Local Park Does Not Do
This has been going on for a few months now and with the Thanksgiving Holiday looming I figured that it was time to do something different.
I have been wanting to drive down to Tennessee to spend a week camping. The idea was to get away and tour the Shiloh National Park where another American Civil War battle had been fought in April of 1862. Plans change & mutate and that trip has been pushed off for a time unknown.
Sitting here in front of the computer, I realized that this would be how I would spend the extended weekend. Depression developed and I knew that it was time to do something radical. I thought about going back to Gettysburg, PA for the day. Then again, I was there with Wongadoodle & Maverick last July and with VHJ a few months later. There is also the fact that the town has long ago become a tourist trap and I would have the dogs with me. I would not be able to do tourist stuff because I will not leave my guys in the car unsupervised for long periods of time.
While the week continued on, the thought to visit the Antietam Battlefield started to creep into a reality. Two years ago, PG and I had made a stop off there on our way down to North Carolina. We wanted to see if it was worth coming back for a few days of camping. Unfortunately, we have not been back since.
At that time we had only been there for a short two hours of walking. We made our way around the Visitor's Center and the surrounding center of the battlefield. Sharpsburg, the town that is south west of the park, is not a tourist trap. From what we could tell, Main Street was typical of any place with a general feeling of unrest and sadness. With the way I was feeling, this would be an excellent park to walk the dogs in because no one would bother us.
VHJ is just now completing a college class that covers the Battle of Antietam Creek or Sharpsburg, Md., (depending on which side's viewpoint you are reading from). We have spent the last few weeks talking about the different battles fought and at last minute I asked her if she wanted to spend a day in Maryland. She readily replied that she would love to come along. I also know how she is about museums, shops, and going out afterward for fine dinners. That is totally cool with me, but I told her that I would not be joining her because of the dogs. This was really a trip for them and VHJ had no problems with that.
I think that she thought that I was nuts, but she could not resist the temptation of driving around a Battlefield Auto Tour. We made arrangements to be on the road at 5am which was another issue that she thought I was nuts for. What can I say? I like being on the road while it is still dark.
Crumpet and Sprout were quietly ecstatic when VHJ walked through the door at 4:30am and we were on the road by 5am. We made it to Harrisburg in an hour and a half, which shocked VHJ (mwhahahahahaha) and watched the world start to wake. It was awesome. Once over the Maryland border we stopped off at the Golden Arches for breakfast and got back on the road for what we thought would be another two hours. VHJ was convinced that it was a four hour ride, I remembered it differently.
Exit 1 popped up a few miles later and then we started to travel down a windy road. All of a sudden we came to the intersection where PG and I had to STOP.....four way, blinking red lights with STOP signs that Penny's DJ would really get excited about. How did we get here that fast? PG and I had taken bad directions the first time and ended up in this same location with an extra twenty miles added to the trip.
The 'one pump' gas station & general store combination was right down the road. VHJ looked surprised that I remembered all of this stuff from two years ago, but that is my stupid talent. We stopped off to refill the gas tank and then continued on to the Visitor's Center.
Once we paid our $3.00 walking fee (oooops about not doing so the first time), we had our maps in hand. We got our carry bags packed, ourselves braced for the cold wind, the dogs flexi-leaded, and off we went.
The Driving-Walk begins in the center of the battlefield. The Visitor's Center is located on the top of a long hill where the Confederates took up position. The view sprawls below and features the center for the day's events. Antietam itself was really three separate battles, but all were carried out during one day. Technically, we were looking over the second battle or Lunchtime Battle. Hmmmm. What a coincidence.
The Battle of Antietam...in short. : )
Upon looking at a map of the troop placements (which I cannot find one that is cool enough...so this one will do...), you can see that the bold, black lines are that of Confederate's Army of Northern Virginia and that the lighter lines are that of the Union's Army of the Potomac.
If you can make sense out of this one, hurray! You too can be an armchair general.
The Union was coming from the Northeast, East, and Southeast.
The Confederates were positioned West and Northwest in a tighter, defensive position around the east of Sharpsburg...on tops of hills.
Morning:
Extreme north of both lines
Union Right, Confederate Left.
Hot spot - Cornfield
Fighting will take place throughout the day, with the Cornfield exchanging hands at many points that resulted from Charges and Counter Attacks. It is in this location that the casualty rate will mount with surprising speed and will have devastating results to the regiments that fought here.
Off center north
Dunker's Church - Artillery and Infantry fighting.
From Dunkers Church area and slightly south to the sunken road (Bloody Lane), there was a light defense.
Noon:
Center and Southeast center
Union and Confederate Centers
Hot Spot - Bloody Lane
Fighting sees the Confederates taking cover within a sunken country road. From this position the men were well protected and could pick off the Union ranks that were marching over the crest of a hill towards them. At one point, the Union would route its enemy from the trench, but it would be reclaimed by the Rebels later on in the day
Afternoon:
South
Union left, Confederate right
Hot Spot - Burnside's Bridge
Fighting was centered on a bridge that crossed the Antietam Creek. On the hill opposite of the Union line, was the Confederate left flank. The battle for the bridge would be carried out throughout the day, but it would be late in the afternoon that Burnside's men were able to make their way over the bridge and take possession of the hill. The Union would push the Confederates back past the south of Sharpsburg. When reinforcements from the Union High Command never came, the Union would lose the ground that they had fought for when Confederate reinforcements did arrive.
At the end of the day, not one side had gained any ground and the map was identical to the pre-battle map. During that night, Lee pulled the army out of position and disappeared.
The Union claimed a victory because it owned the field the next morning, but History considers Antietam to be a true Confederate Victory. The battle IS the most bloody battle fought during the American Civil War and to this day, it holds the record for the most American casualties for all wars, roughly 23,000 men killed, wounded, & missing.
Aaaaah. I think I managed to keep that part short without getting to in depth. It think I also kept myself straight so that I can continue on with my Adventure. Hurray!
The side door was wide open and she disappeared inside. I hung out on the front steps with the dogs, but did poke my head inside. It was a single room building, with pews facing to the right side of the building. There was a pot bellied stove and nothing more in decoration. I thought that it would be a really cool thing if they rented this building out for small occasions.
VHJ was happy and we headed back across the street, around another monument, and out across one of the fields. Where we ended up would have been the mid-point between the armies and I could not help but think that I had it easy. I got here without being shot at.
This placed dwelled in deep sadness, unlike the more visited Gettysburg Battlefield. The battlefield is almost intact and is cared for by the National Parks System, but it lacks the over abundance of markers and monuments. Unlike the famous battlefield forty miles north, there were no park rangers milling about or early risers eager to start their tour.
As a matter of fact, it was about 8:30am on a Saturday morning and we were the only people there. It was almost noon before I had to start the rear-view mirror check for cars so that I could let them pass.
The wind howled and lonely thoughts drifted through my head. I could never experience what it was like to be in this location under the conditions that the two armies created. I can walk along, think, and imagine, but the day was completely lost to history. Antietam is one of those battles that tells such a traumatic story, but which its land is basically forgotten.
I understood the sadness, the desperation, the pure will of the place to survive. It was engrained in the soil where the men had fallen.
We made our way back to my car and made the decision to stick to Auto Tour. That was basically my idea because I had one huge problem. My sense of direction was completely off. I knew what had happened during this battle, knew who the key characters were and what the soldiers had undertaken. I could not tell you which way was up, down, left, or right. When VHJ asked where we were heading, I said that I was completely turned around and had no bearings at all.
What I thought was north was in essence south. In my mind, I put the Cornfield in the wrong location, which then turned me around. It had been that same way when PG and I had come before. This bothered me because I have never been without my trusty internal compass. By sticking to the auto tour, I would know where we were.
I pointed the car in the direction VHJ dictated and off we went. Co-pilot VHJ got us to the first stop off. This was the northern point to the cornfield and we decided to hike across the wide expanse of the now muddy field. The path that we walked mirrored the march the Union men would have made as they tried to over run Stonewall Jackson's position more then half a mile away.
Crumpet and Sprout gladly trotted across the land where bodies had once fallen in an astonishing number. Bullets would have been whizzing by and artillery shells would have been exploding the ranks & dirt. We walked along with this as nothing but a thought.
I am not sure how long we had walked, but it had seemed not more then five minutes. I turned around and realized that my car was further out then I thought it would be and was hidden by the slope of the field. We were in essence, in the center of the cornfield. I took a few pictures.
I realize the 'whys and the hows' of my own question and the answers are all complicated. Standing in the very spot, I grew very serious. I would not be planning air strikes or tanking parties, nor would I be placing snipers or bringing in close ground support. I was rooted to this ground like the cornfield itself. How could any person accept an order to make this march? Perhaps with the corn in full stalk, the cover it offered was thought to hide the men. I snickered. They were going to fight against Stonewall Jackson and artillery was one of his specialties.
Living during the 21st century it is easy to forget how far we have come with technology. During the civil war, the generals did not fully grasp the advantage their rifled muskets and cannon offered. Worst yet, they did not change their tactics to deal with the greater accuracy and range that rifling offered. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.
Neither one of us had much to say during our walk. If I did say something it was, "Back and Forth. Back and Forth". That was all that the two groups did throughout the day. There was no sense of accomplishment here. Back and Forth. Back and Forth.
VHJ looked at me like I had eight heads. I am not sure if she knew exactly what happened on this field. She did say something about her one leg feeling red hot. Mine were already tingling and had been since we had left the grass and started walking on the mud. Other then that, there was very little feeling to this field. If it was not marked for a major battle, I might have shrugged it off as some other reason for the eeriness. Nothing seemed to remain.
At this point, VHJ turned to continue on through the field. I had already noticed that Sprout was having a very difficult time walking. There were tiny stick-sprouts sticking out of the ground and she was trying like mad to keep up without stepping on them. It dawned on me that she was probably sore footed and would not make the trip across and back again...while enjoying herself. It was not fair because this was suppose to be fun and not a true reenactment of torture.
I told VHJ to continue on and to enjoy Crumpet's company. I was going to return to the car and would drive around to the other side to pick her up. She seemed happy with that arrangement and we parted ways.
While walking back, I could not help but feel that I was heading in the wrong direction. I did check a few times to make sure that I was making my way towards the car. After a few minutes, it came into view and Sprout seemed happier. She moved from behind me and started to trail blaze. This was something normal for her so I did not read much into it. I am sure that she was happy to be laying on the comfortable back seat as much as I was about sliding into the front seat.
Instead of going the way we had come, I continued as if I were on the auto tour. I had not looked at the map and was driving blind like I normally did. All that I knew was that VHJ and Crumpet were off to my right and to keep heading in that direction. The road that I followed was barely wide enough for a car and a half, yet it was two lanes. It twisted around, went up and down, and did the hokie pokie. How I ended up on the other side of the cornfield, I have not a clue, but I saw my friends way off in the distance.
I parked the car and left Sprout to walk out to meet them. I have to say that it was really odd to see another human with a Corgi. Seeing Crumpet with VHJ made me appreciate him more. I was use to greeting VHJ, but for a few seconds, Crumpet was not mine. I saw my own dog as 'other' and found myself judging him the way I would if he were so. No wonder he had finished his championship so easily and no wonder people always remember him. He is truly a well put together dog with a commanding presence.
I found it funny that he kept air scenting back in the direction he thought that I was. The look on his face was priceless when I called to him from the other direction. VHJ said that he was really good and went along with her, but he could not help himself to look back every so often. I was glad that she had someone to walk with, as it always makes the trip a little more fun.
We all climbed back into the car and continued on our way. The auto tour wound us through a cul-da-sac where the Union had managed to take ground behind Jackson's Line, but had lost it during a repulse. We then drove back to the Dunker Church and the Center of the Battlefield. We did not stop because we had already walked this part, but I am going to add in the photos that I had taken of the area from when PG and I were there in August of 2001.
To the left would be the Cornfield.
PG and I had made it to this area before, but we were short for time then and left shortly afterwards. This time VHJ and I parked the car and headed into the sunken road that history has given the name, "Bloody Lane". We descended the steps that lead to the lane and that was where I had 'trouble'.
The dogs did not act any different. Sprout was tired and Crumpie was too interested in what he could pee on next. Me on the other hand was getting my typical weak in the knees and heaviness in the chest. If I did not know where I was, I would know it anyway. I had to stop to clear my head and forced myself to take my time. I also pulled out the digital camera and cracked a few jokes with VHJ about capturing those elusive Orb Critters. I swore that I was going to get a few. LOL
Aaaaaah. No. They decided not to appear.
Right:
VHJ stands in the middle. From the left, the Union soldiers would have come.
Left:
Same location but facing in the opposite direction back towards the Visitor's Center.
I could not help but feel small in this sunken road. The 'walls' were taller then my head and we seemed to have disappeared from the rest of the world. I decided to climb up to the fence to see what it might have looked to a Rebel guy that was laying in wait for the enemy.
When I got to the top, I was completely surprised. The ground beyond the fence ran for about fifty yards and then dropped off. Technically, the enemy was out of view until the tips of their rifles glinted in the sunlight. In my mind's eye, I could see them coming, the tops of the rifles bobbing with each step that brought its owners closer to their doom. I could hear the cocking of rifles and the scrambling of arms & legs as the men got ready to pull the triggers.
I turned to VHJ who was standing on the road and smiled. All I could say was that this was an excellent location. She disagreed with me and we went into the explanation to my thoughts. I am not sure that she was convinced, but at least I understood why the Confederates took up position here.
VHJ was correct in her thinking that this was not the most easy terrain to keep possession over. Eventually a large force attacking and the defenders using weapons that required a pause for reload, would take over. That is exactly what happened that day, but pure determination won the ground that the Rebels had lost. By the end of the day, they would repossess the sunken road. The death toll would give this road it namesake for Historians to remember.
We walked to the tower and VHJ went up. I remained behind even though this was a place where the dogs could go. The problem was that it was all steps and I try to keep the dogs from any extra stress. With all of the day's activity I did not want to push it any further then I had to. We waited by spending time reading some of the monuments.
It was during this quiet time that I noticed something for the first time. I had realized that the topography of the landscape was very hilly, but it slammed into understanding at that moment.
Once finished with reading, I had turned away from the monuments and had looked back at my car. The walk was really not that far, but my car was puny at three hundred yards. From my car to where I stood, the ground rolled up and down. Wow. Hills. That was why I was having a really hard time gaging distance and direction. Once I realized this key feature to the landscape, my sense of direction came back.
I heard VHJ yell down to me and when I looked up, I started to laugh. The scene was exactly as the one from Monty Python's "Holy Grail" when Arthur has that conversation with the two French guys at the castle. Unfortunately, VHJ could not hear me yell a line or two from the movie because of the high wind and the moment was lost. She was really bummed about missing a chance to pick on me.
We walked back to my car and just as I was about to back out, my cell phone rang. It was PG. I thought that this was kind of funny, especially since we were about to leave the area that he would be familiar with. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that he was not missing out on all of the cannon fun.
While we were having our conversation, I happened to look into my rearview mirror. Clear and cut was the most awesome sight....................
I hung up with PG and we continued on with our journey. After walking around the Bloody Lane, I made the decision to leave the dogs in the car during our next stop off. Sprout was showing signs of being wiped out and Crumpie could use a rest too. I asked VHJ what the auto tour's next place of interest was and she replied that it was....the place of the whole day's destination. Burnside's Bridge.
Wow, that was fast. I looked at the clock and discovered that it was only 10:30am. Maybe starting this day at a normal time would have been a better idea. Sorry doggies. There is no rest for the wicked.
We drove up and down steep hills and around sharp turns. We zigged, we zagged, I got totally turned around again. This time I knew why and that made things easier for me. Since VHJ had been through this tour recently, she was able to point places out to me. That helped.
Finally, the car climbed the last steep hill and I parked the car in the lot. Confederate troops would have occupied the spot and I smiled once again at how easily I could wander into an army's territory.
This third phase of McClellan's strategy is often talked about. The Rebels owned the hill that took the Union all day to finally take. What I been missing out on was the hill itself. We walked over to a wall that established a look out over the bridge that crossed the Antietam Creek. My eyebrows went up.
From my early days of study, what I did not understand was why they had to fight for the bridge itself. I understood what it meant, but the idea was to flank the enemy and not just to stay there. I understand all of the 1862 rational, but what is my problem with the bridge itself? The creek's water level.
Years ago I came across a famous photo of the bridge that had been taken shortly after the battle was over. I sat there for a very long time and could not figure out why a group of people felt it necessary to struggle to cross a creek using a bridge when directly below, the bed bottom was exposed enough to walk across.
I realize that the answer really should be that troops should have been sent south to ford the water and sneak up from that direction, but I could not get what was going on with the stupid bridge. Then I thought that perhaps the bridge was a key possession and the men had to take the bridge, but the hill beyond was the main objective.
So if people had to cross at this bridge, I would rather wade across. Call me odd in my logic, but it is better to get across alive.................. and oh, Burnside would send part of his force further south to cross the creek at two different points. Thank god for those people.
VHJ and I followed the winding path down the hill to come level with the creek shore. I was getting excited because I wanted my picture taken on the bridge with Crumpet. PG and I never made it to the bridge so this was the high point of my day and the pic would include Sprout.
I think that Burnside's Bridge has been ranked right up there with the Liberty Bell. For some ten years, this photo has turned up in the oddest of places. I even saw it on a porn site once (do not ask). It follows me everywhere to drive me nuts. Might as well have my picture taken on the damned thing.
His mistake was to pause for two long to regroup his men before fighting to take the hill just out of sight to the left. Eventually, the Union soldiers would push their way over the hill and out passed the south of Sharpsburg which is about a mile northwest.
Confederate General AP Hill would arrive from Harper's Ferry to reinforce the broken line. Burnside would find himself returned to the position on the other side of the bridge when reinforcements from Commanding General McClellan were never sent.
Obviously crossing the creek on a day like today would not be possible. The Hill beyond was the objective.
Another thing that struck me was now narrow the bridge turned out to be. If men were marching in rows, only about five guys would fit, maybe. It always looked wider in the photos. What is also deceiving about the bridge is that it crests. The dogs and I had run up to the center at one point and I mean we had to struggle. Not only was it steep, but the park service has added fine gravel to the path which made it very difficult to move along. I am sure that this feature did not exist in 1862.
There was another type of sadness here. Even after making the break through and achieving the objective of taking the hill and then cutting around the Rebel Flank, re-enforcing support never came. The entire day's work was worthless and the dead lined the bridge and banks of the Antietam Creek.
I think that I will rank this part of the battle up there with Pickett's Charge. If I was a solider, there is no f'n way you are getting me to do that.
We spent a good amount of time goofing off trying to get the photo of the dogs and me with the bridge as the background. As fate would have it, I either look like I am about to kill someone or the dogs are not looking at the camera. Not one was really worthy of writing home about, but at least I can pick the lesser of the evils to print out.
When I looked at the rest of the stone, I had to laugh. The past 140 some odd years have not been kind. Most of the bridge looks reconstructed and I wonder how much of it is original.
With the photo taken we climbed back up to the car and finished, our journey of the auto tour. The road followed that of the Union men as they pushed on towards Sharpsburg. I was really surprised that it did not take long to make our way around the battlefield. When I looked at the clock on the dashboard, it was not even noon yet.
Now that I had been through the whole tour and understood why I was having problems with my sense of direction, we decided to drive the tour a second time. The next trip took about half an hour because we were not stopping to explore, so we continued to drive around.
After completing each circuit, we had to cut back through the middle of Sharpsburg. The solider cemetery was slightly off the beaten trail and we did pull over to look. I knew that I could not go in. We all have our dislike of cemeteries, but for me it is a bit different.
There is that creepiness that the living experiences as we walk past the different tombstones that mark the resting area of the dead. The eeriness may not come from any paranormal reason, but it does come from a human one. Every tombstone represents our own mortality and our own time spent exploring our world.
My problem with these places does not come from the UggaBugga Feelings that one might pick up. I get wrapped up in trying to figure what life was like for the person buried under the marker. Add the rows upon rows of graves and the world starts to spin for me. Sometimes, it is easier to stay beyond the fence and look in from afar.
I think that VHJ really wanted to park and walk around. Eeeek no. From our position out on the side of the road, she pointed out the different monuments that she thought were really cool.
I have often wondered why people get so excited over these kinds of things. I never could understand the sentiment behind tall marble markers, as they have never meant anything to me. Perhaps if I had been a survivor of the event, having a place to return to would solve my question. The Park System puts this great emphasis on "Come see our x Monument". How about "come see the cornfield" or "Come see the land that twenty thousand men risked their lives for" instead?
People have a hard time connecting to what had occurred on these lands. They have to have absolute destinations that make for great photos. Burnside's Bridge is a perfect example. Now I can offer up proof that I was there with a "visual" for anyone to see. What happens when I take a picture of myself standing in the middle of the Cornfield? Hmmmmm. I could be anywhere.
About 1pm, I made an observation that bothered me. Instead of the cars being of every make and model, they were of one common theme; expense. Even the Sport Uts were worthy of the HumV price tag.
If I was going to have to deal with the mentality, I hoped that they were contributing to the Civil War Trust Fund in greater quantity then I was.
On one of the passes through town, VHJ said that General Lee's headquarters was located outside of town. When she had been here before, she had spent serious time looking for it, but to no avail. Oh what the heck? In the meantime, I had decided to pick up a few shot glasses for the guys at work (this has become a joke and my collection grows every few months from vacation spots). As we hunted for the elusive building, I thought that we could find at least one tourist shop.
I had stopped at a pharmacy in hopes that they might carry something "battlefieldish". That did not pan out, but the two women offered up another place that might have what I was looking for.
When I turned onto the road to head back into town, we got caught behind a farm tracker carrying hay. We creeped along Main Street at fifteen miles an hour watching straw float to the ground with every bump or shift of gears. Believe it or not, on our left, there was a small park with a ton of monuments planted on it. Here lays General Lee's Headquarters. So much for finding the building that we were looking for. After driving down alleys and around the depressed secondary streets for fifteen minutes, I was glad to see a monument. LOL
I asked VHJ if she wanted to stop, but she said that finding the location was good enough for her. I think that she was already planning to come back next weekend when the park plays host to a twenty thousand Candle Ceremony at night. She probably wanted to save something new for that time.
It is amazing how the interest of this war is captivating.
That should have been the clue to what was about to greet me. I walked through the door with two gentlemen dressed in camos. They seemed nice and I immediately went in to my "gun range mode", meaning, act like a man and do not babble. LOL Yup, the li'le lady can handle a 40 cal.
The market was, was........something I could not really describe. It was a market, convenience store, sporting goods store, and roller skate eatery mixed into one. Booze was all the way in the back. The only other woman in the place was the girl behind the counter. All heads went up to look at me and I stared them all down in response. If I thought that scene that I had written for Geezer's Segment Story on ES was fiction, I was living it now. Actually, I think I may have thrown the locals off by walking through the door with the two guys from the parking lot. Perhaps they thought that I was with them?
I took a very quick look around. There was no way I was going to spend a long time searching for something that is normally in the front of the store. To check the back of the store, I hit the soda aisle. I found it amazing that there was not one item that mentioned the battle that occurred literally in the backyard of this place. I elected not to ask and paid for the drink then left.
VHJ laughed at me when I got back into the car and she asked me how it went. Honestly, I have been in shady bars that offered more warmth then that place and I cracked up laughing.
A couple of minutes later we were back on the road to the Visitor's Center and we once again decided to go around round. I made the right turn onto the tour road that led to the Cornfield and discovered the farm tracker was directly ahead of me. It turned into a dirt road that led to a barn and we started to laugh. Were we starting to know the locals?
A few hundred feet ahead, we came to the pull-off area. All of the parking spots were full and I had to stop to let two people walk in front of the car, unaware that I was there. Getting out of another car was an African American family. This is something that I normally do not see. It is sad to say really, but very few African Americans are students of the American Civil War and it is rare to even see them visiting Gettysburg more or less Antietam.
The look on their faces were all serious, not one of them bored. All four were homing in on the Cornfield and I had finally found my fellow tourists that understood.
Shortly after the battle two things happened. The first was that Abraham Lincoln announced his ideas of the Emancipation Proclamation (which would later come to a really after the victories at Vicksburg in the Western Theatre and Gettysburg in the Eastern Theatre). If Lincoln could get this passed through Congress, Slavery would be ended. The second issue road on the first. Both England and France were teetering on joining the side of the Confederacy.
If the European Nations did start to actively support the Southern Cause, the war would have gone on far longer then 1865 and may have turned out differently. It was the help from the French that turned the tide for the Colonies during the American Revolution.
When Lincoln shifted the objective of the war from "Preservation of the Union" to the "Abolishment of Slavery", this eliminated all outside support for the Confederate States. Any country that would fight with the South was in essence fighting for Slavery. It was a well thought out idea on Lincoln's behalf and probably saved many an innocent life.
From the intensity of the seriousness that came from these four people, they understood the result of this battle. Although the Union won that day because Lee had withdrawn his forces during the night, the future had changed for one family lineage. On this day, of their own free will, they came to see were it had all begun.
None of us can know the feelings of our country's ancestors. We do not live in a time where one man can own another. We deal with other issues that have become important in our own time. Who knows what locations will be visited in the distant future where the people say, "Then there was the issue of Racism.............."
As I passed the family, the man and I made eye contact. Both of us nodded our heads to each other. Yes, he knew.
In a bit of a somber mood now, I drove the car along the windy road. When we got to a small intersection we decided to head in the direction that is not on the park map. Both of us knew that this would lead into the surrounding working farms, but we really had nothing on the agenda. Why the heck not?
We had gone about a mile when I realized that I had to turn around. The road probably ended in someone's isolated front yard and I am sure that they are tired of seeing people making U Turns. I stopped and backed up to another roadway and started to make my turn. How often do people come down this road?
We had not gone more then a quarter of a mile when a red truck came around the bend. Sitting on the front seat where the two guys from the market. I made a mention of that to VHJ and she said that I was nuts. I pulled off to the right side of the road to make room for the F-150 in a show of respect. As the truck got closer the two guys leaned over, waved, and smiled as they drove past.
VHJ said that she was not letting me going into another place alone. That is probably a good idea.
We drove around and this time, I decided to stop at Mumma's Cemetery. It is a small family plot that was established by the owners of one of the farmsteads located on the battlefield. The house had burned down at that time, but the cemetery remained for the new house that would be erected. When we got out of the car, the wind had kicked up and the temperature had dropped.
We walked to the fence that surrounded that area. I got hit, full force with that tingling sensation. If I said that I was bordering on wanting to pass out, I would not be lying. All I could sense was what seemed like bodies trapped under the ground in unmarked graves. This was the first time ever that I had a feeling with this intensity and I was completely unnerved.
VHJ had no problems walking around the graveyard and I followed with determined will to keep going. I tried to stay focused on the names and dates of the tombstones. I thought that my normal "think about their lives" would help, but I finally resolved myself to standing on a tree stump that was near a cluster of graves. Aaaaaaah. Complete relief.
That was when I looked down and noticed that one of the tree's roots went right into a grave. Oh noooooooo. Who ever heard of an Archaeologist with a fear of skeletons? ROFL I have two rules to being buried. Do not bury me on a hill and do not bury me under a tree. Later, VHJ would ask me why and I told her my rational.
Erosion and vault cracks. I do not want to end up in someone else's grave because it is no longer a fact and it leaves the worms to starve. I started to laugh. I have so many criteria for where not to bury my sorry butt that I might as well be cremated and my ashes sent to the moon. LOL VHJ did not like my answer.
I was ok on my stump and finally VHJ was cold enough to want to head back to the car. Hurray! We finished off our fourth tour and made a final stop at the Visitor's Center before heading home.
Pulling out of the lot, VHJ asked me what I thought. I turned and looked her dead in the eye. "The battle never should have been fought," I said. She looked at me and told me that I had been saying that throughout the day. "That is because it is a truth," I responded and grew quiet. I did not remember saying any thing, just thinking it over and over.
Between the hills and the poor quality of the Union High Command, this fight happened. Coming here on this day, I can understand the devistation that comes with Cause and Effect.
The battle never should have happened.
The drive back was a bit more demanding. I had been fighting the car to drive through high winds all day and traffic was more intense. The good thing was that most people wanted to be at their destination as quickly as I wanted to be. We made it back to the Turnpike in an hour and a half and stopped off fast food. We were back to my house before six o'clock.
There was nothing really special that happened nor was there anything to really talk about. The day was just.....I do not know what to call it.....amazing. There was no time frame, no agenda, no serious online discussions to keep up with, or no cell sites with major problems. It just was.
Now I am planning my next "take the dogs to a cool park" adventure.
: D
single
solitory
lonely
digital camera loving
freak'n
ORB
is in this photograph.
I give up.
I got PG a magnet that features Stonewall Jackson' Artillery & Infantry fighting at the Dunker Church. I placed that almost eye level on the fridge.
Mwhahahahahahahaha
And oh yeah.
There are no short answers.
