It had to happen sooner or later

If you know me you probably know my propensity for forgetting things. I don't know if it's old age or just me being me, but...

Apparently I forgot to start Strava this morning. Strava, the program that tracks my route each day, has been posted nearly every one of the last 55 days (I do not necessarily track my whereabouts on down days). My route was fairly simple - battlefield at Fredericksburg, battlefield at Yorktown, cross the Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel, then find a hotel/motel near a restaurant. Total distance of 200 miles (not counting U-Turns) terminates at Exmore, Va, about a half hour south of the Maryland border.

When Betty and I visited a new park or location, we usually explored on our own because of our disdain for boring or uninspired docents. Today's experience was the two extremes of the industry.

The tour guide at Yorktown went out of his way to assure HE was the show. His presentation was over the top, making himself the key figure with his delivery, asking questions of his troupe in such a manner that he, and he alone, would know the desired answer. His yelling style and wild gestures were unwarranted as part of the narrative.

The young lady that conducted our tour at Fredericksburg on the other hand put all emphasis on the participants of the battle, balancing carefully the emotions and view point of both sides. It was what, in a perfect world, you would hope to experience every time you take a guided tour.

As I mentioned yesterday I hoped to tour both battlefields and still make it over the bridge before rush hour. I really thought I had time to spare but with the intriguing story at Fredericksburg and a longer-than-expected commute to Yorktown I didn't arrive at the second battlefield until 3 p.m. Not wanting to cut short my visit I quickly decided I would spend the night if need be on the south end of the bridge.

Yorktown, as it turned out, had less to see for a simple reason. The same parcel of real estate was a battle site during the Civil War also and the CSA dug up and removed many of the remnants from the Revolutionary entrenchments. Both parks had a 20 minute film to explain what transpired. Yorktown's film was a Hollywood-style production with actors reciting dialog from a prepared script, the same script in many places, as it turned out, as the drama riddled Ranger presentation. Fredericksburg used simple animated map graphics narrated by James Earl Jones (that's Darth Vader to you young folk).

The big difference between the two battle sites was that Yorktown was a siege, where they attempted to cut off General Cornwallis from his supplies and reenforcements. Fredericksburg was a full on frontal attack with diversionary attacks and fighting on multiple flanks.

Yorktown accomplished exactly what was desired, surrender of the British forces; a group that accounted for 1/3 of all the British Troops involved in the war. They were defeated by a combined force of French and American fighters who defeated their foe, to a large degree, because of inept leadership and miscommunication between Cornwallis and his Superior Officer Sir Henry Clinton.

Heavy artillery overlooking the bay at Yorktown.

Fredericksburg was so lop-sided a victory for the CSA that it was described as "simply murder". General Burnside was put in charge of the Army of the Potomac by President Lincoln, a command that he neither sought or desired. His original plan was a surprise attack on the small town that sat half way between the capital cities of the two sides. Unfortunately he reached the sight of his proposed river crossing two weeks before his pontoon bridges arrived and had to sit and wait while General Lee brought his army in and prepared the better position on a hillside south of the river. The ranks formed a seven mile front that was so effectively defended that both sides considered the results a disaster for the north, yet Lee considered it a wasted effort because he failed to counter attack or advance his forces. Within 18 months, three other battles in close proximity, brought the dead and wounded count for both sides to an unbelievable combined 100,000 men in this region! The Ranger presentation was focused on the common soldier while pointing out the tactical blunders that cost so many lives. 

A touching story was told at the end of tour of a common man who did something most uncommon. The largest losses were at a point where the Union forces tried eight times to cross a 900 yard open field and not a single man reached the enemy position behind what was called the Sunken Road. 

A stone wall lined both sides of the Sunken Road

In retreat, the Union Army was forced to leave the wounded lying in the field. As the sun set the shooting ceased. In the darkness both sides could hear the Union Soldiers moaning and pleading for help or to be "finished". The pleading became too much for Richard Kirkland, a Confederate Soldier from South Carolina.

He gathered several canteens, filled them with water, and went into the battlefield to give aide to those he could help among his enemy. At first several shots were fired at him, then when it was realized what he was doing several Union Soldiers cheered as he went from one injured man to another. 

Richard Kirkland became known by both sides as the Angel of Maryes Heights

If I recall correctly, the casualties that day dropped at a rate of one every 7 seconds. Although a crushing defeat for the north, within 18 months they would succeed in taking the town.

After leaving Yorktown at 4:45 I decided to get as close to the bridge as traffic would allow, then, if needed, get a motel room for the night and cross in the morning when the bulk of traffic would be going the other way. I didn't want to be stranded in stop and go traffic on a motorcycle in a tunnel.To my amazement traffic never was heavy until I approached the ramp onto I-64 south of Newport News. I veered off and found a park nearby where I decided to take pictures while I accessed my options. By the time I decided to stop for dinner and let traffic work itself out, the traffic was flowing again (I could see the bridge from where I took pictures). 

So I got onto the freeway and soon was cruising through the tunnel portion of the bridge that I discovered was not the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. 

Things still were flowing quickly when I pulled up to the toll booth at the actual Chessy Bay bridge and discovered why traffic was not backing up. The toll for use of the bridge is $13.00, apparently too high for anyone who would commute across the bay.

The bridge is about 17 miles which includes not one, but two tunnels, each of which is about a mile and a half long. It finally arrives on the north end at the East Coast of Virginia. Tomorrow I will cross into multiple states so I need to have my camera ready.