermen's Museum which is a privately supported, non-profit museum whose exhibits present an overview of who watermen are and their history. The building which houses the museum has an interesting history itself. It was bought by a developer from Chicago who wanted to build a more lavish mansion on the spot. He therefore gave the building to the Waterman's Museum and they moved it in total on a barge across the river to where it now houses the museum. It includes a study of the Chesapeake Bay workboats, tells the story of fin fishing for croaker, spot, flounder, and shell fishing for crabs, clams, oysters and harvesting them, as well as individual stories about watermen.

By Tuesday evening we were stumbling back to the trailer. We'll rest and be ready to go again tomorrow to see Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement. Til then, have a great day and remember "all those who wander are not lost".

Lynchburg, Virginia

We had a couple of days before leaving Lynchburg to head over to Williamsburg, so we thought we'd hit a few of the local spots. We drove downtown and decided to take a self-guided architectural walk around the town. The streets are very hilly, in fact, San Francisco has nothing on this town! After walking a bit, we passed the "Weenie Stand" which boasts the "best hotdogs in the world" so naturally we had to stop in and try them. We have to admit, they were certainly one of the best we have ever had.

Then we continued our walk. At the turn of the century, Lynchburg was one of the wealthiest cities in the nation, with their fortunes built on trade, tobacco and manufacturing. As a major railroad and medical center, it was here that General Lee was heading before surrendering at nearby Appomattox. One of the most unique architectures, is the Monument Terrace. In 1924, the monument was dedicated as a memorial to Lynchburg's soldiers killed during World War I. The bronze statue at the base of the terrace is entitled "The Listening Post" and was added in 1926. The stairs lead to the city's 1855 court house.

Our second stop of the day was the Old City Cemetery which was established in 1806 and is one of the oldest public cemeteries in the United States that has been in continuous use since its founding. More that 20,000 people are buried here, most before 1925. It is most unusual because it is also a museum. It contains a hearse and caretakers' museum, a station house museum, and a medical museum. In addition, there are over 200 varieties of antique roses, a butterfly garden and lotus pond. In the Confederate Section, we found a listing of names which contained the name of John Vinson, who fought in the 26th Infantry for North Carolina. Don't know if he was a relative, since my maiden name is Vinson, but we thought it was interesting. We never could find his gravestone, though.

Our last stop was at Poplar Forest which was the "other home" of Thomas Jefferson which he designed and built while he was President as a retreat for rest and writing. In 1806, Jefferson traveled from the White House to personally direct the masons in laying the foundation of this octagonal house. Poplar Forest was Thomas Jefferson's well-kept secret.

Before we left Lynchburg, we had found that Panera Bread offered Wifi, so we stopped in there and had breakfast and picked up e-mail. Next stop will be Williamsburg - so stay tuned for more history about the Revoluntary War. Love and hugs to everyone.

The End of the Civil War - Appomattox

Sunday, we arrived in Lynchburg, VA at the Elks Lodge. Unfortunately, when we got here, we realized that the electricity was too light for us to be able to run our air conditioner. The guy in the only other motorhome here, indicated he was leaving Tuesday and that his electricity was fine so we could have his spot when he left. George and I figured we were hardy pioneer stock and could surely do without air conditioning for two days. We had enough electricity to run fans, so we made it thru the first night pretty well. On Monday, it got really, really hot, so we spent the day out at Appomattox and came home about dark. Even with the fans, Monday night was miserable, but we did manage to get some sleep and moved first thing Tuesday. Don’t know how those pioneer did it with no electricity whatsoever. So far the electricity seems to be okay, so we’ll probably stay with our original plan of staying most of the week here.

We headed out to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, about 40 miles away. Currently operated by the National Park Service, this site, originally the actual village of Appomattox Courthouse, has been preserved exactly the way it stood on April 9, 1865, and pays homage to the event which reunited our nation and brought an end to the bloodiest chapter in the history of the United States. Here, at the McLean House, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant.

Early in 1865, as General Grant tightened the siege around General Lee and his army, Lee planned for the evacuation of his troops. He planned to march to North Carolina, consolidate his army with General Joseph E. Johnston’s, defeat General Sherman’s army, and then turn on Grant. When the Federals broke thru his lines on April 2, Lee put his plan in motion. The wings of his army were to rendezvous at Amelia Court House, resupply and march to Danville along the Richmond and Danville Railroad. Little went as planned. High water made crossing the Appomattox River difficult, delaying the rendezvous, and the anticipated supplies were not at Amelia Court House. Federal armies began to block his path and deciding not to give battle, Lee turned west and began a series of three consecutive night marches. Grant’s strategy – to press Lee from the rear while preventing him from turning south, get the cavalry in front of him, and then surround and compel him to fight or surrender - began to take effect.

Fighting by day and marching by night, Lee’s exhausted and hungry men trudged onward to their next supply station, slowed at almost every turn by bogged down wagons. On April 6, the Federals brought Lee to bay at Little Sailor’s Creek, where in three separate engagements, almost a quarter of the Confederate force was killed or captured. Beginning what would be their last night march on April 7, Lee’s men headed for the next destination, Appomattox Station where supplies awaited them. However, the Union cavalry captured the station and the supplies and positioned itself between Lee and his next objective. When large numbers of Union infantry arrived in support of the Union cavalry, flags of truce broke out and two days later in the little town of Appomattox Court House, the war in Virginia came to an end!

On Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, Lt. Colonel Charles Marshall was sent into town by Lee to find a suitable place for him to surrender to Grant. Since it was Sunday, the courthouse was closed and Marshall could find no one around to ask about an appropriate place. He finally encountered Wilmer Mclean, a sugar speculator, who had moved there to escape the war after the First Battle of Manassas had raged around his Northern Virginia home. The first suggestion McLean made did not meet the needs of Marshall. Then McLean offered the parlor of his own home. When Grant and Lee sat down in the parlor of McLean’s home, Grant asked only that the Confederates pledge not to take up arms against the United States. Officers were allowed to keep their side arms and any solder who owned a horse was allowed to take it home with him. Lee requested that parole passes be printed to allow the Confederate soldiers to return home safely. Grant agreed and set up printing presses in the Clover Hill tavern. 28,000 parole passes were printed in two days. The branches of Lee’s army formally laid down their weapons and flags over the next few days. On April 12, it was the infantry’s turn. As General John Gordon led the depleted ranks up the hill to the village, General Joshua Chamberlain, supervising the ceremony, ordered his troops to salute as the Confederates approached. Gordon reciprocated, “honor answering honor”, as Chamberlain later put it and then the Army of Northern Virginia passed into memory.

Lee’s capitulation did not bring an immediate end to the Confederate States of America; other armies were still in the field. Not until the surrender of Joseph E. Johnston’s army in North Carolina on April 25, Richard Taylor’s army in Alabama on May 4, and Edmund Kirby Smith’s army in Texas on June 2 did the Confederacy cease to exist. All were surrendered on the terms set at Appomattox Court House by Lee and Grant.

We visited the parlor in the McLean House where General Lee sat at a marble top table to sign the surrender terms and General Grant sat on the opposite side at a table that had been brought from his own camp. It was very moving to be able to walk the old country lanes where the above events took place and in quietness and stillness imagine the activity of those April days of 1865. The Park provides a living history program in which various characters in period dress represent people who lived during this period and entertain with stories as if it was the summer of 1865. They make learning about the history easy as well as entertaining. In fact, there were two likely deserters who were imprisoned in the old jail cell below.
On a hillside outside of town, stand tombstones with 18 Confederate flags and 1 Union flag where soldiers were buried who were killed during the last two days of the war. Only seven are identified. One of the known Confederates, Jessie H. Hutchins, enlisted just three days after the firing on Ft. Sumter. He had survived 1,454 days of service, only to die in the war's last 24 hours.

On this trip, we’ve seen Fort Sumter where the first shot of the Civil War was fired and now we’ve seen Appomattox which signaled the end of the Southern States’ attempt to create a separate nation. In a few days, we’ll be heading to Williamsburg to study a different war in our country’s history. Shirley and George are currently at Kittyhawk and once we catch up with them, we’ll try to update you on their adventures. We miss all of you and hope you enjoyed the history lesson. Seems like I never had this much fun learning about history when I was in school. Guess there’s a lot to be said for “first hand” experience. Travel again with us soon and until then, be kind to one another. “Life is good”.

Lexington, Virginia

We headed to Lexington, VA. to visit with a friend, Sharon Burrows. I had worked for her husband, Roland for many years and they are wonderful people. Unfortunately, Roland passed away last year before we were able to get to see them at their farm in Rockbridge Baths, VA, outside Lexington. Sharon had given us excellent directions and we were awed with the green, rolling hills, rivers, and mountains in the distance. Their farm of 112 acres, sits in the Shenandoah Valley between the Allegheney Mountains to the west and Blue Ridge Mountains to the east. We parked our rig at the barn and went up to the house to visit with Sharon and her best buddy, Randy, a dalmation. Sharon was an excellent hostess, chauferring us to many of the tour sites and local restaurants and we thoroughly enjoyed the two days we were there.

Sharon drove us thru Goshen Pass, a 4 mile winding road which shows enormous boulders strewn along the Maury River with views of Jump Mountain to the north. Originally the Pass was called Dunlap’s Gap in honor of the Dunlap family. In the early 1800’s, it was changed to Strickler’s Pass. Daniel Strickler built a hotel along the river. Across the road from the stately old hotel was an island with a sulphur spring of pure and healing water. People came from far and wide to drink and bathe in the medicinal, healing waters. Today, these springs are on private property and very little is left to mark the place of the old hotel.

Another important factor contributing to the growth of not only farming but also Rockbridge Baths county in general during the late 1800’s, was the completion of the railroad from Staunton to Lexington. The Valley Railroad began its run into Lexington in 1883 and was supposed to continue on to Salem, but was never completed. The 36 miles from Staunton to Lexington was said to cost $1,250,000 and operated for 59 years. At some point, the Valley Railroad was bought by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad which gave up the route and removed all the tracks. As you drive thru the countryside you can still see stone trestles and culverts which were an integral part of the railroad.

In downtown Lexington is the only home that General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson ever owned. The brick townhouse was built in 1800 and the stone addition at the rear was built around 1848.

Jackson had shown his brilliance as a cadet at West Point, where despite a poor educational background, he finished 17th in a class of 59. He distinguished himself as an officer in the Mexican War and in 1851 accepted a position at Virginia Military Institute as a professor of Mathematics. Jackson married his first wife, Ellie in 1853. In 1854, she gave birth to a stillborn daughter and later the same day, she herself died. In 1857, he married his second wife, Mary Anna and they bought the 2 story brick house where they and five of their six slaves lived until Jackson departed for the Civil War. On April 17, 1861 Virginia seceded from the Union. Jackson’s brigade “stood like a stone wall” in defense of the Henry Hill House at the first battle of Bull Run and turned the tide of the battle. Thereafter, Jackson was dubbed, “Stonewall”, and his troops became the “Stonewall Brigade”. Jackson was shot and wounded by friendly fire from his own men in 1863. He left arm had to be amputated. Eight days later he died of pneumonia.

Lexington is home to two universities who are situated right across the street from each other. Virginia Military Institute (VMI) was the nation’s first state-supported military college. George C. Marshall, a 1901 graduate attained the highest military rank possible – General of the Army – and later, as Secretary of State, became the only soldier to win the Nobel prize for peace for the European recovery program known as “The Marshall Plan”. The university houses its own museum as well as the George C. Marshall Museum.

Across the street is the Washington and Lee University. In 1782, the university was named Liberty Hall Academy and had fallen on financial hardship. George Washington was given 100 shares of stock in the James River Company. He rescued the college by giving those shares to Liberty Hall Academy and the name was changed to Washington Academy from 1789-1813. In 1871, the final name change became Washington Lee University. This change transpired because Robert E. Lee became President of the college and began the Law school. After Lee’s surrender to Grant on April 9, 1865, he was in a dilemma as to what to do with the rest of his life. He was offered the job of president and accepted. Lee’s tenure was tragically short. His health declined in 1869 and by October, 1870, he was lying in a semi-conscious state near death. On October 12, Lee died at the age of 63. A beautiful statue of a recumbent General Lee, lies in Lee Chapel on the University. The statue was created by Edward Valentine out of one chunk of marble.

As you can see, we’ve crammed quite a bit into just a few days and we are now headed for Lynchburg, VA, where we will visit Appomattox. Virginia is beautiful and we are thoroughly enjoying our time in this wonderful state. Shirley and George are still in Kinston but will moving to Rockyhock, N.C. were they will be learning about the Wright Brothers. Hope you’ll keep traveling with us as we learn more about the Civil War. Til then, take care and remember, “Life is Good”.