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Spent the week travelling with the family across 9 states this past week and was able to visit and take some pictures of two great Civil War sites as well as some other Civil War related stuff in Virginia and Maryland.Manassas (Bull Run)http://civilwarmo.info/photos/?picasaViewAlbumId=ManassasBattlefield071211%2C0Antietam (Sharpsburg)http://civilwarmo.info/photos/?picasaViewAlbumId=Antietam071611%2C0Stonewall Cemetery, Stonewall House, VMI & Washington & Lee in Lexington, VA.http://civilwarmo.info/photos/?picasaViewAlbumId=LexingtonVA071211%2C0The most disappointing part was that at Lee Chapel you cannot take pictures at all, so I have only a picture of the church, the entrance and Travelers grave. Thats it… it was impressive, but I am sad I could not take pictures. Manassas and Antietam are more than impressive.. and HUGE and require a day each to truly get the full picture of what went on at both.
I almost opted to go to Gettysburg… it was only an hour and 30 minuntes away from where we were staying in Maryland, but to be honest I really had no desire to got here. I have heard all the stories of how awesome it is, but to me Gettysburg has been… whats the word I want to used… not really commercialized but has become the poster child for the Civil War that I usually can't stand to hear another story about it or how important it was.It was important, but from a truly historical standpoint I think it had no greater impact than First Manassas, Antietam or Vicksburg. THose three in particular had a HUGE impact on the chain of events during the war, I think more so than Gettysburg…Yeah, I'd like to see it, but it's not on my priority list… Antietam was incredible. I can't wait to go back so I can go over it with a fine toothed comb. Shiloh and Vicksburg will be on the list soon as well. My current goal is to see every major battle site in Missouri and as many of the smaller, skirmish sites in Missouri, document my travels to all and then write something about the whole of them sometime in the future.
Have you been to Perryville, Kentucky? That's the only site I've been to.
I have not been to that… would you reccommend it?
I have not been to that… would you reccommend it?
Yeah it's pretty cool in October when a few hundred guys get together and rehash the Battle of Perryville. Of course Perryville is stuck in a time warp and pretty much looks the same as it did back then. LOL
Shiloh is a great trip. It is little changed from the war and it is actually kind of creepy walking over the battlefield. The day I visited there was an artillery reenactment unit there who did a firing exercise near the Hornet's Nest. It is well worth the trip. I went there in 2007 when I was TDY to Ft. Campbell.
Shiloh is on my short list for sure…Not sure how factual this is, but when I was at Antietam I was talking to an older fellow from Long Island who makes regular pilgramages to the battlefield. He said that some years ago they found remains along the Sunken Road. He said he was walking it when he was younger and found part of a hand sticking up where some land had washed away. Took it with a grain of salt, but was an interesting story that made walking up Bloody Lane a bit more surreal.
I don't necessarily know that I would buy that story. The battlefields of the larger battles were policed up pretty thoroughly afterwards from my understanding. It is possible I suppose, although highly unlikely. Civil War battlefields were not the constant charnel houses that those of later wars would become. I would guess that remains are still found along the Petersburg trench lines though.
Yeah, I took it with a grain of salt…. Nice fellow, but he was certainly no stranger to tales of yore and used such eloquent New York vernacular that left me laughing. ;)In his defense he has been going there since he was a boy and he was fairly old, so, who knows for sure…
