Coming up from Florida in May of this year my wife and I stopped at a bunch of Civil War Battlefields in the Richmond Virginia area. Petersburg, The Seven Days Battle at Gaines Mill, Totopotomoy Creek, Cold Harbor and the Chandler house at Fairfield, Guinea Station the place where Stonewall Jackson Died are just a few of the American landmarks we visited.

With so much to explore I was in Civil War exploration overload. I mean there was just so much to see and do I was just in my glory. I would say I was a bit taken by the lack of resources that have been used to maintain these historic landmarks but I guess it’s typical of American Politicians (with the allocation of money)not to care about our history especially in the South, it’s just not politically correct these days. Bummer.

So anyway I’m sure you have better things to do then listen to me drone on about my opinions when it comes to politics, so let’s move on.

If you haven’t been to the Cold Harbor Battlefield you have to drop what your doing and go NOW, I mean it. It has some of the best preserved entrenchments any where. The Confederate trenches are soooooo cool. There are paths that follow the trenches that allow you to understand the topography of the land. Understanding this allows you to see just what a dominate defensive position the Confederate Army had and why it was such an overwhelming victory for the South.

I must warn you to NOT WALK THROUGH THE TRENCHES, they are American historic jewels and the more there disturbed the more they erode. Plus the park rangers will give you a hard time.

My Gr.Gr. grandfather Richard Jones and his brother Thomas Jones served in Co. C, 38th Battalion Virginias Light Artillery part of Read Battalion. On June 2nd and 3 rd 1864, both brothers were positioned with there battery at the spearhead of the Northern assault. Fortunately Richard survived the campaign without incident, Thomas on the other hand wasn’t so fortunate. He was WIA, June, 3rd 1864 with a flesh wound to the right leg and spent the rest of the war in and out of Chimborazo and Stuart Hospitals in Richmond Virginia.

For anyone wanting to read more about this Robert H. Moore is the author of “The Richmond Fayette, Hampden, Thomas, and Blounts Lynchburg Artillery” this is a limited edition book out of print these days but still available through specialty book stores online.