Gettysburg – A Traveling Fool

March 6, 2023

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Learning new things while on vacation is fun

Past Trips

Navajo Reservation

One of my favorite parts of the trip I did to the Western National Parks in the US back in the spring of 2013 was to visit the four corners area and the Navajo Reservation. The place where we stayed (Goulding Lodge) and all of the restaurants where we ate and gift shops were owned and operated by the Navajo.

All of our excursions while there in and around Monuments Valley were also led and hosted by the Navajo who lived there. I was able to learn so much more about their culture and lives than I had known before. We also had one of the last living code talkers from World War II join us during a cookout to tell us about his experiences. I had watched a movie about that. But to hear actual stories from someone who had been there was very special.

Battlefields and Other Sites of War

I have also had a real interest in visiting battlefields, both in the US and other places. In the US, I have visited a couple of Civil War (Gettysburg, Fredericksburg) and Revolution (Yorktown) battlefields. But also several other locations having to do with either war (Appomattox Courthouse, Richmond, Harper’s Ferry, Valley Forge, Charlotte, Savannah, Beaufort, Williamsburg).

Overseas, it has been a lot of European World War II sites (battlefields, D-Day landing sites, and concentration camps), but also the Culloden Battlefield in Scotland (where Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Highlanders with him met their downfall), where David met Goliath in the Valley of Elah in Israel, and where the 300 Spartans met the Persians in Greece (at Thermopile), and Gallipoli in Turkey (World War I) where so many Australians lost their lives.

One of the reasons why I find battlefields and other sites connected with wars interesting is because of the heavy toll such actions take on human lives and the incredible stories that are associated with both the loss of life and some of the miraculous survivals that also took place. History is about peoples’ stories. I find learning those stories to be fascinating. Seeing where they took place (when the battlefield has been preserved) brings it into perspective. And yes, each time, I am left in tears.

NYC 9/11 Memorial

On my most recent trip to New York City in 2016, which was also my first trip back to NYC since 9/11, I visited the memorial. I recommend it to everybody. It is one thing to imagine a twisted firetruck or a collapsed staircase or a mangled piece of one of the World Trade Center buildings and quite another thing to see them for yourself.

I do have to say that I did not go into the room with the photos of the people and their voices from their last cellphone messages to loved ones. I just couldn’t. It was too much.

Kennedy Space Center

One of my cousins eventually worked at the Kennedy Space Center on the space shuttle crew, mainly for Endeavour. But he was also involved with all of the shuttle launches. Many years before that, Mom and I had visited the Kennedy Space Center and toured everything that a regular citizen on a tour could see. So, when he started working there, we already could picture a certain amount of it. I love it when something pops up in a TV show or movie or some other context and I been there and have seen whatever it is.

Hadrian’s Wall – Vindolanda

I have long been fascinated by Hadrian’s Wall. On one of my trips to Scotland (in 2016) I took several day trips to parts of the wall. One of those trips included the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which actually predates the wall. They had a wonderful museum containing items discovered at the site – shoes and other clothing, dishes and pottery, bridles, saddles, stirrups, etc from horses plus loads of other items. They also had much of foundations of the fort, despite the location having been robbed of much of its stone works over the centuries. A favorite of mine was the replica of the wall that gave a really good idea of the actual size and dimensions of it. I could also go up on top and walk along it.

This Trip

Van Gogh’s Art Techniques

Vincent Van Gogh is a favorite artist of mine. I have visited many sites associated with his life and death as well as viewing his art at the Musee d’Orsay during past trips to France. So, when I saw that I had the option to join a class on Van Gogh’s techniques while in Arles, I signed up for it immediately. I ended up painting a very quick version of a portion of his most famous “Starry Night”, which is now a treasured souvenir of the experience. Since returning home, I have also begun a couple of his other paintings that he did in Arles – “Starry Night over the Rhone” and “Café Terrace at Night”.

Truffles

On the Grand France River Cruise, I was able to visit a truffle farm and watch how the dogs searched for truffles. Then I was able to sample the truffles. It was fun to learn about truffle farming and to pet the dogs once they were off-duty.

Crepes

Although I have had dessert crepes before in restaurants, I had never had a savory crepe prior to this trip. On the day that we were setting sail for Les Andelys, we were offered savory crepes for lunch. I went with a buckwheat crepe filled with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and onions. There was some crème fraiche on top. Delicious. Since returning home, I have purchased a special crepe pan and spatula in order to make my own.

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse is something I have made myself. But I have to say, the two that I had in France made mine seem more like a simple chocolate pudding. In Bayeux I had one at the restaurant where we had lunch. It was heavenly. On the ship, we had a mousse made with dark, light and white chocolate that was also amazing.

Calvados

An optional tour to Baveux and the Calvados region of Normandy included a visit to the Le Breuil-en-Auge Calvados Distillery. We learned all about how apples became Calvados and sampled some of the finished product. I felt that the amount in the glass was a tad stingy until I actually tried it. It is about 82 proof. It made my eyes water and my voice go raspy. I have since learned to mix it with cider and drink it with ice.

Hospices de Beaune

Touring and learning about the Hospices de Beaune, which were in service from 1443 to 1971, was really fascinating. We could see the wards, the pharmacy, the kitchens, etc. much as they had been.

Swimming Pool for Horses

At Bizy Castle, there was a lovely pool in the courtyard. Its purpose wasn’t just for looks. It had been created to allow the horses to cool themselves off. How thoughtful. Out of all of the castles I have seen all over Europe and the UK, I had never seen one with a swimming pool for horses before.

November 21, 2022

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Knowledge of the history of a place makes being there more interesting

I love history anyway, so I can easily get excited over seeing someplace like Hadrian’s Wall or Egyptian pyramids and temples or battlefields like Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Yorktown, Culloden, the D-Day landing beaches, etc. Smaller historical events are also intriguing to me.

Whether you are fascinated by history or not, knowing just a little bit about a place can make it much more interesting, such as what is the significance of an old cemetery? Who is buried there?

In St Augustine, Florida, I was fascinated by the fort. It had been built by the Spanish prior to the English settlements at either Jamestown or Roanoke, Virginia or Plymouth, Massachusetts.

In Israel, Masada would have just been several piles of rocks up on a high, hot plateau without knowledge of its history. For those who hadn’t read up on it before the trip, there was a short film down at the base that everyone watched before taking the cable car up to see it.

At Thermopylae in Greece, without knowledge of what had taken place there a couple thousand years ago, just looking at a monument to Leonides and the 300 Spartans who fought and died there wouldn’t have been all that fascinating. Since I knew the story, I could use my imagination. And a good imagination was necessary. The topography has changed quite a bit since 480 BC.

On this trip, my knowledge of Joan of Arc came in handy while in Rouen. I knew that the museum dedicated to her was in the very building where her trial had taken place. I also knew about all of the other locations associated with her.

In Avignon, I was aware of the history of the town, the Pont de Avignon, and the Palais des Papes. Despite it being a very hot day, my back hurting, and lots of stairs to climb, I was very interested in seeing it all.

Sometimes when visiting a place where you already know the history, you can find that seeing the place itself can make your understanding of it much clearer. It was one thing to read about traboules (the secret passages that had been used by the French Resistance to escape detection), but quite another to actually walk through a few of them. They had been built in the old, Renaissance portion of Lyon back when that part of the city was new. People who lived there knew about them. But people who didn’t live there were at a loss. To this day, only a handful of them are open to the public.

Although most people are well aware of who Napoleon was and his role in history, I always find it to be fun to see personal objects used by such iconic public figures. In Napoleon’s case, it was his hat on display in the library of Malmaison – the home he shared with Josephine. It made him seem more human. Like when I saw one of Queen Victoria’s gowns and Admiral Horatio Nelson’s uniform.

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019

Harper’s Ferry & Gettysburg

In 1859, a raid was led by abolitionist John Brown on the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. He had 21 men with him – 16 white, three free black, one freed slave, and one fugitive slave. They were armed with steel pikes. They were soon pinned down by locals and some of the militia and took refuge in the engine house. Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart led 86 soldiers to capture Brown’s raiders. Brown himself was hanged for treason. His goal had been to inspire a slave revolt.

Back in 1747, a fella named Robert Harper bought the rights to the ferry at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers from Peter Stephens, a squatter who was running the ferry on land actually owned by Lord Fairfax, a Scotsman. Harper then bought about 126 acres of land from Lord Fairfax, which included the land that became the town of Harper’s Ferry (originally called “Shenandoah Falls at Mister Harper’s Ferry”). Both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington visited the site at different times. When Washington arrived, he decided it would be a great place for a US armory and arsenal. Meriwether Lewis obtained the weapons and hardware for the Lewis & Clark Expedition from the armory.

When our tour group arrived, we found that Harper’s Ferry was still a very small town – only 286 people. The old part of town had been declared a National Historic Park and preserved as it would have been back in 1859. We left our tour coach at the visitor’s center and boarded a shuttle bus to take us down to the Lower Town. There we could wander around, in and out of buildings, until it was time to head back to the visitor’s center.

Some of the buildings I visited contained the A Place in Time Museum (the history of Harper’s Ferry), Frankel’s Clothing Store, the Provost Marshall Office, Stipes Boarding House, Arsenal Square (where the arsenal once stood), John Brown’s Fort (the engine house), the memorial on the original site of John’s Brown’s Fort (and where he was captured), the John Brown Museum, the museum to the 1862 Battle of Harper’s Ferry, the Confectionary, and the Civil War Museum. I had lunch at a café in the midst of all of these preserved buildings and museums.

Other than the café, restaurants, and the restrooms, it was like stepping back in time. Cars were not allowed (other than the shuttle bus), so it really seemed like we were back in 1859, except for the clothing and equipment of all of the tourists.

I got back to the visitor’s center a little early so I could browse in the gift shop. I found a large portrait photo of Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad, which now hangs on the wall of the bedroom I use as a library.

The bloodiest battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1^st to 3^rd in 1863 in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The casualties were estimated from 46,000 to 51,000 in total. Major General George Meade was commander of the Army of the Potomac (Union) while General Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederates).

Other than memorials (and the growth of trees and shrubbery), the battlefield doesn’t look that much different than it did then. This makes it really easy to imagine the whole thing in your mind, especially while being described by an expert guide. Having the guide join you in your car and show you around is definitely worthwhile. That is what my brothers did when they took a day trip from DC. Our tour had one come aboard the tour coach.

We had about four hours at the battlefield, starting at the visitor’s center with a film, followed by the cyclorama and museum. After that, we were joined by our guide and toured the battlefield. We began at the statue of General Lee, which stands close to the starting point of Pickett’s Charge. This was a portion of the battle on the third day where about 12,500 Confederates marched across to what is known as the “high water mark” on Cemetery Ridge. The Confederates were pretty much mowed down, although there were a few who made it all the way to the Union line and hand-to-hand combat.

On our circuitous route to Cemetery Ridge (and the statue of General Meade), we stopped at several battle sites including Plum Run, the Peach Orchard, the Wheat Field, the Devil’s Den, and Little Round Top (which included a Union Reenactor). We got off of the tour coach and walked around at most of these locations.

The movie “Gettysburg” (based on the book The Killer Angels) used thousands of reenactors and filmed many of the battle scenes at Gettysburg on the actual battlefield. When I watched the movie, in addition to Pickett’s Charge, it was the 20^th Maine’s adventures on Little Round Top that made a big impression. Their attempt to defend their position on the second day of the battle culminated in a downhill bayonet charge led by their school teacher commander, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels in the movie) when they ran out of ammunition. Standing on Little Round Top and looking down the slope makes their charge all the more impressive as it was fairly steep. If it had been me, I likely would have tripped, fallen, and become impaled on either my own or someone else’s bayonet.

The failed Pickett’s Charge is quite dramatic also. The movie footage was filmed in the actual location where it took place. Standing at either end (where it began or where it ended) it seems impossible that it would have been successful. In the book and movie, after the charge fails, Lee tells Pickett to “look to your division”. Pickett responds, “I have no division.”

The 1^st Minnesota was heavily involved in the Battle of Gettysburg as well. They have three monuments there as roughly 82% were killed, mainly on the second day at Plum Run.

That night we were staying in the Gettysburg Hotel, which dates from 1797. It is on the main square of the town, across the street from the David Willis House, where Lincoln stayed when he came to deliver the Gettysburg Address. The hotel was used as a hospital during the battle and is reputed to be haunted. I spent some time before dinner walking around in the neighborhood, which was very historic.

We had dinner at the Dobbin House Tavern, which dates to 1776 and was a hiding place for runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. After a tasty dinner of flounder stuffed with crab meat, a baked potato, and a slice of cherry pie, we were given a short tour of the rooms where the runaways were hidden. The conditions were very cramped, but they would have had to have been in order not to be found.

Back at the hotel, I ended up sleeping with the lamp next to my bed on. I was pretty sure I wasn’t alone in the room.

Next time –Valley Forge, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.