The Virginia Trapper

Good morning!

We had a visitor last night - a mouse ate part of one of my apples and left some tiny poop behind.

 (Surely you don't want to see the tiny poopy pellets!?!)

Now, to friend or not to friend? that is the question.  I wouldn't mind a bit of company, but what if it decides to bring friends and family?  Better to not friend.  Who knew Granpa would move to Virginia and become a trapper!

We are off on another quest to find history - in the rain.  That's okay; Granpa and I can have fun wet or dry!

We tripped over the Staunton River Battlefield.  Seems there was a bridge Jefferson Davis had to flee over when Grant took Richmond, and this was a battle to save the bridge - at least until Davis got over.  (Then he established Danville as the capital of the Confederacy.)  It's pretty cool, lots of interpretive signs, breastworks, boardwalks and low-fenced paths.  Fencing is good considering all the beautiful, shiny, healthy lookin' poison ivy!

 

Then on to Richmond.  Tripped over Tredegar Iron Works.  Never heard of it before, but apparently they got the contract to supply 75% +/- of the Confederate munitions IF war broke out.  Secession was voted against one week, but Fort Sumter was shelled the next week, so secession was voted for. (Shades of John Kerry!) Richmond-ites found out the results of the vote because the Stars 'n Stripes came down and the Stars 'n Bars appeared over the Tredegar Iron Works.

In video we discovered the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia was only 100 miles from the Union capital of Washington, D.C.  The Union thought they'd waltz on down the highway, whup up on the Rebels, and the war would be over.  Not so fast there, Yanks.  When a man fights for his way of life he doesn't give up so easily.  And so the war went on for four vicious years.

We moseyed through the Tredegar Museum/National Park, the Richmond Civil War Museum, checked out the Virginia capital building (designed by Thomas Jefferson), and snapped a shot of a bronzed (literally) George Washington on horseback and (of all people) Edgar Allen Poe.

 (What's POE doing here?!)  

Now what.  It's only 2:30.  Okey-dokey, let's check the maps for something more or less on the way back to Danville.  Mm-hmm. Petersburg was under seige by Grant for nine months.  Must be somethin' to look at there, and it's on the way home.  So off we go into the wild blue yonder not havin' a clue what we're lookin' for. 

Ah-ha! The Petersburg Battlefield.  Looking.  Looking.  Looking.  Can't find it, but how about this?  It looks interesting.  Appomattox Manor near City Point, Virginia at the confluence of the James River (Tredegar was on the James) and the Appomattox River.  Seems this is where Grant stayed while he held Petersburg under seige for six months.

The Manor was Union headquarters; Grant stayed in this cabin in order to have a bit of privacy.

A bunch of stuff happened here besides Grant.  A Confederate spy put a timed explosion on one of the munitions ships there and blew up 80,000 pounds of explosives.  Beau coups of troops were stationed there rotating out on the seige of Richmond.  Lincoln was there for three weeks in April, 1865 just before the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.  (He stayed on a paddlewheeler, so I guess it was the first Presidential yacht :-)

Besides the Civil War history, how about some Revolutionary War history.  The Appomattox Manor and land was owned by the Eppes family.  They came in 1635 (that's right: sixteen-thirty-five!) and the land remained in the Eppes family until the 1970's.  Who-hoo!  almost 350 years.  Can you imagine, no house payment for 320 years. :-) The Manor was also shelled by the British during the American Revolution.  Now THAT'S history.

Well, it looks like everyone is closing up shop as it's after 5, so we'll head home and 'spect to be there by 8:30 or 9:00.  And that's our trip through history for today.