Gettysburg set a high bar that, unfortunately, couldn't be matched by Antietam. It was like going from Yankee Stadium to a Single-A ballpark. The video looked like it was playing on a VCR and the museum offered nothing. A real letdown for such a great battle.
The field itself had some cool parts - Burnside Bridge was very nice and the observation tower beside Bloody Lane helped. It is very peaceful as the battle took place on a farm. I stole some corn from the cornfield, though I don't really know why.
We then zipped over to Harpers Ferry which was disappointing from a historian perspective. The armory John Brown captured is gone and the rest of the history is underwhelming. We took the tour and listened to the guide tell us how incredibly important the battle in 1862 really was (it wasn't). The highlight was when the guide asked if we knew which battle in the Civil War featured the largest Union surrendering of troops.
Hmm...we're at Harpers Ferry...I wonder...
There were several wrong guesses from the Einsteins among us, including one guy shouting out with great confidence, "Appomattox!" Even better than the wrong answers was the genius in front of us shaking his head as he kept answering "Harpers Ferry" to no avail. That guy must really know his Civil War.
There was also a 50-year old guy wearing kneepads to the battlefield. Coach Carpenter would have been proud.
The moral: West Virginians don't disappoint.
We were finished with history by 3 or so and drove towards Manassas for our third different hotel stop. After a quick rest and shower, we ventured toward downtown DC via the Metro line to see the Braves and the Nationals. Despite two Dan Uggla home runs and Michael Bourn getting a hit to start his Braves' career, the Nats won 5-3. Rick Ankiel hit two home runs, the second of which landed about 10 feet from us. You can clearly see us in the highlights - Ryan is wearing orange and stands up to get ready and I am wearing white and don't budge because I'm eating and don't really think a ball is coming up to us. The guy who botched the ball was aggravated toward the high school kid who ended up with the ball because the botcher had two little kids who would have been beaming to get a ball from Dad. I felt a little bad for the guy as his kids not only didn't get the ball, but also watched their dad choke in his big moment, but the dad really had no right to glare at Skippy for snatching his error.
I have been thinking about what a high school trip to see this stuff would look like. Right now, Gettysburg is a must and will be a hit. Appomattox and Antietam are musts, but I don't know if the guys will like them. Harpers Ferry was beautiful geographically, but it could be done without. Tomorrow is Manassas which is a must and Fredericksburg which ought to be good unless civilization has impeded upon it too much.
I'll tell you what has been the best thing to have on this trip so far: my iPhone. So far, I have taken hundreds of pictures and several videos with it, used it for directions, looked up historical questions, timed my own personal Pickett's Charge, used the compass to figure out where the battle was happening, updating Facebook so people can follow the trip, kept up with the debt deal (boo) and the Braves (yay), and even made some phone calls with it. I'm hooked.
We're sleeping in tomorrow and then zipping just down the road to Manassas. Good night.
CC
No comments:
Post a Comment