Road Trip

Day 1

River House to Charlottesville

Got a good start despite the rain which pelted me for most of the morning. Once I got off route 95 the scenery picked up a bit and the rain subsided. Tonight I am spending with the David Newsom's. David has had an illustrious career with the State Department and recently retired from teaching foreign affairs at the University of Virginia. His new book, The Imperial Mantle will be released later this year. We visited the UVA campus which was designed by Thomas Jefferson. Edgar Allen Poe's room is still left as it was when he attended the college.

Map of Day 1. Click on it for expanded version

Chancellorsville

I visited the battlefield at Chancellorsville. It was at this place that Robert E. Lee won perhaps his most impressive victory during the Civil War by making the North think his forces were twice the size they actually were. Their hesitance allowed him to effectively maneuver around them in several battles.

Unfortunately for the South it was a hollow victory. Chancellorsville was also the place where Lee's most trusted general, Stonewall Jackson lost his life when he was mistakenly shot by his own troops.

Here I am, good to go. Leisa Segovia snapped the picture for me. It's hard to see it, but it was raining pretty heavily at the time.

OK, so these pictures aren't all that exciting. It's the best I was willing to do in the rain. The bike is pictured on the road that Jackson's army marched to attack the Yanks from their flank. They eventually captured the Hazel Grove position that is shown on the second photo. These cannons were used to bombard the southern troops before they were captured.