backpacking pictures

Backpacking

     I have just got back from a two day long, over night backpacking trip, with my two parents, two labs, and my friend. We went three miles in and three miles back out. The hike in was hard, and we didnt get to the lake that we wanted to, but we still found a great spot to camp. We lost the trail half way through, and had to follow a creek. The hike out seemed faster than the hike in, we would of made it faster, but we had to search for the trail that we hiked half way in on.

Disney Land

         A week ago I went to Disney Land to visit my sister. I learned that there are alot of secrets in the park that people dont usualy know, like how there are hundreds of cats in the park to control the mice and rat population, and that they hide them all in the jungle cruise ride. Also, the way that the charecters get around the park fast, is that there is a huge maze through all of the rides, there is also an underground part to where the engineers and other matinence personal can move around to get to the rides machanical parts easily. Also, on top of the materhorn, there is a break center, complete with a basketball court on the top. A very smart ecinomical value to the park, the park gets a tax right off, by having a aquaduct going throught the jungle ride. all together, the park looked very good being decorated for Halloween.

a church steeple in Charleston

Today, we are in Charleston, South Carolina. We tried to go to Fort Sumter, but the weather prevented us, so I am limited to the amount of knowledge that I already know,  and have not been able to take a tour, to learn the full extent of the history of the fort. What I know, is that Fort Sumter, was a Union controlled area, when South Carolina, ( the first to suceed from the U.S. prior to the civil war.) And was not fired apon by the Confederates, untill april 12 1861. The Union tried to transport supplies to the fort, by a Navy transport. The transort was fired apon by warning shots by a battery, ( an artillery position.) Manned by Citidel, ( an army academy in South Carolina.) Cadets. The transport retreated, and than the Confederate batteries in the surrounding harbor, opened up on Fort Sumter. The barrage lasted for almost 2 days, ( may not be accurate.) With both sides firing at each other, untill, finaly, the forts general, ordered the retreat. Ammazingly, no one on either side was killed, or severly injured by the opposing sides bombardment, but when a Union soldier tried to snap off a solute to the Union flag, the Confederates opened up again, the young soldier was the first casualty of the war. The assault on Fort Sumter, was the first millitary action, and the start of the civil war. Immidiatly after, President Lincoln ordered a Naval blockade be set up at the mouth of the harbor where the fort is located, many more blockades would follow, and the Confederates would rely on runner ships to slip through the blockades to import and export goods.

The south relied on certain crops to grow for money since the first colonies were established, perticulary cotton, rice and some tobacco. The south is known by almost everyone for its production of cotton, thats why they needed the slaves to grow and gather the crop, thats one of resons that the war was started. But most people do not know that the south also produced a major source of rice, which some European countries could not grow. The south grew and distributed large amounts of rice and cotton, and in some places, tobacco. Tobacco was a hard crop to grow, beacause it needed a area of dry land, and diddnt grow well in moist, wet areas.
Charleston was a key city for the Confederates during the civil war, and the Union knew that. The Union long range batteries, always had an easy aim on the city, beacause of the multiple church steeples in the town, all they had to do was sight the steeples, and try to hit them, or the area around, and beacause it was used as command post for the Confederates, it was under constant bobardment, and eventually, the town stopped holdin mass, and other church services, beacause the church was considered a deathtrap, beacause it was an easy target. Infact, the city eventually stopped rebuilding the steeples, hoping the Union batteries would not be able to sight the town, and cause more deaths, and destruction.

Colonial Williamsburg

Today I went to the town of Williamsburg, in colonial times, it represented what it was like to live in the 18th century colonies of British North America. It showed plays, where it showed the confusing waves of propoganda flowing in from both sides of the war, and how the war made it hard for the American citizens. It also showed how they made guns, and also how the wood workers and blacksmiths worked, and how they worked as well.  We also learned of the armory, and how they were stocked, how it worked, is that the heavy gunpowder barrels were stacked on the bottom floor of the building so that they could be moved around easier, on the second level, were the guns, packed and stacked in wooden boxes, and there were trap doors so that they could move them down easier. On the top story, were all of the light items, like tents, and food and water, also we learned,m that only the govenour could call the guns to be distributed in the event of an attak by enemy forces. We also learned that the Brittish tried to attak the colony, after they had burned the colony of Richmond to the ground. But they were pushed back, and than the town was a major staging area for American forces for a couple of major battles, like the battle of Yown town. We also learned that the French general, Laftett, played a major part in the revolutionary war, by commanding the majority of the french forces. Lastly,

18th century colonial court houses had to deal with a variety of differeent cases, but they were all minor fellonies. One consistent problem, was that the different money styles differed from each colony, and that alot of times, local salesmen wouldnt take the money, and would take the problem to the courthouse to be resolved. Another kind of case that sometimes came up, was people not going to church, they were allowed to switch religeons, but they had to notify the right people, and fill outalot of papers so that the churchs wouldnt expect them on masses. The last, and probebly most common case, was people complaining, and one of the examples of this type of case, was when they reinacted the case of a lady who was commplaining about the treatment of the meat at the marketplace, of which they resolved by stating a few facts, and generaly making the lady look stupid in front of the town.

In the town of Williamsburg, about 52% of the population, was made up of slaves. Which means that about everyone in the town had atleast one or two slaves at their house. slaves were brought from Africa, and were bought by traders along the coast by trading the townspeople guns. After being either captured or bought, they were packed onto ships, and sent to America, to be sold again to different people. The slaves had no rights, and were not allowed to testify in the court of law. In the revolutionary war, the Brittish army, promised all slaves that ran off to join their army, freedom, but the slaves that did, were used to preform suicidal tasks, and if they did survive, they were givin back to the Americans after the Brittish forces
surrendered.

The town of Williamsburg featured plays, that showed exiting, and scary times in the town. At one of them, a man ran onto the streets shouting the good news of the American forces finally beating the Brittish/German forces, in a acual big victory, this, obviously trying to display the exitement of the townspeople at the turning point of the war. A sad one was of a family in large debt to multiple people, and the father is drafted into the army, and is forced to leave the family to fight. This tragic scene obvliously trying to show the hardship and loss that the families of the town had to face. Another scary scene, was when the famous trater general, Bennidict Arnald, comes after burning Richmond to the ground, tells of great loss of American forces, and that all able body men are to join his army, or he will do the same to Williamsburg, what he did to Richmond.

Mntechello pics

                                                       A picture of the Jefferson estate, Montechello, from across the lawn

The Battle of Gettysburg

Today I visited the site of the battle of Gettysburg. I learned that Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, was the commanding officer of the rebel forces. He was a brilliant general that had beaten Union forces on multiple battle fields. Lee thought that another Confederate victory, on Union territory, would stir up more peace activists, who would force President Lincoln to sign a peace treaty. That is why Gettysburg was so important. The Union forces in the area around Gettysburg saw a rising mass of rebel forces, and immidiatly learned that the Confederates were arriving en-mass to take the town, they immidiatly called for reinforcements, and a calvery regiment came to help. The calvery deployed into a defensive position, and sent up watchposts, they needed to find the rebels and slow them down, to make time for the approching infantry brigades to arrive. They located the enemy forces, and opened fire. A one sided battle brock out, the Union forces knew that they were greatly out numbered, but needed to buy the approchin infantry some time, so they fought, fell back, fought and fell back, untill, the rebels had moved to surround them. But just then the infantry forces were able to arrive, and saved the surviving calvery men. The infantry reinforcements were able to beat back the rebels, and established a better, more reinforced defensive position.
Two days of fighting followed, time and time again, the rebels advenced, and the Union forces some how were able to beat them back. But on the third day, the rebels launched an all out assault on the Union positions, the Union troops were forced to retreat to just out side of the town. It was there, where the bloodiest part of the battle would take place. Cannon fire pounded the Union position, for two hours, the Union cannons fired back. When there was almost no ammo left for the Confederate cannons, and thick smoke blocked their view, they ordered the infantry to advance. The rebel infantry line stretched for about a mile long, and they pushed forword. Once they were within range, the Union forces opened fire. Hundreds of rebel troops fell in the first volley of rifle and cannon fire. But they pushed on. At one point, the rebel troops broke through the Union line, but were quickly overwelmed. The battle went on for only 20 more minuets, before the Unionforces were able to hook around, and hit the rebels from the side. Outnumbered, the rebels were ordered to retreat. The Union forces regrouped for a second before cautiously following the enemy line. The battle for Gattysburg, was over.

thomas Jeffersons house

Today I went to Thomas Jeffersons house, more commonly known the Montechello. Thomas Jefferson inherited the land around the estate, from his father, Peter Jefferson, a surveyor. He started to build the house, a couple of years after his father passed away. But he was called to be the embassador to France, and was forced to postpone the making of the house. While he was in France, he admired the dome structure that most Frence buildings that could have them, had. He came back to america inspired, and when he finally returned to his estate, he ordered half the unfinished house to be torn down, and had the workers constuct a dome structure on the house.

Thomas Jefferon was a brilliant man who had a urge to invent things that would make everyday life, easier, and more leasurly. He had on of the first clock that showed the seconds, and that was connected to a Chinese gong that went off every hour, and could be heard up to 2 miles away. He also experimented with plant, recorded which ones thrived, and under which conditions, and sometimes sent his findings to the public so that people could grow better crops, or make better gardens.

Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of this country, and even drafted, and wrote, the declaration of indipendence. He also had the dream that all people could co-exist, and that all of the current slaves could one day, be free, even though he owned almost 300 slaves on montechello. But as the years went by, he realized that the freedom of all slaves would have to be accomplished by a later generation, and that we did. The Decleration of Indipendence has inspired many other countries, as well as our own, to stand up, and say whats not right, and act. A few examples would be, the Haitian Revolution, our Civil war to free all slaves. The fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Civil Rights Movement. Obviously, the entire world has learned from our for fathers examples, for rightness, and equality, and that we all live in a better place, thanks to the Decleration of Indipendence.