Diary/Photo Journal

Week of August 24, 2003

As we proceeded southward down the East coast of the country, we thought to stop in a few more historic battlefields.  What we did not realize at the time, was how much history has been preserved in bits and pieces and how wonderful it is to be able to use your imagination to recreate the incredible Civil War and Revolutionary War battles.

We stopped in Fredericksburg and enjoyed a short walking tour through a Civil War battlefield.  Many of the trenches and walls are still in place as well as one unfortunate house that got caught in the middle of the gunfire.

Innis House bullet holes
in the sides and inside
through the window
View from the trench
across the battlefield

 

Actual Civil War picture taken a day after the battle.  You can see
the dead in the trench and the wall in the background.  The other
picture is of the wall and trench as it appears today.


From here, we traveled onto Jamestown and Yorktown, famous for the Revolutionary War action it received.   Just in case you have forgotten your American History, Jamestown was the first "settlement" by the British and although barely surviving, the settlement hung on for enough years to create a toehold in the Americas and thus prevented us from saying "buenos dias" as our normal greeting. 

We were planning on taking a quick walking tour throughout Jamestown (which now is just an archeologist's dream) and we were pleasantly surprised to walk into a "tour" being led by one of the original inhabitants from 1617 (she looked great for her age).  Rachel, our guide's name, described life for the early settlers (which for years, were only men) and the conditions in which they lived (and mostly died).  Keeping the tour light, Rachel commented on something I always wondered about - if people arrive on land and there is someone already there watching them come onto shore, THEY WEREN'T THE FIRST ONES THERE!  THE PLACE WAS ALREADY DISCOVERED AND OCCUPIED (by a very well-governed and civilized society of Indians).

Jamestown was abandoned and much of the buildings and other scars of mankind have been swallowed by the James River and/or the sand drifts that came with winds and floods.  However, archeologists have been painstakingly uncovering foundations of the homes, the businesses, the fort, etc., and have recovered thousands of artifacts from that era.  One thing to note is that the archeologists are not exposing the entire settlement at once.  Because of erosion and other natural destructive forces, the archeologists are keeping the majority of the area in its natural grave and only the areas that they are digging are exposed.

The steeple was the
only original part from
the 1600's - the rest of
the church was built in
the 1700's

Original graves
Example of the archeologist's dig
This was part of the fort's building
that connected to other buildings
within the fort by this drain line
you see here

 

1700's building
Archeologists expose foundations and recover them - then
they build a "copy" over the original for a layout view,
protecting the original under the ground
James River

 
In Yorktown, we found a different sort of history, one of the Revolutionary War.  We took a self-guided tape tour and were in awe of driving and walking in the same places that the British and American soldiers did some 225 years ago.  Just another quick History lesson - British General Charles Lord Cornwallis, a very experienced and competent commander, surrendered in Yorktown and thus, turned the tide to the American's favor.  Possibly, had this turned out differently, we may have found dinner to be "tea time".

There was a humorous anecdote that I will share with you (humorous to me because me mum was English and I can see the British wanting to keep things "proper").  When Cornwallis surrendered, all terms were acceptable but for the British demanding to be able to surrender "with the customary honors".  Customary honors allowed the surrendering troops to march out of their works with their regimental flags flying and playing an enemy's tune in honor of the victor.  Always the proper ones, the British.

Well, seeing as when the Americans surrendered a Charleston garrison to the British prior to this event, and seeing as the British refused the "customary honors" to the Americans there, and seeing as one of the Yorktown-American Officers was at that garrison, Cornwallis received tit for tat and was coldly directed to surrender "with shouldered arms, colors cased, and drums beating a British or German march".  This was a very dishonorable surrender and haunted Cornwallis to his grave.  See, you never know when that karma comes around.
 

American
view to British
inner circle
British inner
circle trenches
view to American

 

American trenches and bulwarks
still remain
American redoubt facing
the British and Gerson
at surrender field

 

Nelson House built in 1700's cannon damage still remains
Grandson of builder signed that little known document  -
The Declaration of Independence
Too many unknown
Civil War soldiers
Morris house grave

The above picture of a grave at the Morris House, where the Articles of Capitulation (IE: surrender) was signed, had a wonderful poem for the 30 year old deceased. 

General
Gerson
Morris House where the
Articles of Capitulation
were signed

 

Local
color
Local
inhabitant

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