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I want to say “Thank you” for coming along with me on my sight-seeing
trip that I took this past October. We have been to Kentucky, Ohio,
West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. We have visited a number of
historic sites such as Fort Boonesbor-ough, the graves of several
notable Americans, the estate of Henry Clay, as well as the Cane Ridge
Meeting House, where a notable revival took place two hundred years ago.
Thanks for riding shotgun as we dropped in on the Blue Licks Battlefield, the Leo Petroglyphs, Sideling Hill, the Green Dragon, St. Michaels and the Third Haven Meeting House.
Today we are going to finish our trip (most good things must come to an end). Come along with me as I head on back to Greenville, for I must return to work (Boo Hoo). On Tuesday morning I got up early, at 5:00 a.m., in order to miss the infamous D.C. beltway traffic.
Yeah, right.
Even though I left my mother’s house in Baltimore shortly after 6:00, it was way past 8:00 before I finally reached 1-95 just south of D.C. at the notorious “mixing bowl” interchange of 1-95,1-495, and 1-395.1 believe D.C. traffic to be even worse than that of Atlanta, believe it or not.
A couple of hours later, when I reached the Richmond area, I visited a battlefield that, several years ago, 1 had a small hand in saving from destruction.
While I was living near Richmond during the 1980’s, I became quite interested in the War Between the States. I had always had an interest in history, including the War, but living in the area and being surrounded by battlefields made it hard to ignore.
Although the landscape around Richmond has changed drastically since the 1860’s, there are still quite a few earthworks remaining if you know where to look, many of which are still on private property.
One day, a fellow amateur historian and 1 heard that Chesterfield County had bought a parcel of land containing a well-preserved redoubt and was planning to level it in order to construct a water tower on the site. The earth-work’s, known as Fort Stevens, had been a key Confederate position during the second Battle of Drewry’s Bluff.
We went to the county water department to see exactly what was going on. The department head assured us that only a small portion of the fort had to be leveled in order to make room for the tower and that the rest would be preserved. Leaving county square fairly satisfied with his answer, we drove over to the fort in order to try to visualize what the plot of land might look like with a water tower standing on one corner.
The general contractor for the project just happened to be there doing a preliminary assessment of the project and so we struck up a conversation with him. We told him what the department head had said. The contractor told us that, contrary to what we had been told, all of the fort would have to be leveled.
When we heard that, we decided to launch our own, modern day battle of Drewry’s Bluff. We contacted an acquaintance in the Virginia Department of Antiquities, who, as incensed as we were, contacted the media.
To make a long story short, because of the pressure that was placed upon the county, the water department purchased a nearby parcel from a man who was eager to sell. Since the earthworks were still in county hands and were no longer needed for the tower, they were transferred to the county’s parks department. The site is now preserved in perpetuity as a county historical park.
The experience taught me two things: 1.You can fight city (or county) hall; and 2.When dealing with government, do as Ronald Reagan did in dealing with the Soviets - trust, but verify.
If you ever find yourself driving on 1 -95 south of Richmond, just north of the Willis Road exit, you will notice a water tower near the interstate. If you have a few minutes to spare, exit onto Willis Road and drive a few hundred yards to Pams Road, where you will find Fort Stevens.
And now for a brief overview of the battle. While General Grant was attacking General Lee at Spottslvania Courthouse in May 1864, General Ben Butler took his Army of the James up the James River and landed at Bermuda Hundred, on a peninsula between the James and Appomattox Rivers.
On May 12 he launched an attack on Richmond from the south. The Confederates hurriedly amassed a force under the
command of General P.G.T. Beauregard, who launched a successful counterattack four days later. Fort Stevens was a main launching point for Beauregard’s offensive.
After pushing the Union forces back to the Bermuda Hundred peninsula, the Confederates erected a line of earthworks all the way across, effectively cutting off Butler’s army from any further threat against Richmond.
In his memoirs, Grant, who was not a fan of the incompetent Butler, wrote that the Army of the James had been “as completely shut off from further operations directly against Richmond as if it had been in a bottle strongly corked.”
After reminiscing for a few minutes at the scene of my victory to help save history I continued on my way to South Carolina. Instead of taking 1-85 all the way, I decided to go west on U.S. 360 to visit one more historic site before taking that last, long leg of my trip back to Greenville.
Sayler’s (Sailor’s) Creek is a small stream in a very rural area quite a few miles west of Richmond and Petersburg, This bucolic setting was the scene of Lee’s last stand as he and what was left of the Army of Northern Virginia raced valiantly to escape Grant’s clutches after the defenses of Petersburg were breached in early April, 1865. If only he could meet up with General Joe Johnston’s army in North Carolina, Lee thought, the Confederacy might still have a ghost of a chance.
On April 6, nearly one fourth of Lee’s already diminished forces were cut off by the enemy and were thus compelled to surrender. After he became aware of the catastrophe, Lee is said to have commented, “Has the army dissolved?” Several of his top generals were captured at Sayler’s Creek that day. At this point might he have begun to suspect what would happen at Appomattox just three days later?
Five and a half hours later I was back in Greenville; and already dreaming of my next adventure.
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