Fredericksburg, VA

May 7 - May 10, 2012

The closer you get to a major metropolitan area, the harder it gets to find a decent campground...probably because of higher property values. We've landed in a KOA campground outside of Fredericksburg, VA. We try to avoid KOA's whenever possible, but sometimes there's just no other option. They tend to be extremely overpriced and the sites are usually small and unattractive. They're also usually located next to a major highway, so highway noise is often an issue. The sites are OK sized at this one, but it's definitely way over-priced. And it's far enough from I-95 that there's no highway noise. But guess what? More trains! Luckily the nights have been cool and our windows are closed.

The weather has actually been really nice. We've come far enough north to find spring again. The azaleas are at the tail end of their colors and the rhododendrens are just beginning to bloom. I think we've missed the dogwoods, though.

(Rick says that these were Roses...not azaleas)


Rick and I share an interest in Civil War history. We've visited a number of battlefields, museums and homes over the past few years. We've been to the battlefields at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Antietam, Appomatox, Harpers Ferry, and New Market. We've visited Stonewall Jackson's home in Lexington, the wonderful civil war exhibits in the Lincoln museum, and Jefferson Davis' home in Biloxi. Yesterday we visited the battlefields at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and today we visited the place where Stonewall Jackson died. Rick has an instinctive understanding of the military history. I try to understand and visualize it all, but my eyes start to glaze over when the talk's of flanking maneuvers, earthenworks, armaments or strategy. My interest is more in the political history, the individuals, and their lives. Rick's eyes, on the other hand, tend to glaze over when we're touring the old houses which are an endless source of fascination for me.

It seems like all the civil war battlefields that we visit vie for the "honor" of being the "bloodiest." Gettysburg was the bloodiest (3 day) battle of the war. Antietam was the bloodiest single day of the war. But the four battlefields that surround Fredericksburg (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvnania Courthouse, and Wilderness)claim that they were the bloodiest of the war. Those four battles combined left more that 100,000 men dead. Because it's halfway between Washington and Richmond, Fredericksburg was very important strategically. The battle at Chancellorsville was where Stonewall Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own men. After having his arm amputated on the battlefield, he was taken by ambulance to a farm not far from our campground where he died of pneumonia several days later.

Stonewall Jackson Shrine

We took a break from history today and visited a local vineyard and a brew pub.

We leave tomorrow for a few days in the DC area.