Appomattox Court House / Part # 2

Appomattox Court House

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Lee Runs Out of Options
  

Appomattox Court House
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In April of 1865, General Robert E. Lee was on the run from General Ulysses S. Grant and his well-supplied troops following the fall of Richmond, the capital city of the Confederacy.  Grant had also successfully worn out the defending troops of nearby Petersburg after a six-month siege.  Rebel forces had burned both cities as they vacated their defensive earthworks to deprive the Union Army of provisions.  Lee was trying to make it to Appomattox Station where needed supplies could reach his desperately deprived men.  It was a last ditch effort to escape the strength of Grant’s forces and continue the fight to defend their independence and traditional way of life. Lee made camp in a small town called Appomattox Court House between Grant and his desired target of Appomattox Station and the southern city of Lynchburg beyond.

General Sheridan's Cavalry

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 General Lee had sent an artillery unit ahead to secure Appomattox Station to protect the arriving supply train.  However, a Federal Cavalry unit led by General Philip Sheridan, who was closely followed by the Federal Army, had already captured Lee’s supply train.  Sheridan pushed the Confederate Artillery back and Lee now had to ask his exhausted army to take one more stand.  Conferencing with Generals Gordon, Longstreet, and his nephew, General Fitzhugh Lee, a final plan to defend their feeble position came together.  The infantry formed a battle line at Appomattox Court House to intercept Sheridan’s advancing cavalry. 

Gordon's Confederate Line

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 The Confederate leadership assembled their 9,000 available men and advanced to intercept Union artillery and cavalry forces.  Gordon’s troops gained ground but were soon surprised to face Grant’s infantry and were forced back into retreat.  During the night, Grant’s troops numbering 120,000 men had surrounded Lee’s 30,000 remaining men of the Army of Northern Virginia.  Grant had Lee blocked on three sides leaving his only escape through barren country, a route where his army would surely starve.  Lee had nowhere to go and reluctantly sent word to Grant requesting a meeting to discuss terms of surrender.   The long Civil War that had divided a nation came to an end in the tiny village of Appomattox Court House in rural western Virginia.

The Final Fallen

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The men who died in the brief battles of Appomattox Station and Appomattox Court House were said to be the most truly unlucky souls.  The men of both sides knew the war was about to an end and the 260 Union causalities and the 440 Confederate causalities of the final battle were an especially bitter statistic.  A small cemetery contains the graves of 18 Confederate soldiers and one lone Union soldier who died on the blood stained ground of Appomattox.  A solemn tribute to those who were so close to going home but never lived through the final day of battle to make the journey back home to their previous lives as sons, husbands, and fathers.

The Union Encampment

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Back to the future… I entered the Union camp to help mark the 145th anniversary of the Surrender at Appomattox Court House.  The site managed by the National Park Service was like stepping back into a glimpse of time long past.  The restored and preserved village of Appomattox Court House is isolated away from the modern world, nestled several miles away from the highway.  It was about to get dark as I found my way to the tents of the 30th PA Co. E and greeted my comrades who had arrived so far from the distant north. 

Appomattox Sun Set

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As the beautiful sunset slowly disappeared from the horizon, the Union Camp fell into abrupt darkness.  We were all taken aback by how pitch black it suddenly became without any sign of modern lighting or Mother Nature’s moon. The endless sky was filled with thousands of bright twinkling stars.  Men huddled around the glow of warm campfires that took the chill from the April night air.  Old friends became reacquainted, favorite stories were retold once again, and Civil War era songs were sung deep into the dark of night.  It was the most authentic place I had ever reenacted to date.  No distant lights of nearby civilization could be seen and the air was void of any sounds of the modern world.  It was quiet and peaceful and for the time being, it really was 1865 again. 

Camp Falls into Darkness

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When I could no longer stay awake, I stumbled through the darkness to try and find my car using my period correct lantern for a flashlight.  After a few minutes, I regained my bearings and followed my key chain beeps to locate my ride.  I traveled the deserted pitch-black roads back to the highway to my concrete tent better known as the Super 8 Motel.  Yeah, I felt a little guilty until I was snuggled in my warm bed, glad to have the conveniences of heat and indoor plumbing.  The next morning I took advantage of a hot shower and fresh undergarments before pulling back on my heavy wool Union blue sack coat and trousers.  On my way out I stopped by the hotel's Express Breakfast Bar and found the stale looking donuts and assorted cereal bins unappetizing and headed directly to the car.  I passed by the Burger King and thought about it and then passed the McDonalds and thought about it again but continued on to camp.  Upon arrival I found the cook fire grates empty and the breakfast dishes washed.  How long until lunch?

Smoldering Breakfast Fires

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Our morning activity consisted of field drills for the visiting public and the unit was called to attention.  We assembled into two lines of men from tall to small and stood at parade rest attention, waiting for the field commander to lead us onto the field. It is a slow process to bring several companies together and an old saying from my dad and his days in the army came back to me… “Hurry up and wait”! Eventually everyone was ready and we were off marching through the dirt streets of Appomattox Court House.  The town is well preserved with many preserved original buildings and others meticulously reconstructed according to every historical detail.  The day was beautiful and warm for April with a stiff breeze that helped keep us relatively cool despite our wool clothing. 

Call to Arms / Inspection

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We numbered about a hundred men and stopped at the courthouse for a mandatory weapon inspection from the National Park officers in charge of the event.  Bayonets were fixed and our rifles were handed to the officer for inspection as he walked down the line just like in the real army.  Rounds and caps were distributed to the ranks and soon the march resumed along the road toward the Confederate camp.  I got my first view of the enemy who seemed friendly enough as we passed within feet of their tents located in a fenced pasture.  We came to an open field and proceeded with our march, obeying commands from the barking officers.  We fired several smart volleys that echoed through the valley that filled with heavy smoke that vacated quickly in the wind.  An officer explained each movement to the crowd along the fence-line.  Later that day, the Confederates would do the same in a field by the Union Camp.  Practice makes perfect, or almost!

The Green of Spring in Virginia

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After lunch, which consisted of real Civil War rations of salt-pork, hardtack and other assorted unappetizing eatables that once sustained an army.  I decided to miss lunch and explore the town instead.  Again the day was beautiful, and the surrounding countryside was bright with the green of new spring.  I took in every structure and found a public bathroom hidden in the kitchen house behind one of the larger homes.  I filed that info away for later, trying to avoid port-a-potties at reenactment events whenever possible.  With hundreds of men eating salt-pork, beans, etc… Well, just use your imagination.  I was now getting really hungry and was beginning to crave the stale donuts and cereal I had passed over hours before.  Luckily, I had a bag of pretzels and some granola bars stashed in my haversack for just such an emergency, for now I had missed two meals in a row, which was a record for me!  I was lucky I hadn’t passed out!

Forming up Again

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After exploring the town in detail, and finding the bookstore, which was equally disguised within another historic facade, I headed back to camp.  I had lost track of time and was surprised to see the units already formed when I returned.  I quickly grabbed my gear and fell into my rightful place in line wondering where we were headed. Tune into next week's episode for the Surrender Ceremony that ended the Civil War and the 2010 edition of Camp Martin Travels.  It will be my last blog posting until next September.

Please See All My Photo Albums of Appomattox at...

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Appomattox Court House Part # 1

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Appomattox Court House Part # 3

http://campmartintravels.blogspot.com/2010/06/appomattox-court-house-part-3.html

 

Appomattox Court House / Part # 1

Appomattox Court House

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The Journey Through Rural Virginia

 The Mountains of Rural Virginia

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Following my stop at Monticello, I continued on my journey south toward Appomattox Court House for the 145th anniversary of the Civil War surrender ceremony.  I later discovered that because I was at Monticello and not on the main drag of Charlottesville, my GPS routed me away from the major highway of Route 81 and took me through country roads instead.  It would be an experience in itself, navigating through rural Virginia through logging and cattle country.

An Old Leaning Barn

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At first, I thought the GPS was taking me back toward the highway and every time a turn was pending I was expecting to come upon the main road.  Instead, every turn led to a narrower road through areas of true rural poverty.  Most roads were void of any signs of community but every so often I would come across a small collection of run down mobile homes that almost looked condemned.  Other times, a dilapidated home was nestled next to a nice neat vinyl sided house.  The large population of cattle grazing on large fenced in pastures were the only living things visible mile after mile.

Pastures of Green Spring Grass

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I passed tract after tract of pine tree farms at various stages of maturity.  Some areas had been recently clear-cut and showed the ugly side of man’s impact on the environment.  Other areas showed the rebirth of conservation of bright green seedlings taking root for future harvests.  I later learned that 60% of our harvested wood now comes from tree plantations, many of which reside in the southern states.  I was glad I had half a tank of gas because after driving more than an hour, I had yet to see another car, let alone, a gas station.   I didn't stop to get out of the car to take too many pictures due to my intense fear of hillbillies.  I don't know, maybe I've seen the movie Deliverance one too many times.

Old White Washed House

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I was beginning to get a little worried that my GPS was not taking me to the correct target location.  I am new to the device so I was hesitant to start pressing buttons to try and find out where it was actually taking me.  I decided to trust the technology, amazed that it even recognized these rural roads that seemed more like logging roads that were marked by numbers and not actual names.  In addition, the unseen woman within the GPS with the British accent sounded very confident as she guided me forward. 

Along the Mount Rush Highway

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After yet another turn, the road became a little more modern and had an actual name of the Mount Rush Highway. Eventually, I saw a small faded sign for Appomattox Court House and breathed a sigh of relief.   Soon I was passing some familiar brown and white historical markers and the historically preserved village of Appomattox Court House came into view.  I saw people for the first time in hours, the first being an enemy soldier waving the Confederate flag to welcome the arriving troops.

The Old Road into Appomattox

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I continued onward to find my hotel, which turned out to be quite a challenge since it was not actually located in Appomattox but on a nearby highway that would have brought me here if I would have left directly from Charlottesville at the start of my trip.  However, I was thankful for the rural trip through country roads in contrast to the familiar highway route.  It gave me a unique travel experience and a glimpse of life in the back country of rural Virginia and the wealth and poverty contained within.

The Union Camp at Appomattox

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Appomattox Court House was a small village in 1865 when it was agreed to be the meeting place between General Robert E. Lee of the Army of Northern Virginia and General Ulysses S. Grant of the Army of the Potomac.  It continues to be a small town located in between the larger cities of Lynchburg and Richmond, the capital of the state of Virginia.   The historic village was a few miles from the newer town closer to the highway where my tent, I mean hotel room, was located.  After turning around four times and making two phone calls I found the Super 8 Motel nestled by a strip mall, Burger King, KFC, and Wal-Mart.  

 Early Spring in Appomattox

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I checked in and changed into my wool suit of Union Blue and took the first step of the next phase of my journey of traveling back in time to April of 1865.  I backtracked to the reenactment site to join my brothers from the 30th PA Co. E.  Join me next time to read about one of the most well-preserved and naturally beautiful historic locations I have ever visited.  I reckon I’ll see you next time!

Please See All My Photo Albums of Appomattox at...

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Appomattox Court House Part # 2

http://campmartintravels.blogspot.com/2010/05/appomattox-court-house-part-2.html

Appomattox Court House Part # 3

http://campmartintravels.blogspot.com/2010/06/appomattox-court-house-part-3.html

Jefferson's Monticello

Charlottesville, Virginia
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Jefferson's Monticello

 Jefferson's Likeness in Bronze

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On a recent trip to Virginia for a Civil War reenactment at Appomattox Court House, I was soldiering solo and free to take a welcome slight detour along the way.  I had never been to the heralded home of Thomas Jefferson of Monticello near Charlottesville.  The country was beautiful as I ascended the winding wooded mountainside in search of the Visitor's Center. Signs pointed the way to a turnoff in the forested driveway leading to a secluded parking lot.  The impressive Visitor's Center was hidden from view until you were almost on top of it.  The Visitor's Center is new, completed in 2009 and opened to the public on April 15th, the 266th birthday of Thomas Jefferson. The stone and timber structure resembled a mountain lodge-like resort and blended into the natural surroundings the way Jefferson would have preferred.

The Side Lawn / Jefferson's Bed Chamber
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As a boy, Jefferson looked up at the hillside from his boyhood home and proclaimed he would build a grand home upon the site someday.  In his twenties he began to clear the site of trees and named the area Monticello meaning little mountain in Old World Italian.  The larger mountain he named Montialto meaning big mountain and left it untouched to preserve the view.  The house itself was a work in progress for almost 40 years.  The structure changed and evolved over time, the result of Jefferson's travels abroad.  With every trip to Europe, Jefferson returned with new ideas from architectural styles he witnessed during his travels and then incorporated them into Monticello.  Jefferson could claim to be America's first true architect, first learning from books and later studying structures in person.  The results are impressive and endure within the carefully preserved property.

Tulip Beds in Bloom

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Visitors who came to Monticello to visit Jefferson following his presidency entered into a large room called The Hall to often wait for hours to hopefully see him.  Upon his retirement, Jefferson returned to Monticello and told a friend that he doubted he would ever leave his beloved home again.  As far as we can tell, he never strayed very far.  Visitors patiently waiting in The Hall were given an education while they waited.  The Hall was filled with artifacts from the west collected by Lewis and Clark and various other historical pieces.  There were dinosaur bones, animal skulls, and several maps created by Jefferson's father who was a cartographer. The interior doorway of the room was framed by a clock that designated the days of the week on the right hand side wall with the weight chain from the clock.  It was a complex design, impossible to describe, and one would have to see in person to truly appreciate.

The Hall / Credit: Monticello Foundation

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I was surprised to find a bust of Jefferson's arch rival and political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, positioned in one corner.  Following my question, the informative guide responded by pointing to the opposite corner of The Hall where a bust of Jefferson sat upon a green marble column.  The two appeared to be staring one another down from across the room.  As the story goes... Jefferson often said, "divided in life and still divided in death."  In Washington D.C. they were political opposites and at Monticello they remained in opposite corners.  Although he disagreed with Hamilton on almost every issue, he obviously still had great respect for him as an adversary.

The Grand Front Porch

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Jefferson put his faith in men whom he considered the great thinkers of his time that had helped shape his view of the world.  They were men he wanted you to know about and every room was filled with tributes to them in the form of works of art.  Sculptured busts and paintings of these individuals accented the decor of every room, often grouped by themes.  In The Parlor, portraits of the men who created the first European footprints on the continent are proudly displayed including, Columbus,  Vespucci, Magellan, Cortes, and Raleigh.  It is worth noting that these same men would probably make Native American's top five list of most despised individuals of all time for paving the way for European domination of the North American Continent.  

Garden Pathway Flanked by Flowers
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Jefferson was an accomplished violinist and entertained guests with music in The Parlor.  In another grouping of portraits in the room were friends not present, representing the likenesses of Washington, Franklin, Adams, and Lafayette. Jefferson's also proudly displayed portraits of the three men he considered the most important that had ever lived, Sir Issac Newton, John Locke, and Francis Bacon.  Jefferson was an admirer of pioneering men in the academic fields of science and political philosophy and he educated guests in their contributions to mankind. You were surrounded by famous people in almost every room in the house, even when you were alone! In the small circular Tea Room the busts of Franklin, Washington, and Lafayette gazed down upon the guests and seemed to be watching how much sugar you took with tea.   

Monticello's Rotunda
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In the Book Room, Jefferson's prized collection of 6,700 titles were stored.  Many were displayed on bookshelves, while many others were stored in wooden crates scattered about the floor.  Jefferson purchased books whenever possible and always returned from a journey abroad with a new volume or two. Jefferson's collection was the largest in North America and covered a wide array of topics.  During the War of 1812, British forces captured the capital of Washington D.C. and burned much of the new city to the ground.  The Presidential Mansion was set on fire using the library as fuel to ignite the blaze.  The entire building was a complete loss with the exception of the walls that were saved when a violent thunderstorm extinguished the flames.  Jefferson was alarmed when he learned the men leading the nation were now without books of reference to help guide their course of action.  As a result, he offered to sell his entire library to the government.  Congress agreed to buy the collection for $24,000 which helped Jefferson pay down some of his ever rising debts.  The collection of books became the foundation of the Library of Congress, which is now the largest library in the world.

Bed of White Tulips
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Jefferson could not live without his beloved books and replaced his lost expansive library for a retirement size collection of about 1,000 titles.  Jefferson continued to struggle with finances the rest of his life.  He admitted that he was not a good farmer.  He was unable to efficiently manage his large slave population of 125 souls who lived in small log cabins along Mulberry Row nearby.  They worked four farms under Jefferson's ownership and many were skilled in various trades to help supplement the plantation's agricultural harvests.  Like most Presidents of the United States, Jefferson's private life was not without scandal.  It was long rumored that he had relations with a slave house servant named Sally Hemings and may even have fathered several children with her. This claim gained momentum when Jefferson only freed 7 of his 150 slaves on his deathbed, all of which were related to Sally Hemings, including her two children who were described by people of the time as mulato, light skinned Negroes. 

Back Guest Entrance
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The claims of the Hemings descendants were denied by the Jefferson family for generations until DNA testing performed in 1998 confirmed a direct genetic lineage from the Hemings family to Thomas Jefferson.  Most historians now accept that Sally Hemings' two children freed in Jefferson's will were, in fact, his biological children. A recent reunion of descendants from both families at Monticello has brought some closure to previous tensions.  Jefferson lost his wife early in their marriage and he never remarried.  He had two daughters who survived into adulthood named Martha and Maria. Upon his retirement to Monticello, his married daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph and her family moved into Monticello to help manage the household for her aging father.  Martha brought her husband and 12 children to fill the house with Jefferson's grandchildren and later, great-grandchildren.

Terraced Hillside Garden
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Jefferson was never lonely during his elder years in retirement at Monticello.  The house was constantly filled with family and visiting friends.  Every available space was converted into sleeping quarters for visiting friends who had traveled any given distance to visit.  Some stayed weeks and one guest stayed for a full year.  The most frequent visitor to Monticello was Jefferson's close friend and Virginia neighbors, James and Dolly Madison, who sometimes stayed for a full month.  The small bedroom they stayed in was nicknamed Mr. Madison's Room by Jefferson's grandchildren and it is now officially known by this title.

University of Virginia Rotunda / Credit UVA

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Throughout his public life, Jefferson preached the importance of an educated citizenry that could help the nation prosper.  He had long proposed a system of public education and a state university for the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  From Monticello, Jefferson went to work on the issue by founding the nearby University of Virginia located in the valley below.  He designed the layout of the campus, designed the buildings, and even wrote most of the textbooks himself.  Like Monticello, the physical space also served to educate the inhabitants.  Each building on campus was designed in a different architectural style, so students could study architecture from books in the classroom and then go outside to see the physical examples in real life.   

 Portrait / Credit: Thomas Sully

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On the morning of July 4th, 1826 Jefferson spoke his final words from his bed... "Is it the fourth?" After being told yes, he slipped from consciousness and passed away.  It was almost as if he held on until he reached the most important date of his life.  It was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, his most important work.  On his grave marker in the family plot on the grounds of Monticello, he requested his three greatest accomplishments be listed on the inscription... Author of the Declaration of Independence, Author of the Virginia Resolutions, and Founder of the University of Virginia.  It is ironic that becoming the third President of the United States was not in his list of top three personal accomplishments. 

Shenandoah Valley Mountains
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Jefferson's final fifteen years in retirement at Monticello may have been the happiest of his life, void of the pressures of public office. He was free to pursue his personal interests in the natural world around him including weather patterns, gardening, and science.  You can easily find his enduring spirit within the "Little Mountain" with a visit to Monticello.

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