National monuments that we have visited.
We visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
Just a quick visit, after a long drive of our coach on a one night stop.
Map:
Temporary visitor center:
Custer National Cemetery:
Battlefield drive:
Battlefield markers show where soldiers fell:
Custer’s monument:
We visited Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois, featuring the only house that Abraham Lincoln ever owned, and neighboring houses.
Gift store:
“The Lincolns Buy a Home”:
Floor plan:
Lincoln’s home:
Lincoln’s outhouse:
Neighboring homes:
Another look at Lincoln’s home:
We visited the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Kentucky, a small park with the country’s first monument to Lincoln, enclosing the Symbolic Cabin, a reconstruction of the tiny cabin where Lincoln was born. The memorial was built between 1909 and 1911.
56 steps up to the memorial, one for each year of Lincoln’s life:
The symbolic cabin inside the memorial:
Peeking inside:
Model of the cabin:
Info outside:
Boardwalk to the visitor center:
Visitor center:
Parents and kids:
Passport stamp:
Gift shop:
Family Bible:
More exhibits:
Table made by Lincoln’s father:
Boundary oak tree:
Model of the memorial:
We visited Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland, where “23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862”.
Visitor Center:
Old church:
Cannons:
Stone bridge:
We visited Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia.
Relief map:
Bus from the visitor center to the town:
Exploring the old town of Harpers Ferry:
The second post about Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, including the battlefield memorials and Gettysburg National Cemetery.
The interactive map again:
The battlefield has a bunch of roads, dotted with monuments from the various states and military divisions that participated in the battle:
GIF:
Gettysburg National Cemetery:
Lincoln address memorial, where he gave his famous speech:
We visited Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, including a third-party museum and visitor center.
An interactive map:
Visitor center:
Gift store:
“Now we are engaged in a great civil war”:
Exhibits:
Theater:
The Gettysburg Cyclorama, a 360° painting by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux depicting Pickett’s Charge, the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. It was painted in 1883, and measures 42 feet by 377 feet. The viewing of it started with a dramatization of the battle with light effects:
After the light show, it was shown without light effects. The foreground in front of the painting is a natural-looking landscape, blending into the painting:
An easter egg: a wounded President Lincoln is in this part, representing a wounded nation:
Impressive stuff.
The Gettysburg address:
Tomorrow, the battlefield and cemetery.
We visited Manassas National Battlefield Park in Manassas, Virginia, where the first major battle of the American Civil War took place on July 21, 1861 (plus a second battle later).
The NPS map; click or tap to interact:
An interactive map:
Visitor center:
Henry Hill Loop Trail:
Stonewall Jackson:
We visited a couple of areas of the Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia, including Yorktown and Jamestown Island. This post is about Jamestown.
Jamestown is in multiple parts; a touristy Jamestown Settlement, that we didn’t visit (this time), and Jamestown Island, which is partly NPS, and partly a Preservation Virginia area.
The NPS map; click or tap to interact:
An interactive map of the Jamestown Island area:
Historic Jamestowne:
Glasshouse ruins:
A replica Glasshouse, that does glassblowing demonstrations:
Jamestowne visitor center:
Auditorium:
Exhibits:
Monument:
Pocahontas:
Relief map:
Captain John Smith:
Cannon:
The Barracks:
Indian tools; this guy showed and handed around various tool components, and told of their manufacture:
Church:
Cellar kitchen:
Blacksmith workshop:
This recreator talked Jenn’s ear off with old-timey tales:
The Statehouse:
Museum:
Ancient foundations under the floor:
Gift store:
Fascinating stuff.
We visited a couple of areas of the Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia, including Yorktown and Jamestown Island. This post is about Yorktown.
The NPS map; click or tap to interact:
An interactive map of the Yorktown area:
Historic Yorktown:
Visitor center:
Yorktown:
