March 12
Many people still live in the Fort Monroe complex, so one has to be courteous when driving on the streets and thinking there are short-cuts across the grounds. Not until 2011 was the base deactivated from the U.S. Military. This location’s history includes a 1609 fortification, the first enslaved African landing in 1619 (though at the time the spot was called Point Comfort), the largest stone fort in America (1834), witness to the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor battle (first time two ironclads fought), and a major training center. Fourteen U.S. Presidents have visited the fort, even as recent as Harry Truman (to visit his cousin who was stationed at the fort). One can drive their car across the ten-foot deep moat, but be prepared to leave only a few inches between the tunnel walls and the car mirrors. The top of the fort’s walls no longer has guns, with grass planted to make for a nice walking path of sorts. The southwest section holds the remains of around 400 pet animals which died over the decades. Stone markers provide names and dates. Even military personnel like to own pets. One of the fort’s casemates is used as the park’s museum. There is an official Visitor Center, on the other side of the moat, but most of the artifacts which folks will want to view (such as the prison cell which held CSA President Davis) are in the casemate. A ticket is needed to enter the casemate, and it can be obtained at the VC… it is free.
Colonial NHP consists of the Battle of Yorktown, the Jamestowne Settlement, and the Colonial Parkway. Yes, the parkway connects the two other units, about a 35 minute drive. The road goes right under Williamsburg. There are exits off the parkway, on either side of the tunnel, to allow one to go “up and into” the Williamsburg historical district. It is ironic that the distance between the first permanent English settlement in America and the surrender of England to America was only about 15 miles, as the crow flies. But it was a long 174 years (1607 to 1781). The auto-tour at Yorktown takes one to both British and American earthworks and battle lines. Redoubt #9 has large, pointed logs, sticking out from the middle of its earthworks. The French who swarmed this position had to be very brave to take on such a defense. A couple of locations have cannon. But the most prized cannon, the Lafayette cannon, is in the VC. When General Lafayette returned to America in 1824, he identified this specific gun by a distinctive mark on its barrel which had been made by a fired American cannon ball. He had seen this firsthand on the field of battle. A covered viewing stand is situated next to the Field of Surrender, where the British filed by American and French forces to lay down their arms. At the base of this structure is a ring of British cannon which were captured at the battle. Each had been engraved with the words “Surrendered By The Capitulation Of Yorktown”.
Jamestowne has changed over the years. No, not the underlying story of the island, or the artifacts collected, but the “look” on the surface. When I last visited there was excavations in-process next to the church. Today, that entire area looks like it has never been touched, filled in and leveld with dirt, and grass all around. A new entrance gate greets visitors as they enter the area of the 1607-1608 fort. The locations of burials have been discovered and are now marked with thin iron rod crosses. A large obelisk monument, commemorating the 300th anniversary of the landing is the first item a guest sees when coming across the bridge from the VC. That was 1907. In 2007, Queen Elizabeth II paid a visit to the site, to honor the 400th anniversary. A photo of here is placed at the Barracks structure. Of course, there is a statue of Pocohontas. As with the lighthouses from the last two days, the James River has eaten away at the island. Engineers have placed materials on the shoreline to help minimize future degradation. A line of poles sits right on top of the original palisades wall (discovered by archeologists) and it is no more than 5 yards from the water.
Richmond NBP and Petersburg NB were visited in the rain. Therefore, you can correctly assume I did not take too many photos, or take too many steps away from my car. Rangers Burt and Mike said hello when I entered the Chimborazo Medical Museum and VC. This was one of the largest Confederate Civil War hospitals, treating upwards of 75,000 men. Over 7,000 of those soldiers did not survive. The museum has displays with medical equipment from the war, and I for one am glad of today’s technology. There was plenty of suffering back then. A diorama of the hospital complex gives visitors an idea of the scope of operations, from tent to tent to tent. I headed down to Fort Harrison, one of the larger forts which the Confederates had built to protect Richmond from a Union attack. Tall earthworks still stand. Other forts are included in the NPS unit, but it seems one has to drive through multiple subdevelopments to reach them. It is fortunate the NPS now owns these pieces of land so future generations can view the battlefield.
More rain at Petersburg. Ranger Andrew was very informative of what transpired during the nine-month siege. He showed me how to reach Fort Fisher, the largest fort built by the Union forces for their protracted stay. It is located on the Western Front. The main VC for the park is in the Eastern Front section of the park. It is here where one can see a reproduction of the “Dictator”, the largest mortar used in the siege. Weighing 17,000 lbs, and being 13” diameter bore, it packed a wallop for whomever was on the receiving end of the 218 pound shell, at up to 2.5 miles away from launch. But even this monstrosity has to take a backseat to another wow factor. The “Tunnel” was a 500-foot long feat of battlefield engineering. Union soldiers dug to a point under a large Confederate fortification, and on the morning of July 30 they lit the fuse to 8,000 lbs of explosives. The Battle of “The Crater” was underway. Over 250 Rebels died instantly, with hundreds more wounded. It seemed that nothing could stop the Federal force. But due to multiple mistakes, such as soldiers running into the now overtly large crater, instead of running around the rim, the Confederates repulsed the charges. One can see the Crater and the entrance to the tunnel on the Eastern Front auto-tour. Though I did not make it to the Five Forks area of the park (further west from the Western Front area), all history buffs should stop there. After the fall of Richmond in 1865, and Lee’s decision to then retreat westeward from Petersburg, Five Forks was decisive in helping push Lee even further west, and in a few days to the final conflict at Appomattox Court House.
Last stop for the day was Maggie Walking NHS. The VC and home are closed on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. Budgets are a big factor at many parks relative to when they can be open. But I have to balance my timing across all 424 parks, as to when I will be in a specific region, so I will miss a few Passport stamps. But I did get my GPS waypoint, and was able to snap a couple of photos in between rain drops. Walker’s list of accomplishments are too long for me to list. In the history books of African-American community and life, she is right up there with the Carter Woodsons, Frederick Douglasses, George Washing Carvers, and Booker T. Washingtons.