DAY 6 (March 13) - Plenty of rain to start the day, at Spotsylvania CH. A few monuments are at the Bloody Angle section of the Mule Shoe Salient, such as the 15th NJ Regiment. 20,000 Union troops attacked, breaking the Rebel line at this point, but Lee counterattacked. For 22 hours some of the fiercest fighting of the war occurred.

The Sunken Road at Fredericksburg was equal in horror, though most of the carnage was at a distance instead of hand-to-hand, such as at the Bloody Angle. The Innis House (photo) is the lone surviving structure along the Sunken Road wall. Can you make out a few of the remaining bullet holes. Lee’s cannon held the high ground, such as at Howison Hill. The big guns (photo) could shoot a 30-pound shell nearly two miles, adding to the bloodshed during the infantry advances towards the Sunken Road.

A monument was erected for Richard Kirkland, who became known as “The Angel of Marye’s Heights”, for providing comfort and aid to fallen soldiers on both sides.

I have to add a photo of one of the park’s minivans. I have seen this artwork in a few other parks, such as Mammoth Cave NP. Great idea to get some PR on a moving billboard.

The Washington cemetery holds the remains of 32 family members (reinterred into one vault), including George’s parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. George, and Martha, are buried at Mount Vernon. The replica house depicts the home in which George grew up.

Prince William Forest has plenty of relaxing forest ground to enjoy. The photo is one section of the main vehicle road, which also happens to be part of the Potomac Heritage Scenic Trail, so a two-for-one situation in my count.

Shenandoah NP had a surprise, in that the Dickey Ridge VC was closed (until this coming Friday). The bottom portion was prevalent today, in that the Skyline Drive was closed. So, no one could access a VC today. Dickey Ridge was opened in 1938, one of the hallmark structures in the NPS.

Cedar Creek has a few monuments (units of Brig Gen John Pegram’s NC division in the photo, who rushed forward against Getty’s Union men at this exact spot) on the various parcels of land which comprise the park. The VC had stashed the Passport Stamp materials in a box at the bottom of a display stand. The Heater House still sits in the middle of its original 600-acre farm, having witnessed the onslaught of Pegram’s soldiers.

DAY 5 (March 12) - I just lost the entire section. I do not have time tonight to recreate the section… will have to wait until Tuesday, the 14th.

Sorry for the delay.

Fort Monroe is still home to many people. They no longer have to use water from cisterns, but two hundred years ago that was not the case. The Lincoln Gun is on display in the parade yard. It was the first 15” Rodman Gun made, in 1860. Range was 4-miles… wow. The roof tops of the fort walls now sport grass instead of cannon and guns. Small markers indicate pets who died while their owners were stationed here. A wide, ten-foot deep, moat surrounds the fort. Can one say “Middle Ages”?

Yorktown’s auto-tour takes one from the British lines to the American lines (photo with cannon pointing towards town, behind earthworks), including two British redoubts (#9 is the one photo, with wood stakes) and the Surrender Field. The most famous cannon of the battle is in the VC; the “Lafayette Cannon”. General Lafayette and his men had captured the cannon during their attack. A unique ding on the barrel allowed Lafayette to identify the gun when he returned for a visit to America in 1824.

A Colonial Parkway away from Yorktown is Jamestowne, the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Captain/Governor John Smith is memorialized with a statue near the 1608 church (the interior of the structure has actual brick and wood areas protected by glass panes). A few more yards away was the town’s original cemetery. 30+ graves have been identified. Rod crosses have been placed above the burials. Mother Nature keeps encroaching on the colonists’ fort. The vertical logs stand above the actual foundation as determined by archeologists.

The Richmond NB is spreadout over various locations. I went to the Chimborazo Hospital and Fort Harrison units. The hospital served over 75,000 Confederate wounded until the Union secured the grounds in April-1865. The diorama shows the complex at its height. The red dot is where the current medical museum and VC is located. Fort Harrison was one of the largest fortifications in the area. Its earthworks are mostly original, unchanged over 150+ years. Both sides controlled the fort during the battle.

With the rain coming down in sheets at Petersburg NB, I was not looking kindly to exiting my vehicle. Therefore, I have included two photos from a previous visit, when the sun shone through. From 1781 to 1865 I guess folks figured they could not improve on the sharpened wood stick concept for defense. The famous mine at the infamous Crater cannot be entered, but one can walk up to its entrance.

The entrance to the Walker home is under the awning. This street was called “Quality Row”. Many influential African Americans lived in the area. Walker was the first black woman to charter a bank in the United States. She served as president for years. Her live was filled with work to promote opportunities for African Americans; a staunch Civil Rights supporter. The “backyard” of the home is a small plaza (VC is under the gray stairs on the left).

DAY 4 (March 11) - Stand in the middle of the park and try to imagine what it was like for the three landing parties. Food and water were needed. Diplomacy with the natives. The weather. A new world for sure. The recreated earthwork fort (trenches with the dirt used to build the walls) sits on the original fort site. A marker commemorates the 1585 fort, which was called “The New Fort in Virginia”. Roanoke Island was also important for the Civil War, with the Union keeping control for most of the conflict. The island had been an important part of the Underground Railroad (photo of black marble monument).

Ranger Ann-Marie provided background of the Wright Brothers’ work in front of the replica aircraft at the VC Valentina provided a pose on a platform which allows visitors to experience what the Brothers had to worry about to make their plane fly… yaw, pitch, roll.

Markers along the flight path show how far each of the four flights went, each subsequent take-off going farther. The fourth attempt is way down the path.

A large monument to Orville and Wilbur sits on the hill where they did their glider experiments.

Justin is the newest Jr Ranger at Cape Hatteras NS, being sworn in by Ranger Debbie. The Bodie Lighthouse has horizontal stripes while Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has angled stripes. Each lighthouse along the coast has a different design, so sailors know which one they are viewing. The middle photo is the assistant keeper’s quarters at the Hatteras lighthouse.

DAY 3 (March 10) - Cape Lookout NS was the lone park for today. Anyone heading on the ferry to the lighthouse area at high tide had better have boots. I was told the NPS has no timetable to fix the dock at the lighthouse, so it could be years. The man in the one photo had been wearing jeans, but they became soaked as he tried to hug the coastline to get to the landing spot.

Many Cannonball Jellyfish were washed up on shore, as were some turtle shells. Water and wind have eroded the beach property which has protected the lighthouse complex since 1859. A small hut is shown in both photos. The orange layer is a bit off-shore, and is to be used for dredging to try and add some more shoreline. The other photo shows how close the water is to the structures. You can tell from the change in sand color where the water was at high tide. The VC has a wonderful display of artwork by local elementary school students, depicting Cape Lookout.

DAY 2 (March 9) - First photo is of Lori, Ralph, Ruth, and me. Long time friends who met up with me before the day’s first stop at Guilford Court House NMP.

Inside the Guilford VC is a British 3-lb cannon, made in 1776 in Scotland. Appropriately so, the sign says not to touch. The VC also has a display of the clothes and uniforms (British private is red, Colonial private is blue) worn at the time of the battle. The largest monument in the park is of General Greene, the commander of the American forces. Everyone knows the name of George Washington, right? Well, he handled the northern campaign for the colonies. Greene was his counterpart in the south.

The photo of the woods is where Virginia Militia held Green’s 2nd line of defense, looking straight ahead at the advancing British.

Two (William Hooper, John Penn) of North Carolina’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried on the battlefield (photo) under a marble structure. The whereabouts of Joseph Hewes’ remains are unknown.

Moores Creek NB was the first, and much badly needed, victory for American forces in the Revolutionary War. A display in the VC sums the engagement, though one cannot tell who won the battle. Well, the Patriots did. Scottish Highlanders welding their broadswords were no match for the couple of cannons positioned ahead of the all-important bridge (photo) and on the earthworks, and the 1,000+ North Carolinian Patriots.

I hope you can make out the points on the leaves of the Venus Flytrip plant. This was my first time seeing this critically endangered plant in person. The park is taking great effort to encourage the plants to grow and multiply.

DAY 1 (March 8) - Since I-64 had an exit ramp right onto the property of New River Gorge National Park and National Preserve, I had to take it. The Sandstone VC still has old banners, from the days before Congress made it a “National Park” designation (it became a NPS unit in 1978).

I stopped at the crossings of the Blue Ridge Parkway and The AT while on route US60 in Virginia. The one photo is of the parkway bridge over US60. This is basically what all the bridges look like. Flow is not impeded on either roadway. A ranger had just closed a section of the parkway… good thing I did not have to go south at that point. The AT crossing was at Long Mountain.

Appomattox Court House is a familiar name to anyone who has studied the American Civil War, even if just a week in a high school history class. The Clover Hill Tavern was restored in 1954 by the NPS. Inside is a room which shows two printing presses and parole passes. Once Grant and Lee signed the surrender papers, the presses started. Each Confederate soldier was given a pass, so he could return home.

The VC has a display which includes the tabletop on which the surrender papers were signed. That is one important piece of wood in our country’s history. The last photo is of the McLean House, where the surrender was officiated (slaves’ quarters are the white buildings on the back of the property).

The Booker T. Washington park has a beautiful bust of a young Washington, just outside the VC. The park trail includes a tobacco barn, and a log cabin which reflects the house Washington lived in while a slave at this farm. Washington only lived 59 years, much too short for one who should have had many more years to continue inspiring blacks, whites, and all peoples. As the NPS website says, “From Slave Cabin to the Hall of Fame.”