Gettysburg Battlefield

While at Ft Mead, south of Baltimore, we decided to visit Gettysburg, about 60 mile NW of us.  We made arrangements to meet Dennis and Judy, our friends from the FamCamp at Andrews AFB, there.  They had left Andrews and were in a campground near Gettysburg.   

Our vehicles, both land and water!

We met up with them at the Visitors Center and after a quick tour of that very nice and modern facility headed out on the self-guided auto tour.  We stopped first at the battle ground next to the cemetery where Lincoln made his Gettysburg address.  As we walked the cemetery we were struck by the great number of unknown soldiers buried there, both Confederate and Union soldiers were buried there.   All were American Servicemen.

As we continued to tour the battlefields we were struck by the great variety and number of monuments that were placed all around the battlefield.  You had monuments to the Generals, to the soldiers, to various units and to the losses the States suffered.  There were monuments from Southern States as well as Northern States.

A general's monument

A soldier's monument

The PA Monument which we happened to see on our way out after we enjoyed a late lunch with Dennis and Judy was the largest monument by far at Gettysburg - they were the "host" I guess.  It had the name of every PA soldier that fought at Gettysburg engraved on the monument.  The leading PA generals names were chiseled in the granite walls, the other names were on bronze plagues surrounding the base and lower level of the monument.

The PA Monument at Gettysburg

It was an interesting afternoon in nice weather, cool but not raining for a change!

To avoid some of the confusion about getting there, on the way home BJ pulled out her iPhone and practiced her map reading skills on it.  While she needs some more experience, it did help us get back to Ft Mead without some of the scenic tours I have been known to conduct!

We have enjoyed our chance to tour the early history of our wonderful country, but we are getting anxious to see the Girls and get on with some warm weather.  We are missing both!!

Valley Forge, PA

From our RV Park just inside NJ we headed to Valley Forge, the winter encampment for the Revolutionary War Army.  It was only about a 60 mile trip but it was raining all the way and of course we moved from one congested Interstate to the next.  We got off at Springfield, PA to find a place to eat.  Lo-&Behold there was a Moe's - but, it didn't look like the Moe's we know but we went anyway.  Well, this is apparently Homer Simpson's Moe's!  Inside there was a nearly life size plastic statute (didn't expect bronze, I hope) of the Simpson family overlooking the dining area.   Fortunately, my back was to them so I enjoyed my meal.  It was very good!!  We moved on and after a few wrong turns and scenic detours we arrived at the visitor's center in the rolling hills that dominate the area.

Valley Forge was the third of the eight American winter encampments during the Revolutionary War. It is the best known of the eight, however, because it is recognized as the birthplace of the Continental Army.

The Arch at Valley Forage

General von Stuben, a German officer that was part of General George Washington's staff, was a major factor in the birth of the undisciplined group that started the encampment after being defeated at Philadelphia by the Brits.  It then withdrew to Valley Forge; close enough to keep and eye on the Brits, but far enough away to prevent surprise attacks.   Von Stuben, started organizing the various disparate units into a cohesive fighting force.  He instilled discipline into the troops and taught them how to fight as an effective Army rather then a bunch of separate groups!! 


One of the first priorities was providing shelter for the men.  The men built small huts that they would live in for the winter!   Each hut housed 12 men and a fireplace and not much room for anything else.  

A 12-man hut

I bet by the end of the winter these were real cozy cabins with 12 men in each one of them!!  As a matter of fact by late Spring, Washington had some of the soldiers move across the river to a more "healthy" campground and soon they all were there!

Interior left side of a hut

There were several references and monuments mentioning the unknown soldiers that died at Vally Forge.  About 12,000 men started the encampment and by the time it was over there was only about 6,000 troops left.
 
The leadership of Washington seemed to be an important element and a key part of the effort.  His quarters and office were located there and it helped insure he was in direct contact with the troops.  They saw him frequently and that was important.  

It was a fascinating story of an epic event in our Nation's early days.   While it was not the coldest or longest winter encampment it seemed to be the most important as it was the crucible that a rag-tag group entered and the Continental Army emerged from.  Even though victory at Yorktown was still several years away, this was an important step that contributed mightily to that victory.  

Civil War Battlegrounds

After a cold, wet, gloomy Wednesday when we stayed huddled in the RV, barely surviving the cold, Thursday was a bright and sunny if not really warm day and we headed out to explore the area.  We spent much of the day in and around Fredericksburg, VA visiting the many Civil War battle grounds.   We started with a short visit to Jackson's Shrine not far from here.  It was the farmhouse where he was taken after being mortally wounded in a "friendly fire" incident.
Next we moved on to the Battle of Fredericksburg which was conducted in Dec 1863.   The thing that struck us was the massive loss of life due to the frontal assaults conducted against entrenched troops, and at this battle, Confederate artillery on the high ground behind the entrenched Confederate troops.
 

The "Sunken Road" where Confederate troops were entrenched against repeated frontal assaults.  Over 8,000 Fed troops were killed or injured in one afternoon and still failed to reach the Sunken Road

However, what the Federal generals found out partly at this and several other campaigns following this major one was the Feds could replace lost resources (blood and material) faster and easier then the Confederates with their smaller population and less industry!  The Federals gradually moved to a war of attrition after these encounters around Fredericksburg.  The Federal resources were much deeper and eventually it made the difference!!  
On the high ground behind the Sunken Road where Confederate artillery was positioned there is now a Federal cemetery that was established immediately after the war.  Over, 15,000 dead Federal soldiers are there and the names of over 12,000 are known only to God!

The cemetery on the high ground behind and above the Sunken Rd. 

Note the missing headstones.  

This is the "headstone" for unknown soldiers.  They fill the space in pic above between the headstones with names on them.  The top number is the plot number, the bottom number is the number of soldiers buried in the plot!

We next moved on to the visitor center for the Battle of Chancellorsville, 27 Apr to 6 May 1863.  Most battles were named after a community; however in this case it was a single building that was a wayhouse at the intersection of two roads outside of Fredericksburg.  Again Lee outmaneuvered the Feds and won the battle.

Our next stop was at Spotsylvania, 8-21 May 1864.  A  notable part of this battlefield was the Bloody Angle, a slight angle in a trench line that the Feds charged trying to break the line.  Hand-to-hand combat raged for 20+ hours in rain and darkness and cold and the bodies just piled up. It gave Lee time to reinforce the line behind the Bloody Angle and when that was done his troops withdrew to that line and held it against the Feds until they withdrew from the battlefield.

An interesting part of the day was finding our way back to Ft AP Hill.  These were all back roads and ill marked, especially without a map.  We took what my kids would have called "the scenic route".  However, on the bright side, BJ used it as a chance to develop her skill with the mapping program on her new iPhone!  It did help us get back to AP Hill.

The next day was little less sunny, but we headed to Richmond to see the Richmond National Battlefield Park.  It was in downtown Richmond on the river and was at the site of a former foundry that produced some weapons during the Civil War.   Unlike Fredericksburg, most of the battles were in surrounding areas and seemed less significant.  We also visited the VA State Capital on its beautiful grounds in downtown Richmond!  This building was designed by Thomas Jefferson in the old Greek style that was typical of public buildings at the time.  He felt it was important that our nation show its culture and strength in public architecture.  He fought hard with the politicians of the time to make sure they did not upset/change his designs.

He won most, but not all the battles, and in later years after he was gone, subsequent politicians maintained his style and intent in a fairly consistent manner!  Later they added two "wings" because they needed more room and that was the best way to add room and preserve the integrity of Jefferson's design.  

We enjoyed our visit to Richmond and the ride back was a lot less "challenging" then the previous day.  We got on I-95N and headed back to our exit for Ft AP Hill.

Moving North - Slowly

After leaving FL for NC, we enjoyed a warm sunny weekend at Lake Waccamaw NC attending a family wedding.   

The weather was clear, sunny and warm and the wedding was even nicer.  It was good to see a lot of the family we have not seen for awhile, including some new members.  We parked on the lake shore in the yard of a family member, but had little time to enjoy the lake. We did get to spend an hour one afternoon on the dock enjoying the view and visiting with Martha, BJ’s sister.

About 10 miles from there on the way in we lost a shroud off the front RV roof air conditioner.  We did not know it until after we got there but remember it because there was a bad bump in the road and shortly afterward a car passed us with a lady sticking her head out the window pointing up with her arm!  We stopped shortly after that when safe but could not find a problem.  It was only after we parked and I climbed up on the roof that I found the problem.  Well, Lake Waccamaw is scenic place but not an economic powerhouse!  No RV parts stores available. 

However, my new Trikke T-12 Roadester was at Martha’s when we got there.  I had ordered it before we left FL and it took me about 2 hours to assemble but another two days to get the tires aired up.  They take 80 psi and that pressure is not commonly available at gas stations in this rural area.  Nonetheless, I got them aired up and tried out the newer, bigger Trikke the day before we left.  

We left Monday AM and had a nice trip north.  While on the road we contacted an RV dealer in Richmond and ordered the shroud so that is taken care of.  It will be in by the end of the week.   We arrived at Ft AP Hill, a US Army base north of Richmond a little bit and settled in at the FamCamp.  This is a very large training/maneuver base started up before WWII and certainly simulates the land mass in Europe.  Wooded, rolling terrain that is similar to much of Europe, but not much related to where the action is now.  Nonetheless, it is used to train all the services in warfare in this environment!

Talking about environment – we caught up with the winter so we are slowing our northward movement for a while.  High today is supposed to be 63 degrees!! Low last night was in the mid-40’s and supposed to be lower tonight!  We are planning on touring some of the Civil War battlefields around Fredericksburg and Richmond tomorrow if the roads are cleared by then.  We plan on moving on to DC this weekend and spending about a week doing the tourist thing there. 

After that we will move on toward Philadelphia where we hope to get a good Philly Cheesesteak and then maybe to the Hudson River Valley around the USMA for a few days before heading to RI to see the grandkids and their handlers.