On 03/19/2013 we arrived at Freightliner Custom Chassis Service Center in Gaffney SC for RV service. They serviced our rig that day normally they would service it the next day. We continue our trip to DC on 03/20/2013 and stop at TT Lake Forest Resort in Advance, NC. We visited Fort Dobbs SHS in Statesville, NC on 03/22/2013. When war began, North Carolina’s unprotected frontier settlements were considered at risk from Indians friendly to the French. In 1755, Gov. Arthur Dobbs (1689-1765) persuaded the colonial assembly to fund “a Barrack and Fort for the Company on the Western Frontier.” Construction was underway by the spring of 1756. In December 1756, the only known contemporary description of Fort Dobbs was written: “A good and Substantial Building of the Dimensions following (that is to say) The Oblong Square fifty three feet by forty, the opposite Angles Twenty four feet and Twenty-two, In height Twenty four and a half feet as by the Plan annexed Appears, The Thickness of the Walls which are made of Oak Logs regularly Diminished from sixteen Inches to Six, it contains three floors and there may be discharged from each floor at one and the same time about one hundred Muskets the same is beautifully situated in the fork of Fourth Creek a Branch of the Yadkin River. Fort Dobbs was the only permanent frontier provincial fort in the colony of North Carolina. It served as the military headquarters for the frontier company (approximately fifty men) as well as a safe-haven for settlers. The fort was attacked on the night of February 27, 1760 when more than sixty Cherokees were repelled. The garrison suffered two men wounded, as well as having one colonial boy killed. The Cherokee were reported to have lost 10-12 men killed and wounded. By the end of 1761, the British had essentially won the war and only thirty troops remained at the fort. Colonial leaders disbanded the troops and removed all the supplies of the garrison as settlement moved far west of the fort. The neglected fort was in ruins by 1766. The picture is of Fort site and fort outline is marked by rope.
We traveled to Paradise Lake Family Campground in spout Spring, VA on 03/27/2013. On 03/29/2013 we drove to Bedford, VA to visit the National D Day Memorial. On June 6th, 1944, United States soldiers, in one of the most pivotal battles of World War II, invaded the French coastline in order to propel German soldiers out of Western Europe and lead the way for victory against the tyrants of that era. Dedicated on June 6th, 2001, by President George W. Bush, the National D-Day Memorial was constructed in honor of those who died that day, fighting in one of the most significant battles in our nation’s history. The monument receives an average of 60,000 visitors a year and is a profound addition to America’s War Memorials. Initiated by D-Day veteran J. Robert “Bob” Slaughter, the structure encompasses 88 acres at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. At its center stands a monumental forty-four-foot-tall arch, embellished by the military name, “Overlord,” that was given to the crucial operation. The arch is highlighted by a reflecting pool that surrounds a captivating scene that is symbolic of the arduous trudge soldiers made onto the blood-stained beaches of Normandy, France. As stated by President George W. Bush in his dedication speech, “Fifty-seven years ago, America and the nations of Europe formed a bond that has never been broken. And all of us incurred a debt that can never be repaid. Today, as America dedicates our D-Day Memorial, we pray that our country will always be worthy of the courage that delivered us from evil and saved the free world.” The grounds for the monument take visitors on a archival journey through World War II and the politics and perils that embody the time period. Paying tribute to the men and women who served their country in one of its most dire battles, the D-Day National Memorial creates a solemn atmosphere for veterans and visitors alike to gain insight and learn more about the events that shaped our nation’s and our world’s history. The picture is of View of Normandy Beach from Higgins Landing Boat.
We traveled on 03/31/2013 to see Walton Mountain Museum, Highland (Ashlawn), and St. Luke Episcopal Church. Walton’s Mountain Museum was closed for Easter. The picture is of Elementary School which houses the Museum.
Plantations Like Highland were large money-making enterprises, and ideally produced most goods that were needed on site as well as a surplus of crops and other products for sale. Initially, Monroe found that only a small portion of Highland was cultivated. In 1798, however, he estimated that the plantation could produce 20,000 pounds of tobacco. To increase production, he –like his friend and neighbor Thomas Jefferson—experimented with a variety of agricultural techniques. Monroe successfully planted cover crops, and plowed plaster of paris, or gypsum, into the soil, techniques of boosting soil productivity. Eventually Monroe replaced tobacco with grain crops, which were less draining on the soil. The plantation had both a gristmill and a sawmill, so had the capacity to grind the plantation’s corn and wheat, and process timber from Highland’s 2,000 wooded acres. The blacksmith who shod horses and hammered ironware was likely an enslaved man who lived on the plantation. Other enslaved workers were kept busy spinning and weaving wool and flax, one of the service yard’s most important activities. Since foreign cloth was extremely costly, Monroe imported Spanish Merino sheep to Highland, where he cross-bred them with his domestic animals. Picture is of Highland Plantation House.
