Muleshoe and Salient

Campfires burn tonight
Our stories  are a' glowing
They rise like flames up to the sky
Our songs of home and glory
The stars our silent sentry witness
Rest my brothers
Rest your heads
The next days bloody battle is just a morning hour away

In the wilderness of Virginia
The fires burn by day
We won't turn back
Says General Grant
The city of Richmond is our prey
Damn  General Lee is in our way
In this War of the Rebellion 

Fredericksburg, VA

We are at the Chancellorsville Battlefield and the Wilderness racing to keep up with our guide the 'legendary' Ed Bearss. He, 91, walks faster than any of us, so one must be committed to staying ahead of him to hear all that he has to offer. With his pointing stick in hand, he traces the Wilderness battles, the rivers, the land marks, the triangle that encloses the fields. I am introduced to two terms Muleshoe and Salient.

Honestly, I am still confused about the geography of the battle when we arrive at the edge of the woods. It is here that the Union soldiers stepped over skulls of those who had fought  year ago and one wonders at the reaction to this horror. For the skulls were clearly split open by gunfire, and the bones a reminder that this is no placid forest, but a place of extraordinary danger. Death is the norm, not the exception.

At one point of the tour a man who was visiting the battlefield on his own approaches Ed. Shaking his hand he says "It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Bearss" Only then do I understand that this tour is unique, as apparently the visitor from Oregon had recognized our guide from his bookjacket.

Indeed, to know so much and relay this devastating story in such an 'entertaining' way is remarkable, so I make it a point to be at his side as much as I can.

How much I can retain is an issue as the terrain is more complex than the visitors center sign indicates. Must do more reading.

We are farmers living peacefully in this neighborhood that is as flat as the plains, we have no more chickens, or livestock to offer you any more. All has been taken by the armies that have passed through here in 1862. To the north we hear of the tempest in the wilderness where Lee has tried to defend this route to Richmond. There is a new name for the fields around the james river-the Bloody Angle. Grant has broken through, but his men are arrogantly jubilant and our soldiers regroup to defend once more. Lee in his desperation rides to the front, demanding that his men fight. His faithful fighting Texans rise to the rescue and his men exclaim  LEe to the rear!
 No ground is gained, no victories there. Instead they race to Spottsylvania Courthouse, where Lee once more beats this audacious foe.

More men killed for nothing. Men thrown at this battle, the race to defend or conquer the heart of the confederacy. We must defend, we must not let these northerners make any gains .

We are farmers, we carve out livings from the land. This land we cannot give up to the aggressors of the north.

Mead Society Day 1 Fredericksburg and James River Winery

I take a deep breath and sign up for a trip with a group that I do not know. 40 total strangers and me. the pouring rain in the early morning gives me pause, but I am welcomed up for shelter under the Union League awning by Albert, so I feel some sense of relief. Once on the bus, All the first timers are automatically recognized and several people immediately welcome me, asking how I decided to come on the trip. this is a good beginning.

We stop for lunch and some sightseeing on our own in Fredericksburg a small town with some historic sites and a Saturday farmers market where I buy some local honey. This area saw much devastation perpetrated by Union troops, my first taste of the cruelty of the North. Along the streets are quaint signs and restaurants and boutique shops. I stop into the Masonic Cemetery .

Later in the afternoon, we visit a small winery where the talkative amiable manager gives us a 'tour' of his small operation. I end up striking up a friendly banter with another customer, who is himself so fun loving, we laugh and kibutz at the wine tasting.

It is at the evening pizza party that I start to relax and get a sense of the members of this amazing society of Civil War, General Mead, history loving folks.  Each has a story, and they are all so very interesting, so I look forward to hitting the road tomorrow for the tour of the wilderness.

Star Spangled evening

After  a pleasant day at the Fort, we stay around for the evening concert and speeches which are supposed to start at 6:00 but are delayed until almost 7:00. We settle down on a spot on the grass, but all we can really see is the jumbo screen ( I think the other side would have been better).

On stage for the ceremony are several generations of politicians with connections to Baltimore and Maryland. The surprise is Nancy Pelosi, who is from Baltimore, and the St. Senator Sarbanes with the current senator Sarbanes, his son. The Lt Governor, running for Governor is featured, but generally the speeches by each of these tend to repeat the same tribute to Ft. McHenry, to the flag, to the city. Senator Sarbanes Sr. gives a history lesson, fascinating but long.

The highlight is Vice President Biden, who gives a dynamic, short pointed speech. The difference between his confident veteran style and that of Lt. Governor Brown is apparent to me and shows what being on the national stage has given him in terms of stature and projection.

The music ranges from Bagpipes to drum corps, gospel to patriotic as we wait for the grand finale. And it is worth waiting for. As they raise the large flag that is the replica of the original Star Spangled Banner, the fireworks begin in three locations over the harbor. For 20 thrilling minutes we are treated to unusual fireworks that spell out USA and form the flag (!).

The Star Spangled Spectacular part 1

As children we are taught to sing the very challenging melody and oddly poetic words of our national anthem. "Oh say can you see?" Yes, we learn that it was written by Francis Scott Key, and yes we knew he was looking out onto some harbor where the 'bombs were bursting in air'. But what war, and who was fighting, and where- now that was something I never got straight.

How startling to learn that right in my own backyard, to the east of the tunnel that I drive through on my way to Silver Spring and back again, was the Fort where the battle was fought fiercely in a war that is rarely discussed. It was at Ft. McHenry, in defense of Baltimore, the 3rd largest city in the US, that 1200 soldiers fought off the most powerful navy in the world-the British. The war was eventually called The War of 1812 and in 1814, the British bombarded this entrance to Baltimore for 25 hours.
As it turns out Francis Scott Key was being held in detention, where he watched the 19th C. version of 'Shock and Awe',  where as part of the tension that  mounted overnight,   'o'r the ramparts watched', then saw 'that our flag was still there'. He chose to couple his soaring words with a melody that was well known because it was a drinking song written for the Anacreonitic Socity,    "an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London".  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven 
Surprisingly, the song became an instant hit throughout the states, renamed on the advice of his uncle, from "The Battle of Fort McHenry" to "The Star Spangled Banner".

And so we, on Sept 13 2014  exactly 200 years later, walk around Ft. McHenry, listening to music from then and now that includes the Washington Revels, and a Navy rock band. Then we  stroll to the waters edge to view the Blue Angels air show, whose pilots in the sleek jets weave across the sky at 600 miles an hour. But the star of the day is the fort and the flag. How joyous to arrive inside the fort just as the enthusiastic ranger lowers the small flag, then instructs a group of 20 or so on folding it.  Out then comes the replica of the flag that is to be flown later that night. As we hold it, unfurl it, and put it back safely, I feel a surge of pride.

The uniforms of this era are more tailored and fay compared to those just 40 years later. The men's hats of no practical use, the long waistcoats as well. My brother asks one of the 'soldiers' about the functionality of the hats to which we are treated to a personal tour of the officers' quarters room, where he shares  how he learned that his relative had served at Ft. McHenry.

Ft. Delaware and Ft. Mott part 1

Where the Delaware River meets the Bay is an area that holds great significance in the defense of Pennsylvania during the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th C. There, two  forts hug the coastline, one nearly invisible, the other a brick fort within a stone fortress. Tony and Francine and I drive to Ft. Mott. With time to explore while we wait for the ferry to Ft. Delaware, walk the parapet of Ft. Mott, looking out over the vast expanse of the Delaware River.

Especially  amazing to us are the varieties of the  mechanical machinery designed to bring the heavy artillery shells by railway cart to a lift used to raise the  shells up to the ramparts where they are slid into the casings. The communications systems, a complex web of human and technological devices include something akin to a 19th C fax machine.

There is enough to keep us interested for nearly two hours as we wonder through the storerooms and behind the parapet to see the parados, which is a secondary defense hill built in case of attack from the rear. As an additional deterrent to enemy encroachment from the back, the moat is filled with the sewage from the 'earth closets', rooms with actual toilets whose refuse drains right into the moats behind the parados.


Among the artifacts are original shells and the lift mechanism that brings them up to the top





We board the DelaFort ferry, a 20 minute ride that takes us to the other side of Pea Patch Island where we can see the entrance to Ft. Delaware. At first look from the ferry the fort seems massive, a large square granite structure.

The ferry, the DelaFort takes us on a pleasant ride under blue skies and 80 degree temperature. We can see the square stone fort from the boat. surrounded by marsh that we drive through on the tram once we get off the ferry. that is cut by muskrat trails. Bill Cooper meets us in front of the fort to give us some information mostly about bats. There is a lot information about the disease that has infested the bats of the area. A lot of information.


The prisoners lived in barracks outside the fort, 3 levels of bunks that held 120 soldiers who had a scratchy blanket and a wood stove in the middle of the room to keep them warm. The prison had the reputation  as being the 'Andersonville of the north". Andersonville was the notorious southern prison with intolerable conditions, so to make this comparison is quite dramatic. On this benign day of sun and warmth and good friendship it was hard to imagine the depredation of the conditions there. For example, union deserters imprisoned there were made to wear a ball and chain as the walked around the camp. Food, though existent, was rancid, slimy, inedible. Conditions spread disease; more than 2400 men died there.