Recurring Characters in Historical Travels Revered as a hero in the American Revolution, the Comte de Rochambeau’s efforts helping the new country ward off the British are commemorated along the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail—almost 700 miles extending from Massachusetts and Rhode Island south to Virginia. Plaques mark his presence at various points along his historic…
Category: Virginia
Running across History
Taking in Nuggets of Information A monument to the soldiers of the Confederacy in Arlington National Cemetery. A visitor might marvel at its size given the cause for which the soldiers were fighting. Photo credit: L, Tripoli Traveling back in time: On Feb. 22, 1862, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederate States…
Remembering the Maine Far from Havana
Add the explosion of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898 to the list of historical events I don’t know enough about. I would “remember the Maine” if only I could. I know the incident triggered the Spanish-American War. I recall that the reason the boat exploded is perhaps a little murky. Conspiracy theories…
Arlington Strong
History classes in high school, and even in college, often, to me, were tedious exercises taught by some who just didn’t manage to bring the subject alive. It’s ironic, then, that I would be so engaged in the topic at a place for the dead: Arlington National Cemetery. Walking somewhat randomly, but generally following groups…
Tony Horwitz, A Voyage Long and Strange, Columbus Day, Pocahontas, Etc.
Encountering Christopher Columbus in her travels, the Bashful Adventurer picks up a copy of A Voyage Long and Strange to learn more about the New World.
Are Historical Sites Honest about Slavery?
The global tumult of the last week—the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and global unrest stemming, allegedly, from disgust with a video about Muslims made by a film maker in the United States—makes the celebration of the U.S. Constitution just a little more poignant. Travel, for me, has always made history lessons come…