November 9, 2013
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| Petersburg NB - Tunnel to the Crater |
Petersburg National Battlefield ($5/car entrance fee valid
for 7 days at the Eastern Front Visitor Center – free at other sites). We
started the visit with watching the 17 minute video offered at the Eastern
Front Visitor Center. We also viewed the displays set up at the visitor center.
This park relives the nine and a half month siege that took place between June
1864 and April 1865. The siege finally came to an end six days after General
Grant cut off the supply lines to Petersburg. The Eastern Front battlefield
driving tour (4 miles long) starts at the visitor center and loops through the
site on a one way road. There are 13 sites and three visitor centers
along the 33 mile driving route. We only toured the Eastern Front. By far the
most interesting thing about this battle, in my opinion, was the “The
Crater”. A Pennsylvanian Union troop,
with their mining background, dug a tunnel and then packed it with explosives
and ignited it right under a part of the Confederate line. The attempt to break
the Confederate line failed and all in all 5,500 men did not make it out of the
Battle of the Crater. We were at the park for about 2 hours to see the Eastern
Front area.
The Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site is located in
Jackson Ward National Historic Landmark District in Richmond. The Jackson Ward
area was one of the most prosperous black communities in the US back in the
late 1800s and early 1900s. Maggie Walker living in this neighborhood was a
natural fit. Maggie Walker was the first
woman bank president. Her other notable
accomplishments included serving as the leader of the Independent Order of St.
Luke (a benevolent society that aided African Americans in illness, old age,
and death), starting a newspaper and chartering a bank.
There is a 12-minute video at the visitor center that is
geared towards children, but should be viewed prior to taking a tour. There are
a limited number of displays at the visitor center. Guided house tours are
available starting at the visitor center and last about an hour. The Maggie Walker story is rather interesting,
definitely worth checking out! Oh and just an FYI – the home has 28 rooms!
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| Richmond National Battlefield Park - Tredegar Iron Works |
Next on the docket was the Richmond National Battlefield Park which has a few visitor
centers. It is recommended that visitors visit the Civil War Visitor Center at
Tredegar Iron Works. The visitor center is three stories and has various
displays and a 22-minute video. There is free parking down the street from the
visitor center otherwise there is $3/hour parking right next to the site. There
is another museum adjacent to the NP site, the American Civil War Center (there is an entrance fee). There is an 80-mile driving tour that takes you thought the battlefield - we opted not to spend that much time driving around.
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| A view from Belle Isle |
There is a nice park across from Tredegar Iron Works and
also an island called Belle Isle that is nice. Belle Isle was site of a Prison
Camp. There is information regarding the prison camp on plaques on the island.
We also visited the Chimborazo Medical Museum. There is a 17-minute
long film and medical displays. The hospital was over forty acres in size and
could house over 3000 patients at once. It was one of the largest and best
equipped Confederacy Hospital’s.
It was still daylight so we also checked out the Cold Harbor
Battlefield. There were two electric maps that displayed troop movement and a very short driving tour loop.
November 10, 2013
The day started with a visit to Fort Monroe National
Monument, which is a relatively new NP site. It is a bit confusing on where to
go upon arriving to the old military base which opened in the 1830’s and closed in 2011. The Casement Museum is the place to start your visit. There
is a lot to see at the museum and then of course there are the fort grounds to
check out. Fort Monroe is the largest stone fort ever built in the US and was
named after President James Monroe. There is free admission to this NP. There
is a Fort Monroe Walking Tour flier available in the Casement Museum. The
walking tour takes about an hour and a half.
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| US Army Transportation Museum |
Nothing else was planned for the remainder of the day, but we came across the United States Army Transportation Museum. The museum is located
on Fort Eustis, so you will have to go through security to get in. Admission to
the museum is free. The museum building
is 50,000 square feet and there are four outdoor parks also. There is a short
video (maybe 10-15 minutes) explaining what you would be seeing as you walked
though army transportation history starting with the Revolutionary War and currently ending at Operation
Iraqi Freedom. It took us about 2 hours to make our way through the video
and displays.
We made a stop at the Williamsburg Winery. Mike did the
tasting ($6 and you keep the glass) and got to sample 10 different types of
wine, his favorite being the 2008 Gabriel Archer Reserve. Per Mike, the wine on the East Coast does not compare to the wine in Napa - Napa's wine is much better.
