Eisenhower farm & a spooky night!

We know how much Judy likes a ghost tour. Tonight at 11PM Stan & Connie went with us for a walk in the woods and a visit to the haunted basement. The woods was where the Confederates gathered the night before the first day of the Gettysburg battle, many were killed the next day. We heard some ghost stories and I got a pic of the gang in the woods....and it was quite dark. After that we sat in a haunted Farnsworth House basement for more stories. Balderdash is all I have to say but what is important is that everyone enjoyed the HOT & HUMID walk in the woods. We returned home at 1AM.

one car garage was turned into a small guest house. This is the back porch where they spent most of their relaxation time. Ike was a five star WWII general & the 34th president from 1953 to 1961. While sitting on a bench talking to another visitor I found out he's from N Adams, MI which is 20 miles west of Brooklyn on US12. Small world huh?

This is the front and back view of their farm home purchased for $44K way back when. He had a log book that all visitors signed when they visited the farm.

Here's the view from Ike & Mamie's front yard. We were told that it was one of the reasons they liked Gettysburg & this is the only home they ever owned. Ike was also a Gettysburg battle historian.

New tires & an old DEC friend

Today we had new tires put on the front of the truck. The old ones were pretty well chewed up from the front suspension problems this winter. After the new tires we drove to York, PA to visit Art & Mary Jane Shoup. Art & I worked together at Digital in 1967 in PDP-9 systems manfacturing. We last saw each other at our 25 year reunion about 1992. Art & MJ retired 4 or 5 years ago and moved back to PA. It was great reliving the past and bringing each other up to date....plus a real good Italian resturant!

Gettysburg cycle-rama & ghost tour

Ghost walk time in Gettysburg! This window in a third floor building in Gettysburg was used by snipers during the battle. The other picture is the outside of the building (see the window up high?) where with many many bullet holes where the Union soldiers shot back at the snipers.

There are no ghosts in these buildings. The red brick building was one on many many hospitals. We were told amputated arms & legs were tossed out the windows into pits dug outside to bury the appendages. Holes were drilled in the benches & floods to drain the blood away.

This evening we went on a ghost walk, that's Mel and Judy in one pic and Stan & Connie in the other, like his hat? Judy really likes ghost tours but we all know ghosts do not exist.

Today we all went to the Gettysburg cycle-rama. It's a picture in the round, you stand on one of 2 or 3 levels and the battle encircles you and is highlighted with lights as the battle is described.

Gettysburg battlefield

There rocks are known as the Devil's Den. This landmark gained importance in the second day of the fighting near Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, with a Confederate assault by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's First Corps through this terrain. Conducted by the division of Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood, and including both the Texas Brigade and 3rd Arkansas, the charge was directed towards the left flank of the Union Army of the Potomac and hit Devil's Den as well as the high ground. In the wide panorama picture, taken from the Union position on Little Round Top hill you can see the Devil's Den on the left. Double click on the picture to enlarge it. Devil's Den was defended by the Union III Corps division of Maj. Gen. David B. Birney, later reinforced by the V Corps. Today, public attention is generally focused only on the sharpshooter activity that characterized Devil's Den later in the battle. In fact, Devil's Den has become something of a legend among snipers because of a specific engagement that took place during the second day of the battle. A Confederate sharpshooter had taken up position, harassing the Union artillery battery, preventing them from firing.

This is the field where Pickett's charge took place. Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, and it was arguably an avoidable mistake from which the Southern war effort never fully recovered psychologically. The farthest point reached by the attack has been referred to as the high-water mark of the Confederacy.

OK, today is Wednesday June 1 and we are finally in a location (Old Mystic, CT) where we have Internet access good enough to post pictures so I can now bring the blog up to date, although I will have forgotten some of the details because we have been so busy. Last Wednesday we took a guided bus tour of the battlefield which was quite interesting with all the details the guide gave us. His great grandfather owned some of the property where the battle took place! He had studied the battle for decades (a hobby) and was one of the fifteen guides (out of over 500 that took the park service exam) that is hired for the season. That's him pointing in the picture. Resting on the cannon is the various bullets used at Gettysburg....except the very small brass one used today.

Gettysburg, PA

Today was a move day, 56 miles to Artillery Ridge CG in Gettysburg. We arrived and were set up about noon or 1pm. This CG is also a horse park, it is next to the Gettysburg Battlefield Visitor Center (~1 mile) and has many horse corals where campers can bring horses to ride the battlefield. During the Memorial Day holiday the CG was full and we had several horses beside & in front of us. It was fun towing through Gettysburg on the way to the CG. Downtown was torn up for road constuction but we zigged & zagged successfully. We had to drive through the battlefield to get to the CG. Shortly after we were set up Stan & Connie arrived so we had a nice chat with them then went to Drummer Boy CG to get with Mel & Dee so we all went out for supper and caught up in what's happened since we were all together last October in TX.

West Vitginia & Antietam & Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry, WV. The red brick building is were the federal troops led by Robert E Lee captured John Brown, the abolitionist. The painting of him reminds me of Moses. This was before the Civil War while Lee was still a Union General.

Imagine Confederate soldiers on this hill looking down at Union troops 4 abreast crossing this bridge and firing on them. It was a disaster for the Union troops and a turkey soot for the rebs at Antietam.

This is the sunken road were Confederate troops were well concealed & held off a much larger Union force....for awhile.

After the battle the Confederate bodies were said to be lined up and stacked on each other like railroad ties.

This is the old German Dunker Church were much of the fighting at Antietam was centered. Dunker comes from full immersion baptisms.

It is hard to imagine that 23,000 troops were killed, missing or captured in just ONE day here, the bloodiest single day of fighting during the Civil War. Missing was defined as not enough of a body was found for identification.

It's peaceful here now. The rolling countryside is very lush and green.
Antietam was much more interesting than Harpers Ferry.

Our 2 night campsite in Falling Waters, WV.

DC bus tour

Union Station....buses, subway & train station hub with lots of restaurants and small shops. Next is the Pentagon as we drove by.

Changing of the guard at Arlington Nation Cemetery & the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Ceremonial laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by a group of visiting school students.

While we were here there was a funeral of an Air Force officer & we heard all the music and drummers plus there was a flyover in the missing man formation.

Topless bus tour. We were able to visit the last remaining sites that were high on our list. We could get off the bus, sight see as much as we wanted, then board the next bus.

I am not paranoid.....I told you they were watching me & wouldn't let me in!

Ford theater were we watched a short 20 or 30 minute play around the assassination of Lincoln.