David Crockett

I've already told Granpa that I don't want to go home through Atlanta again.  I don't know how to go around it, but I don't want to go through downtown Atlanta again.  And, as a matter of fact, the drive from Atlanta to Tyler on Interstate 20 is about as boring as it can get.  It is solid pine trees on both sides of the road - no fields, no pastures, no barns or houses, not even shopping centers.  Just trees.

So Granpa decides on a totally different route.  First we go west from the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, and then north before heading down the Blue Ridge Parkway.  So that's what we do: We go west through Greensboro and turn north at Winston-Salem.  From there it's only about 60 miles to the Blue Ridge.  We rise up and head south.

Absolutely beautiful.  I love it!

I've done blog posts on the Blue Ridge Parkway before - about fifteen of them!  Open any post and you should find a search feature.  Type in "Blue Ridge," and a list of every post that mentions that phrase will pop up for you to choose from.




We scurry on down the Parkway and into Tennessee.  It's always nice to be welcomed!

Skirting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the west, we somehow ended up at the birthplace of David Crockett!  I'm likin' it!! We're born and bred Texans - and we have David Crockett and men like him in the Alamo to thank for that.  This is a gotta stop location!

Near Limestone, Tennessee on the Nolichucky River ol' David (he absolutely HATED being called "Davy,") was born the fifth of nine children to Rebecca and John Crockett on August 17, 1786.  Here's a fun fact - Daniel Boone was 52 years old when David was born!  They were contemporaries! And Boone lived until 1820, so I would bet that, during that thirty-four contemporaneous years, they crossed paths. Ooowee!  I would have liked to have been there when THAT happened - if it ever did.

When David was ten, his dad opened a tavern.  One meets a lot of folks living and hanging around a tavern - which may explain David's people-skills.  At one point his dad enrolled him in school - which lasted a whoppin' four days.  Seems David got into a lil' school-ground fight and, believing he'd be in a ton of trouble at home, he sets out on his own - for three years - working as a wagoner and a day-laborer.  When he did return home at the ripe old age of sixteen, his family didn't recognize him as he had grown so much!  Just like the prodigal son of the Bible, all was forgiven, and in appreciation for that, David dedicated himself to working for a year to help pay off all of his father's debts (a total of $76), and he went back to school for six months. Good man!



He married, had children, his wife died, he remarried and had more children.  He served in the military during the Creek Indian War under Andrew Jackson (whom he grew to despise).  Looking for a homestead down in Alabama he nearly died of malaria, and a few years later nearly died when his company boats carrying barrel-staves wrecked in the Mississippi River.  He served as a Justice of the Peace and as a town commissioner, was elected a General in the militia, became a state representative, and finally won a seat in Congress.  (Granpa and I have actually SAT in his desk on the floor of the House of Representatives!)

Plays were written about his bear killing and sharp-shooting expertise, books were written, stories embellished for political purposes, until he became a living legend. Things were getting out of hand so, ultimately, David did write one book himself just to set the record straight.  (I've read it; 'tis a pretty good read!)


Upon losing his bid for a third term in Congress, Crockett along with friends William Patton, Abner Burgin and Lindsey Tinkle headed southwest for Texas planning "to explore the Texes well" before returning to Tennessee.  It wasn't his intention to go fight for Texas independence from Mexico, but Texas changed his mind.  (Texas can do that to a fella!)

It was in Memphis, Tennessee that they had a goodbye drinking party at the Union Hotel and Crockett uttered his wonderful, unforgettable, ""Since you have chosen to elect a man with a timber toe to succeed me, you may all go to hell and I will go to Texas."

The rest of the story most of you know - or at least the movie version of it.

Now we think we'll mosey on down to Gatlinburg!

Civil War Saddles and Sidesaddles

It would probably take an encyclopedia to talk about and show pictures of the different kinds of saddles that have evolved over the eons.  But look at these two common Civil War saddles:



This one's not lookin' too bad, but I wouldn't want to spend day in and day out, week in and week out for four YEARS straddlin' that puppy! I think I like the idea of a lady's sidesaddle better!

On the other hand, the idea of sittin' on THIS one makes me shudder.  I suppose it might have been cooler in the summertime - but really!!  No wonder women preferred sidesaddle or carriages!

Women have been riding sidesaddle since Celtic times - like 400 B.C.  The earliest "functional" sidesaddle came in the 1300's thanks to Anne of Bohemia.  But it wasn't until the 1500's when a practical one was designed by Catherine de'Medici, Queen of France.  

Today's sidesaddle came about in the 1830's.  All of the others allowed women to ride a horse, but not necessarily guide the horse.  They usually required a servant or man to lead the women. Today's sidesaddle is so good equestrian women have actually jumped fences over six feet high sittin' pretty!  That saddle is a work of art!!  It's an antique, and would be really expensive to buy.  However, to buy a new one would be really, really expensive because they have to be built to custom fit the horse and the rider.

Men with certain back problems have started riding sidesaddle, so I'm wondering if it would be a good idea for me to try someday!

  

Plank Roads

It seems that every Civil War anything that Granpa and I have gone to over the past five years makes reference to a "plank road."  So I finally decided to research them.  Much to my surprise, but, come to think of it, not to my surprise, I find out that they were mostly instituted for economic development. From being an observant citizen, there is some truth in that saying, "Build it and they will come." The question is, how quickly?

The soft surfaces some roads had (sand, marshes, swampy or thawing permafrost) made travel nearly impossible at times.  Something had to be done to, literally, move things along.  The Canadians copied the Russian engineers, and the Americans copied the Canadians.  The first plank roads in America were often turnpike roads built by companies that had been granted State congressional charters.  (You know us Americans, anything for a buck!)

The very first "plank" road in America was built in North Syracuse, New York in 1846 in order to get salt to markets.  To get that accomplished, legislation had to be passed.  (Nothing changes, huh?)  A State legislator, Thomas Alvord, managed to steer legislation through Albany (the state capital) to get the plank/toll concept approved.  Charters were then awarded to construction companies which would get a return on their investment by charging users a fee or toll. The technology for building plank roads was cutting edge, kinda the Apple of the mid-19th century. Investors jumped on the bandwagon (pun intended.)

The 16 1/2 mile plank road in New York cost a whopping $23,000 back then, and included four tollgates about four miles apart.  It seems that it was what today we call a two-lane road, a dirt side and a plank side. The plank side (3" thick and 8 feet long) was intended for heavy loads; the dirt side was for bicycles, horses, and empty wagons.  It was also used as the passing lane!  Oh, and on Sunday, the plank side was the scene of outlandish bicycle races!  The toll?  1 cent per cow, 5 cents per horse, and 25 cents for a horse and wagon or stage coach.  It was profitable for several years even though horse's shoes and iron-hooped stage and wagon wheels constantly did significant damage demanding permanent road crews for repair.  Routine maintenance would include digging ditches on either side of the lanes to help drain water from the surfaces.

This road was built a bit differently - but Alaska is a bit different most of the year anyway, eh.

"Plank road on St. George Island, Alaska, 1938" by National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - NOAA Catalog number F&WS 10,067; digital image ID line1699. In the America's Coastlines Collection. Original image information page. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plank_road_on_St._George_Island,_Alaska,_1938.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Plank_road_on_St._George_Island,_Alaska,_1938.jpg

The technology missed the mark, however and investors lost millions of dollars.

At any rate, by the time of the Civil War in 1862, the plank road technology had spread all up and down the East coast of the United States and that's why references kept turning up in our travels in the 21st century!

Ooo! I Almost Forgot - Averasboro Battlefield

The Saturday before leaving Granpa wanted to go to the Averasboro, North Carolina battlefield.  This was part of the Shiloh Campaign and happened at the climax of the Civil War.

We are talking a LOT of troops gathered here, but notice how many are Union blue and how many are not Confederate red !!  The details of this battle were really cool.  It may have been the easiest one for me to follow, especially after we started driving around following the signs, etc.  The video at the Visitor's Center helped immensely, too.

One might think that it all started a few miles south of Averasboro by accident, like a lot of Civil War battles, on both sides of the old Plank Road (like the one pictured here).  Actually, the Confederates had a plan - a very "deliberate, well-planned" tactical military maneuver.  And with the super-able leadership of General William J. Hardee, a former commandant of West Point, they pulled it off with typical Confederate resolve and resilience!  Even so, it has become one of the war's historically underestimated and under recognized Confederate military actions.  Maybe it was because there weren't thousands and thousands of casualties.  (Union casualties totaled 682 and Confederate losses at about 500.)

It all started on the Smith plantation four miles south of the town. The plan's sole purpose was to delay, and to do as much damage as possible to, Union General Sherman's outfit, per Confederate General Johnston's orders.  And it worked even though the Union outnumbered the Rebels 10-to-1.

(Read more about plank roads in my next post.)

Early in the Civil War, North Carolina's action was up and down the Outer Banks and in coastal rivers. It's the stuff novels and movies were made from:  naval battles, blockade running, spies and counter-spying.  Later, as battles boiled up in the western mountains of North Carolina, along the Blue Ridge, the Yankees and Rebels were completely focused on destroying just each other - the rest of the war could wage on without them.  However, once Sherman caused Johnston to surrender to him in April, 1865, Sherman and his men sprinted toward the seacoast while leaving as much civilian destruction as possible behind.  Good things and bad things are said about Sherman, but his focus was reuniting the North and the South, and he was willing to do all things and allow all things in order to accomplish that.

Now, don't let me confuse you.  Sherman had already accomplished his infamous "March to the Sea" that was so feared in "Gone With the Wind."



This North Carolina campaign was different. Sherman could smell Confederate defeat and Union victory and wanted to mop things up and be done with war.  North Carolina was the rebel's logistical lifeline - and that had to be severed once and for all.





Possibly a lot of the wounded that ended up in the infirmary were the result of canister fire.  Don't let me confuse you here, either.  Though this may bring to mind the word, "grapeshot," it's not.  Grapeshot came first and was used in cannons for naval warfare.  Canisters were like grapeshot but adapted to be shot from field pieces and were more effective on a battlefield than grapeshot.  The shots were surrounded by sawdust and encased in cans.  When the canister was fired the shell exploded sending the balls flying like pellets fired from a shotgun - only they were huge.

Once past Averasboro it was a straight shot north through Bentonville into Virginia and up to the Confederate capital of Richmond.  That is where Sherman would (and did) hook up with Grant and truly end the Confederacy once and for all.

The Film Crew - A Surreal Experience

It's our last day at the Bed & Breakfast.  A film crew has taken over the house, and I'm not quite sure what will be taking place.  By now, however, you should know me - I'm game for just about anything.  I've been told that they will be shooting scenes for an album cover, artist unknown - but he's famous.

A young lady shows up at the door much earlier than expected.  She's one of the models.  Of course I welcome her, show her to the parlor, offer refreshments.  It's lunchtime, and I ask if she's had lunch.  "No," she says, "and I really am hungry."  I offer her several things - including our left over's from last night, hamburger and cabbage.  Surprisingly she wanted our leftovers.  Thus began a very odd day.




Within the hour the rest of the models and film crew arrived.  There was hair-styling to do and makeup.

 

Racks of clothing came in with the wardrobe lady.  Lots of variety - but most of them pretty risque!  (This Christian lady is gettin' a wee bit nervous.)






The photographer/director has now arrived.  After showing him the fabulous rooms of the Bed & Breakfast he seems most intrigued with the antique footed tub.  With the surrounding shower curtain, it is beautiful!

I retreat to our parlor for awhile, but soon decide to venture out with our camera for behind-the-scene shots.  The crew has indeed moved up to the bathroom.  As luck would have it (and unbeknownst to the crew) there is an auspiciously placed mirror ...

Is that a bottle of Jack Daniels?!  And the reflection lady is holding a bottle of wine? and a cigar? Mercy me! 

 And trust me, you don't want to see a full shot of that model!

However, they soon move outside for something a bit more tame.  (Thank you, dear Jesus!)

After one more serving of our hamburger and cabbage, the crew begins to leave.  Whew!  I don't know about them, but I'm exhausted! 

Our time at the most magnificent Oxford Bed and Breakfast is done.  We shall be moving on in the morning with not just a pocket full of experiences but an entire basket full!

Handel's "Messiah"

Ever heard of Handel's "Messiah"?  George Frideric Handel's Messiah was originally an Easter offering.  It was first played publicly on the stage of Musick Hall in Dublin, Ireland on April 13, 1742.  The record attendance of 700 was accomplished because ladies had heeded pleas by management to wear dresses "without hoops" in order to make "room for more company."  Or so says the Smithsonian Magazine.  Now Messiah is a "must play" during the Christmas season.

What has that got to do with colonial Williamsburg?  Well, the above harpsichord was played by none other than Handel himself!  Right here in Williamsburg in the British Governor's Palace!  When did Handel's Messiah make it to America?  It was performed here in 1770, two years before it was first performed in Handel's home country of Germany!  But it is very doubtful that it was played during Christmas.

Of those who kept diaries or journals from that time, many don't even mention Christmas on, before, or after December 25th.  You see, the church back then frowned on Christmas carols because they just might lead to (horror!) dancing!  (Sounds Baptist to me.  Baptist's frown on dancing because John the Baptist was beheaded for a King to please a woman during a raucous dance party.  Baptist's came into being in Amsterdam in 1609 and made it to North America in 1638.)  

In 1647, the English Parliament abolished celebrating Christmas, and they followed up with a resolution in 1652 stating:  "No observation shall be had on the five and twentieth day of December commonly called Christmas-Day; nor any solemnity used or exercised in churches upon the day in respect thereof."

WOW!  Who knew?  

Now, this wasn't enforced during colonial times in Virginia - but it's probably the reason folks weren't writing about celebrations in their diaries and journals.  So when did things ease up a bit?  It might surprise you to know that Christmas celebrations were pretty much ignored well into the 19th Century!  Boston Public schools, as late as the 1870's, were open on Christmas Day, and (Old Scrooge would be glad to know) missing work on December 25th would get you fired!

On To The British Governor's House

It's grown to be quite a hot afternoon.  I wish we could take a carriage to the Governor's House (arrive in style as it were), but that's not to be.  We simply hoof it like the general public would have done back then.

Now, remember, presentation is everything and, you only get one chance to make a good first impression.  That's what the ol' Gov was needing to do with first the Native American chiefs that came to call, and finally with the Colonists as they became rebellious.  So he built his palace way back from the road and gave visitors plenty of room to be impressed.

To me, the palace was large, but I wasn't greatly impressed - until we stepped into the foyer!

My mercy!!  The rifles to the left, a "fan" of pistols to the right, all flanked by well-displayed swords, and a hallway lined with more weapons that all visitors would pass through on their way to see the British Governor.  I believe they said there is some 5,400 guns alone in these displays!  What Indian chief wouldn't think twice about attacking after seeing all of that stuff - and more in the Magazine!

The plaque above the door was solid gold, the room off to the left was lined with cases of silver serving pieces ... the wealth was evident, and great wealth generally means great power.

The guns are double stacked - in a variety of ways!

Swords and pistols at the ready!

The colonists are receiving their instructions in preparation of an attack!

This is an amazing collection!  Some are reproductions and some are real period antiques.  Your average 21st century person will have no clue how to know if one of these weapons is safe to use and/or how to load it even if there was gunpowder available.  But you can bet the folks living back then knew what to do and how to do it.  Their lives depended on it.  The lives of their wives and children depended on it.  I daresay the women would be just as handy at it as the men!

All of this display says, "Don't mess with me."  Peace through strength was definitely preferred. Every person was needed if the colonies were to survive.

The Magazine (But I Would Have Called It the Armory!)

Now, I was not set to be impressed by this place.  With a name like "The Magazine" I imagined (fake) barrels full of gunpowder stacked floor to ceiling.  But nooooooo!

Inside the nine foot brick walls is a courtyard.  Inside the building were a set of very steep, winding stairs. At the tip top of the stairs were a whole bunch of folks absolutely enthralled by a portly speaker.

This man knew everything about every one of these armaments and gunpowder and our early wars!

He said that during the American Revolution, we started out with about 80,000 pounds of gunpowder (if I'm reading my notes right.)  That sounds like a bunch, but consider the fact that, in the first two years of the war, we imported 1.7 MILLION pounds from France.  By wars end we acquired almost 3 million pounds!

He said that saltpeter is hard to make and takes a FULL YEAR to process.

Now, I know that you have desired to know this recipe most of your life, so here it is.

You take an enormous pile of excrement - cow, horse, human, whatever.
Mix in a whole passel of lime to maintain the bacteria.
Once a week for a year you have to soak that pile with urine - cow, horse, human, whatever.
Once a week for a year you have to stir it up.
After the year has passed, (are you ready?) you have to taste it.  If it's salty, you have saltpeter; if it's not salty, you have a huge pile of fertilizer and have to start the whole recipe over again!

If you have saltpeter, put it all in a pot and boil and stir and remove all solids.
Boil until all of the water (?) evaporates.

Then take the saltpeter and in the following proportions create gunpowder:
75% saltpeter
25% sulphur
25% charcoal

(Guess that's why there were no stacks and stacks of barrels of gunpowder, huh?)

Interesting modern fact:  70% of today's saltpeter supply comes from India and is controlled by England!

This guy explained the differences between each of the weapons that encircled the room, it's advantages and disadvantages, and was just a walking encyclopedia of information.  We must have sat there an hour, and he never slowed down.  Granpa finally said, "Let's go and give some other folks room."

Sigh.  Well, if I must ... I'm a sucker for implements of defense, though!

The Tavern and The Blacksmith

Colonial Williamsburg (at least this incarnation of it) consisted mostly of a single lane as depicted in this bronze map in front of the Visitors Center.  

The Capital Building would be all of the way to your right, the Governor's Palace all the way to your left.

Opting to pass up the carriage rides, we mosey down this main street, and Granpa decides it's time for some food.  

We find a tavern and are shown downstairs to a dark, low-ceilinged space with raw brick walls and were seated at a candle-lit table. 

   

I know it looks like he's been drinking "spirits" or something, but I think he was just genuinely pleased to be sitting down, cooler (though un-air conditioned), in a historic building, with a great menu to choose from at great prices.  We felt like conspirators, or lovers, or something mysterious and really had a fun lunch - our first ever candle-lit lunch!








From the tavern we went on down the street to the blacksmiths.  This was the very first time, in all of our historical travels, to see what we were treated to next!  It was a real blacksmiths shop, and

a real wheelwright and

a real tinsmith !!  So very cool !!  They were all working with period tools on period pieces while wearing period clothing.  I could have stayed at each of these places for hours watching these craftsmen.  It was impressive!

But Colonial Williamsburg still had other wonderful things to show us. . .


A link to Shields Tavern: http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/do/restaurants/historic-dining-taverns/shields/ 

Declaring Independence!

From 1609 to 1676, the English colonists in Virginia were very proud to be 100% Englishmen.  1676 is when Bacon's Rebellion took place because the King's Governor would not protect them from the growing Native American threat. This must have caused a bit of a rift because it was about this time that the colonists chose to separate from the unicameral meetings.  Now, the people's representatives met in one room; the King's governor and his men met in another.  The people's representatives made the laws and the Governor managed taxation. Things then rock on merrily for about another 75 years.

The French and the English have always, always been at odds.  Both were colonizing the North American continent, but the French were situated in what is now Canada and focusing on generating revenue through fur trading companies.  The French population consisted of about 60,000 souls while the English, focusing more on truly colonizing America, had grown to about 2,000,000.

In 1754, there arose a dispute over control of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers (the Forks of the Ohio) at the French Fort Duquesne (where Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is today.) In May 1754, the British colonists had had enough talk and ambushed a French patrol at Jumonville Glenn.  The Virginia militia instigating this were under the command of a very young George Washington.

In English-speaking Canada and America, this was the beginning of what they know as the French and Indian War (against British colonies).  In point of fact it was just the North American theater of what everyone else on the planet knows as the Seven Years War.  Now, it may have gone on for seven years elsewhere, but our French and Indian War went on from 1754 to 1763.  By my calculations that's nine years.

At any rate, these wars pretty much drained the English monarchy of all it's spare change, so Parliament decided it was fair to raise the taxes English colonists in America had been paying in order to beef up the King's coffers.  Problem is, no one asked the colonists.  England had long been a representative form of government - but the colonists had no voice in Parliament!  And they had shed blood and money themselves during the French and Indian War, all the while paying their taxes.

Over the next ten or so years, ships undertaking the almost three month voyage back and forth between England and America carried men and packets of letters trying to discuss what was becoming very onerous taxes.  Getting very, very little satisfaction resulted in the Colonists drawing up their Declaration of Independence.  This Declaration wasn't just an "I quit." statement.  It lamented the necessity of ending what had been a very proud relationship between them and the Mother Country:

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.
 and then it detailed the whys and wherefores:

To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In closing, the Continental Congress again states it's efforts to humbly try to resolve matters:

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

But, ultimately, Congress sees no other option:

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


Here in Williamsburg, that Declaration was read from the Capital gate at 12 noon.  A crowd gathered, the orator read it out in a loud and clear voice.  There were many "huzzahs" from the Virginia colonists and a lot of sober expressions as they contemplated what this truly meant.




It would have a different impact on each of them.  The average colonist would have to decide which side to be on.  No more talk; it was time to put up or shut up.

The British soldier had to worry even more than he had been of late as to what would become of him.  If he deserted to support the colonist he could be captured and hung.  If he stayed with the British he would have to watch his back every second!

Would it have much of an impact at all on the slaves the British colonists had brought over?

As for the women, well, it meant more work and more worry as they would have to take up the slack left by their husbands and sons going off to fight the good fight.

 This was followed by a fife-and-drum-led parade down the main street of Williamsburg.

Colonial Williamsburg

After checking out the Visitor's Center and catching the bus into the Colonial Williamsburg township, the first structure that we come to is the Capitol Building.  It has been reconstructed in painstaking detail precisely on the foundation of the original building.  John D. Rockefeller, Jr. established the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation because:  "The restoration of Williamsburg . . . offered an opportunity to restore a complete area and free it entirely from alien and inharmonious surroundings, as well as to preserve the beauty and charm of the old buildings and gardens of the city and its historical significance.  Perhaps an even greater value is the lessons that it teaches of the patriotism, high purpose, and unselfish devotion of our forefathers to the common good.  May this restored city ever stand as a beacon light of freedom to the world."  (Thank you, "Rocky."  This is one of many excellent things you have done for America.)

All Colonial Assemblies grew from the example set by Virginians after they created their House of Burgesses.  The King's governor, George Yeardley, convened the first colonist's representative form of governing in 1619.  It began as a unicameral gathering which included the King's men and colonists in a single meeting.  But toward the end of the 1600's, the colonists separated themselves from the King's men creating a bicameral form of governing.  The people's representatives took on all law making, but the King's governor retained the power of taxation.  In the above photo, the "people" met on the right and the King's men on the left.  Contrast the People's chamber:

with the King's representatives chamber:

When Nathaniel Bacon created a militia and responded to Indian attacks against the wishes of the King's governor, William Berkley, Berkley called the representatives into his side of this building and basically said, "You are no more; go home."  (Not cool.)  For the rest of the story I think you need to plan a trip to Colonial Williamsburg yourself!

So we complete our tour of the Capitol Building and overhear interesting chit-chat about some rather famous "guests" at the jail close by.  We mosey down the hill with the rest of the folks.

The jailer and his family would actually live here.

Most of the prisoners were debtors. (Yes, it used to be against the law to be in debt and unable to pay.
But occasionally there would be serious prisoners - like PIRATES!! 

Behind these doors the crew of the infamous Blackbeard! were imprisoned in November, 1718, and remained confined until the day of their hanging (or so the sign posted out front says.)







Blackbeard himself was killed by the King's Governor's men during battle.

We seem to always have surprise things turn up!  Who knew? Pirates!!  Aargh!

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The Reason For and Creation of Williamsburg

Somehow, when we think of the earliest settlers from Europe coming to America, this is probably a likely image that comes to mind (well, absent the modern day, jean-clad travelers in the bottom right hand corner...)  But take a step even farther back than that:

Standing on the shores of the North American continent are a group of Powhatan's.  They are watching these incredibly huge watercraft cruise the shore as if they were looking for some way to beach their enormous canoes!  Curiosity overwhelms their desire for action.

It's the year 1607, by European calendars anyway.  The approximately 14,000 Algonquian-speaking Powhatans tribal groups (about thirty of them) were all under a single chief, Wahunsonacock, but each tribe also had a chief or "werowance."  They valued both men and women as evidenced by the fact that, while most chiefs were men, they inherited that position through the female side of the family.  

So it may have been a werowance that was first told of the mysterious monsterous canoes.  Did he wonder if they were sent by one of their gods, maybe Ahone, their supposed creator and giver of good things? or perhaps Oke to whom they prayed for safety?

What might this mean for his many wives, the safety and lifestyle of the tribe as a whole?  They almost lived in a Garden of Eden. They harvested wild plants for seasoning, probably wild onions and herbs.  Perhaps they had salt ponds where they gathered salt as the water evaporated.  The men hunted deer and fished. They grew corn, beans and squash.  They lived in houses built with sapling frames and clad in bark or woven reed mats.  (Tipi's are something the Plains native Americans used because their society was mobile, followed the bison.)

The Powhatans lived on a peninsula of what is now the state of Virginia and therefore had natural protection from outside tribes. There was probably great peace because of how much room native Americans had in which to live and the abundance of a natural food supply.

If you ask me, my first thought, had I been on the shore watching those ships come in, would have been, "Here comes trouble."  Not that the English on those ships meant to cause trouble.  It was their curiosity that caused them to come here, just like it was the Powhatan's curiosity that caused them to stand there and watch them come.  But two great civilizations were about to collide - and sometimes folks get hurt when there is a collision.

Ultimately the English do land, and set up Jamestown right on the shore of a very close-in island in what is now the James River.  The Powhatans kinda move over and let them have their lil' piece of land, never once understanding how many of those monster canoes might come their way - and keep coming.

By the time ol' Chief Wahunsonacock dies in 1618, his brother, Opechancanough, had just about had enough of the growing, pushy Englishmen.  In 1622, Ope (as I call him) begins large-scale attacks.  By 1630, the English decide to build a defensive palisade across the width of the peninsula and create an inland settlement first known as Middle Plantation.  Fighting continues off and on through 1644, and, between the superior weapons of the English and the new illnesses they bring that native Americans don't have immunity to, the Powhatans are pretty well decimated.

 In 1676, Jamestown burned down during Bacon's Rebellion, and while it was being rebuilt everyone moved the twelve miles inland to Middle Plantation.  The "tidewater aristocracy" discovered then that it was a far more pleasant environment than Jamestown due to the lower humidity and much lower incidence of mosquitoes!  Even so, when the Statehouse was rebuilt, the members of the House of Burgess relocated back to Jamestown.  

However, in 1698, Jamestown's Statehouse burned down again, and again they relocated to Middle Plantation.  This time though, not only was the climate better but the College of William and Mary (named after the then king and queen of England) had been established at Middle Plantation, and the aristocrats enjoyed the access they had to the books of learning found there.  So, in 1699, they agreed to permanently move the colonial capital to the Middle Plantation area, laid out a township, named it Williamsburg, after King William III, and commissioned the construction of a Capital Building.

Is that a colonist wearing a tri-corn hat at the left of the photo?

Williamsburg, Virginia

So, it's off on our last road trip from the B&B.  

We love it when a ferry is a part of the public highway systems and we get "free" rides!  It's a twenty minute ride across the James River, and we will "make port" at the same location that the original Jamestown colonists did over 400 years ago, back in 1607.

Ol' Mr. Albert Jester started the first automobile ferry here back in February of 1925.  The "Captain John Smith" ferry was 60 feet long and managed to carry as many as 16 Model-T Fords across the James River in a single voyage.  

This old Transportation Department map of the ferry area shows where we took Hwy. 31 across the James by ferry, landing just north of the island Jamestown was founded on.  (Well, "just north of the island on which Jamestown was founded."  Thank you, Miss Sutherland, 11th and 12 grade English.)  In this "Historic Triangle" you can find Smith's Fort Plantation which is on the dower tract of land that ol' Chief Powhatan gave to Captain John Smith in 1614 when Smith married Pocahontas.  (Hence the word "dower," which, by the way, first came into use in 1605!)  (I love words!)

There is also in this area the Chippokes Plantation (now a state park) that is still a working farm and still encompasses the original 1,683 acres claimed in 1619.  Bacon's Castle is not so very far away.  It was originally known as Arthur Allen's Brick House.  Not too classy, but accurate, as it twas Arthur Allen who had it built it in 1665.  Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 against the English appointed Governor and his "tidewater aristocrats" who refused to protect the planter-colonists against Native American aggressors resulted in Allen's house being fortified and used by Bacon, so now it's known as Bacon's Castle.  The house is the only surviving example of Jacobean architecture in North America and the oldest existing brick dwelling in all of Virginia!

Surry County that you see in the bottom left hand corner of the map still has the original county records from when it was established in 1652.  That's pretty cool in itself, but when you realize that they were protected from destruction by the British during the American Revolution and by the Union Army during the Civil War, that is really cool!

Coming into the landing on the other side of the James River we are greeted with a blast from the past:

All of that and we haven't even gotten off of the ferry yet !!