I stopped in Manassas National Battlefield Park on the way from Hampton to Washington DC. I arrived around noon and saw the exhibits at the visitor center then joined a Ranger walk for the Henry Hill battle site. This was the site of the major battle during First Manassas/First Bull Run, July 1861. After that walk I went over to Chinn Ridge for a second Ranger walk. This was the site of a major offensive during Second Manassas/Second Bull Run…
Appomattox Court House National Historic Site I’ve been wanting to visit Appomattox Court House to see where General Grant took Lee’s surrender. I missed this site 18 months ago when I was in Virginia and Washington so planned a stop this trip. Leaving Cincinnati, I drove to Concord, Virginia for two nights, to spend a day at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. After a 9 1/2 month siege of Petersburg, trench warfare and cutting off the railroads supplying Petersburg…
The visitor center at the park is closed for new exhibits for several months but I wanted to visit Shiloh National Military Park anyway and tour this important battlefield. The movie is still showing in the theater. Like most of the informational videos in the parks, it provides a great overview of the battle. April 6 & 7, 1862, “Nearly 110,000 American troops clashed in a bloody contest that resulted in 23,746 casualties; more casualties than in all of America’s…
Continuing my visits to Civil War battlefields, I went to Chattanooga. I wanted to visit Chickamauga, the first preserved Civil War battlefield, created in 1890. There are multiple areas that are part of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. Chickamauga has a great visitor center, a video about the battle and siege of Chattanooga. There is a QR code for an online tour or an audio tour with your phone. The Lookout Mountain and Point Park Visitor Center has more…
After leaving Pensacola, I headed straight north to visit the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Site, in Tuskegee, Alabama. I spent the afternoon here, visiting Hanger 1 and Hanger 2, learning so much about these brave men and women. So many people thought they weren’t capable of learning to fly or maintain the planes, they had to deal daily with the blatant racism of other military personnel, and after serving honorably they came home to repressive Jim Crow laws and more. I…