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Colonial Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown |
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Thursday, 25 March 2010 |
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Today I bit off a bit more than I could chew! I usually cram a lot into one day but today was almost too much for even myself and I still don’t feel like I really got to see everything. I debated where to start this morning and figured Jamestown would be first since it was the first settlement back in 1607. I found out there were two “Jamestowns” to visit. One was the National Park which was the original site of Jamestown and they are still conducting archaelogy digs on the site. The other is called Jamestown Settlement which is a re-enactment rebuilt version of the original right next door. I went to see both. Unfortunately the Jamestown Settlement had a million school children on field trips so it was not that enjoyable for me. But Historic Jamestown on the National Park Grounds was more my style. Quite, relaxing, historical, and informative! As a child I grew up always thinking that America was founded by the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock in 1620. I asked the historian at the park why Jamestown is so often forgotten about since it technically is older and the first. The explanation he gave was two fold. One, when school books were written in the 1800’s they were written with a “Northerners” slant. Two, American psyche prefers to hear the Pilgrims came to escape religious persecution and founded a new colony for their religious freedom as opposed to England wanted to expand it’s empire and formed a colony in Jamestown in 1607 where you had to be Anglican. Very interesting! It is still quite wilderness around there and I went for a hike trying to imagine how it must have been back in 1607 and how terrifying it must have been. I learned about Capt John Smith and Pocahantas and the harsh first few years of the settlement and how it began to grow and expand. I visited the museum and watched the film they had. After visiting the two Jamestown sites I got back on Colonial Parkway and headed to Yorktown. Here again there were two sites to visit…the Yorktown Victory Center which had a museum, movie and re-enactments and the National Park Yorktown Battlefield. I went to both and got “re-educated” on my American History. I kept hearing that Yorktown was the end of the war but it was in 1781 and I knew the war didn’t end until 1783 so I didn’t understand. After visiting the site I learned that Yorktown was a catastrophic blow to the English and while they did not surrender the tide turned and the people of England began to urge the King to withdraw out of America. It took two more years of squirmishes and negotiations for the Treaty of Paris and full independence but the battle of Yorktown was the last major battle. The museum was fasinating showing the events that led to the revolution and what life was like during the revolution….the Brits, the Yankees, the Torries, the French, the Slaves, the native Americans, The Quakers, all who had different view points and vested interest in the war. They also had a display on sunken Naval Ships in the harbor and some of the harbor is still and archaelogical site! Most fascinating to me was the presentation on Thomas Payne’s Common Sense which fueled the war. It was explained that the pamphlets were the first mass produced pamphlet so that everyone had access to read it cheaply and be informed which fueled peoples passion about indepence and revolution. Ah..the power of the press! I then proceeded to the National Park battleground which is my first trip to a revolutionary War battlefield. Some of the redoubts and trenches they built are still there! Washingtons headquarters was there as well as the spot where the british surrendered. It was hard to imagine how these people fought so close to each other…with bayonettes and guns all in a line led to a slaughter on both sides. Time was ticking so I rushed to Williamsburg…on the way I got stopped by the Virigina State Police for speeding but they let me go with a warning. Williamsburg was almost to big and to much for me to encompass. I wandered the streets while life was re-enacted and carried out as it was in the early 1700’s Williamsburg which was then the Capitol of Virginia. I saw the Tavern where Patrick Henry proclaimed “Give me liberty or give me death”. I saw the Governors Palace and the old capitol building. The people were dressed in colonial garb as horses, oxen, chickens, and farm life roamed free. I had ran so much today and was going at such a break neck pace I didn’t even stop to eat lunch so I was pretty tired by closing and went to a buffet and now unwinding. I feel a bit tired tonight and also sad..sad that my trip is almost over and I must return to the mundane reality of my life. Tomorrow I make a long 200 mile trek from Williamsburg back to Roanoke for my final Civil War adventures…… |
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Richmond Virginia & the Civil War |
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Wednesday, 24 March 2010 |
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Well, yesterday was “young America day” seeing history and sites from 1776-1820’s. Today we move ahead to 1860’s….the Civil War or the Second American Revolution! I’ve always been fascinated with the Civil War. I think partly because it was such a test of the Constitution and dealt with so many issues: Slavery, States Rights Vs. Federal Rights, Economic difference, political ideologies, and what the US was going to do with the growing westward states. In addition, it fascinates me because it literally was brother against brother. Today at a museum it was noted that not one family 1860’s was not touched somehow by the war. But I digress…I left Charlottesville at 9 am and arrived in Richmond about an hour later. My first stop was the Hollywood Cemetery a sprawling necropolis with some of the most incredible headstones I had ever seen along with private mausoleums. I visited the graves of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of Ameica, and two United States Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler. After a brief visit at the cemetery I headed to the Civil War Museum which had an excellent and well balanced display regarding the north, the south, and the African Americans. Very well put together and explained the civil war in a very thorough historical and social context. I then headed to downtown Richmond where I visited the Museum of the Confederacy which of course was slanted toward the history of the Confederate side of the war. Next door was the White House of the Confederacy and home of Jefferson Davis. The tour of the home was great. The furnishings were nearly all original because after Jefferson Davis fled the capitol the Union Generals used it as headquarters and took care of the items rather than looting. President Lincoln visited this home April 4th, 1865 just 10 days before his assassination. The history and lives of Jefferson Davis and his family as well as the political process that led to two separate nations was rivoting! After that, I walked down the street and went to the John Marshall home. He was the third US Supreme Court Justice and was monumental in early US History defining the constitution and hearing the early supreme court cases. I then walked over to the Capitol Mall and visited the Capitol Building, the old Capitol building, the Governors Mansion and the Old City Hall. I then hopped in my car and drove across town to the Edgar Allan Poe Museum. I have been fascinated with Poe since high school….not just his poetry and short stories but his personal life as well. His father left, his mother was a stage actress in 1811, he tried to commit suicide, was an alcoholic, and had a series of failed relationships! Plus his literary work is so dark and macabre. The museum contained a lot of his original writings and personal objects. While most believe he died in the gutter drunk, it’s still really a mystery how he died. I then got on Hwy 5 and head to the outskirts of town. I wanted to see the battlefields of Richmond. At the civil war museum they explained to me that battles were always outside the city and once the battle was won, then the Yankees would invade and loot and pillage. So there are a series of battlefields around the city of Richmond from several battles including the final days of the South in April 1864. When the whole city was leveled and all the citizens became refugees. I stopped at 4 of these battle sites and it was eeries. There were cannons and green grass and complete silence excpt for the birds tweeting. There was a sign posted saying “metal detectors prohibited” as people still can find bullets and other fragments. It was so calm and peaceful and hard to imagine that 150 years ago the echoes and screams of death and killing and the green grass was covered with red blood. It literally sent chills down my spine. By now it was 5 pm and I figured I had better make my final push on to Williamsburg as I want to get an early start there and wasn’t sure I where I was going to stay. I hit the road and got to Williamsburg about 6 pm and drove around and found a Days Inn, checked in and unwinding. What an incredible day…now tomorrow will be spent going back in time from the Civil War to Colonial Times with visits to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown! |
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Charlottesville, VA--Three Founding Fathers |
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Tuesday, 23 March 2010 |
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Today was truly a step back into the history and lives of three of our founding fathers. My day started off at 9 am at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Monticello, in Charlottesville, Virginia was Thomas Jefferson's home for the remaining fifty-six years of his life. He spent forty years designing it, building it, tearing it apart, redesigning it, and finally putting it all back together. He loved the house and its' property, and knew the name of every tree planted on its grounds. And, if one of his trees died, he knew it. He used his own kilns to bake the more than half-million bricks he used in the various stages of its construction. While serving as Minister to France, he filled almost a hundred crates with furniture and various works of art for the many rooms at Monticello. While in France he would collect fruit trees and bring them with him on the long boat trip home. When Mr. Jefferson was President of the United States, he would long for his home at Monticello. Whenever possible he would make the long four day trip there from Washington. After his death, practically everything at Monticello was sold at auction. In the Foundations efforts to collect his original property, they have amassed more than one hundred-fifty items, collections from museums, universities, private homes and Historical Societies. These original items are on display at Monticello in a special exhibition titled, "The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello." Some of the many items included in this special exhibition are a collection of Native American artifacts presented to Thomas Jefferson by Lewis & Clark; a buffalo robe; his famous astronomical clock that he built because his old less-accurate clocks caused him to miss the eclipse of 1811. Also, included are his original dining room tables; a three-inch bell that Thomas Jefferson's wife, Martha, gave to her nine-year-old slave girl, Sally Hemings; and more than thirty original paintings. The floor of the entrance hall has been repainted the grass-green that it originally was, and the walls of the family sitting room have been returned to its original indigo. These efforts to return Monticello to its original state will provide visitors an almost exact feeling as if Thomas Jefferson lived there today. Thomas Jefferson picked out the site for such a house as he had planned from his father's estate when he was twenty-one-years old. He named it "Monticello" which is Italian for "Little Mountain." Monticello was intended to be fashioned as a traditional Palladian building, but its location was not practical. It had been said that building a house on a mountain was most impractical. As a result of it's impractically, Jefferson paid dearly in his efforts. He had to transport tons of stone and timber. Once the original structure was up, there was not enough water in the well to meet the needs. He then had to transport water using carts from the nearby springs. Life was uncomfortable and difficult in the early years of construction, especially for his wife, Martha, who had to live in a house, that in her lifetime was never finished. She had to tolerate unfinished walls & roof, being subjected to severe cold winds, brick and plaster dust, all the while bearing six children in ten years, having lost four of them, until her death in 1782 at the early age of thirty-three. Throughout the many discomforts and hardships experienced at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson felt there was a brighter side, in that nothing like Monticello had ever been built in Colonial America. Thomas Jefferson was an extraordinary man. In his fifty-six years at Monticello it seems he always kept himself quite busy. He designed and invented many things. He would start his day at first light, reportedly when he could read the hands of the obelisk clock that he designed. This clock was marked by clangs from a Chinese gong placed on the roof. The gong was powered by the clock located in the entrance hall. The mechanism was controlled by fifty pound cannonball weights that would descend slowly throughout the week, falling through holes in the floor by Friday, spending the next two days falling further into the cellar. Some of his other inventions include a dumbwaiter; a polygraph machine that enabled him to make exact copies of letters as he was writing them; Venetian blinds he used to regulate sunlight in his greenhouses; a moldboard for a plow; and his achromatic telescope. When he was not busy building, designing or inventing, Thomas Jefferson spent many hours writing one of his more than 20,000 letters, or reading from one of his more than seven thousand books in his library. His library contained books in seven languages, two of which were Latin and Greek, languages he had mastered. When he worked at his desk, he would have no less than twenty books at a time in which to refer. Thomas Jefferson spent over forty years in public service. He was a Delegate to the Virginia House of Burgesses (1769-1793); and the Continental Congress (1775); Governor of Virginia (1797-1801); Minister to France (1785-1789); Washington's Secretary of State (1789-1793); John Adam's vice-president (1797-1801); and President of the United States (1801-1809). Monticello through all its greatness also had a flaw. An economic flaw. Although Thomas Jefferson could feed and clothe its inhabitants, it did not produce enough cash crops to pay for the country-gentleman lifestyle so accustomed to Jefferson. As a result it was worked by the most oppressive of labor systems, human slavery. Jefferson did however deplore human slavery and was optimistic that it would one day be abolished. He knew though that the only way to run a plantation of this size was through the use of slaves. He did manage to free a few of his slaves, but by the time of his death the remaining slaves as well as the remainder of his property were offered for sale to pay his debts. Throughout his lifetime Thomas Jefferson is remembered for his wit, his designs and inventions, his writings, and his public service. But let us not forget that it was he who wrote the Declaration of Independence and also as President of the United States signed the authorization for the Louisiana Purchase, thus acquiring for the United States what is now the present states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming and Montana. This was perhaps the most endearing service to his country. . Thomas Jefferson wrote in his account book in 1826 the inscriptions to be cut on his tombstone. He made no note that he had been President of the United States, but wished simply to be most remembered for founding the University of Virginia, for writing the Declaration of Independence and Virginia's Act for Religious Freedom. The last line was to read: Died July 4, 1826. It was only fitting that Thomas Jefferson died at Monticello, the place he loved to live. After my tour of the home and ground I visited the Jefferson cemetery and saw the grave of the third president. A little further up the road I visited the home James Monroe. Encouraged by his close friend, Thomas Jefferson, Monroe purchased a deed for one thousand acres of land adjacent to Monticello in 1793 for an equal number of pounds from the Carter family. The land formerly had been a part of the Blenheim Plantation owned by Champe Carter. Six years later, Monroe moved his family onto the plantation, where they resided for the next twenty-four years. In 1800, Over the next 16 years, Monroe continued to add on to his home, adding stone cellars and a second story to the building. He also expanded his land holdings, which at their greatest included over 3,500 acres However, by 1815, Monroe increasingly turned to selling his land to pay for debt. By 1825, he was forced to sell his home and the property. The tour was about ½ hour long and then I was off to Michie’s Tavern. Michie Tavern has welcomed travelers for more than 200 years. Imagine arriving by horseback, on foot or by coach. The rooms would be thick with the scent of cooked venison and tobacco. Voices, some raised in heated political debate, would carry from room to room. As you cross the threshold of old Michie's Tavern you enter another time. Our costumed hostess welcomes you into the past as "Stranger," an early 18th-century term for a traveler. Much like the 18th-century visitor, you will be enjoying homemade southern fare based on recipes from the period. After your hearty meal, a "taste" of the past lingers while you tour through the oldest sections of the tavern.. This is where your 18th-century counterpart came to dine and socialize. Taverns served not only as a place to eat, drink and sleep, but also as the center of the community. As you climb the stairs to the second floor, you enter the Assembly Room. This large, sunlit room once served as a ballroom, makeshift school room, a place for worship and for extra sleeping accommodations. The other rooms on tour, including the elaborately decorated Ladies' Parlor, also served many purposes. After touring the Tavern, guests may continue their tour through various outbuildings and then down a winding path through the woods which leads to the Meadow Run Mill and General Store. Along the path is the Clothier Shop and the most recent Marketplace shop, the Metal Smith Shop. I also opted to eat lunch at the tavern which was a hearty buffet of fried chicken, pull pork, beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn bread, and bisquits!! Needless to say I was full for the day. After a full tummy…I head about 30 miles north east of Charlottesville along a beautiful road through the Virginia Countryside to Montpelier the home of James Madison, architect of the Constitution. Being off season, there was no one there and I had a private tour with a historian. The normal 30 minute tour turned into 1 ½ hours due to our conversations about governments, politics, and history. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Orange, Virginia, Montpelier was the lifelong home of James Madison. Madison was raised at Montpelier, lived here after his marriage to Dolley, returned here after his presidency, and died here in his study surrounded by the books and papers that marked so much of his life's work. It was at Montpelier where Madison researched past democracies and conceived of the system of government that became our republic. The Montpelier estate features the Madison mansion, historic buildings, exhibits, archaeological sites, gardens, forests, hands-on activities, a new Visitor Center, and a freedman's cabin and farm. Here, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, you can spend an hour or two—or a day or two—strolling the grounds, picnicking, and learning more about the man whose contemporaries called "Father of the Constitution," and the woman who inspired the title "First Lady." Since 2004 the Montpelier mansion has been undergoing a massive restoration to return it to the home that James and Dolley knew and loved. A $25 million architectural restoration was unveiled on September 17, 2008. This was actually my favorite stop mainly because of the private tour and the history that my guide and I discussed. I learned a lot of interesting facts about the creation of the constitution. It was nearing sunset and I still had more ground to cover. I headed back to Charlottesville for a quick stroll down the historic downtown area and eventually headed over to the campus of University Of Virginia founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1829. The Rotunda was designed by him and is eerily similar to his home Monticello. After a long day and covering so much ground, territory and history, I couldn’t help but ponder about these founding fathers…their enlightenment and their intellect. Their ability to debate and create not only a revolution but a new form of government. To create a country that continues to change and grow and strives to be a place where all people are equal and entitled to certain unalienable rights! It also amaze me how these delegates could all come together and compromise and eventually agree to bring forth a new nation. The day is done and I am tired…I went for nearly 12 hours straight….I’m off to bed and tomorrow I head to Richmond…Capitol of Virginia and former Capitol of the Confederate States of America. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 23 March 2010 )
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Lexington and Staunton, Virginia |
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Monday, 22 March 2010 |
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After getting everything straightened out this morning with car rental and air flights…I felt like the trip really got underway today doing what I love the most…historical travel. I left Roanoke about 9 am and drove up Hwy 81 to the town of Lexington, Virginia a historical civil war town founded in the 1700’s! I stopped at the visitors center to pick up some information and maps and got there in time for the 10 am tour of the Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson home. As much as I think I know history I am always learning. I learned that Stonewall Jackson was a war hero from the Mexican American war and then returned to teach at the Virginia Military Institute where he was a professor. When the Civil War broke out he became general of the Confederate Army. He was shot by his own men “friendly fire” at Chancelorville and died 7 days later from pneumonia. The tour of his home was quite fascinating. After I walked around the main historic downtown district marveling at the architecture and quaintness of this town. I then headed over to Lee University where General Lee was President of the University in his later days after the civil war. At the university is the Lee Chapel which is where General Robert E. Lee is buried with his family and his horse!!! His horse Traveller was with him during every battle of the Civil War. Lee died in 1870 and Traveller died in 1871. The campus was absolutely gorgeous and reeked of history. Right next door to the Lee University is the Virginia Military Institute. I didn’t think I would find it interesting but it actually was. It was the first federally founded military academic school in the US back in 1839. George Marshall (of the Marshall Plan) attended there as well as General Jackson. It is still used to this day as a military school and also buried on the grounds is Stonewall Jackson’s horse. There is a museum there I visited and the chapel as well as the George Marshall Museum. I then walked through the town of Lexington to the outskirts of town to visit the Cemetery. At this cemetery Stonewall Jackson is buried as well as his family members. Aside from seeing this, it was nice to wander around the old cemetery and the old headstones fascinate me and are thought provoking letting my imagination run wild thinking of what they may have died from, how did they end up in Lexington, Virginia, what were there stories? There was also a burial area for unknown Confederate Dead. At this point I was done with Lexington and going to head up to Staunton via the interstate. But the lady at the visitors center said I should take the back road hwy 11 because it was much more scenic and was the actual road the cadets marched during the civil war. Aside from that, the birthplace of Sam Houston was along that route who later went on to be President of Texas (Yes…Texas was it’s own country for a while). The drive north along this route was very scenice and it was nice to drive through the rolling hills with no traffic, music blasting, and thinking what it must have been like nearly 150 years ago as troops marched along this road. I finally arrived in Staunton (prounced Stan-ton)! My main point I wanted to see here was the Woodrow Wilson Birth Home. The city of Staunton was very quaint and founded in the 1700’s as well. The Woordrow Wilson Birth Home and Museum was very interesting and I learned some new historical facts! Woodrow Wilson is the only president to have earned a PhD….the other presidents have only had honorary PhD. There was no one else there so I had a private tour of the home which contained the actual bed he was born in and his crib. The museum was well put together tracing his life and his Presidency as he lead the US through World War I. It was during his Presidency that the woman’s suffrage movement took hold and women gained the right to vote. I also learned his first wife died while he was in office and he remarried during his second term. There was a special exhibit about the tragedies of World War I. By this time it was getting late and I pushed on to Charlottesville which is where I am now. I arrived in Charlotesville looking for a place to crash for the night and found a relatively cheap Holiday Inn. I was too tired and distraught to try to find a real budget motel. So I’m all checked in now and going to do my research and prepare for tomorrow tour of three Found Father’s Homes…Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. This evening I am much more relaxed and enjoying the history and today my passion and love for free exploration travel and history has been rekindled. |
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Monday, 22 March 2010 |
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...so here's the latest...after I talked to everyone last night I finally fell asleep about 12 midnight. I woke up this morning and thought I better change my flight. I was going to fly home next Sunday night arrive in LAX on Monday at 1 am and then go to work. I thought this is silly....I'll come home a day early on Saturday and have sunday to relax plus save one extra day of hotel and car rental. I called United and they said it was going to cost me $1400 (150 for the change and 1250 for the new flight). I thought...that is not worth it. So I went to Delta and found a one way ticket from Roanoke to LAX for only $302 total. So I just bought that and then I can fly home Saturday and be home by 4 pm. I calculated taht by saving one nights lodging and extra day car rental and rather than a taxi in LAX and take the bus for 1.50 this whole fiasco will only cost me about $150 extra which is what it would cost to change the flight.
So...it's 6 am and I'm about to have Enterprise pick me up and get my car and head to Lexington, VA to see the battle of Lexington, Lee's Gravesite, Stonewall Jacksons home, Woodrow Wilson Birthplace and then find a place to stay tonight in Charlotesville, VA. It is raining hard today :( Hope the weather gets better. |
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Nicaragua & Honduras 
