A Walking Tour of Fredericksburg, Virginia (Look Up, America!) (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way.Each walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also includes a quick primer on identifying architectural styles seen on American streets.With its advantageous location at the head of navigation on the Rappahannock River and surrounded by prosperous wheat and tobacco plantations, Fredericksburg boasted an impressive roster of early American luminaries. George Washington's sister and mother lived here, James Monroe practiced law here, and naval hero John Paul Jones owned his only home here.Fredericksburg was incorporated as a town in 1781 and prospered steadily as a transportation center, first on the river, then with great canvas-covered wagons and finally with a railroad in 1837. Its geography would shape its fate with the outbreak of the Civil War as the town lies midway between the Confederate capital in Richmond and the federal capital in Washington, D.C.On December 13, 1862, the Federals stormed Robert E. Lee's entrenchments in their first attempt to control this critical crossroads. The Union was turned away in such gruesome fighting that Lee was moved to remark, "It is well that war is so terrible; else we should grow too fond of it." The slaughter of Armbrose Burnside's troops was Lee's most one-sided victory of the war. By May of 1863, this area had seen the most intense fighting ever staged on the North American continent.After the war, Fredericksburg regained its position as a local trade hub and settled into its position as a residential enclave. In the 21st century the many make the daily commute to Richmond or Washington and more than a million people visit each year to investigate the Civil War heritage and explore forty downtown blocks that have been set aside as an historic district.Our explorations will begin on ground that once held the bones of Fredericksburg's pioneers but today is populated by brick walkways and benches and a fountain...