July 18, 2012 Norfolk VA NC to Williamsburg VA

We went to bed at 8:00 last night for a “nap” and ended up sleeping pretty much the night through.  Guess we were tired!  So we finally are getting the chance to catch up on our blog tonight (crossing our fingers anyway.)

We started this morning with another lighthouse, actually two.  These  were on a military base, Fort Story.  These were the old and new versions of: The Cape Henry Lighthouse.  The old one was the first one built by the US Federal Government in 1792.   Previous to this, the individual colonies or states had responsibility for building their own lighthouses, but this switched to a Federal responsibility.  This light station is at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay.    We were there too early to go up it, but it was still fun to see.

The newer lighthouse replaced the old stone one.  Of course, it is much taller and has a much brighter light.  It was also interesting because it was a brick structure that was clad with metal sheeting.  Each lighthouse in the area has a distinctive black-and-white pattern.  This one was quite different from the patterns we had  previously seen. 

The first English settlers who ended up in Jamestown came ashore just a few hundred yards from the location where the lighthouse is now.  And, right off of this cape the French fleet fended off the British fleet that had arrived to reinforce the British army at Yorktown, leaving them trapped by Washington's army.

We headed north and got to the newest of American National Monument:  Fort Monroe in VA.  This place has been called The Freedom Fort, and was named a National Monument in November by Obama in part,  because early in the Civil War, three escaped slaves came to the fort asking to be safe.  Even though the Fugitive Slave Law required that they be returned to their owner, the Union commander of the fort, who happened to be an attorney, made the argument that because Virginia had seceded from the Union, the people were contraband of war and so could be confiscated rather than returned.   He was clear that he was against slavery, but trying to find a way to make a legal argument that would work. This was later confirmed by Congress.

As soon as the word went out about this, hundreds and then thousands of former enslaved Africans came to the Fort and the area surrounding it.  Included in this area was the famous Harriet Tubman who worked in the hospital there for a few months.

The fort was also famous because Robert E. Lee, who would become the commander of the Southern troops, was in charge of completing the building of this fort in the 1850's.  And after the war, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned there.  AND Abraham Lincoln was at Ft. Monroe a couple of times.  A VERY cool civil War site!

We then spent the afternoon at Yorktown Battlefield in the Colonial National Historical Park.   This place was where basically the final battle in the Revolutionary War was fought, as well as a very decisive battle in the Civil War.  It was a very hot, but informative afternoon, driving through the battlefield listening to a well-done CD of two officers, one British, one American in a fictional reaction to the war.

We also had a wonderful discussion with a former Marine General from the San Diego area who now lives in Williamsburg, but volunteers at the Battlefield.  We were able to talk with him about our trip so far, and get some help and counsel from him on what Civil War sites were must see in the area.  He was so knowledgeable and we were yet again impressed by the amazing quality of people who volunteer with the National Parks.  Can you imagine getting a former general as a volunteer?

Just up the York River from Yorktown we found the location of the training station that Patti's father had attended shortly after his enlistment in the Navy at the beginning of the Korean War.  He had trained briefly in handling mines, for six weeks, but then the Korean War broke out and he was sent to the Far East to serve on a mine sweeper.  Patti had heard many tales of his time in this area so we were glad to find this site.  There were ships at this pier.

We went on to check into our very nice resort for the next couple of nights in Williamsburg.  This is now close to the half-way point of our trip, so we are giving ourselves the treat of a nice timeshare condo where we can really do our laundry, repack, consolidate our food, get caught up on our blog and photos and just rest up a bit.  Yah!  It is lovely and we cooked a great dinner with a full kitchen rather than warming up food in the microwave.  Tomorrow is off to see Colonial Williamsburg.