The War between the States, revisited

On Friday we drove back down to Buena Vista, VA to pick up Hayley from her week at EFY at Southern Virginia University. On the way we couldn't resist stopping at a few more Civil War battlefields. Fredricksburg, Spotsylvania, and Chancellorsville were areas of the most brutal fighting and the most casualties over the course of the war.

This is the hill top where General Robert E. Lee had his headquarters during the Fredericksburg battle.

Dinner at Sammy T.'s was a fun treat. We liked the sweet potato fries.

Spotsylvania battlefield was a more sobering experience. It is in pristine condition and much like it appeared during the Civil War. We walked around the site that is called "Bloody Angle." We heard thunder in the distance and imagined cannon fire and men slogging through knee deep mud to fight hand to hand with bayonets. Shudders!

Growing up in the West we hadn't given too much thought to the Civil War other than what we were required to know for history classes. But now we are reading about it and seeing where it took place and we are coming to understand that as horrible as it was, it was the only way to put an end to slavery in this country. The miracle of it all is that our country came through it and we are still united. It's no wonder that the last 150 years have still been a struggle for civil rights. There was no easy way out.