Travel Tips

People travel for many different reasons. One of my main goals is to experience new and learn from them. Vision clinic work has literally taken me around the World, exposing me to many new lands and peoples that I had little experience - and probably never would have had experience - with before. It has really been eye opening on my part, something that leads to more thought and study and new outlooks.

Being an American history buff, I have always been interested in the events of the American Civil War - a major event in American history. Recently, I had a week available and thought what better way to spend it than to indulge an unrequited interest. A successful trip for me usually entails some pretrip reading and then, hopefully inspired by what I have seen and experienced, a lot more post-trip education. One of my post-trip books is 'The American Scoundrel: The Life of Union General Daniel Sickles' by Thomas Keneally. I had read 'Schindler's List' and several other books by Mr Keneally on Australian themes - for those who don't know, he lives in Sydney - but I was somewhat taken back by his choice of subject - a New Yorker from the Civil War period. One thing leads to another which leads to another and so on, and so was it the case here. In the introduction, Keneally describes his circuitous route to Dan Sickles - who is really a fascinating subject to study. Keneally is of Irish descent and he became interested in Thomas Meagher, an Irishman who was deported to Australia for his role in attempting to bring down English rule in Ireland. Meagher escaped from Ireland and made his way to the United States - Kenneally describes his story in the book, 'The Great Shame' which preceded his efforts on Sickles. With the Civil War, Meagher rose to command of the New York Irish Brigade - incidentally, the Irish Commander at its first major battle, first Manassas, was none other than one William T. Sherman - and he and Sickles paths would constantly mingle in their service in the Army of the Potomac. I had just seen Meagher's likeness on one side of the new (1997) monument dedicated to the Irish Brigade at Antietam, so, like Keneally, one path leads to another and another for me too. Originally, I began looking at Civil War battlefields from an Oregon perspective. Very few Oregonians took part in the Civil War - Oregon was literally at the end of the World at that time. One who did was the Senator from Oregon at the War's outbreak, Edward Baker - a longtime personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. He was to die fairly early in the War at Ball's Bluff, but the Regiment (Californian or later, the 71st Pennsylvania) and Brigade (Philadelphia) he helped to form went on to play major roles in several key battles - Antietam and Gettysburg. One thing does lead to another. Another participant at Ball's Bluff - a relatively minor battle on the grand scheme of things - was Oliver Wendell Holmes, who would eventually become a Supreme Court Chief Justice. He was wounded at Ball's Bluff as a member of the 20th Massachusetts Regiment, another regiment with a big future at battles like Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. Then there was a soldier whom Edward Baker recommended to his friend Abraham Lincoln as one who would be a very valuable asset in helping lead the new Federal armies at the War's outset. That soldier was Joseph Hooker. Hooker played a major role in much of the fighting in the East until he finally became the commander of the Army of the Potomac for the Chancellorsville campaign in early 1863. One of his close confidants - Daniel Sickles. That is the great part of travel and learning - you never finish!

Civil War remembered. Clausewitz said that War is an extension to politics and the United States is no stranger to that philosophy. Not counting the Revolution out of which the country was born, the Congress has declared war on foreign countries five times in a little over 200 years. Congress has also supported warlike actions from the executive branch on numerous other occasions - occasions which have resulted in wars as grievous or more so than some of the 'declared' incidents.

War, being politics in extremis, has been a catalyst for some of the largest changes in American society and has usually resulted in some kind of permanent increase in power for the central government. The first enormous change in central powers resulted from the Civil War, a war which by nature is not a 'declared' war nor are they usually 'civil'. One of the most defining moments in American history, the Civil War, in terms of casualties per population was by far and away the most horrific in the country's history. Amateur generals, Napoleonic tactics waged with more modern weapons resulted in 20% - or more - casualty lists after most of the major battles. The Federal government was led by probably the most able President of the country's history, Abraham Lincoln, but political ability was offset by mediocre military leaders. On the Confederate side, more able military minds rose to the forefront - at least in Virginia - though politically, President Jefferson Davis was not close to the equal of Lincoln.

To travel to Civil War sites and get something out of them, I do recommend a bit of reading beforehand. Otherwise, fields will just look like fields, with the occasional obscure monument - except in the case of Gettysburg or Chickamauga - that is dedicated to men and regiments lost in the midst's of time. There are several guidebooks available to take you out on the battlefields of the Civil War. I like 'The Civil War Battlefield Guide' edited by Frances Kennedy as an overall guide to all of the battlefields. This is a very nice staring point to go from with both the history succinctly explained as well as the battlefield today. From there, I found the War College Guides to the Civil War - Jay Luvaas is usually involved in the writing - individual books for individual battles. These books let you see the battle through the participants eyes and were written to serve as a substitute for an actual Staff Ride - an exercise done to help current Army officers learn their trade from the past. An excellent website when thinking of what to see and where to go is at Civil War. For my travels to the Eastern Theater of the Civil War, I was able to find Guidebooks to Antietam, Gettysburg and Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville. Another great thing to carry along when you can find them are the battlefield maps done by Trailhead Graphics. Here, I was able to find maps for Monocacy/Harper's Ferry, Antietam, Gettysburg and Fredericksburg. The maps for Gettysburg and Antietam were especially useful with the multitude of markers and monuments you find. Another way to get into the 19th century spirit is to seek out a period B&B, which I was lucky enough to find in both Fredericksburg and Sharpsburg. Be open to other sites around when visiting the battlefields, I included Presidential homes in Virginia - Monticello, Montpelier, Highland-Ash Lawn, the home of the first American Saint - Emmittsburg, winetasting - Barboursville, VA, an occasional hike - both in Shenandoah National Park and Maryland Heights by Harper's Ferry, West Virgina, and a chance to share a few beers, food and conversation with fellow VTer's - -------- in Occoquan, VA and hopkid in Richmond, VA. For a more journalistic look at one week for the Civil War, see Chicago Trib note that one or two parts of the articel are outdated, but it is pretty accurate for the most part. You can find my new VT efforts thus far for Antietam, South Mountain, Maryland, Emmittsburg, Barboursville, Shenandoah, C&O Canal, Fredericksburg, Battlefields of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania - four battles in one Park - and, of course, Gettysburg - more to come.