Another trip to Quantico and other locations.

About 2 weeks ago I took a 2 day trip to Quantico with my good friend Mike Grzebien. Mike is retiring from the Air Force and is home on terminal leave. He drove up to VA from NC and we both drove up to Quantico on Sunday. My daughter Gretchen arranged for us to meet with the Aviation and Ordnance Curators for a tour of the storage and restoration facilities. We spent about 2 hours looking at armor and aircraft in various stages of restoration and condition. Mike is an avid modeller and was like a kid in a toy store. (OK I was too but only in the armor building)We got lots of photos and inside scoop on what's going on behind the scenes. We also got over to the museum to see the new gallery that opened in June. The swords that th APG are on display and branded with labels acknowledging the APG participation. On the way back we stopped at Brandy Station Battlefield to hike one of the trails the CWPT has put in on property they've preserved. We also stopped at the Cedar Mountain Battlefield on the way home. A full 2 days but lots of fun.

They're at it Again

Efforts are underway again in Gettysburg to build a casino. This time on the Emmitsburg Road south of town on or near the Eisenhower Hotel.

http://nocasinogettysburg.org/

Ellwood

Another stop, this one on my way home Sunday, was at the NPS site "Ellwood" along Rt20 just south of Rt 3. Ellwood c. 1790 was the summer home of the J. Horace Lacy and his wife Betty Churchill Jones. In May 1864 it was the site of General Warrens 5th Corps Headquarters during the Wilderness Campaign and the family cemetery is the burial site of General Jackson's amputated arm.

In May '63 Jackson had been wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville and had his arm amputated at Wilderness Tavern about 1/2 miles from Ellwood. The Rev Beverly Tucker Lacy, brother of Ellwood's owner and Jackson's Chaplain, retrieved the arm and buried it in the family cemetery at Ellwood. The exact location of the arm in the cemetery is not known. The site was "disturbed" at some point by Federal troops and legend has it that in the 1920's Marine General Smedley Butler unearthed the arm to prove it was there. According to the volunteer tour guide I met there the Butler story has never been proven.

Ellwood has hosted several other notable visitors. the Marquis de Lafayette visited Ellwood in 1825 during is tour of America. "Light Horse Harry Lee" noted Revolutionary War hero and father of General Robert E. Lee wrote his memoirs there in the upstairs bedroom. Considering the locations of the homes of Founding Fathers James Madison and James Monroe it is speculated that they were also visitors to the home.

The area around Ellwood is full of history. The Battles of Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Mine Run all took place with in miles of the site. General Grants Headquarters during the Wilderness Campaign was several hundred yards away. Unfortunately much of this area has been lost or soon will be. When Rt 3 was developed it was built over Wilderness Tavern. Recently preservationists tried in vain to halt the building of a Super Walmart just a short distance from and overlooking the site. The negative impact of this development at the intersection of Rt 3 and Rt 20 will be huge and permanent. Thank you Spotsylvania County.

If you're in the area this site is worth a visit. The volunteer guides were great and a walk around the site a pleasant experience. Ellwood is a about a mile south on Rt 20 from it's Rt 3 intersection. The intersection is about a 15 minute drive west on Rt 3 from Interstate 95 at Fredericksburg. Along the way you'll pass through the Chancellorsville Battlefield and with in yards of the site of Jackson's wounding in May of '63. Once you're there you'll also be adjacent to the Wilderness Battlefield and a short drive to Spotsylvania Courthouse and Battlefield.

Ya'll come.

This past weekend I visited my daughter again in Fredericksburg. While there, we drove out to visit the battlefield at Brandy Station and the town of Culpeper. After stopping at the Culpeper Visitors Center to get a map we took a walking tour of the town. We found the site of the home where John Pelham died in 1863 and the boyhood home of Gen A.P. Hill. Recently Gretchen found out that her and her sister are descendents of Gen Hill on their mothers side. After lunch and a visit to the local museum we drove out to Brandy Station.

Recently the APG made a donation to the CWPT to help conserve some land on the site of the battlefield. I wanted to see where our money was going. The Brandy Station 1863 cavalry battle was was the biggest cavalry engagement on this continent. Some of the land has been built on but much remains the same as it was in 1863 due to a large farm occupying parts of the field but also because of the CWPT. They have been successful in keeping out a racetrack and a huge shopping center. We drove much of the field but couldn't access some parts by car because the old roads have been closed. There are a couple of hiking trails but we weren't prepared to do a lot of walking. Brandy Station is a great place to visit but I would get my hands on the CWPT battle map as well as a county map. The CWPT map is excellent in depicting the battle and a county map will keep you off the dead end roads. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures but plan to return and will document the next trip with photos.

If in the area of Central VA I recommend a trip to both of these places. The drive in the country is great and of course the history is superb.