Devil's Den: Gettysburg, PA

Devil's Den is another of my favorite spots in Gettysburg.  As morbid as it may sound, it's fun to play on the rocks, however, this was definitely a bloody scene during the civil war.

Devils den is located just west of Little Round Top.   Devils den saw action on July 2, 1863 due to General Robert E. Lee's flank attacks, when Lieutenant General James Longstreet's confederate corps attacked the divisions of Major General Daniel Sickles' III Corps of the Army of the Potomac.
source

The Confederate's were victorious in this battle which left 800 union soldiers and 1800 confederate soldiers dead.

Little Round Top: Gettysburg, PA

Gettysburg is only about a 2 hour drive from my house which makes it the perfect day trip!  I have actually only been twice.  Once in Elementary school - my Oma and Uncle Steve pulled me out of school one day and took me (my Uncle majored in History with a focus on the Civil War) - and once in 2009 with my sister and her friend.
*all photos are from 2009

My favorite area of Gettysburg is Little Round Top. 

Little Round Top is my favorite but Big Round Top also has some great views.

The Round Top's were the site of an unsuccessful assault of the Confederate troops (4,850 people) on the Union (3000 people) which took place on July 2, 1863.   The Confederates attacked from Big Round Top and the Union defended themselves at Little Round Top.

The Union was victorious in the Defense of Little Round Top.  There were approximately 500 Union casualties and 1200 Confederate casualties.

I am not going to go into the whole history of the battle that took place here but if you are interested in learning more about the Defense of Little Round Top visit this website!

Little Round Top is my favorite area not only because I find the battle interesting but also because of the amazing views.

The next few photos are of Little Round Top taken from Devil's Den which I will share about in an upcoming post!

There is also a monument on Little Round Top which looks like a small castle.  This monument represents the 44th New York and 2 companies from the 12 New York Infantry Regiments.  The monument was raised honor of Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth - the first Union officer killed during the war.

Visitors are able to go to an observation deck in the Castle which is accessible the spiral stairs. 

Location: Between Emmitsburg and Taneytown Roads just south of Gettysburg, PA

Vacation 2013: Montpelier

**Tune in Tomorrow For Engagement Pictures!!**

My favorite home to visit on this vacation was the home of James Madison.

On our way from Harrisonburg to Williamsburg, we made a 15 minute detour to Orange, VA to visit James Madison's Montpelier!  We were not sure if we wanted to make the stop but I am glad we did!

All of the other homes that we visited were rather complete.  They had lots of the original furniture and paintings, ect.  This was not the case with James Madison's home.  They are actually still doing archeological digs in order to find more items that were once in this home.

Fortunately, they have found lots of writings by people who had visited the home.  Some of the journals were very specific about colors and how the furniture was arranged.  This has helped with the re-furnishing of Montpelier.

James and Dolley Madison lived at Montpelier during Jame's retirement years, beginning in 1817, however, the property had been in the Madison Family for many years beginning with James's grandparents.

Unfortunately, Dolley's son, John (whom James adopted) caused a lot of problems for the family.  He is believed to have been an alcoholic and a gambler and was often in jail.  James and Dolley had to bail him out multiple times eventually forcing Dolley to sell Montpelier.   Also, she sold a lot of their possessions to try to pay off his debts which is part of the reason that Montpelier remains incomplete.

  
A major restoration of this home occurred between 2003 and 2008 to restore the home to the way it was when the Madison's lived there.   Since a few other families had lived there, it had changed quite a bit before being handed over to the National Trust of Historical Preservation

The property was huge and absolutely beautiful.   We spent some time walking around the property and also checked out the archeology lab.  It was neat to see all of the things that had been dug up over the years.  There are also active dig sites on the property which is pretty neat.

I am definitely glad we took the little detour to Montpelier.  I think the tour was the most educational and I loved our guide, he was so fun!   I also just loved the house and the property.   I highly recommend a visit!

Vacation 2013: Ash Lawn-Highland

Our second Presidential tour was to Ash Lawn-Highland, home to James Monroe.  Ash Lawn is located just a few miles from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. 

Once again, no photos were allowed in the home but I will share photos of the outside and share some facts.

I knew that the home was not going to be as extravagant as Thomas Jefferson's but I was still interested to see it.   When you first turn on to the property you will notice that the drive up to the house is beautiful!  In fact, the whole property is gorgeous!

Now, the part of the house pictured above is painted yellow because it did not look like that when Monroe lived there.  That portion of the house was destroyed in a fire and instead of keeping it one story, as it was in Monroe's time, the owner decided to make it two stories.   All of the buildings and sections painted white are the same buildings that were there when Monroe lived there.  The our only included parts of the house that Monroe lived in.

This was where the tour started and was actually the last part of the home to be added when Monroe lived on the property.   When we arrived, we were greeted by a super fun snake on the roof .... I was totally not amused and neither was our guide, she kept eying it as much as me.

The house is fairly small.  Therefore, we spent a good bit of time in each room learning about James Monroe and his place in history.  I learned that Monroe was a very modest person and lived in a smaller home because he did not feel the need for a large one. 

James Monroe was quite the negotiator and Diplomat, being the one to resolve conflict with the British and acquire Florida from the Spanish.  He also proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine which declared that any European countries that try to colonize in the US or South America would be viewed as aggressive and would require US intervention.  He was also responsible for the final negotiations of the Louisiana Purchase when he was working on James Madison's administration.

Monroe was another President who viewed slavery as wrong.   He didn't abolish slavery because he feared the consequences of abolition, as the Southern States were threatening to secede from the Union if slavery were abolished. 

James Monroe and his wife unfortunately ran into financial trouble and had to either sell this property or the one that they owned up north.  Since this one sold faster, they left it behind and moved into their home up north in 1826.

When Monroe lived on the property, it was known simply as Highland.  The new owner called it Ash Lawn, so now it is combined and called Ash Lawn-Highland.

If you are visiting Monticello, I would recommend popping over to visit Ash Lawn.  The property is beautiful and the tour was both educational and enjoyable.   I knew next to nothing about Monroe before this tour and came out feeling like I knew his whole life.  Definitely worth a visit and it is significantly less expensive than Monticello.