A Virginia Trip Educates The Madman

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If you thought you knew about American History, take a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. Along the way stop at a couple of Civil War Sites. You might find that you don’t know as much as you thought: like the madman did. Thanks to advances in technology and research, our understanding of history has broadened.

The madman and I have just returned from such a trip. We planned to visit some National Parks, do some hiking, visit the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art and DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museums, and wander through the gardens in Colonial Williamsburg. We did all that and then some.

Harpers Ferry is in West Virginia

brick structure with three arched doors and a white cupola — John Brown’s Fort was first built as the Armory’s firehouse and guard station. The Armory was burned down during the Civil War. The Fort has been moved several times and now sits about 150 feet from its original location.

To break up the monotony of the Virginia trip, we stopped at Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. It was the site of John Brown’s raid and is now a National Historic Park. What we didn’t know was that Harpers Ferry is a quaint little village frozen in time (1860). It sits in the middle of the most gorgeous scenery. Do you even know where it is? We didn’t. Located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, it is surrounded by mountains of three states, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

the madman standing on a large rock — *The madman agrees with Thomas Jefferson that the view from this location is awesome.*

This location makes Harpers Ferry beautiful, strategic and vulnerable. The madman challenges anyone to visit and not be awed by the scenery. In 1783 Thomas Jefferson stood on a prominent rock formation, now known as Jefferson Rock, and remarked that this was “perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in nature.” President George Washington realized the areas’ strategic location and in 1794 proposed building an armory in the town. Unfortunately, the beauty created by the two rivers make Harpers Ferry vulnerable to severe flooding. That flooding plagued the town since its settlement.

waters of two rivers joining with mountains along the shores — *This view of the confluence of two rivers looks very calm, but Harpers Ferry has suffered many floods over the years.*

National Battlefields

The madman wanted to stay and hike for a few more days, but we had other places to visit. We headed south to the Fredericksburg National Military Park. Since this was our second visit here, we settled for a walk along the famous Sunken Road and the Fredericksburg National Cemetary instead of a full-blown tour.

From there, a short drive led us to Petersburg National Battlefield Park. The siege of Petersburg was the longest military event of the Civil War. As the madman and I visit the battlefields and read about the horrors of war, we are so glad the United States decided to leave these fields as tributes to what occurred there.

Nature Covers The Scars

earthworks covered in grass with cannons on the high parts — *As peaceful at this landscape is today, the cannons stand as testament to the devastation that occurred here.*

The trenches and earthworks remain, but nature has covered them with green as she reclaims her land. Even the infamous crater created by the detonation of 8,000 pounds of gunpowder tunneled beneath the Confederate lines has softened over time. The sun was setting as we left Petersburg in silence. It was time to leave the Civil War behind and go deeper into the history of our time. Colonial Williamsburg was just the place to start.

stone mine entrance in a grassy gully — *Entrance to the tunnel Union soldiers dug to place 8,000 pounds of gunpowder under the Confederate defenses.*

Rain Doesn’t Stop Us

Thanks to the foresight and generosity of the Rockefellers, Colonial Williamsburg was restored, rebuilt and added to over the years. Opened in 1935, it now operates as a living history museum. It has 89 original buildings and hundreds of others reconstructed from early records. We woke to rain on our first morning and quickly planned to make it an indoor day.

garden beds surrounded by a brick walk. White paths run between the beds. — *We found this garden behind a tavern along Duke of Gloucester Street.*

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum have been on my radar for years. The madman agreed to come when I told him about the cat with a fish in its mouth carousel figure. The best way to describe these museums is – fascinating.

Pair of eyeglasses that served as an optical sign hangs above the madman — *Many early Americans couldn’t read, so signs describing trades or skills had to be visual, not verbal. The madman wishes he had one when he was still in practice.*

We Stay Indoors

After hours of wandering through the displays, we visited other indoor locations such as the Governor’s Palace, the Courthouse and the State Capitol. Tours in these buildings recount history through the accounts of people living in the 1700s. It was still light when the exhibits closed. We strolled through the village making notes of places to explore when the skies cleared. And explore we did.

bed of flowers in the midst of grass paths. — *The formal garden behind the Governor’s Palace showed off his wealth.*

We started in the formal gardens behind the Governor’s Palace and ended in the Heritage Gardens of the Colonial period. Along the way we checked out tavern gardens, small house gardens, militia demonstrations and musket firings. The madman even had to go to the jail. What a fun way to experience history. We even got to check out heritage species of trees since Williamsburg is also a Level 2 Arboretum.

Historic Triangle

Williamsburg is just one point on Virginia’s historic triangle that also includes Jamestowne and Yorktown. Jamestowne was the site of the first English settlement in North America. As subjects of the English crown, the first colonists chose this spot for its location. They established a port that was easily defended from attacks by the sea. In retrospect, the madman thinks they could have chosen a better location. As it turns out, their enemies came by land, not by sea. And its location at the edge of a salt-water peninsula made finding fresh water a challenge. It seems the wells they dug went bad after a couple of years thanks to the surrounding sea water.

brick house foundations in grassy field. — *We saw plenty of old foundations left over from the days when Jamestowne was a thriving port.*

Trash Reveals History

But what was bad for the settlers turned out to be great for present day archeologists. In Jamestowne, after wells went bad, they were used as dumps. As you know, you can learn a lot about a person by going through his trash. Today archeologists are sifting through the ruins of the early fort looking for clues about its first inhabitants.

The Last Battle

four costumed militia soldiers firing a cannon — *In Yorktown we were lucky enough to see the last cannon firing demonstration; they will be suspended for the winter.*

the crown on an early cannon used at Yorktown — *Cannon marking*

On the other site of the peninsula lies Yorktown, site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. It was here that General Cornwallis surrendered his Army to General George Washington. After listening to Rangers and interpreters, we came away with a fresh view of history. As kids, we learned about the American Revolution as if it happened in a vacuum. But there was so much more. World Politics, economics and even weather all played an integral part in the creation of our country.

Of course, we could write a blow-by-blow description of “What we did on our Virginia trip.” However, we think it would be much better to recommend that you visit these locations yourselves. Enjoy, see and learn a lot!

We did. Then we came home from our Virginia trip to find the madman’s friends still here.

four Swallowtail larvae on the stems of a parsley plant

Time for a cup of hot cocoa.

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Harpers Ferry is in West Virginia