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Elizabeth Varon - Longstreet : the confederate general who defied the South

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  I want to start with how astonished I was how much material was in this book that was completely new to me. And I have most of the biographies written about Longstreet in my possession. Most books don’t cover the post war period at all but some of the more modern ones do, but none go into the detail that this book does. So kudo’s for all the research done and the facts uncovered. The good Most of the book was devoted to the pre and post war period of Longstreet’s life. I found it an intriguing read. What surprised me most were the detailed accounts of the slaves Longstreet owned before and during the war. Especially as there had been no proof of this before as far as I know. And the fact that Longstreet was an ardent believer in slavery before the war. As well as some speeches and actions during the war. To be honest that part shocked me a little bit. But it makes his change after the war even bigger. What makes a man who felt at home in a world were slavery was normal an...
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USA holiday 2023 the voyage home nightmare

  The holiday was over too soon. That last saturday I decided to just rest and lay on bed at Koen's aunt and uncle. We were going to leave for the airport after lunch and I was dreading the long journey. I never sleep on planes and I did not expect to sleep this time so any rest I could get now would help. Boarding in Philadelphia was smooth and we were lucky this time. The plane was nearly sold out but we had an empty chair in between. We had eaten something at the airport. It was not very big so it was hard to find something that was not absolutely crowded. If I was the airline I would do things differently on a flight like this. It is only a 7 hour flight to London. and it took nearly two hours before they served us a meal. So by the time that was finished it was nearly 3 hours into the journey and very little time go get some sleep. I don't think many people managed it. An hour before landing they wake you up already. I would not serve a full meal, because I know the staff...
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New market, Belle Grove, Civil war museum Harrisburg

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  A very early start this morning as we had to drive all the way down to the end of the Shendandoah valley for the nearest car rental spot in the direction we were going today. It was at a very small regional airport. The people already expected us and it was no trouble getting another car. Same make and model just another colour. and within half an hour we were on our way again. Two days earlier we had seen there was another civil war musuem in New Market and we decided to just have a look at it.  This turned out to be an absolute find and the kind of museum I love. Basically it was one person's collection and as many objects as possible we crammed into display cases. There was so much to look at! It ranged from, the revolution, civil war, Native american artifacts, WW II and asian art. It was astounding that one person was able to collect all this and had the money to collect it all. It must have been in a time before collectors paid the real big bucks and some of the stuff ...
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Second day at Gettysburg

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  You can't do Gettysburg well in one day at least I can't. And I also wanted to spend some time in the town itself, so today we had an early start for a second day in and around Gettysburg. We spent most of the morning on the battlefield doing the bits we had missed out on the first day. Cemetery hill and the remainder of confederate avenue. I just love being amongst the statues and other memorials of the past. In fact I think I could spend weeks or months here just exploring or sitting quietly. Most of my friends do not understand this. I already often get the same questions. Are you going to do those battlefields again? You have seen them by now.  We took a break for lunch. A holiday around Gettysburg is not complete for me without at least one meal at the Dobbin house. I love the atmosphere and they serve great food. It is one of the few times I splash out on food. But going into town was a bit of a dissapointment for me. A lot of my favorite shops were just gone. The...
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Shenandoah Valley + Luray Caverns + New Market

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We almost made it a day without doing anything civil war related. 😉 Koen is much more into nature than I am and he loves photography, so we decided to do the Skyline drive today through the Shenandoah Valley. So today I am going to use his photos. Again not something I had never done before, my first time here was October 1993. Maybe that spoilt it for me for coming back in any other time of year as however beautiful it is, I was underwhelmed. I remembered the spectacular fall colours of that first visit. And I have to admit that I am someone who usually likes my nature only if it is combined with history. Except for the polders and the beach.  The skyline drive is driving at a slow pace over the tops of the Shenandoah mountains. Koen was really hoping we would spot some wild animals and we were lucky although it was not the bears he had wanted. Secretly I did not mind that so much. We saw many birds and on the last stretch a wild deer crossing the road. Around here they are not ...
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Fredicksburg, Wilderness, Chancellorsville

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  One of the longest drives of the holiday today. And it would prove to be another very warm day as well.  We had no problems driving to Fredricksburg and parking at the visitors centre. This is a small one with really no more than a small shop attached. From here you are right at the edge of Longstreet's lines. It is such a pity that the fields in front of the earth works are full of houses. It does not give you an idea of how difficult it must have been for the Union troops to cover that ground. I do find it a little surprising as well. Like imagine if there was a whole section of houses on the fields of Pickett's charge. And honestly I don't think I would ever buy a house on ground that so many people died on. Call me superstitious but it would not sit well with me. It is still nice to walk around and to see the statue of St. Kirkland which signifies that even in battle there can be kindness. Next we drove to Chatham manor. It is worth a visit if only for the views. This...
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Antietam and South Mountain

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For the Sunday we were looking for something that was at least in the right direction when Jeremy would have to drive the nearly 5 hours back to New York state. So Antietam was an obvious choice. And only 20 minutes to drive from our appartment. It's a nice drive coming through Shepardstown as well. I really love these old towns with the wooden houses that you see in this part of the country. Sharpsburg is like this as well. It always strikes me what a difference there is between Sharpsburg and Gettysburg as Sharpsburg is not touristy at all. There is hardly even a place to get lunch there. And no or nearly no souvenir shops at all. They were renovating the visitor centre at the battlefield and had built a temporary one. To our surprise you now have to pay for the battlefield. This is the first time ever I have come across it and I do wonder what would have happened if we did not as nobody checked us and some of the battlefield is on open roads. Antietam was the bloodiest one day ...
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