Mt. Vernon and the Fredericksburg Civil War Battlefield

I have been to Washington DC on several occasions, both business and personal trips.  With so much to offer along the Capital Mall, one can come to Washington and stay for days and never get too far from the White House.  But just a few short miles down the western bank of the Potomac River lies Mt. Vernon, Virginia.

The lovely Bowling Green that leads one up to the front steps of George Washington's home

Our first President inherited from his half brother, 2500 acres situated on a beautiful hill above the Potomac.  After President Washington refused a third term of his presidency (you think our current president would give up his power so easily today?)  he and Martha retired to Mt. Vernon.   The land originally was granted from the British crown to George Washington's grandfather.   He had a small home on the property that was left to Washington's father, then to Washington's half brother, who had no male children, so eventually this beautiful property landed in George Washington's hands.

I was impressed by how humble our first President was, but he also understood the importance of his position and how the world viewed a young America.   So he built a mansion surrounded by beautiful gardens, open fields, pens for all kinds of farm animals, and a wharf on the Potomac to land all their needed supplies.   The buildings have all been beautifully restored for historical  accuracy.   But we most enjoyed the gardens.

Stuff grows here, unlike Austin Texas, which is really a desert.  Shelley spent an hour in the upper garden full of blooming flowers and many many vegetables.  This is a place that Shelley's sister Sandy, or our daughter in law, Trisha Slough, would love.  They are both active gardeners, and these were spectacular.  Washington had designed a greenhouse in which he kept plants from all climates during the cold winters of Virginia. The slaves would keep the fires burning in this building to keep the temperatures at a proper level.   I think photos would do it more justice than my words.

Flowers, fruit trees and vegetables 

A Peony in May

 Shelley is loving this garden

Cabbage, Kale, Turnips, Lettuce, Chard, Artichoke and so much more

Peony, Phlox, Iris, Columbine,
Larkspur



























I think Shelley could have walked these gardens all day.  They were really beautiful.  But we wanted to also drive down to a Civil War Battlefield at Fredericksburg, just 40 miles south of Mt. Vernon.  Four major battles were fought in this area along the Rappahannock River.  Why so many right in this area?   The Rappahannock is a natural barrier situated half way between the Confederate Capital of Richmond Virginia, and Washington, DC.  Fredericksburg, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, and late in the war, Petersburg and Appomattox.  It would take months to visit all of them.

We walked the Sunken Road protected by a rock wall with the high ground of Mariel's Hill behind it.   This is the high ground that the Confederates held as the Union soldiers marched up from the banks of the Rappahannock in an open field.  Needless to say it was a slaughter and huge victory for the Rebels.  They had canons on the high ground mowing down the troops and lines and lines of soldiers behind the rock wall protected from the charges of the Union soldiers.  Just like the battlefield at Shiloh that we visited two years ago in Tennessee, it is an erie feeling to walk these grounds where so many died and suffered.

The stone wall at the Sunken Road that gave the Confederate Army a major advantage

The National Cemetery at Fredericksburg where 20,000 soldiers lie.  

It has been a great week for us in Annapolis to see that great city, and to drive to these historical places that neither Shelley or I had seen before.  They are all well worth the visit.  Marc