Thursday XIII Williamsburg Virginia Images

Bringing Cemeteries To Life

Bringing Cemeteries

to Life

Lt. John Rogers Meigs

PROLOGUE:

One wouldn’t normally pass the bronze effigy that marks the final resting place of Lt. John Rogers Meigs* on the Arlington Cemetery tram tour. It's across from where one would deboard the tram at Arlington House, tucked away in the midst of section 1, close to Gen. Abner Doubleday and other Civil War luminaries.

No, a proper visit of Arlington National Cemetery should require a comfortable pair of walking shoes, a knowledgeable and informative tour guide, and at least three hours.

There are so many stories, and the dead demand proper respect and recognition; one shouldn't glide through it.

BACKGROUND:

New York City

My introduction to cemeteries was a frightening one, from the vantage point of a five-year-old passenger in the backseat of my future step-father’s car. I think the fifth year of life is the age when children truly start to comprehend the concept of death and their own mortality. I was no exception.

There are several great necropolises along and beneath the Long Island Expressway (LIE) and Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) that mirror the sooty congestion of city dwellings. The ornate monuments actually compete with the skyline of Manhattan (see photo below). I used to ponder about the people and families connected to these markers, memorials, and mausoleums. Who were they and did anyone remember or visit them in these forbidding places? There was a sense of cruel exile and abandonment.

These implanted, permanent New Yorkers also remain eternally segregated according to religion and race; to each, his own; Jewish cemeteries on one side, and Protestant and Catholic on the other. Christian cemeteries further sectioned off remote areas for African Americans, and even maintained separate sets of interment records. These vast tracts are divided from one another by thick stone walls and rusted iron fences.

On the BQE, one reaches the pinnacle of the highway, the Kosciuszko** Bridge, which allows a panoramic view to survey the bleak and almost endless landscape of the dead interspersed amongst dilapidated factory buildings and smokestacks. Such a sight! It’s hard to imagine that this area was once lushly forested and these cemeteries were considered an improvement over the ones in Manhattan!

One passes through and over these cemeteries before stopping to pay the entrance toll for the Queens Midtown Tunnel, which later on in life reminded me of paying Charon to cross the Styx. Heaven was the light emerging from Manhattan at the end of the tunnel. Immediately thereafter, there was life and a sigh of relief. I hated going back in the opposite direction, even if it was to return home.

But the alternate route back home was the Queensborough/59^th Street Bridge (of Simon and Garfunkel fame) and Queens Boulevard which took us beside the Calvary Catholic Cemeteries, rising above the cars, with cobblestone retaining walls supporting green mounds topped by angels and crucifixes. One could literally be buried in traffic!

Virginia

It wasn’t until I first stayed with my father’s family in Virginia, that I discovered what a lovely and illuminating place a cemetery could be. Considerate relatives who acted as guides and teachers helped me to realize that a cemetery was a tangible family tree, a time capsule, and a history book in marble, granite, slate, and sandstone; each marker became a chapter and perhaps a piece of a puzzle. They brought the cemeteries to life!

My fears concerning death subsided.

Perhaps it’s a Southern thing, bringing children to cemeteries to discover and explore one’s roots. It’s looked upon as a pleasant outing for a fine day!

My first outing was an intergenerational affair with venerable and affable cousins relating stories peppered with humorous anecdotes about family members who had ‘passed’. My parents were divorced and it was deemed the responsibility of my father’s family to fully bring me into the fold and get me up to speed with their side of the family. Virginians are passionate genealogists and take pride that they can rattle-off the precise connections between family members. (I know what a double first cousin is and am able to explain, once-removed!) Relationships amongst family members became clearer. The deeply personal ways my cousins described their loved ones, our shared ancestors, family contributions to this nation, and the many expressive gravestones, was not only was enlightening, but it served to crystallize my place and purpose in the context of the family.

Considering that several of these cousins were over eighty and ninety years old in the early 1960’s, it is not inconceivable that first hand stories could span over 150 years. Indeed many of my raconteurs were Spanish American War and WWI veterans; their own fathers were Mexican War and Civil War veterans! One cousin had escorted Teddy Roosevelt to the podium for the President’s address to his West Point graduating class!

I will speak first of our ancestors, for it is right and seemly that now, when we are lamenting the dead, a tribute should be paid to their memory. There has never been a time when they did not inhabit this land, which by their valor they will have handed down from generation to generation, and we have received from them a free state. Pericles: Funeral Oration

As a result, this native-born Yankee expects to be permanently transplanted near my father in one of our family cemeteries near Hague, Virginia. I’ll be in the shadow of an obelisk marking a Confederate General who also served in the U.S. Congress both before and after, 'The Wahr’. There is something comforting about knowing where one’s final resting place will be. This may be apocryphal, but it has been said that several Southern marriage proposals begin with, “Would you like to be buried with my people?” I'm apt to believe that.

Two of our three local family cemeteries are beautifully maintained and would be attractive to a prospective spouse, but regrettably, the third is ignominiously overrun by a jungle of locust trees, poison ivy, honeysuckle, and kudzu; its monuments are broken, sunken, askew, or lost. The cemetery itself is half buried, and the inhabitants practically forgotten. This is a shameful state of affairs but I don’t have the power to correct this. Unfortunately, as our family members dwindle, so do the memories of these neglected antecedents and the exact location of each plot. However, even in our well-maintained and documented cemeteries, there are sections where the markers (many them were temporary to begin with) are lost, so we have no idea who is buried there or even where they are within the boundaries of the cemetery. It has been impossible to consult any records, since there are none extant; so many were lost was a result of war and fire.

THE CIVIL WAR AND ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY:

I’m sure President Lincoln was also aware of the decay of cemeteries during his lifetime. Those whose families could not afford expensive stones risked having the wooden markers rot and disappear. As people moved westward they abandoned their cemeteries, and many of the trails they traversed still contain numerous unmarked graves. Churches and churchyards were engulfed and devoured by the encroachment of the growing towns and cities. Some were vandalized.

The horrific number of dead soldiers, many of them unknown, required vast amounts of land to be acquired in order to accommodate them. Interring the remains honorably and marking the graves permanently, as well as accurately as possible, was a priority for the President during the War Between the States. After all, these soldiers had died in defense of the Union and should be treated accordingly. Notice, I said, 'Union'.

This passage of the President’s brief remarks at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg sums up his view:

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our power to add or detract.

Yes, a cemetery is a holy place.

President Lincoln relied upon his Quartermaster, General Montgomery C. Meigs, for a solution.

General Meigs and his son, John

General Meig’s deliberate decision to confiscate the property of the 'rebellious' Lee family at Arlington plantation directly across the Potomac River from the White House has been attributed to revenge. Col. R.E. Lee USA, was seen as a traitor to the Union, and despite the fact that Lee himself, did not own the property, it was punishment for his entire family’s primary loyalty to Virginia and the Confederate cause. Ostensibly, the subsequent justification of the confiscation of the property by the government was unpaid property taxes, which the family had endeavored to pay before the Lee women were compelled to move, but their efforts were repeatedly rejected by the respective government agents.

Meigs was a Son of the South but viewed the conflict differently from Lee; he was a fervent Unionist who detested the Confederacy and held General Lee in contempt.

As a result of General Meigs’ recommendation, Arlington National Cemetery was created in 1864 as a cemetery, military post. and freedmen’s village. By his direction, the first twenty-six graves were placed around the perimeter of Mrs. Lee’s prized rose garden, a direct insult, so the Lee family would never return.

Later that year, the war became more personal to him; his son, John Rogers Meigs was killed at Swift Run Gap, VA (near Harrison in the Shenandoah) under disputed circumstances. Lt. Meigs had graduated from West Point, first in his class, less than two years before; he was twenty-three years old

He was found lying in the road, service revolver at his side, and surrounded by the imprints of horses' hooves, indicating that he had been trampled after death. Gen. Meigs was not only heartbroken, but was incensed that his son, who was an officer, was so abused; it was intolerable. Unable to reconcile his son’s death to the context of a casualty of war, he hired private investigators to hunt down the murderers. In reality, there were over 12,000 Union lieutenants amongst the over 600.000 who lost their lives, in one way or another, during the course of the Civil War; Gen. Meigs would not have been the only parent who had lost a child to war.

Eventually, General Meigs had his son’s remains transferred to Arlington and ordered a bronze effigy to remind people of his son’s inglorious end at the hand of the rebels. Even the hoof prints can be seen beside the lifeless body. The continued hatred he harbored for Robert E. Lee was unbounded

Lt. Meigs, on the other hand, continues to rest in the shadow of his parent's sarcophagus along with his illustrious Rogers ancestors, in a peaceful, grassy, and wooded area.

EPILOGUE:

Because I have never forgotten my initial fear of cemeteries, I endeavor to make my students’ first experience, a pleasant and meaningful one. There is beauty, history, and great humanity to be found in all of them.

But Lt. Meigs' effigy has become the most important teaching moment for me while I am conducting student groups through Arlington National Cemetery. The poignant nature of the circumstances surrounding his death, and his father’s connection to Arlington and Robert E. Lee brings a very human element to the cemetery. The thousands of uniform white stones in endless rows, the impressive monuments, the imposing historic mansion, the dignified Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, and the simplicity of the Kennedy graves cannot match the impact of this tribute to a beloved, fallen son. Young Lt. Meigs helps to put everything into perspective for students. It is where I am part of the most profound discussions of the entire educational program.

As a result, I start my tour of Arlington counter-clockwise, crossing in front of the Women in Military Service Memorial, so we can visit Arlington House and Lt. Meigs first. It is my prelude to the rest of the cemetery, although I also pass Medgar Evers, Gen. Omar Bradley, President Taft, and Robert Todd Lincoln to get there.

The addition of poetry (Bivouac of the Dead, In Flanders Field, and High Flight, as well as stories of heroism i.e. John Lincoln Clem and Audie Murphy, the examination of virtues such as service and sacrifice, round out the program, bringing this cemetery to life.

And rather than as casual visitors or tourists, we bond and become members of a greater, national family, to pay our respects.

No, you can’t get that from a tram tour.

POSTCRIPTS:

Because national cemeteries were created for the Union dead, countless Southern widows and mothers. realizing that their cemeteries would neither be maintained nor respected by the victors, introduced a movement to honor the fallen Confederates by annually refreshing cemeteries and placing flowers on the each grave of their glorious dead. Originally referred to as, Decoration Day, we now observe it as, Memorial Day, extending it to all our war dead. It is a time when Americans are invited into cemeteries to acknowledge the sacrifices made on our behalf.

Arlington National Cemetery is also our fourth family cemetery; my grandfather, who died nearly twenty years before I was born, is buried in the Spanish American War section. Since I do not have my own children, I have continued the family tradition by relating stories to my nephew of relatives whom I knew, and whom have since. ‘passed’. Memorial Day has become the time for our yearly pilgrimage. (It should be pointed out that my brother did not have children either, so our family name dies with us.)

Recently, I have come to terms with those vast necropolises of Brooklyn and Queens; after my first visit to them, I became addicted. They contain not only American history, but social, art history, and in some cases, even humor. But there they are, stark and solid against the sky.

And these sepulchral stones, so old and brown,

That pave with level flags their burial-place,

Seem like the tablets of the Law, thrown down

And broken by Moses at the mountain’s base

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Jewish Cemetery at Newport

One day I hope to find a tour guide who knows Hebrew to decipher the headstones and monuments of the great Jewish ghettos of the dead. I will bring as many of my own stones as I can carry to mark these forlorn places as having been visited by the living, according to Jewish tradition. This would bring me closer to my mother's side; most of her cousins and ancestors were victims of various pogroms and the Holocaust; there are no cemeteries for them.

This past April, 72 eighth graders from Rosemont Middle School of La Crescenta, CA, visited Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester to pay tribute to two great Americans by laying wreaths at the graves of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. While it was extremely cold and started to sleet, the students stood respectfully while they listened to the stories told by Dr. David Anderson, an expert on Frederick Douglas, and Mrs. Joan Hunt, President of the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery. It was pointed out that we were the first student group from the West Coast to make this pilgrimage, and perhaps the first to lay wreaths.

In California, cemeteries are streamlined lawns; stones above ground have been outlawed; the students were intrigued by the various sizes, shapes, and inscriptions of the grave markers. As they walked to and from the gravesites, many of them singled out particular stones, discussing them with their friends. I noticed a lot of finger-pointing and photos-taking.

When we were reboarding our bus, one student turned to me and said, “Whoa! This is so awesome! I wish we had more time to visit.”

So did I.

Notes:

*Lt. Meigs had been brevetted as a Major in the Corps of Engineers
**New Yorkers Pronounce the bridge's name:, koss-kee-Oss-koh

This posting was first published in the May 2007 issue of Lost Magazine, an online magazine.

The photo below shows the view from Calvary Catholic Cemetery looking west from Queens across to Manhattan.

Fugitive Profile I: Oney Judge Staines

Fugitive Tales: Ona Judge Staines

In the autumn of 1796, Oney Judge, a slave belonging to a prominent Virginian family, escaped from her master’s temporary home in Philadelphia and made her way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.


Her mother, Betty, was a ‘Dower Negro’ who had belonged to her master’s wife through his wife’s first marriage so technically Betty and her offspring belonged to the mistress of the house. Betty was not only a seamstress, but was expert at spinning thread and weaving cloth. She was a valuable slave who tailored clothes for her master’s family as well as the estate’s servants and slaves.


Oney’s father, Andrew Judge, was a white indentured servant from Leeds, Yorkshire who arrived from England in 1772. Judge gained his freedom after fulfilling his four-year contract and eventually moved from the plantation to try his hand at farming. It is unlikely that Judge married Betty, as such marriages were forbidden in Virginia (and most other states), even if Andrew Judge had purchased Betty’s freedom. Additionally, under Virginia law, children born to slave mothers were considered the property of the slave owner; though Andrew Judge obtained his freedom, it was not extended to his daughter. This was generally an unquestioned and accepted principle of southern plantation life.


Oney grew up as a house slave and learned all the skills necessary to support the daily activities of the home and kitchen. Under the tutelage of her mother, she had become so proficient as a seamstress, that her master described her as being a “perfect Mistress of her needle.” She did not suffer the general deprivations and punishments associated with field slaves. However, she was not given any moral instruction or education. She was intelligent enough though, and in a unique position, to observe how the children and grand children of her master and mistress were given these advantages. A great resentment started to rise within her.


In 1789, her master and his family moved temporarily to New York and Philadelphia respectively, taking many of their trusted house slaves with them, which included Oney. Oney had no choice in the matter and the prospect of abandoning the familiar surroundings of Virginia as well as her family and friends, must have been quite difficult for her.


Her mistress, finding Oney to be of gentle disposition and accomplished, promoted her from the sewing circle to the boudoir. Thus Oney Judge became her mistress’ personal attendant (ladies maid) and her duties included preparing her mistress for official receptions, traveling with her mistress on social calls and outings, and executing daily errands. She met many of the famous people who secured and shaped the new republic.


In this capacity, Oney Judge lived better than 95% of the white population of Virginia!


Because of the vast freedom of movement accorded to her in New York and Philadelphia, Oney made friends with many free blacks and white abolitionists. Fueled by the predominant Quaker sentiments of Philadelphia, her entire outlook on slavery and her own condition was radically altered.


There was no organized Underground Railroad at this time and this was well before the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.


Her master’s business in Philadelphia was coming to an end, and Oney panicked that she would be forced to accompany her mistress back to their home in Virginia. The once longed-for plantation with family and friends awaiting her return, was now viewed as a virtual prison of eternal servitude.


In May, June, or July of 1796, she developed a bold plan with the sympathetic friends amongst the free blacks she had met during her stay in Philadelphia. While she was packing her mistress’ things in anticipation of the move, Oney was packing hers for one of her own. Retelling her story to the New Hampshire abolitionist paper, “Granite Freeman” many years later in 1845, Oney confided, “I had friends among the colored people of Philadelphia, had my things carried there beforehand, and left while (her mistress’ family) were eating dinner.” Once in hiding, the fugitive’s friends walked the docks looking for the first ship sailing north with a captain who would ask no questions about his passengers.


Captain John Bowles, of Portsmouth, allowed Oney to gain passage on his ship, Nancy.


It is not known if Captain Bowles knew that Oney was a fugitive slave, but most historians strongly suspect that he did. It was a kept secret to protect her safety and his life; many slave states equated the harboring and abetting of runaways to an illegal confiscation of property and those found guilty could be sentenced to death.


Oney, now known as Ona, made her home in Portsmouth. It was a bustling seaport. Almost immediately after her flight to Portsmouth, Ona was spotted strolling in Portsmouth by Elizabeth Langdon, who was the daughter of Senator Langdon, and a frequent caller on Ona’s mistress and her mistress' daughter in Philadelphia. On numerous times, Betsy Langdon tried to engage Ona in conversation, but the fugitive evaded her. Miss Langdon most likely informed her father of the encounter and he in turn, contacted Ona’s master.

Now begins an almost improbable correspondence, negotiation, and set of events!

Since Ona’s master believed that she was illegally delivered to New Hampshire, he contacted Joseph Whipple who was Portsmouth’s Collector of customs to seek his help in this matter. In a letter dated September 1, 1796, Ona’s master requested Whipple to, seize her and put her on board a Vessel (sic) bound immediately to this place (the estate/plantation which was on a river), or to Alexandria.”, with a promise to reimburse him of any costs. Whipple set out to locate the fugitive slave. After he had located her, he was so impressed with her character and so convinced of her, “thirst for complete freedom”, that he decided against returning her to involuntary servitude! Whipple wrote back to Ona’s master that he could not arrest her and force her to sail back because, “popular opinion here is in favor of universal freedom’, and that such an act might spawn a demonstration amongst anti-slavery residents. He suggested that the master use the courts rather than the Customs house to retrieve Ona. There was more correspondence between the master and Mr. Whipple, but Mr. Whipple was determined not to do anything that would return Ona involuntarily and he politely refused the master’s request, much to the chagrin of the master.

The master kept pursuing the recapture through various people, including his nephew. During this period, while Ona still did not feel completely safe (nor should she), she met and married a free black by the name of Jack Staines and they had a child. The master’s nephew traveled to Portsmouth with the express mission to kidnap Ona and any of her children and bring them back to Virginia.

Two years after her escape, while her master’s nephew was having supper with Senator Langdon, he revealed his intentions about the impending kidnapping. Senator Langdon immediately sent word via his servant to Ona, who quickly hired a wagon and fled to the neighboring town of Greenland where she and her child went into hiding with a free black family named Jacks. Here she stayed until the nephew left and her husband returned from the sea.

She was not completely free until the death of her master and her mistress two and a half years after the final incident involving the foiled kidnapping.

She had three children, Eliza, William, and Nancy and they all lived together until her husband’s death in 1803. Sadly William left home in the 1820’s to become a sailor, but never returned from the sea. Ona’s two daughters predeceased her and she lived out her life as a pauper.

The ex-slave admitted that her life as a free woman was much more difficult than it would have been had she stayed with her mistress. However, when asked whether she ever regretted leaving the plantation estate, Ona replied, “No. I am free, and have, I trust, been made a child of God by the means.”

She died on February 25, 1848

And who were Ona’s master and mistress?

George and Martha Washington of Mount Vernon.

Note: Much of this was taken from Evelyn Gerson’s Master’s Thesis and The President’s House in Philadelphia site.

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Take your students and family to visit the seacoast of New Hamphire, it's not too far from Boston!

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And since this is Museum Monday, please take a look at the Strawberry Banke Museum in Portsmouth.

Suggested Reading for Middle School:
Taking Liberty:
The Story of Oney Judge, George Washington's Runaway Slave

A biography of Ona Judge Staines by Ann Rinaldi

Simon Pulse, January 2004 Mass Market Paperback, 272 pages ISBN-10: 0-689-85188-XISBN-13: 978-0-689-85188-9 Ages: 12 and up Grades: 7 and up

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Please note: the Wanted Poster depicted is not for Oney Judge. I merely wanted to show you what one for her would have looked like, if one had existed. Unfortunately there are no portraits of Oney that we know of.

Museum Monday #3 - Museum of the Confederacy

The Museum of the Confederacy is being forced out of Richmond!



Richmond's Loss May Be Lexington's Gain - But It's Still A Loss.

What are your views on this?

MUSEUM MONDAY # 1 - Overnight Visits

The current blockbuster movie, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM promises to have the same affect on museum attendance as National Treasure had on Independence Hall and the National Archives.

I'll support anything that gets students interested in history, science, and museums by going out of my way to design a program inserting some components reflecting current movies, TV shows, or music.

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, "Bully!".

Personally, I've had a love affair with museums ever since my mother enrolled me in several hands-on programs offered by various New York museums. For one or two Saturdays a month from the age of 9 through 16, I toured; I touched; I learned about acquisitions and display; and I sketched. I could only imagine what my reaction would have been to an overnight program in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters, The Brooklyn Museum, or The American Museum of Natural History! Pure bliss! (The Cloisters experience would have made me feel like a princess in a castle! And wouldn't a New York Public Library at 42nd Street overnight have been fun! These two are not really offered as overnights, I was just dreaming!)

Most students today don't have this background, or indeed, any experience with museums! They have no idea of how to visit a museum or even how an exhibit is planned, created, and maintained. Students, particularly on their respective class tours to Washington, DC, are routinely and most unceremoniously dumped at one of the Smithsonians on the National Mall; they run aimlessly through the museums until they reach the gift shop, cafeteria, cute students from another school, and/or restrooms. (It's a disgrace that I will tackle in another post at some point.)

Some years ago, while I was working for the pioneer educational tour operator, Educational Field Studies, that, alas!, no longer exists, we considered this problem and the owners decided to initiate a partnership with the Smithsonian Residents Program. The Residents hosted a short presentation in the Arts and Industry Building's, Discovery Theatre, called, The Museum of Me. This presentation was an introduction to museums and the content ranged from finding the artifact, to figuring it out, to fixing it, and featuring it. There was one more, 'f ', but I can't quite remember what it was, but you get the idea!

Unfortunately this program often came after our Smithsonian Museum visits, so I was obliged to introduce this subject to the students before their first museum visit and use the Museum of Me program as a visual reinforcement. They loved creating the, 'Typical American Teenager's Room at the Turn of the 21st Century' from a 22nd Century Perspective'. (Even the Dominoes pizza box pushed under the bed with a moldy, half eaten slice remaining, was included.) They were delighted to consider that their very rooms could be viewed as an exhibit and moment in history! Sometimes I would ask them to design a museum exhibit dedicated to one of their interests and/or collections.

Now with, Night at the Museum, students have become excited about visiting museums, especially the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City (Ross' workplace in Friends!). And the chance to stay overnight has become very appealing to them.

Naturally, these programs are available to a limited number of groups (and the number of participants within these groups may also be restricted), but they should still be investigated as a possibility for your class' Educational Travel Program (ETP). Certainly the cost of a night at the AMNH is less than a quad occupancy room in a New York City hotel!

Invariably, a logistical problem does present itself for many out-of-town groups, particularly if these groups are traveling by air: the sleeping bag. For those who can include one as part of their baggage, fine. But if it seems cumbersome, I would suggest that you make arrangements with a store that is near the museum or facility (Target, K-Mart, Walmart, or discount sporting goods store) to sell you a number of inexpensive sleeping bags ($25 or less) and add it into the cost of the program. Many of these stores can give you a substantial discount if it is for a school trip and there is some volume. And what to do with the sleeping bags after the event? The students can either return with the sleeping bags or donate them to a homeless shelter. (If there are any other suggestions, please feel free to share them, that's what comments are for!)

One overnight experience that does not require sleeping bags is Pamplin Historical Park which is south of Richmond/Petersburg, Virginia in Dinwiddie. It can be easily inserted in a Williamsburg/Washington, DC program.

Not only is Pamplin a wonderful hands-on Civil War park that includes the superb National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, but I can personally vouch for their Overnight Civil War Adventure Camp. To say the overnight camp is awesome, would be an understatement! One of my student groups inaugurated the overnight program.

The visit to the other sites in the park (part of which has been designated a National Landmark) and the museum (interactive with an audio program) can be before or after the overnight experience. A DVD of one of their two films can be purchased in advance to be played either in your classroom or on the bus before arrival; although they do show the film on-site. But why waste the time at a movie when you can be engaged in activities on-site? Curriculum materials and lesson plans are also available through the education department.

I always add in a yummy fried chicken and pulled pork buffet lunch through their food service for the groups, especially after the program; it includes a killer seasonal fruit cobbler!

The military experience starts around 3:00 PM when the new 'recruits receive their uniforms (Union or Confederate - split 50/50) and are mustered in. This is a complete program with both indoor and outdoor activities including drilling, tactics, hands-on discoveries, demonstrations, and a campfire. (The photo above shows Wisteria. one of the historic reenactors, demonstrating a tourniquet in preparation for an amputation. Obviously one of my students thinks this is hilarious!)

The sleeping arrangements vary from a large bunkhouse to pup tents. There are three inch vinyl-covered mattresses which are quite comfortable; a bottom sheet and blanket is provided. (All recruits should bring their own top sheets, pillows, and towels.) During the past two years, I have experienced almost all weather conditions during encampments including torrential rain (twice) and I am glad to report, all remained dry inside huts and tents! Outside, was another story!

The staff are fun and engaging; the program is well-paced and continually keeps the interest of the recruits.

I also suggest all wear long, traditional jeans in any sort of weather or temperature (which not only is practical, but in keeping with historic accuracy), closed shoes (lots of walking and running in tall grass), sweatsuit to sleep in, and bring bug repellent as there are times one is belly to the ground.

Remember that you and your students are going back to the Civil War era. It is important to convey to your students that they need to play the game by following all instructions and orders. There are ways to discipline the troops, but they would prefer not to do that. Fully prepared and cooperative students get the most out of this program.

I am sure that with the popularity of Night in the Museum many more museums will be offering overnight programs to student groups, scouts, and families. Call your favorite museum and ask the education department if one is available, or will be in the future.(And let me know!) If you are contemplating taking your class to the East Coast, you might want to include an overnight program during the course of your ETP. I have been offering overnight programs as part of my East Coast itineraries for a couple of years, and the results have been remarkable!

Below is a sampling of interesting overnight programs:

California:

San Bernardino County Museum Museum Youth Club

San Diego Zoo Roar and Snore

Illinois:

Field Museum - Dozin with the Dinos

Virginia:

Pamplin Historical Park Civil War Adventure Camp

Virginia Air and Space Museum Overnight Program

Washington, D.C.

International Spy Museum Operation Secret Slumber

Philadelphia:

Independence Seaport Museum Seaport Slumber

New York:

Old Fort Niagara A Day and Night in the Fort

American Museum of Natural History - Sleepover

South Street Seaport: Overnight

Connecticut:

Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport Overnight

Massachusetts:

Plimoth Plantation Overnight

Battleship Cove Camp Overnight/Camp Cove

ENJOY!

The Educational Tour Marm