So much history!

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We headed over to the Jamestown settlement visitor center. It is like the Williamsburg village, except a lot smaller. Jamestown was settled in 1607, yes 1607, by colonists from England. They spent 4 1/2 months sailing from England in 3 boats. The smallest one was only 66 feet long! Can you imagine sailing on such a small boat across the Atlantic? It had a crew of 9 and had 23 passengers aboard. No privacy, no bathroom, no showers and the passengers had to spend almost all of the trip below decks! Yuck!! The settlement had docents in costume to explain different aspects of the fort they built. After that we went to the site of the actual fort that is undergoing archeological explorations. They have found lots of artifacts and have many of them on display.

The next morning, we drove over to Charlottesville to see Monticello, which was Thomas Jefferson's home. He designed it himself and had many inventions in it that nobody had ever seen. He had revolving desks, closets and food shelves. He had wine dumbwaiters to bring up bottles of wine. He built a clock that showed the hour, minute, second and the day of the week. It was so big, he had to cut a hole in his floor for the weights to go through. He also traded and bought seeds for hundreds of plants that he planted in his gardens. He was a very smart man.

This morning we drove over to Fredericksburg to look at some of the Civil War battlefields. These were the bloodiest battles of the entire Civil War. More than a hundred thousand soldiers from both sides were wounded or died around here. There were 4 major battles in and around Fredericksburg. So in history we have jumped from the early 1600's to the 1860's in 3 days. Time travel is wonderful!

Tomorrow we finish up Fredericksburg and the drive to Washington, DC for 6 days, then home.

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Photos

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Yorktown battlefield cannons

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Indian hut by the Jamestown settlement.

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Inside the hut.

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Stacy near the fort.

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The width of the smallest isn't much more than my arm length.

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One of the Jamestown ships.

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The other 2 boats. The smallest boat is in the back. A woman was very excited to see that replica boat, as one of her ancestors actually sailed to Jamestown on that boat as a 12 year old boy.

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Soldier Stacy!

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Me manning the cannon.

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Buildings in the fort.

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Soldier Bob!

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Weapons inside a building at the fort.

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Pocahantas

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Monticello

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Some of the flower gardens.

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Trees are just starting to turn.

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Ole Thomas Jefferson and I checking out the house.

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A wall inside a house on the battlefield at Fredericksburg. The holes are from musket balls hitting the walls.

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Cannon on the hill overlooking the battlefield.

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Statue of a Confederate soldier giving water to dying Union soldiers. He was later killed in battle.

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Part of the original wall that Confederate soldiers used for cover as they mowed down Union soldiers who were coming up toward them in a long line.

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Part of a tree with 2 cannon balls stuck in it.

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Ellwood/Lacy house. Part of a plantation taken over by both Confederate and Union troops during the war.

Comments

[Gary Nelson]

Pictures
Bob, loved the pictures, so much history, we have seen some of it but want to see more, maybe next spring.