Appomattox Court House

Our journey to Appomattox Court House began over two years ago, when we took our family on a "Civil War Battlefields" adventure on the East Coast and we were watching reenactments at the 150th anniversary commemoration at Gettysburg.  At that time, we thought "Hey, wouldn't it be cool to be at Appomattox Court House in April, 2015 to commemorate the Sesquicentennial anniversary of the end of the Civil War?"

It was just wishful thinking at the time, but as fate would have it, we find ourselves temporarily residing in the right place at the right time, just a few short hours away from this historic place in its Sesquicentennial year, so how could we not attend? 

Walking into the village

Appomattox Court House village is where the Civil War ended in April 1865.  The iconic image of this momentous event is that of Robert E. Lee, the General of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant, the General of the Union Army, and then tipping his hat and riding away on his white horse, Traveler.  

The Appomattox Court House

Ironically, the surrender took place at the home of Wilmer McLean, the man who had a cannon ball fall into his soup pot down his chimney at the battle of First Manassas at the first major battle of the Civil War.  After the surrender, he rightfully claimed that the war started in his back yard and ended in his front parlor!  McLean had moved to Appomattox Court House village to get away from the war.  Sometimes you can't escape your fate!

General Robert E. Lee, with the McLean House in the background (where the surrender terms were negotiated)

The surrender at Appomattox Court House was the culmination of events that started days before, when the Confederate defensive line from Richmond to Petersburg collapsed.  Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet evacuated to Danville (the "Danville Train" of the song), and Robert E. Lee attempted to link his half-starved army of between 20,000 and 30,000 with General Johnston's army located in North Carolina.  But Phil Sheridan's cavalry and General Grant's foot soldiers kept him from making the turn to the South or getting resupplied by train and eventually cornered Lee at the Village of Appomattox Court House on April 8-9, 1865.

Picture of the village of Appomattox Court House from the road below

The surrender actually took place over several days.  After the terms were concluded on April 9th, the Confederate forces marched into the village by divisions and stacked their arms and military equipment and received paroles to return home.

Confederate troops marching in to surrender their arms

Confederate artillery being moved

Confederate soldiers stacking arms in front of the courthouse

The National Park Service commemorated the surrender events in real time.  We we weren't able to get down there until the 11th, which meant we missed seeing General Robert E. Lee ride up on his white horse, Traveler, to meet with General Ulysses S. Grant and work out the terms of surrender.  We did get a picture of "General Lee" on horseback, though!

General Robert E. Lee

It was a beautiful day, filled with various reenactments of the stacking of arms and surrender of artillery and commemorations and informational lectures by NPS Rangers.  Our teenage history buffs gave it a two thumbs up!  

Below are a few more photos with scenes from the day.  

Clover Hill Tavern, where they printed and issued paroles

Union Troops taking the field

Firing demonstration by Union Troops

The parlor of the McLean House, where the terms of surrender were negotiated.

Da boys and the General 

On the porch of a house owned by a lawyer during the Civil War and by a free African American family shortly after the war (1867).  They are buried in a small plot behind the house.

Confederate troop encampment near Peers House

Confederate artillery fired from here on Union troops
the morning of April 9th in the last battle.

Peers House constructed c.1855.

Another structure in the process of being restored

Confederate boys resting in the shade

Brass field artillery

Union Officers outside the Clover Hill Tavern

Cherry Blossoms

The blustery and cold East Coast winter pretty much guaranteed the cherry blossoms would bloom late this year.  

When we returned to the DC-area after Spring Break, the cherry blossoms were approaching the "fluffy white" stage, and forecasters were predicting that peak bloom (when 70 percent of the blossoms are open) would occur when we were out of town that following weekend.  We were bummed that we were going to miss seeing the world famous DC cherry blossoms!

The cherry blossoms did peak while we were gone, but they were still magnificent when we got back. While hubby and the boys couldn't miss work and school, my schedule is a bit more flexible.  When I saw the news reports on Monday morning, saying it was going to be the last day to view the cherry blossoms this year because the rains were coming in, I headed out the door!    

A short metro ride later, and after LOTS of walking (I got off a few metro stops early to avoid the crowds), I found myself at the Tidal Basin.  While there are cherry trees all over DC, the Tidal Basin is where the 1,700 prized Yoshino cherry trees are planted, a gift from Japan in the early 1900s.  

The iPhone photos don't do it justice, but believe me, it was breathtaking!  

Some of the cherry blossoms were closer to the "fluffy white" stage . . .

while others were turning pink.

Most of the time, I found myself walking underneath a canopy of gorgeous, blossoming branches.

The views of the Jefferson Memorial (above) and the Washington Monument (below) from the Tidal Basin are already gorgeous, but the cherry blossoms made it even more spectacular.  

Every now and then there would be a gust of wind that would cause a few cherry blossoms to fall off the trees, gently showering the passersby.

I am so glad I decided to go down there that day to take it all in.  A long walk amidst all the beauty made for the perfect day!

No Place Like It

No place like HOME, that is!  

We had the good fortune to travel home for Spring Break.

If we could use only one word to sum up the trip, it would be GRATITUDE.

We are so grateful for the love and support of family and friends, the time we got to spend reconnecting with everyone, the great sleeps and yummy meals and delicious treats, the wine (!), the laughs and togetherness, the playdates and chances the kids had to see old friends, the help with projects around the farm, the sweet bouquet of flowers on the doorstep, and the many, many other kind and thoughtful gestures that made our time even more special and fun.  

We are also grateful for the incredible surprises, like driving in the driveway to find that our lawn was freshly mowed and the beds in front and the jungle in the back was manicured and tended. (Thank you again neighbors, you know who you are!  That was above and beyond, and we are so appreciative!!) 

But perhaps the biggest surprise of all was when one of our cats that had been missing since last fall turned up in the driveway.  Add to the above our gratitude for the sweet neighbor girl who is willing to take care of her.  Here is the saucy minx pictured below, acting nonchalant, like we had just seen her yesterday.  If cats could talk, I'm sure we'd hear some stories!

We are counting our blessings and sending our heartfelt thanks to friends and family for your continued love and support.  For those of you we missed seeing, we hope to catch up with you next time!

Peaceful Tribute

We took advantage of a recent no school day get the boys down to the Pentagon for a tour. We were in luck this time--the weather was nice and the Pentagon Memorial was open!



The Pentagon Memorial commemorates the victims of the events at 9:37 AM, September 11th, 2001, when a hijacker flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the side of the building.  184 lives were lost that day, some on the aircraft and some on the ground.

The memorial is a collection of individual memorials to each victim, and is arranged by date of birth, from the youngest, aged 3, to the eldest, a 71-year-old Navy veteran.  The memorials are cantilevered benches with a flowing pool of water underneath.  If you face the end with the name of the person, you look either at the Pentagon, if that person was there, or the ridge over which the plane came, if the person was on the plane.  125 people in the Pentagon were lost that day, and 59 on the plane.

It’s an elegant, simple memorial, interspersed with Crepe Myrtle trees still in their youth, which one day will shade the etched stone and steel names of those that lost their lives that fateful day.  It's an incredibly peaceful place to just sit and reflect on the enormity of what happened and pay tribute to the souls who were lost.



If you look closely, you can tell the new stone from the building's original stone, which gives you an idea of the area of impact and amount of damage to that side of the building.

If you haven't seen this memorial and you're anywhere near the Pentagon, you should definitely make time to go.

O'er the Land of the Free

We had a day trip to Maryland planned a few weeks back, but we weren't sensing a lot of enthusiasm from the boys when it came time to depart.

What?  Only four months into our trip and they've already lost their sense of adventure?  Where was their carpe diem spirit?  How could mountains of homework possibly keep them from the adventures that were awaiting us, just outside the door?

It was definitely time for a reset.  Leave it to hubby to have at his fingertips a YouTube video that was just what we all needed to put it in perspective.  For those of you needing some inspiration, CHECK THIS OUT.  (In case the link doesn't work, it's a young Robin Williams' Carpe Diem speech to his students in "Dead Poet's Society.")

If that doesn't get you going, I don't know what will.  Three minutes later, with a rallying cry of "CARPEEEEEEEEE DIIIIIIIIIIEMMMMMM," we were tripping over each other to get out the door, leaving our cares and worries behind for a day of exploration!

Our general destination was Baltimore's Inner Harbor, where we wanted to check out Fort McHenry, a star-shaped fort that was the site of the British Naval Bombardment of Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812.  It was those bombs bursting in air that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner, the song that would eventually become our national anthem.

Although it was a beautiful day, it was COLD, and the winds were brisk.  The little "storm flag" they were flying at Fort McHenry was getting a workout in the 40-60 mph gusts.

We oriented ourselves with the brief NPS video at the Visitor's Center, and then we braved the winds outside and headed up to the Fort.

The Fort lies at the entrance to the Baltimore Harbor, and thus was the key to defense of the city when the British came to attack and burn Baltimore in 1814.  The British Navy bombarded Fort McHenry for 25 hours, and it's estimated that between 1,500 to 1,800 shells and rockets were fired at the fort during that time.  

Fort McHenry was defended by a thousand brave men, its gun batteries protecting the river channel that led to the city.  

When the smoke cleared the morning after the bombardment, Francis Scott Key was on a ship in the Chesapeake Bay, straining through his telescope to see whose flag was hoisted over the fort.  When he saw that it was the stars and stripes of Fort McHenry's flag, he was so overjoyed he was inspired to write the poem the "Defence (sic) of Fort McHenry," which grew over the years in popularity until "The Star-Spangled Banner" later became the National Anthem of the United States in 1931.

If you need a patriotic shot in the arm, go see Fort McHenry.  I dare you not to cry when everyone stands at the end of the video shown in the Visitor's Center to sing the Star-Spangled Banner.  Proud American moment!

We were glad to leave the bone-chilling winds at Fort McHenry.  After feasting on some surprisingly delicious seafood at one of authentic eateries at the Inner Harbor, we headed off to our second major stop of the day:  Fort Washington!

Fort Washington is the military fort you can see when you're on the Virginia side of the Potomac, just north of Mt. Vernon, looking over at Maryland.

Originally Fort Warburton, the United States began constructing a fort on this location in 1808 to defend the river approach to Washington D.C. from the British.  That original fort was destroyed in 1814, but it was replaced by a new fort that was completed in 1824.

The fort has been many things over the years, housing many troops and reinventing itself as the needs of the coastal defense changed over time.  It played a role in defending the nation's capital in the Civil War, and it has played a key role in the coastal defense of the nation's capital for almost 200 years.

The fort became part of the National Park Service in 1946.

Bye, Maryland!  Look forward to seeing more of your hidden treasures another day.

First Impressions

You may recall in an earlier post that two members of our corp were "outed" as being the newest recruits in the First Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line, a Revolutionary War living history group.

Samuel has written this blog post to share some of their impressions thus far:

My dad and I have joined a local Revolutionary War living history group.  It’s a longstanding non-profit organization committed to education, often doing living history demonstrations and events around the community, in the schools, and at local historical sites.

As such, it’s important to make every attempt to accurately portray the clothing, equipment, and life of the Revolutionary War soldier and his family as far as is possible. * This is called the “impression” – as it’s subject to some interpretation.

My dad and I have accumulated a little bit of kit, but are using some loaner gear, as much of the gear is hand-made and needs to be acquired slowly and thoughtfully.  It’s also a wee bit more expensive than your average Halloween costume!

It is known that the continental troops all over the American colonies were undersupplied and starving until the intervention of foreign powers after the second battle of Saratoga.  This is very true but the regulars still tried to maintain a bit of uniformity among its privates and officers.  First starting with the hunting frock and then moving to a mix of regimental frock coats (what we see a continental soldier look like today) and hunting shirts.

We have been outfitted with loaner hunting shirts with a fringe on the collar as well as red on the cuffs and collars.  It was thought that the initial uniform of some Virginia Regiments was a hunting shirt with some sort of red cuff and collar although there are no surviving examples or pictures.  The standard regimental frock coat with red cuffs and red coat facings was later introduced.  The hunting shirt is lightweight and very large but serves well when you stand in the hot summer sun.  The regimental coat is made of wool and uses British blue coloring and other British and Indian dyes for the wool, making it warmer and yet still free and open to movement.  We don’t have one of these yet but we hope to obtain or make one or two someday.  Below are a few photos of Dad testing his sewing skills by making a new linen Haversack.

The shoes are a fun little aspect of the reenactment since they feel uncomfortable and can hurt if you walk too far in them without getting used to the feel of them and break them in.  Luckily we don’t have to march 20 miles in one day!  Though they can be a curse to your feet they look very cool and make you feel like you are really livin' the dream!  Dad has acquired a pair and we are considering options for me but trying to find reasonably priced shoes are hard when you have a growing teenager.  

In any case, in early May we expect to be encamped at a couple of historic sites, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellows wreathed in smoke from our musketry, and in the evenings gathered around the campfire singing songs and eating some sort of salt pork or beef.

We’ve done a little training, but this will be the first big event.  We are excited . . . HUZZA!

For those of you interested in learning more about the First Virginia, check out its website or "like" it on Facebook if you want to keep track of what the group is up to:

Website:  http://1varegiment.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/1varegiment/timeline