Monday, April 1, 2013

Grave of Lewis Wetzel in West Virginia.  Wetzel was an Indian fighter and a contemporary of Betty Zane.

Hindu community cow and elephant statues.

DH surveying the West Virginia stream to figure out the best approach for fording.  The GPS said to take this road, and DH didn't let a few inches of water stop him.

Monument at Gettysburg (facing Pickett's Charge) for the Seventh Michigan, in which Ferd's brother Lucius, fought.

Ferd had a first cousin, named Arvine Bowdish, who was with the New York 149th, which fought at Culp's Hill at Gettysburg.  For those of us on this trip, Arvine would be our first cousin, 4 x removed.
Arvine survived the Civil War and went back for the dedication of this monument.

Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013

First cousins, children of Gladys and Fern.

BE with daughters ES and KF

Parents CG & ES
Children IS, KL, CJ

JP & KF

All (at least those who cared) rooting for Michigan.

Monument to Betty Zane whose heroic run for gunpowder in 1782 saved Fort Henry (now Wheeling, West Virginia) from an Indian attack.  Gladys and Fern each had the book BETTY ZANE written by Zane Grey, which books were read over and over.

Saturday, March 30, 2013
Meeting up with the Canadian contingent at the Cracker Barrel in Port Huron, MI.

Go Blue!

All is well.  Later this morning we plan to head toward Springfield.  Good symposium yesterday. Will catch up later with writing what we have been doing.  Hopefully can send out a picture or two from each day after I get home.

April 5, 2013
We visited Appomattox Court House, where Lee surrendered to Grant in the parlor.

At breakfast in the motel, we had met a man who impersonates General Lee, so we briefly stopped by the place where "General Lee" was going to be working this weekend.

Then it was on to Salisbury, and to the evening meal that started the Symposium activities for this weekend.  

April 4, 2013
Today is LM's 79th birthday.  She received a birthday card from her husband even though he is not here.

We went to the site of the battle of the Crater in Petersburg, where Ferd fought.  We also went to the Weldon Railroad area where Ferd was captured.

On our way to Appomattox we saw huge snowflakes.

Just a short blog today, Alice

Wed, April 3 2013
Today we saw the place on the Rappahannock where, in December, 1862, Lucius Bowdish and the 7th Michigan came across to Fredericksburg to take out the snipers in the buildings on the shore.  Then we went to the Wilderness Battlefield, where, in 1864, Lucius lost an arm and Corridon Bowdish was fatally wounded.  Next we went to the Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield, where Ferd's 1864 diary begins in May by telling of fighting there.  Next we took a little side trip to see the building where Confederate General Stonewall Jackson died of pneumonia after being shot by his own men and losing an arm.

We stopped for lunch, and DH ate his dessert before eating his sandwich, and after his sandwich, helped LM finish her dessert.  I told him he would make it into a blog entry if he ate dessert both before and after his sandwich.

Then it was on to Richmond, where we toured the Confederate White House.  Then we walked across the James River on a suspension bridge to Belle Isle and saw the area where Ferd was kept as a prisoner of war for several days in the late summer of 1864 (before being shipped off to Salisbury Prison).

This evening we ate at Chipotle, and it was good.