Day 9-Civil War Battlefields near Richmond

Sunday-May 11-Mother's Day 

Our campsite at Pocahontas State Park.

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful momas!  I think you've earned more than just one day.

Our plan today was to visit two different Civil War battlefields in the Richmond area.  Although these two battlefields are very close geographically, the battles took place more than two years apart.

Our first stop was the Gaines Mill Battlefield which took place on June 27, 1862.  This was one of several battles that took place over seven days. There were over 15,000 casualties between the Union and Confederate armies in this battle, making it the second bloodiest battle in the Civil War at that point, with Shiloh being the worst.  This was the Conferates first victory over the Union, giving them a lot of confidence.  Robert E. Lee lead the confederates in this battle and John Porter lead the Union forces.

This was the home of Sarah Watt, who with her husband managed a mid-sized plantation with approximately 25 slaves  The Union General Porter seized this house from the Watts and used it as his command center.  The home was badly damaged during the battle and according to Sarah's grand daughter there wasn't a spot bigger than your hand that wasn't covered in blood.  Sarah never returned to her home.

This photograph was taken weeks after the battle.  It's hard to tell, but there are skulls and many decomposed bodies that were just left to rot.  As a result of this battle, national cemeteries were created to bury the dead.

One of the open fields where the fiercest fighting took place. Over 5,000 confederates died here, and George Picket, of Picket's Charge, was wounded here.

Only a few miles to the north of Gaines Mill is the Cold Harbor Battlefield which took place on June 1-3, 1864.  Both Lee and Grant commanded their respective armies.  The Union Army suffered 6,000 casualties in less than one hour, and this battle was significant because it allowed the Confederates to block Grant's path to Richmond. After the war Grant often commented that he was most troubled about the number of men lost with the Union essentially gaining nothing.

Leaving Cold Harbor we returned to downtown Richmond for a late lunch/early dinner at a funky restaurant appropriately called Supper-Lunch.  Arriving around 3:30 pm, we luckily only had to wait 5 minutes which was great since it was Mother's Day.

Joni's doctor has her on a limited alcohol regime, so she has to be very selective in picking her drink for the day.  She ordered a mule, I opted for a Two Hearted Ale which is brewed in Michigan's UP.  For our main courses Joni ordered fried chicken with waffles and i ordered shrimp and grits.  Both were yummy.

Krispy Kreme bread pudding with vanilla ice cream.  It too was yummy.

We made it pack to our campsite by 7 pm, so we had a relaxing evening at our campfire.