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My mom and I area leaving on an "impromptu" roadtrip right after Christmas ~ We're heading from Michigan to Savannah, GA and then up to Washinton DC. She doesn't like history and views CW battlefields with the idea "You've seen one, you've seen them all. They're big fields." Thankfully, I've got her convinced to stop at a few places along the way.
Which sites should I insist we see?
Any advice about places to stay and other things to see would be appreciated as well...
Thanks,
~Highfly
__________________ ~ Highfly
If you want to catch the Devil, if you want to have fun, if you want to smell hell, jine the cavalry!
Have no suggestions for you, but am keenly interested in the responses you get as well as your assessment of the trip when you get back. We'll be heading for Savannah next spring from near Chicago. It's Mrs Ole's idea (stupid book), but I complied for the opportunity to cross country near at least 3 significant battlefields -- Franklin will be one.
Keep me updated on your planning. Sounds like fun.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Gettysburg (1 1/2 hours from DC)
Antietam/Sharpsburg (1 1/4 hours from DC)
Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville/Spottsylvania (1 hr from DC)
The Smithsonian (in DC)
Drop me a line of you are visiting G'Burg and I'll arrange for one of our "Surly Unauthorized Battlefield Tours"
Hi Highfly- enjoy your trip and it's great you are going and taking time to see a few things too. I don't know what your route south will be, so refrain from advising you there, except if you get close to Chattanooga and Stone Mountain outside Atlanta, particularly the mountain sculpture at the latter for your Mom, and it needn't be an overlong stop.
In Savannah there are the forts, Ft Pulaski & Ft McAllister, though I might not suggest those as a high priority as i doubt they would hold much interest for mumsies and savannah is a wonderful place to explore otherwise (so i hear, have never been there.)
As you are coming north to Washington, a stop in Richmond- Confederate Museum, White House should be considered.
It is on the return trip where I can actually chip in here. From Washington back to michigan, Harpers Ferry and Antietam wouldn't be out of the way and both are well worth visiting, especially Antietam for your Mom- it is not a battlefield spread out over creation, but everything is almost right under foot. You can see almost all the battlefield from wherever you are standing and there is an observation tower too behind Bloody Lane. And from Antietam it is only a skip and a jump (in relative terms considering your trip) to gettysburg- it is a must see if you or your Mom have never seen it. Though spread out, it is the classic battlefield park, and worth visiting no matter how many times one has been there. Besides the battlefield, the Eisenhower Farm ajoining the park is visitable throughout the year.
__________________ 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag'
If I had to pick just one battlefield, I'd make it Gettysburg. And, if you or your Mom are up for forking over the bucks, I'd get the private tour (it's the only CW battlefield that offers it). I guess if she's already agreed to stop at a few places, then you might not be able to push the envelop (so to speak) for more. But, I'd rather have 4-5 solid hours at Gettysburg than one hour each at three different battlefields (but that's just my taste).
"She doesn't like history and views CW battlefields with the idea 'You've seen one, you've seen them all. They're big fields.'" [Highfly's Mom]
To some degree, she's right...in a way. I'll be glad to share my experience just for your information; you can use it perhaps to determine what you'd like to do. If you know the Civil War really well and you know the battles really well, then each battlefield is not the same. The more you know about the battles themselves, the more enjoyable the battlefield visit is. However, if you're a Civil War fan - even if you don't know the battle itself very well - you may just appreciate simply being on the field without having to necessarily understand the whole battle. So, it sort of depends on where you are in all this.
Do you just want to visit the battlefields to see where they are kind of a thing...or are you more interested in having the battle shown to you? If it's the latter, then Gettysburg is the place to do it. If it's the former (i.e., you just want to see the battlefields), then pretty much any of them will do. Although, you might want to keep in mind that Antitiem is the best preserved battlefield insofar as it looks more like what it did when the battle occurred since that particular part of Maryland has seen little development. The rest of the battlefields (including Gettysburg) are what remains of them after 150 years of development (for example, Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg - where the Federals made their advance - is underneath an assorted collection of suburban houses; there is no clear view from the Federal starting point leading up to the base of Marye's Heights. But, the stone wall is still there....well, one small piece of it; the rest of it is a replica).
My advice to you would be to figure out what you want in terms of just visiting the fields or having a real tour. The battlefields, as you probably know, are maintained by the National Park Service (NPS) and usually have some sort of limited 'tour'....meaning, for example, that someone stands next to the stone wall at Fredericksburg and talks about it for 20 minutes or so. I believe most of them offer some sort of 'driving' or 'walking' tour, meaning that you pop a cassette into the car radio and drive where they tell you. Only Gettysburg offers the private tour and those private tours are not run through NPS. In this tour, a person gets in your car and drives you all around the whole field.
Anyway, as you know, Civil War battles can be very complicated and it can be a challenge to orient yourself to the surroundings if you don't know the battle very well. Obviously, if you know the battle really well, then it's not as much of a challenge to mentally do the 'you are here' thing in your head. I would recommend you look at a map to determine just how many Civil War battlefields will be within your all's driving range (or, at least, where your Mom would be willing to go) and then I'd Google them to get the NPS sites and those sites will tell you what they offer (hours, etc.).
If your Mom doesn't like history, then I take it that the trip to Washington DC will be a monument/museum sort of thing (i.e., the memorials and the Smithsonians...maybe a few Federal Buildings)? I ask because you'll be in the vicinity of Mount Vernon and other historical sites that you might want to take advantage of.
Well, I'll stop for now and let you think about all that. If I think of anything else, I'll come back.
If you go to Fredericksburg or Antitiem...consider having your Mom spend the day shopping in all the cute shops and everything while you take in the battlefield to your heart's content (if she's into that; the salon is another option). Hmmm....Old Town/Historic District Fredericksburg is a virtual nest of 'cute' stuff; Shepardstown is not far from Antitiem and has a little strip of 'cute' shops. This arrangement may not be convenient for you, but nothing is worse than dragging a person who doesn't really want to see the battlefield (your Mom) and having to put up with any nuance of 'are we done yet' (yourself). You'll feel rushed and she won't think it's much fun. It's hard on both people and it's a waste of time to try to get people who aren't interested in something interested in it. To this end, I'm heavily in favor of accommodation for everyone (if it can be done)...you go shopping or pedicure/manicure at the salon...I'll go to the battlefield - that way everyone has a better day.
Just a thought....
Last edited by CChartreux; 12-07-2005 at 03:33 PM.
Here's a second for buying those tour tapes or CDs (CDs are a little more expensive than the tapes). You can sell them on eBay or to somebody who's interested in going to the site, and recoup your money if you want to.
Google and state tourism guides on paper are your best friend for finding accommodations in towns/cities close to your planned route. Just google "Maryland"+"tourism" etc. to get to a website offering the always free guidebooks from a state agency. They are usually more than 100 pages long and promote the state's attractions, lodgings, restaurants, campgrounds, etc. You'd need to do that right away to get them before Christmas!
I've had fun staying at a few old hotels (not motels) in small towns. They have been so old they're quaint, and cheaper than modern motels. Some I've found online and some by simply driving to the center, oldest-looking part of the towns.
My husband and I always lay out detailed plans for what we're going to visit when and this helps. It seems like a pain but it does help. You don't want to be wasting time hundreds of miles away from home, wondering what to do, and frittering away time in areas you might not get back to for years. But of course you might find memorable surprises on your trip too. Have fun. Take pictures.
If you veer west, I'd suggest Shiloh and Lookout Mountain. I really enjoyed both of these interesting sites
Calicoboy
__________________ My dear mother:- I have come safely through two more terrible engagements with the enemy, that at South Mountain and the great battle of yesterday (Antietam). Our splendid regiment is almost destroyed. We have had nearly 400 men killed and wounded in the battles. Seven of our officers were shot and three killed in yesterday's battle and nearly 150 men killed and wounded. All from less than 300 engaged. The men have stood like iron....Maj. Rufus Dawes, 6th Wisconsin Volunteers
I'll throw in my bit for Tennessee tourism. Ft. Negley in Nashville is worth a quck stop and will take about 30 minutes to tour. Huge federal stone fort, the real thing. My suggestion also to consider Chattanooga's Point Park on Lookout Mountain, about a ten-minute drive off the interstate. There is an interpretive center in the quaint little village on top of the mountain where Gen. Grant scaled the bluff in The battle above the Clouds. Chickamauga, a few miles away was a major battlefield of the war in the west. One of the better armament collections there that you will find is in the visitor's center in Rossville, Georgia, a Chattanooga suburb. The scenery and downtown area in Chattanooga are excellent.
I'll throw in my bit for Tennessee tourism. Ft. Negley in Nashville is worth a quick stop and will take about 30 minutes to tour. Huge federal stone fort, the real thing. My suggestion also to consider Chattanooga's Point Park on Lookout Mountain, about a ten-minute drive off the interstate. There is an interpretive center in the quaint little village on top of the mountain where Gen. Grant scaled the bluff in The battle above the Clouds. Chickamauga, a few miles away was a major battlefield of the war in the west. One of the better armament collections there that you will find is in the visitor's center in Rossville, Georgia, a Chattanooga suburb. The scenery and downtown area in Chattanooga are excellent.
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