Happy Fun Day 3
Continuing our tour of the area's battlefields, we visited Fredericksburg. Here the Irish Brigade, as well as many other units, were sacrificed at the Sunken Road. We were able to view original sections of the rock wall that shielded the Confederate Army from the oncoming masses of Union soldiers. Witnessing the carnage, Lee stated, "It is good that war is so horrible, or we might grow to like it."
The Sunken Road
The Angel of Marye's Heights
We left the battlefields behind and finally drove to Washington D.C. Our first stop, and main reason for the trip, was Ford's Theater. The only remaining part of the original building is the façade. However, the reconstruction gives you a great idea of how it looked. In the museum, we got to see the actual single shot deringer pistol that killed Lincoln. Also displayed was John Wilkes Booth's riding boot that had to be cut away for his injured leg. There was also a display of the clothes Lincoln was wearing the night of his assassination. We then went across the street to the Petersen Boarding House. This is where he died the next morning, prompting Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to remark, "Now he belongs to the ages."
Ford's Theater
The Petersen Boarding House
To familiarize ourselves with D.C., we then walked around the National Mall. We saw Washington's Monument, but we didn't go in it. Other monuments that we did visit included the World War II Memorial, the World War I Memorial (not technically a part of the memorial park), the Korean War Veterans Memorial (where we saw Nixon's speechwriter and anti-evolutionist Ben Stein being touristy), Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Dudeboy was very impressed with the size of the Lincoln Memorial. While we were walking past the White House we saw President Obama's helicopter land on the White House lawn. It was a nice way to end the day.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial
Our Norman Rockwell moment
Obama returning from Chicago
No comments:
Post a Comment