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…
Using my NPS site map, I decided to stop in Cincinnati for a couple nights on the way to Washington for my Visa appointment. I wanted to the see the Taft historic site. I booked a great AirBNB for 3 nights. I visited the William Howard Taft NHS Saturday morning for several hours. There is a nice visitor center with a video about Taft and his family; the home was the one he grew up in and you can visit…
Leaving Hot Springs, I got an early start so I could stop at Fort Smith National Historic Site. Such interesting history, glad I took the opportunity to visit. The area was the site of a fort as early as 1817, the second fort was built in 1838. It was occupied by Confederate soldiers in 1861 but Union soldiers forced them out in 1863. It was originally built to “keep peace” in Indian Territory (i.e. Oklahoma) between the local tribe, the…
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…
I wanted to see several sites in Atlanta plus the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield but didn’t want to stay in Atlanta. The traffic there drives me mad, worse than Washington or Chicago, so I found a nice place in Marietta. There is plenty to see here and it’s not far for a visit to Atlanta. Recommendations I enjoyed walking around downtown, Marietta Square, and Glover Park. It’s a beautiful area, a lovely walking district, with many stores and restaurants. There is…
I’ve never been to Nashville so on my next leg of travel I decided to come to Music City for several weeks. The late fall, early winter weather is fairly mild (is supposed to be) and I thought there’d be a lot to see both in town and around the area. Recommendations Activities My first day in Nashville, I went to the downtown area to pick up guides and maps from the visitor center. It’s conveniently located right on Broadway…
I haven’t been to Santa Fe since 1998, so decided to stay for two weeks to do all the museums and historical parks and sites in the area. I found a B&B, close to downtown on Paseo de Peralta which encircles the historic center. I could walk almost everywhere and not have to deal with parking. The room was very small and I didn’t have much space for “stuff” (I was quite spread out and messy!) but they had several…
Like Gettysburg, I visited to see the battlefield. Unlike Gettysburg, there is no museum and the visitor center is also closed. It may have some great exhibits, information, and artifacts that are comparable to Gettysburg. I stayed close to the downtown area, just off the Yazoo River. I had an easy walk to Washington or Levee Streets and was close to all the restaurants and sites. I stopped at the visitor center my first morning to pick up a guide…