We took the day to explore some Civil War battlefields and a road trip on the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, between the Allegheny and the Blue Ridge mountains. More Civil War battlefields are in Virginia than any other state, so we definitely needed to check some of them out. Our first battlefield was in Winchester, which had three important battles. This is where Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, commander of Confederated forces, kept the Union armies at bay, saving the Confederacy's capital. The city did change hands 70 times during the conflict; 13 times in one day! Unfortunately, there are not really any battlefields to actually visit and walk on. The entire town was built on the battlefield. Although the Winchester-Frederick County Visitor Center was very informative.
Our next stop was the Battle of Cedar Creek , which raged around an elegant Manor House of limestone mansion, Belle Grove. It was once the centerpiece of a 7500-acre plantation and remarkably, remained unscathed. Today this historic site has a reenact of the battle on the pristine fields to re-create the events of that dramatic 1864 day. It takes place the closest weekend to the anniversary date of October 19Th, which we just missed.
The last battle we visited was New Market where we actually got to walk the field, and toured the Bushong farm with two original houses still standing. This farm was in the center of the battle, while the family hide in the basement. After, the home was used as a hospital to treat the injured.
On our way to the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park, we past a small cemetery, unmarked, along the side of the road. There were many gravestones dating back to the Civil War and many unreadable, due to the elements over the years. It appeared to be many graves of the Brubaker family. Of course I couldn't resist taking those photos. The fall foliage didn't compare to the colors we saw up in Vermont and New Hampshire a few weeks ago. Although, Virginia is just past peak with many trees already losing their leaves, they also don't have the sugar maple trees they do in New England. Still, we saw some great views of the valley and the blaze of autumn color in many areas. Shenandoah is an American Indian name, meaning "Daughter of the Stars".
This was a great day to spend while Jennifer was at work. She had parent-teacher conferences today, making it a long day for her, but we had dinner waiting for her when she got home! Family dinner two nights in a row! It has been nice.
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