Day 44: Monticello and Appomatox Court House

 The forecast this week was for rain. Every day. When we got in the car this morning we were headed to Jamestown and were going to make the best of it.  However, I checked the weather and Monticello looked like the rain would hold off till the afternoon, so we headed that direction.  We could have stayed at Monticello longer than we did, but I felt like we needed to pack in as many places as possible during our time in Virginia, so everything was  a little short changed.  Our weather at Monticello was perfect.  It was cool and overcast, but the rain remained at bay. 
 The design of Monticello is clearly Jeffersonian.  He took great pride in designing this beautiful yet functional space.  Along each side of the home there are passage ways that connect out buildings and the interior so that function is optimal as well as design.

 One of the passageways (picture above).  The garden area below would have been the garden area of his enslaved workers.  The green grass in the foreground would have been the location of Mulberry Row.  This was the location of the slave quarters as well as functional utilitarian buildings.



 Once again, no photos on the tour.  When you walk inside the entryway, you are greeted by amazing artifacts, including many items sent back by Lewis and Clark on their expedition.  It was extraordinary.  He also was quite the decorator, and some of his rooms were VERY bright!  He felt like beds got in the way in bedrooms, so built them in to alcoves, and believed that grand staircases were obtrusive, so built small ones tucked away to maximize space and function.
 Jefferson's Tomb.  We were racing the rain it felt like at this point.  We quickly took the path from his tomb to the visitors center.

 Lunch in the car again, this time on our way to Appomattox Courthouse.  This little town became the site of the surrender of General Robert E. Lee's army of Northern Virginia.  We timed it right here!  The ranger told us it had been raining in the morning, but our time was beautiful. War is tragic, no matter what.  So it was interesting, exciting, and heartbreaking, to hear about the final days of Robert E. Lee's battles and the final surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at the McLean home in Appomattox Courthouse.  The town was small and beautiful.

 The McClean house has was sold and resold after the war.  It was eventually dismantled and was intended to be moved possibly to D.C. for a Civil War display.  The plans failed however and the home lay in pieces for years. For fifty years it sat dismantled, and many took advantage of the opportunity to take souvenirs.  Eventually, it was declared a National Historic landmark and restored using what little was left.  Interestingly, one of the Union Soldiers stole one of the McClean daughter's dolls that was sitting on the couch at the time of the surrender.  She was immortalized as "the silent witness."

 Surrender tables.



 The actual court house, at Appomattox Courthouse.

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