Frederick & Arlingon & Mount Vernon

 The first friday took us to Frederick in Maryland, a town I passed by many times but had never taken the time to visit. We were going to meet our friend Jeremy here who was coming down from New York state to spend the weekend with us.  As Frederick was on his way down it made sense to spend some time there.

Frederick houses the national museum of civil war medicine so yes another day with a civil war link. We spend few hours there and the volunteer staff were very knowledgeable and willing to share their knowledge of civil war medicine which made for a very enjoyable experience there.

For once we came home early and had time to play some games in the evening.

Saturday was a day of longer driving heading back in the direction of Washington. It was going to be the hottest day of our holiday, our area was expecting some rain and Washington was not which made it the choice of the day.

Google maps must have been feeling the heat as well as it took us on a very interesting drive to Arlington. It may have been that we had selected avoid toll roads as it took us into Dulles airport and we drove through the drop off zone. :) Maybe Dulles airport missed me.

We did make good time to Arlington and got tickets for the little bus that takes you to several stops around the cemetary. I have been here several times before but it never stops to impress and overwhelm. Situated in such a beautiful spot, with rolling hills and stunning views of Washington just over the Potomac this is such a peaceful place. This final resting place of so many soldiers. Many of whom fought to liberate my country during WW II. It makes me thankful and humbled being here. And makes me come back as a small way of saying thank you for all you have done.

There are of course the many sections here. Going back to the civil war. The cemetery is named after Arlington mansion which still stands today. Arlington was the property of the Lee family, Lee's wife inherited it from her father. It was her home and the place she had lived most of her life. Montgomery Meigs a Union general responsible for the burial of Union dead and a pre war friend of the Lee's decided to start a graveyard in his former friend's backyard. After the war so many soldier had been interred here that there was no way the Lee's would ever live here again.

The oldest sections are the civil war grave and there is a confederate section as well. When we visited Larry and Louise on Monday we had promised to stop at her Great uncles and her parents graves at Arlington. Louise's father, Longstreet's grandson had been a submarine commander during WW II. And both her great uncles Longstreet's sons has served in the United States army and they are buried next to each other in Arlington. Right next to the confederate section.

After stopping a few times and looking round we came to Arlington house. Here you really have the most stunning views of Washington. The house is now done through a self guided tour. I remember the first time I was here it was done with a guide. Something I actually prefer to do as they have so much local knowledge. Something else has changed in the 30 years since I was there first. The focus is not solely on the Lee family anymore. But a lot of attention is now on the enslaved on the estate. This is such a good thing. I am very much against the taking down of statues. But in favour of educating people. For me it is the way forward. Do lead people through a mansion like this and have information on the families who lived here. But do not gloss over what made this wealth possible. And do not gloss over the fact that Robert E. Lee was not somebody who opposed slavery or had nothing to do with slaves.

He treated his slaves like most slaveholders did. Certainly not one of the worst but he did not hold back from punishing those who ran away. And he saw the black and native americans as inferior to white people. These panels are all placed in the small museum next to the mansion and it leaves people to draw their own conclusion on the man and his time.

We had a very busy day and after Arlington went on to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. Another very beautifully situated home and rathe modest compared to some other houses of great leaders. At Mount Vernon you have guides in every room of the house and that does add something extra. 

It was still very hot with the feeling of rain coming in the air which made it more humid. So far the rain was holding off and we could tour the grounds as well. 

Again much more emphasis on the lives of the enslaved. Showing rebuild slave quarters. They were like dorm rooms not even family rooms and that was really shocking. Somehow on other plantations I had seen family shacks and had the feeling that at least families could live together but even that was not always the case. There is now also a memorial close to what has been excavated as the slave cemetery. No gravestones there just the outlines of where they have found bones. So different from the elaborate tombs of the Washingtons. 

For me I almost blame that generation more for slavery than the civil war generation. Washington, Jefferson etc they were the ones that wrote the constitution. And several of the Virginians struggled with slavery. They had slaves, depended on them but somehow they knew what they were doing was dreadfully wrong. Washington for example freed his slaves in his will. If only it had been made illegal to hold slaves in the constitution so much misery could have been prevented.