Our Nation’s Capital

    We have spent the last week being tourists in Washington, D.C. I can’t begin to cover everything that we have seen and done. We played real tourists and took two bus tours, one was DC by day.  (A nine hour tour. Lots of time to stop at museums and monuments but still not enough.) And the other was DC by dark. This was a nifty way to see things. Having been here a few times before, it was fascinating to see what things had changed. We also did the “General Public” Capitol tour, which is what you see if you just walk up to the visitor’s center and sign up for a tour. It is free and lasts about an hour. We had also taken the opportunity to contact our Senator (Pat Roberts from Kansas) and got scheduled for a tour led by one of his interns. The intern for our tour was a K-State student, as was another intern that welcomed us into the Senator’s office in the Hart Building. We were really lucky on that tour. We were the only folks on it, so it was like having our own personal guide. We got to ride the underground subway train that links the Senators’ offices with the Capitol. I never even knew it existed! 

    We spent about two hours and went to several places that were not a part of the General Public tour. Given the choice, I would wholeheartedly recommend the Senatorial tour.

    We spent some time at the WW II Memorial. This memorial was still under construction the last time we were here in 2003. It has been completed and is very impressive. 

    Along the back wall (behind the photographer in the above photo) there are 4,048 gold stars. Each star represents 100 killed or missing during the war. Facing the wall at the edge of the reflecting pool is a granite marker that says “Here We Mark The Price of Freedom”.

It was very emotional, probably the most emotional of any monument or memorial that I have visited. Here you have many veterans of WW II who visit. In fact, I was told that the VA will pay for any WW II veteran’s transportation expenses who wish to visit the memorial. I also heard from someone that both they and their dad’s way was paid since their dad was confined to a wheelchair and needed the assistance. We were told that an average of 1,100 WW II vets die every day! Barb took what I thought was one of the most memorable and moving photos of the trip. It speaks for itself. 

    Our journeys also took us to the American History museum. Here we saw things like Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz movie. 

I had to include the following for all of my Programmer buddies...

    Scary but COBOL has its own display in the Smithsonian!! I used to program using that language. Jeesh, I feel old!!!

    We also visited Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was assassinated. Again, it was under renovation last time we were here. 

    The box has been restored to the way it looked on the night of the murder. While most is recreated, the photo of George Washington is original. 

    A little of the weird were these two works of art in the National Art Gallery. 

    Ever use one of these? I needed one this size!

    A stainless steel tree. Not a small one either. You don’t have to rake leaves, but you do have to polish it!

    We visited the Smithsonian Botanical Gardens. Again, you needed a full day just to see them!  

    Then we visited the Natural History Museum. Here, for a short time only, the Hope Diamond has been put into a new setting. 

    Just a representative sample of what there is to see in just a small amount of territory. We didn’t stray too far from the National Mall. There are still many other things to see and do that we just didn’t have time for. Everyone should come here at least once in their life.

Shenandoah Valley & NP

   Today we drove along the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. This drive is one section of a long drive which also includes the Blue Ridge Parkway from previous blog entries, and offers breathtaking views at every turn. I can imagine that it is strikingly beautiful in the fall, with the changing of the foliage. Now, many trees are just beginning to come out, so there is a lot of browns and greens along all of the mountainsides.

    The view from the visitor’s center just four miles into the park. 

    Looking into the Shenandoah valley. The river itself is barely visible at the middle left part of the picture. The clouds were floating by and the mountain flowers were in bloom and it was a spectacular drive. 

    These dainty flowers were part of the ground cover that spread out all along the side of the mountains. 

    We took a short 1.6 mile hike and along the way we came across this unique feature. The tree had grown from within the split rock! 

    Part of the trail crossed the Appalachian Trail and was the highest point of the entire Appalachian trail. 

    Here we are at the end of the trail at the “forehead” of Stony Man Mountain. 

    Another view on Stony Man. Note the road on the ridge at the center of the picture. There is a turn out there.

    This is the view from the turnout. Using your imagination, you can see the forehead and face of Stony Man. 

    Here is the one tunnel we came across on the drive. This tunnel goes through 600 feet of solid granite. Twice a day, workers drilled 40 holes each 12 feet deep. they packed them with 500 pounds of dynamite and blasted. Each day they cleared around 15 feet. In January 1932, they cleared the tunnel and traffic started to pass through. Initially, they had problems with water seepage and rocks would fall from within the tunnel. At one point in the winter, an ice “stalagtite” reached from the ceiling to the road below! The solution was to line the tunnel with concrete and thus it stands today. 

Gettysburg NMP

    The last couple of days we’ve spent a lot of time in the car. We took a drive to Gettysburg, PA to tour the famous battlefield and cemetery.  For even the casual observer to take a tour would require a full day. The thing that I like about touring these places is that you get a sense of the size of the endeavors. Reading about it in a book, you can’t really appreciate the difficulties, on all levels, that the combatants withstood. Another, more personal reason for visiting this particular battlefield, lies with my past. Way back in time, when I was a student in Command and General Staff College for the Army, we extensively studied this battle. We read the book “Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara and had to write a paper on Leadership using one of the commanders at Gettysburg as our subject. (I chose Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lee’s second in command if you’re interested and got an “A” on the paper.) Now was an opportunity to walk the ground that I had only seen from maps and classroom discussions. If you are so inclined, read the Shaara novel or rent the movie “Gettysburg” (which was based on the novel and historical facts) to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the subject. 

    Looking into old town Gettysburg. Throughout the three day battle, scouts from both sides used this tower to observe and plan their strategies. 

    From this tree line, the infamous “Pickett’s Charge” began. Pickett and his men crossed this open space headed towards the barn about a mile distant on the horizon. With no cover and a couple of these fences to cross, Pickett’s men did not fare too well. 

    A statue marking Gen. Longstreet’s field headquarters. 

    Looking across what was known as the Devil’s Den towards the hill called Little Round Top. This was beyond the far left edge of the Union line at the beginning of Day 2. Union leadership saw the weak spot and sent Col. Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine to “hold the position at all costs”. This he did and the story is one of legend. After repeated Confederate charges, the 20th was down to only a couple rounds of ammunition per man. Col. Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge and so skillfully executed the attack that he won the day and held the hill. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. 

    The view up Little Round Top from the Confederate’s viewpoint. The stone wall escarpment was built by the Union troopers overnight between Days 1 and 2 and still stands today. 

    Here is a marker that commemorates the deeds of the 20th Maine and marks the spot where they made their stand. 

    This is the Union view of the field where Pickett made his charge. Soldiers of his unit made it as far as the low stone wall in the center of the photo and into the grove of Oak trees at the left. Just to the right, out of the frame of this photo, is where Confederate Gen. Armistead was mortally wounded. This is the farthest the Confederates made it into the Union line. From here, they were repelled and ultimately defeated. 

    The stone wall that stopped the Confederate attack. Not much to look at, but imagine masses of artillery guns just to the left along with hundreds of Union infantrymen firing into the assault. 

    An artists rendition of Pickett’s Charge from the Union perspective. The stone wall is not visible, but runs along the middle of the scene. The small grove of Oak trees is visible on the far left center. 

      And the final stop, the National Cemetery. It was not far from this site that Abraham Lincoln delivered the immortal words of the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863 (some four and a half months after the battle). Following a 2+ hour speech by Edward Everett (a famous orator of the day), Lincoln took the stage and read the address in a little over 2 minutes! Take time to read it sometime, it still holds truths for today. 

    The casualties were originally buried in a semicircle around the center monument. There are 3,629 graves of Civil War dead in the 20 acre site. The deceased are organized by States and there are three sections for “Unknown”. 

300 Years in 2 Days

    Over the last couple of days, we have covered around 300 years of America’s history. Day one we went to visit Jamestown. This is the first permanent English settlement in the New World (before Plymouth and the Pilgrims). Here is where Capt. John Smith and the tale of Pocahontas took place (but not how Hollywood or Disney have portrayed it!). Here in May of 1607 a little over 100 brave souls (all men) landed ashore in hopes of establishing a presence for England in the New World. Spain and France had flitted around here for some time and England felt they were losing out on the riches to be had. They established a dirt walled fort that quickly proved to be insufficient to protect the new colonists from the existing inhabitants, the Powhatan nation. They proceeded to improve and build a much better fort and a replica of that is what is currently in place at the Jamestown Settlement Center. Just a few miles away from the original site, this area is an historically accurate recreation of the site and materials that were available to the colonists at the time. It is staffed by folks in period clothing who are available to answer questions or provide tidbits of information. There is also an extensive museum on site that traces events of the area from pre-Indian times through the early 1700’s. 

    The actual Jamestown site is an archeological dig that is located a few miles away and can be visited. We just didn’t have time to take in both in one day. 

    A rifle demonstration using a period matchlock rifle. Takes about 15-20 seconds to fire-reload-fire again.

    A recreation of the largest of the three ships that delivered the new colonists. This is the Susan Constant.

    This is the recreation of the Godspeed, the second of the three ships. Notice the guy going up the gangplank (for size reference). On this ship there were 50 men plus the crew that made the 5 month voyage! 

    Not a lot of room to put 50 people, is there?!?

    How to make a canoe using oyster shells. Iron tools weren’t readily available. Build a controlled fire then scrape the residue. Repeat as needed. You end up with a thin walled canoe with a thick, heavy bottom. Once in the water, it is nearly impossible to sink. 

    What one looks like that is finished.

    The walls of the fort. Notice that each plank is “nailed” in using 3 wooden pegs. The original wall was built in 19 days. The current re-creators, using modern equipment, were hard pressed to accomplish the same.  

    Powhatan village. Saplings are bent over, then lashed. Grass mats are woven and placed over the saplings. A fire is built and maintained for warmth, drying meat and  cooking. A small smoke hole in the top allows some smoke to escape. 

    Inside they are quite roomy. But it was said that they were very smoky when actually being lived in. 

    Our next stop jumps us up to the 1830’s. We visited the home of Thomas Jackson, better known as Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson. Here in the small town of Lexington, just down the street from the Virginia Military Academy, Jackson had his home. It is actually two homes made into one. The original dwelling was brick. An addition was made some years later that is the stone, and which effectively doubled the size of the house. It was the only home that Jackson ever owned, and he lived here and taught at the Military Academy for some years before the Civil War.  Our tour of the home was led by Marta Kastner. Marta researched and wrote a book on Jackson entitled “Old Jack”. She was full of interesting information about the life and times of the General during his life in Lexington. 

    After the home, we went to the cemetery and visited the Jackson memorial. Here he was originally buried in a family plot, but was later moved to a prominent area in the center of the cemetery with an impressive memorial marker. 

    The original site. Jackson’s stone is on the upper row, second from the right. 

    This is where Jackson, his second wife, and an infant daughter are currently buried. Note the things that look like tennis balls. Seems that Jackson was a bit of a “health nut” before it was fashionable. He loved fresh fruit daily. During the Civil War, when apples were hard to come by, he was known to have chewed on lemons! In fact, one story says he relayed verbal orders to his commanders while having a slice of lemon in his mouth. To this day, there are always oranges or lemons around the monument. 

    Our next stop, coincidently in the same town, was Washington & Lee University. It was here that Robert E. Lee came following the signing of the surrender at Appomattox. He was offered, and took, the Presidentship of the University. It was here that he spent the remainder of his life. The college was a bit run down when he arrived and there were only 40 students. Lee took charge and through his leadership, the enrollment had blossomed to 400 within three years. One of the remarkable things Lee did was to eliminate all of the rules of the University and replace them with only one. It was an honor system that put the responsibility for fairness on the shoulder of the student. I was told that the honor system is still in place. Students can take exams in their dorm rooms. They are expected to abide by the code and not cheat. In October of 1870, Lee died of complications from a stroke. He, along with members of his family, are buried in the family crypt in the basement of the Chapel on campus. 

    The Lee Chapel and Museum. 

    This is a view of the side of the Chapel. The Lee Family crypt is through the double doors entryway at the bottom right of the building. The General’s horse, Traveller, is buried just outside of these doors. The horse was a mainstay of Lee’s existence during and after the war. In fact, the stable doors where Traveller stayed at the University President’s residence (now a garage) are left open at night so his spirit can come and go! Folks say that at times, you can hear hoofbeats at night around campus.