Local History, pics with traditional traditionals.

[Prester John]

Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield is probably the least known of the 4 major battlefields in my area. The others are Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, and Wilderness. It's my favorite, because it has many miles of hiking trails and is more isolated than the others, so it gets a lot less tourist traffic.

Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield was the second major battle between Union Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee during Grant's Overland Campaign. The battle took place from May 8-21, 1864. It was the costliest of the campaign, with almost 32,000 casualties (killed, wounded, captured, and missing) combined. More than 4,000 soldiers were killed. It is considered a hallowed place because of this. In the end, there was no clear winner of the battle.

The most intense fighting took place at the Bloody Angle. Heavy rain had ruined much of the Confederate gun powder, so the fighting was mostly hand to hand. It lasted almost 24 hours.

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During the battle, Lee made a mistake which resulted in about 3,000 Confederate troops captured.

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Of course, you can't have a Civil War battlefield without cannons.

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Another view of the battlefield.

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Unfortunately for one family, their farm was right in the middle of the battle.

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Not much left today.

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This was a kind of trench warfare before World War 1. The confederate trenches were more than 4 miles long and reinforced with wood. Here's a restored section.

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I will try to get out to the other battlefields and historic sites over the coming months.

Very interesting, Paul. Thank you.

 

[Fodderwing]

I will try to get out to the other battlefields and historic sites over the coming months.

Enjoyable read Paul. The Civil War is a simultaneously fascinating and horrific American tragedy. Looking forward to more of your narrative.

 

[PaulS.]

Enjoyable read Paul. The Civil War is a simultaneously fascinating and horrific American tragedy. Looking forward to more of your narrative.

Thanks Dwight. There are well over 50 markers and monuments there, so I just picked a few of the more important ones. I was going to post the one about Upton's charge, but unfortunately I cut off part of it. Upton made a successful charge to breach the Confederate line, but Grant hadn't planned on that and didn't have reinforcements to press the advantage.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

Even though the Challenge is "only" a century old I feel knives like it would have been around when these timbers was cut.

The white frame shows how the superstructure would have been

Nice scale cutaway model

Some of the artifacts found in the boat,along with a donated musket.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

Some tools from the boiler room

A donated trepanning kit, to bore holes in the head

Nasty stuff

Reconstruction ot pilot house and forward half of the fighting deck

Reconstruction of the platform the wheel is mounted on

Section of upper super structure, the iron bolts sticking out held on the armor plates.

Ships stove in remarkably good shape to have been in the bottom of a river for 100 years

Sadly from a knife collector point of view there are no displays with pocket knives, either originals or reproductions. I'm thinking of doing something about that. So stay tuned
Also there is a full scale replica near the museum, hopefully I can get time for a tour the next time its open Of course pics will be shared here if I get the chance.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

Here's a Wiki on the C.S.S. Nuese
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Neuse

 

[donn]

Ironclad teaser

What and where is that museum as it looks fascinating!
You may be surprised to learn but over here in the UK the American Civil War is still part of the school curriculum. I remember learning about the CSS Merrimack and USS Monitor (a quick search shows that to be the Battle of Hampton Roads). I've always found U.S (and Australian) history to be fascinating. I hope this thread continues.

My Alox SAK on the mid-gun deck of HMS Victory at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

donn
It's located in Kinston North Carolina, as she rests now in the museum shes only a few hundred yards from where she was scuttled.
Nice shot of the HMS Victory btw! One of the things on my bucket list is to tour the USS Constitution. Sadly here even back when I was in high school in the 90's the Civil War barely got any curriculum time and we spent only 2 Days or so discussing WW2
WW1 and Korea barley was mentioned at all along with Vietnam.

 

[donn]

donn
It's located in Kinston North Carolina, as she rests now in the museum shes only a few hundred yards from where she was scuttled.
Nice shot of the HMS Victory btw! One of the things on my bucket list is to tour the USS Constitution. Sadly here even back when I was in high school in the 90's the Civil War barely got any curriculum time and we spent only 2 Days or so discussing WW2
WW1 and Korea barley was mentioned at all along with Vietnam.

Thanks for that David, the museum looks really interesting.
I'd also like to see the USS Constitution, but I've no plans to visit the U.S anytime soon. I find it interesting that the U.S restored the Constitution to a seaworthy condition but there's no plans to do the same with the Victory despite there only being 30 years difference in age.
And it appears your history education is as bad as ours in the UK.

 

[Markeologist]

Posted this many months ago but since it fits the current thread, figured I'd re-post here. Mr. CC's Rope Knife looking out at the Balclutha, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

 

[MUFC4Benfica1]

Camp Griffis - USAAF, SHAEF and Ike's HQs WW2. Camp Griffis was in Bushy Park, south west London.

Wenger Tahara SAK on the spot of Ike's HQ.

I date the Wenger Tahara as 1942-45.

 

[Mayonardo]

What and where is that museum as it looks fascinating!
You may be surprised to learn but over here in the UK the American Civil War is still part of the school curriculum. I remember learning about the CSS Merrimack and USS Monitor (a quick search shows that to be the Battle of Hampton Roads). I've always found U.S (and Australian) history to be fascinating. I hope this thread continues.

My Alox SAK on the mid-gun deck of HMS Victory at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The Confederate ironclad was actually the CSS Virginia made made from the burned hulk of the USS Merrimack captured in the Norfolk Navy yard at the beginning of the war.

I am fortunate to have gotten the “sailors tour” of HMS Victory when our Navy ship tied up a pier away from her in Portsmouth. The British sailors took us in hand and really showed us around.

Posted this many months ago but since it fits the current thread, figured I'd re-post here. Mr. CC's Rope Knife looking out at the Balclutha, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

I did an overnight on the CA Thayer as part of the CA grade school trips. Got busted and had to cut onions for the evening meal. Visited the Balclutha later.

As an old Blue Water sailor I loved it!

 

[donn]

The Confederate ironclad was actually the CSS Virginia made made from the burned hulk of the USS Merrimack captured in the Norfolk Navy yard at the beginning of the war.

I am fortunate to have gotten the “sailors tour” of HMS Victory when our Navy ship tied up a pier away from her in Portsmouth. The British sailors took us in hand and really showed us around.

Apologies for the error, thanks for the correction.

 

[Old Hunter]

Misplaced Hillbilly - David, very nice tour of the Ram Neuse. You would enjoy the Bentonville Battlefield (south of Goldsboro) one of the last battles of the War - it’s a driving tour, not a walking tour, spread over several miles.
Prester John you are pretty close to NC if you are in North Georgia. My son’s house is just north of Blue Ridge GA, the NC state line (south of Murphy) is about three miles away. OH

 

[Jack Black]

Great to see this thread again, fascinating discussion

 

[Quiet]

An excellent thread, I really appreciate the pictures. I've visited many different battleground/historical areas in the various Eastern coast states in my lifetime, and always enjoy seeing more.

 

[Prester John]

Misplaced Hillbilly - David, very nice tour of the Ram Neuse. You would enjoy the Bentonville Battlefield (south of Goldsboro) one of the last battles of the War - it’s a driving tour, not a walking tour, spread over several miles.
Prester John you are pretty close to NC if you are in North Georgia. My son’s house is just north of Blue Ridge GA, the NC state line (south of Murphy) is about three miles away. OH

I am not in North Georgia, I am in South Texas. But I may visit relatives in North Georgia this summer.

 

[Markeologist]

Another picture of my red Rope Knife at SF Maritime National Historic Park from several months ago, on the deck of the tug Hercules:

 

[Horsewright]

The back story, a little history, if you'll pardon the pun. This is my step daughter Smoke. I've raised her since she was 5 so we've pretty much forgotten about the step part, she and I.

And the knife she carries:

She herself is some living Californio history as she is a Descendiente, a descendent of one of the few Spanish Californio families here in California before the gold rush. Our town of Tehachapi was started in 1861 and her family the Leiva's had been here since at least the late 1840's. She is a 7th generation Tehachapian and her great, great, great grandfather was Don Antonio Leiva who was a legendary Vaquero and horseman, amongst legends, as the Californios were considered the finest horseman of all time. Don Antonio was the Caporal (cowboss, second in command) on Rancho El Tejon (the largest ranch in California history) for approx 40 years from the 1870's on. Ya know the apple falling not far from the tree deal:

Anyhoo. Smoke had yesterday off and she wanted to come up and do some riding as she is preparing for a show in July. She is an ER Tech down in Bakersfield and she'll come up and ride when she can. Since this is usually every other week or so we keep her horse turned out with the old retired horses, out at the ranch. When she needs him, we'll go find him. We pulled into the ranch with the stock trailer yesterday morning to find them, an almost spring like day. Way up on top of Hat Hill we could see the horses. They were grazing down so we went to another part of the ranch and blasted a few ground squirrels with .22s we'd brought along. This gave the horses time to graze back down. Couple of hours later we went back and saw them down off of Hat Hill but grazing towards Salt Flat up Corral Canyon. So we still had a pretty good up hill hike to go get him but we did. On the way back we stopped at a historic site on the ranch that predates even the Californios here in California.

The Native Americans in this part of California relied on an acorn mash as a major food source. The women would grind the acorns into a mash using these granite grinding stones. Over the centuries some of these holes became quite pronounced. This grinding stone area has eleven holes that I've counted in various depths.

These grinding rocks are always located above a water source. Water was needed to remove the tannic acid from the acorn mash. Here we have this seasonal creek that ends in a pond.

A source of acorns was needed too and Hog Canyon, that is heavily wooded in oaks, joins Corral Canyon right here near the grinding rocks:

We have two other grinding stones on the ranch that I know of, probably more though, that I haven't found. I've seen several hundreds of these stones in my travels about California but I've never seen one with that many holes all in one stone/place. I would assume this would indicate a very long term settlement, to have so many holes and some of them very deep.

We got back to where we'd left the truck and trailer:

Saw how still the old cowdog would stand:

And then drove back to the house and saddled up.

 

[Prester John]

The back story, a little history, if you'll pardon the pun. This is my step daughter Smoke. I've raised her since she was 5 so we've pretty much forgotten about the step part, she and I.

And the knife she carries:

She herself is some living Californio history as she is a Descendiente, a descendent of one of the few Spanish Californio families here in California before the gold rush. Our town of Tehachapi was started in 1861 and her family the Leiva's had been here since at least the late 1840's. She is a 7th generation Tehachapian and her great, great, great grandfather was Don Antonio Leiva who was a legendary Vaquero and horseman, amongst legends, as the Californios were considered the finest horseman of all time. Don Antonio was the Caporal (cowboss, second in command) on Rancho El Tejon (the largest ranch in California history) for approx 40 years from the 1870's on. Ya know the apple falling not far from the tree deal:

Anyhoo. Smoke had yesterday off and she wanted to come up and do some riding as she is preparing for a show in July. She is an ER Tech down in Bakersfield and she'll come up and ride when she can. Since this is usually every other week or so we keep her horse turned out with the old retired horses, out at the ranch. When she needs him, we'll go find him. We pulled into the ranch with the stock trailer yesterday morning to find them, an almost spring like day. Way up on top of Hat Hill we could see the horses. They were grazing down so we went to another part of the ranch and blasted a few ground squirrels with .22s we'd brought along. This gave the horses time to graze back down. Couple of hours later we went back and saw them down off of Hat Hill but grazing towards Salt Flat up Corral Canyon. So we still had a pretty good up hill hike to go get him but we did. On the way back we stopped at a historic site on the ranch that predates even the Californios here in California.

The Native Americans in this part of California relied on an acorn mash as a major food source. The women would grind the acorns into a mash using these granite grinding stones. Over the centuries some of these holes became quite pronounced. This grinding stone area has eleven holes that I've counted in various depths.

These grinding rocks are always located above a water source. Water was needed to remove the tannic acid from the acorn mash. Here we have this seasonal creek that ends in a pond.

A source of acorns was needed too and Hog Canyon, that is heavily wooded in oaks, joins Corral Canyon right here near the grinding rocks:

We have two other grinding stones on the ranch that I know of, probably more though, that I haven't found. I've seen several hundreds of these stones in my travels about California but I've never seen one with that many holes all in one stone/place. I would assume this would indicate a very long term settlement, to have so many holes and some of them very deep.

We got back to where we'd left the truck and trailer:

Saw how still the old cowdog would stand:

And then drove back to the house and saddled up.

Fascinating post, Dave.