Blogs from Virginia, United States, North America - page 5

THE SIEGE OF YORKTOWN America won the Revolutionary War and independence from the Crown of England when General Charles Lord Cornwallis suffered defeat at Yorktown and surrendered the Redcoat army. George Washington commanded the American forces at Yorktown, but would not have even dared to attack there without the generous assistance of the French. We would not have won the war without their help. Cornwallis gathered his army in the late summer of 1781 at Yorktown, near the mouth of the York River where it entered Chesapeake Bay. They were a bit ragged and weary after defeats at Kings Mountain and at the Cowpens in South Carolina, and the pursuit of the combined colonial militia commanded by Nathaniel Green and Daniel Morgan as far as the Dan River in North Carolina. The Redcoats retreated to Hillsboro ... read more

I buried myself momentarily in the deep and fascinating history of America's beginning when the new world revolted against the old and bitter conflict ended England's rule over her colony and the United States elected its great general, George Washington as its first President. Some years later the Civil War then took its unrelenting toll on families, friendships, businesses and tore apart one entrenched lifestyle and sought to replace it with another. America's heart and soul are truly buried right here in Virginia and the environs, for here raged the most wrenching of discords between peoples with divergent ideas for building a new country. Contrary to popular thought, that devastating war was not only over slavery but first and foremost, over who would control the country. Slavery was the central part of an economic system that ... read more

I’m retired and taking my boat south again. If anyone wants to ride tell me where you want get on and how long you want to ride.... read more

The wedding of our niece (Susan's brother's daughter) took us to Lexington, Virginia. We arrived the day before so as to have plenty of time to explore the town. This was our first time staying in an Airbnb. The house was on a separate property neighboring the proprietor's residence. A little apart from the town, it has a view across a neighboring horse farm to the mountains beyond. Drew and Aubrey stayed with us. Town and historic property sightseeing was not for them, so they headed for Natural Bridge State Park. Lexington is most famous as the home of two higher education institutions: Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and Washington and Lee University (W&L). It was also the home of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (1823-1863), a VMI instructor before the Civil War and Confederate general during it. The ... read more

Day 16 - family tours Washington Early Sunday morning we joined a small tour with an American family to see the major sights of Washington. We visited theCapital, the Jefferson memorial; the Luther king memorial; Lincoln Memorial (from which Martin Luther king had a Dream). Plus then memorials for WWII; Korea; Vietnam and for the marines at Iwo Jima. And then we finished at the White House which was really cool. There were Australian flags ??everywhere. They must have known we were in town. Oh yes and scomo was In town as well! We also had a quick trip to The Washington children’s hospital as Bella was suffering from an ear infection. Let’s just say she did not figure prominently in the family photo at the White House!! After a few trips across town to pharmacies ... read more