Mt. Vernon - George Washington's Home

Mount Vernon, Virginia, the home where George Washington would rather be was our last stop on our vacation before flying home the next morning. It rained very hard all day, almost like tears from heaven because we had to leave. But what an incredible place to end our visit.

Inside the entrance is a bronze statue of George, Martha and their two little grandchildren that meet you in the foyer. On the walls are quotes from George Washington. The photo above is one section that impressed us.

This is Mount Vernon. We entered the door on the far left and then toured only the down stairs. They said come back at Christmastime and you can tour the upper two levels.  There is a model of the interior of the house in the entrance building so you can see every room.  This is the front of the house with the large expanse of lawn that is about 1/4 mile long!

 This is the view from the back yard! That is the Potomac River you see. They have a tour called "The National Treasure Tour". You can actually go down in the basement under the house and the tunnel takes you to an outlet down by the Potomac River.  We didn't do that tour, but I bet it would have been fun.

This area was the slave quarters, kitchens, laundry, stables, etc.

We had been to Mt. Vernon in 1992 with our young family. But we never went to the doct where George would launch his boats from.  Here you can take a dinner cruise or boat ride on the Potomac.

This is the cemetery area. Martha Washington is in the cript on the left, George Washington on the right.

Other family members are buried without this gated area.

 

Here is the original Arnold Friberg painting of George Washington praying at Valley Forge.

It was hanging in the Educational Center/Museum. It was very large!

There was a display of how a computer could take the measurements from the Houdon live face mask of George Washington that he modeled for and take those measurements and go back in time. The above wax statue was made of when he would have been about 18-20 years old working as a surveyor. I didn't know he had done that. He had been out west and surveyed a lot of our country. No wonder he knew it inside and out, so when the Wars came - he knew the terrain and locations very well. Once again he was in the Lord's design. 

When George fought in the French/Indian War the bullets missed him - just like Samuel the Lamanite of the Book of Mormon! He was designed for greatness to get this country started on the right path so that The Church of Jesus Christ could be restored in the Latter Days.

Here is the figure  of George as a General on a real stuffed horse (similar to what he rode).

George Washington served our country in the French Indian War, Revolutionary War, became our President and when he was done, he personally went to the Congress and resigned. He did not want to be King. He just wanted to serve his God and Country and then retire quietly home. The statement above is amazing. What a wonderful man George Washington is!

Yorktown, VA - Revolutionary War & the Civil War

Yorktown, VA is and was a very interesting place. It is the place where the Revolutionary War for our Indepedence ended! The French (thanks to Lafayette) helped Gen. Washington. The French sailed down the coast from New York to the opening of the Chesapeake Bay to block in Cornwallis' fleet so they could not escape. Washington had a fake armies keeping the British busy in New York while Washington really had a large massive army move south to Yorktown to attack. The French also had an army in place in Yorktown. Gen. Washington is right up there with Captain Moroni, Teancum & Lehi!

Here is Curtis with General George Washington

in Yorktown, looking over the maps.

This is a replica of the Army encampment of Washington's troops.

A sampling of medical supplies from the Revolutionary War era!

This was the medical tent.

This is part of the Fort at Yorktown. The building in the back is

where they tried the tobacco. (While we were there it was Home Schooling Week -

lots of families visiting to learn their History first hand - not in a book.)

This is what tobacco looks like once it is harvested. They hang it over the rafters to dry.

Then they package it for sale.

An original home still standing in the town of Yorktown! There were several on the

Historical registry list. You couldn't go in them. People actually were still living in them.

This is the Civil War cemetery at Yorktown.

This is Redoubt 9 at Yorktown that Washington's troops built to keep the British from coming onto land from the York River.  This photo doesn't do it justice. Notice the telephone pole pickets sticking out sharpely from the mounds of dirt! Look up Alma 50:1-4 in the Book of Mormon. They did the same thing!

This is Augustine Moore's house.  Here is a bit of history about this famous place:

Lord Cornwallis, realizing the defeat of his army was inevitable, sent a message to General George Washington:  "Sir, I propose a cessation of hostilities for twenty-four hours, and that two officers may be appointed by each side, to meet at Mr. Moore's house, to settle terms for the surrender of the posts of York and Gloucester."

Why Cornwallis selected the Moore House for the negotiations was not explained, however, there are a number of possibilities.The Moore House was well outside the line of siege fire, and therefore, not damaged. It was a neutral location, hiding the British situation in town, and possibly selected in the hope of securing better surrender terms. And finally, it was a convenient location for both sides to reach, as it was situated along the York River.

Washington agreed to only a two hour cease fire for Cornwallis to submit general terms of surrender. Messages continued to pass over the battlefield between the two commanders.

Finally, on the afternoon of October 18, the two British commissioners, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Dundas and Major Alexander Ross met in "Mr. Moore's house" with the allied officers, Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens, for the Americans, and Second Colonel Viscount de Noailles (Marquis de Lafayette's brother-in-law), representing the French.

The negotiations ended before midnight, and Laurens carried a rough draft of the articles to General Washington. Washington, however, was not completely happy with the results and made a few minor changes. Once the articles were revised and redrafted, a copy was sent to Cornwallis in Yorktown for his signature.

At the end of this circle was the location of General Washington's headquarters. It was about 1 mile or less from the Moore House above. I felt like if I walked into the trees I could hear the sounds of orders.

 (NO, I am not crazy!)

This cross was placed here in commemoration of all the french soldiers who died during the Revolutionary War.  Very serene location.

Colonial Williamsburg, VA

Williamsburg, VA became the headquarters for the Virginia Colony after Jamestown was finally surviving on its own.  They built the Governor's Palace and it had 7 royal Governors of which were Patrick Henry (served 5 terms) and Thomas Jefferson.

Here is the front of the palace with its gates to open up to a huge mall in front (behind me).

This is in one of the rooms of the Governor's Palace. Still original furniture.

Paint has been duplicated.

There were various tradesman - shoemakers, coopers, blacksmith, gunsmith, bookbinders, brickmakers, etc.... that were all set up to display and actually do the craft. I was impressed how every person (except the Visitors) were dressed in period costume and kept their language to that. They never used the language of today or talked about a time past what they were portraying. I think it would be fun to do something like that. Reminded me of Nauvoo in that sense.

This is the courthouse. I am in the red shirt.

This is inside the courthouse. The 4 judges (3 from audience) were seated up on the stand. Before the mock trials started they recruited about 5 different people to bring a case to the court for some reason.  They were handed a script and then the Judge in the robes spoke in old english. He was quick with the ton. Funny!! When one of the audience participates did really well we clapped. He kept bringing order to the court and that we are not at the theather. I loved every moment of it!

This was brick making. They used clay and kids of all ages got in and trudged the clay and water with their feet. There were moms and little toddlers in this when we left. 

This shop was the cabinetry maker. These are real craftsman (in each of the shops) who are working the old trade. They have apprentices and journeyman in their shops. It was fascinating. One man was making an actual harpiscord that will be used in one of the homes they are reconstructing!

This is "THE" original House of Burgess in Virginia!  We got to inside. The left side was the Governor's offices, etc.  The right side was basically the House of Representatives and laid out like we would see in one of our capitols.  This has never been destroyed. This is going back to colony days!!!! Wow!!

Here they are re-enacting the Governor's men closing the House of Burgess. It started to rain LOTS then.

There was a museum that housed "mental - medical" stuff. They had a room that replicated a confined area for someone not stable in the mind. They were put in a room with an ankle chain, given a large pillow like mattress to lay on and a skimpy blanket.  When they were so wired up and would not calm down, they would strap them in the above photo contraption to "calm" them. Notice it has a bucket potty. These people must have been in the chairs for long periods of time! The head piece flipped down over their head to keep them sitting upright.

What an amazing time we had seeing this place. I have wanted to go there for YEARS!  A few weeks before we were there the Mormon Tabernacle Choir did a Flash Mob singing at Williamsburg. Looking at those photos there were hundreds of people in attendance. They day we were there it was extremely light! Perfect for me!

Jamestown, VA - Glassworks & Settlement

Jamestown had enough sand and stuff (whatever that is) to make their own glass and wares. Early settlers were so self sufficient. They made their own clothes, their own tools, dishes, glass, grew their own food ... I think we have lost the art of "living" in going to the store to buy today!  Anyway, we went to watch them make glass the same way they did in 1610. Was so fun!

 This is the furnace they melt the sand (or stuff) to make the glass. The natural color to Jamestown

 was green. I bought two little glasses (kind you drink juice out of) and a candleholder

 for my dining table that they made there!

 Here is a sampling of what they made and had for sale. By adding cobalt to the sand they could make Blue.

At the settlement (this part was run by the State of Virginia) they had 3 areas you could visit and explore: Indian Settlement, Colonist Settlement, and the Ships.

Here are some indian structures that you actually got to go inside. One was a hunting lodge.

 This is a lady dressed like an indian who would tell you things and answer questions.

 I really enjoyed this part - the colonist settlement. It reminded me of PBS show "Colonial House". You can see the guy in the white shirt sitting working. He was dressed in clothes of the period and doing work (can't remember what). There were a lot of people dressed for the times. You could go in and see the churches, homes, etc... that were all rebuilt to the day.

 This was interesting. This is a raised platform in each corner of the fort. You can see the little square holes - those were where the canyon were moved up to so it could shoot through the holes.

There were three ships that brought the colonists to Jamestown. One was Susan Constant (large ship - far left), Godspeed (medium in size - middle) and Discovery (little on right). They were telling us that the smallest ship was carried on a freigther to England and then it sailed back to Jamestown. It was amazing to be on the ship and see how small they were inside for a crew of 33.

 Here you can see a canon, people walking around the ship.

Here I am on the Discovery ship.  We kept thinking our son-in-law, Nick, would like to sail one of these. But I don't think I would have had sea legs!

Jamestown, VA - The Fort

The following photos are taken at the actual site of Jamestown. In May of 1607 when the colonists landed the island was not inhabited with indians but had lots of mosquitoes and was swampy. (Sounds like Nauvoo).  More than 2/3 of the people died.

This was the Fort actually looked like. In the shape of a triangle. Later on... they left the fort and expanded and built beautiful homes, townhomes, and had businesses established.

 This is a statue of John Smith who was the Captain. Directly behind him you can see where they are digging and finding the original buildings and items from that era. 

 This is the painting of Pocahontas at age 20. She married John Rolfe (Not John Smith) when she was 18 years old.  They had a baby. Mr. Rolfe took her to England in hopes of raising money for their colony by introducing a real Indian Princess to them. On the voyage to England she took sick and died only a few months later in England. Very sad tale.

 They have done archeology digs and found all the foundations to the original homes once the settlers left the Fort.  Due to weather and time they decided not to restore them, but just leave the footprints. I think it was wise, makes a beautiful setting and very reverent feeling there.

This is actually one of the townhouses that is still left standing. Many of the buildings there were used through the 1700 and early 1800s and then started falling apart. This is what is left.

Here you can see the Chesapeake Bay in the distance. I had no idea the James River was part of it!

You can see the statue of John Smith to the left and the diggings going on within the Fort area.

You can see the Jamestown Memorial Church inside the Fort Walls.  It is amazing to go inside. There is a grave where the first Reverend (or whatever he was called) is buried. You can actually see the brick and cobblestone from the original 1639 church. The fort walls are no longer standing. They built a low wall to give you an idea. 

 Just inside the entrance there is a statue of Pocahontas.