Vacation and Civil War Visits – Part II

Posted by Notch

July 18, 2011

Vacation is over and I am back home here in Missouri. What a great time along the east coast and getting to see some great Civil War sites and sharing my interest with my family. Last post left off with us in Virginia. We ended up in DC and while there spent an entire day at Arlington National Cemetery. For those who don’t know, Arlington was owned by George Washington’s adopted grandson George Washington Parke Custis and became the home for his only child, Mary Custis and her husband Robert E. Lee. The home was abandoned in 1861 and taken over by the Union and eventually it became the home of Arlington Cemetery. Lee and his wife never attempted to reclaim the property after the war and are buried at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA. along with the rest of the Lee ancestors.

While at the cemetery I visited the Civil War monument dedicated to the thousands of unknown Civil War soldiers that is located there as well as the grave site for Gen Philip Kearney along with many other Civil War soldiers. We then made our way over to Arlington House. The view of DC from there is spectacular and imagining the view from an 1860 perspective made it even more interesting. Arlington in itself is impressive and the Civil War section is a great place to really connect with that era.

On our return trip home we stopped at Antietam (Sharpsburg) National Battlefield. Incredible is all that can be said of this place. And seeing it all and really taking it in is impossible without spending an entire day there. I had a very tired family with me so my trip through it was fairly rushed and I was still there for two hours! The visitor’s center is rather small, but what it lacks in size the entire park makes up for. It reminded me a lot of Chickamauga in that monuments where everywhere. One of the neat things I found out (from a fellow from Long Island who had visited there often and with whom I chit chatted with at Bloody Lane) is that they are trying to build up the battlefield to how it was back then. They are replanting woods to their original locations that have long since been swallowed by farmland. Very cool.

Dunker Church is the very first place you stop. Seeing it in person and then looking back in my mind at the photo that was taken after the battle with the dead laying there was moving. Unfortunately a road cuts right through there and sort of takes away from the feel of the photo, but it was still quite awesome to stand in that spot.

Bloody Lane is also quite a moving place when you get there and realize the size of it and what went on there and think about all those men who died there. I spent quite a bit of time there (mostly talking to the guy from New York). It was a gorgeous day out, bright and sunny and the place just looked so serene with the mountains, rolling farmland and the miles and miles of fence-works. Finally I made it to Burnside’s Bridge. From the observation deck you really can’t see anything so I made the trek down to the bridge. Again, with such a beautiful day the bridge looked so serene and realizing what went on there was almost surreal. It’s a tiring walk back up to the observation deck, but certainly worth it when you stand on that bridge over Antietam Creek.

There was so much to see and only a limited time to do it and in fairness for my family I didn’t want to hog the trip with just Civil War stuff… so maybe one of these days I’ll re-visit these places and go through them a little slower and get a better connection with what happened.

Next up on the agenda is the 150th Anniversary of Wilson’s Creek on August 12-13th, then the Battle of Lexington on September 17th, living history weekend in Camden County MO on September 24th and then the Battle of Leasburg MO on September 30th. Exciting time to be a part of our nation’s history and get in touch with the main event that molded who we are today!

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