The Clara Barton Missing Soldier Office Museum all started with a ghostly tap on the shoulder in 1996. Clara Barton was an amazing woman, and the more I learn about her, the more impressed I am. She is most well known for founding the America Red Cross, but she devoted most of her adult life […]
Civil War
A Home for Brave Ideas — Lincoln’s Summer Cottage
The tour of the Lincoln Summer Cottage is more than a house tour, although you do see the dining room, the parlor, the Lincoln’s bedroom, and such. It’s also a tour of the ideas and the space that allowed Lincoln to navigate the Civil War and lead our country through that devastating period for our […]
24 Things to Do in 24 Hours in Lynchburg
Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the “City of Seven Hills.” It’s a city nestled in its surroundings. If you’re a history buff, you’ve come to the right place — there’s history galore here. Interestingly, it’s a Southern city grappling with […]
Malvern Hill Battlefield – Seven Days Battle
Now, birds nest in cannon that once sought to kill. The Battle of Malvern Hill, which took place July 1 1862, was the culmination of the Seven Days Battles, which were the climax of the Peninsula Campaign, in which the Northern Army of the Potomac, sailing around Confederate lines, landed at the tip of the […]
Baltimore’s’ Historic Ships: A Sloop of War and a Submarine
Historic Ships of Baltimore is a maritime museum located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor — and is a good way to remember that the Inner Harbor for 200 years was — and still is — a major east coast port. There is so much to cover in this museum that it required two separate articles. This […]
Battle of Fredericksburg
Innis House, which witnessed the Battle of Fredericksburg. We first noticed the signs as we drove in along River Road, adjacent to the Rappahannock River: we were traveling through the battlefield of the Battle of Fredericksburg, which was fought December 11 -15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg. The Union forces, led by Maj. Gen. Ambrose […]
Biking with the Hound at Edwards Ferry
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (more commonly known as the C&O Canal) runs 184+ miles in Maryland, stretching from DC to Cumberland along the Potomac River, passing many points of interest. With a variety of aqueducts, lock houses, and other buildings, sweeping views of the river in many places, and an almost entirely shaded towpath, […]
Battlefield Bed & Breakfast
There is so much to see and do in Gettysburg, that it makes sense to consider spending a night or two at a local B&B. One of the local B&Bs is the Battlefield Bed and Breakfast, run by Florence and her spouse Debbie. The original portion of the farmhouse was built for Cornelius & Anna […]
Daytripping Hampton VA
Sure, there’s history at Hampton VA — in fact, more than 400 years of recorded history, which makes Hampton an interesting place to visit. But there are plenty of other good reasons to visit Hampton as well, including the Virginia Air and Space Center and a harbor cruise that will take you to see the […]
Hiking Antietam National Battlefield
The Battle of Antietam is often referred to as the bloodiest day in American history. As we walk around the battlefield now, it’s hard to imagine that more than 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after 12 hours of savage combat on that hot September day in 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate […]
Fredericksburg Overview and Trolley Tour
Big cities have their red buses or their double-decker buses, and some have red double-decker buses, but Fredericksburg has its touring trolley. One of the best ways to get introduced to Fredericksburg is via the downtown trolley tour, which takes you past all the significant sites of Fredericksburg, provides an interesting and informative narrative throughout, […]
Hiking on Hallowed Ground: Cemetery Ridge Hike
Most of us possess at least a basic understanding of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, fought July 1-3, 1863. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade’s Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, effectively rebuffing Lee’s invasion of the North. There were up to 51,000 casualties from […]
Four Must-See African-American Sites in Alexandria, VA
Alexandria, VA is a city steeped in African-American history since its founding in 1749, but much of this history has become hidden over the years. Forgotten burial grounds, a former slave jail, and the Alexandria Black History Museum will help start your journey to discover Alexandria’s hidden history. In 1790, when the first federal census […]
Fort Monroe by Segway
For almost 200 years, Fort Monroe has guarded the navigation channel between the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads — the natural harbor, or roadstead, at the confluence of the Elizabeth, the Nansemond and the James rivers. Surrounded by a moat, the seven-sided star fort is the largest stone fort ever built in the United States. […]
A Tale of Two Cemeteries
If you visit Petersburg National Battlefield to learn about the Battle of the Crater, then you should take some time to visit two local cemeteries, Poplar Grove National Cemetery and Blandford Cemetery, as the young men on both sides who fought and died in that battle (as well as others in the area) are interred […]