HISTORIC PIDDLIN' IN A CORNFIELD

 

Many of you know that I have a propensity for piddlin. One of the thing I like about Piddlin’ is you never know what you might find around the bend. A few days ago, when I was out piddlin in Virginia’s Northern Neck I visited a Historical Site that not many people even know it exist.  Now, I had previously visited the more well-known historical site here, places like Stratford Hall the Birthplace of Robert E. Lee, and George Washington’s Birthplace on Pope’s Creek. 

Well, on this particular day, I didn’t really have a plan. I was just driving around looking for Brown Signs and seeing what I could find. While I was having lunch at one of the local café’s I was chatting with a couple of gentlemen sitting at a nearby table. I told them I was looking for history and they told me about a couple of local museums in Warsaw in King George. Then one fellow said, “You might want to check out the Burnt House Field. It’s off the beaten path but if you like history you might find it interesting.”

After they left, I did a little research and quickly realized that I had to check it out. So, away I went and a little over an hour later, I found myself in the middle of a cornfield. Here in this cornfield is a small graveyard protected by a brick wall and an iron gate. 

What is so special about this small cemetery in the middle of a 100-acre cornfield? Well, let me tell you. This was the site of Mount Pleasant, the ancestral home of one of Virginia’s Most prominent and historic Families. The Lee Family of Virginia. 

GRAVE OF RICHARD "THE SCHOLAR"

Mount Pleasant was built in the late 1600’s and was the home of Colonel Richard Lee and his wife Laetitia Corbin Lee. Laetitia died in 1706 while Richard Lived until 1714. Richard had one of the largest libraries in the Colony of Virginia, and he spent his entire life reading studying and writing in Greek, Hebrew, or Latin. It was because of this that he was known as "Richard the scholar" Richard and Laetitia were laid to rest here in what was the garden of their Mount Pleasant Home.

 

GRAVE OF THOMAS LEE

Their son Thomas Lee inherited Mount Pleasant and when it burnt to the ground in 1726, Thomas began construction of Stratford Hall a few miles away.  It was at Stratford Hall that Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee were born and a generation or two later General Robert E. Lee was also born there. 

These two brothers, Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot, would be leading voices in the colonies’ fight for independence. It was Richard Henry Lee, as a representative in the Continental Congress, that put forth the motion that declared our independence from Great Britain. His motion read in part, “Be it resolved, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”  A few years later when it came time to sign the Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee and his brother Francis Lightfoot Lee were

GRAVE OF RICHARD HENRY LEE

the only bothers to sign the Declaration of Independence. Richard Henry Lee went on to be elected the 6^th president of Congress under the Articles of Confederation, serving from January 11, 1785, until November 23, 1785. Richard Henry Lee died on June 19, 1794, and is buried here with his parents, Colonel Thomas Lee and Hannah Harrison Lee. Also buried here is George Lee and his first with Judith and his second wife Anne. who was the widow of Lawrence Washington, the ½ Brother of George Washington. Now one more question that you are bound to ask. Why the name “Burnt House Field.”  Well, you see after the original house burned in 1726, people began referring to this small graveyard as “The Graveyard in the Burnt House Field.” Today resting here in what was once the gardens at Mount Pleasant are several members of the Lee Family resting here including: 

Richard Lee and his wife & Laetitia Lee (Grandparents of Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee)

Colonel Thomas Lee and his wife Hannah (builder of Stratford Hall)

Richard Henry Lee (Signer of the Declaration of Independence)

George Lee, His first wife Judith and his second wife Anne (widow of Lawrence Washington) 

Wow, what a day this was. Sometimes piddlin’ really pays off and today was one of those days. Who would have ever thought that I would find so much History in the Middle of a cornfield in rural Westmoreland County Virginia.

LOCKED OUT AGAIN

 

Well, It happened again. I got locked out of my Blogger account again. I don’t know why this keeps happening, but after several weeks of trying I was able to get a secure link, that allowed me to change my password and log back in. So here I am.

Before I get too happy about being back, I am going to post this little update on what has been going on this summer. If this goes well with this update, I plan on completing my March Madness Adventure in the next few days.

While I have been traveling some this summer, most of my trips have been about a week in length with no long mega adventures taken or planned. I have already started looking at taking one or maybe even two long adventures next year.

I am really looking at taking another Long-Distance Amtrak Vacation. Back in 2018 I traveled from Roanoke to Phoenix, Arizona on Amtrak and enjoyed it tremendously. Since then, we have dealt with the fallout and changes brought about by COVID.

One of the major changes that was implemented by Amtrak was they discontinued the traditional dining on most of their east coast routes, including the Capitol Limited, the Cardinal and the two silver routes to Florida.

Instead of Tradition dining they have implemented something they call the Flexible dining menu, which is basically microwave airplane meals. My experience with Amtrak is the Traditional Dining is exceptionally good while the Flexible Menu is average at best.

However, Amtrak recently announced a major change to its east coast service. Currently Both of the Silver Service trains, The Silver Star and the Silver Meteor originate in New York and Travels through Washington, D. C and on down to Miami Florida. These trains operate on a daily basis in both directions.

The Capitol Limited also originates in New York and travels through Washington, D. C. and then on to Chicago.  It also operates daily in both directions.

Effective November 9, 2024, the Capitol Limited and the Silver Star will be merging into a single train and renamed “The Floridian Both the Capitol Limited and The Silver Star names will be retired.

As I said, the Floridian will be daily service, and it will not feature an observation car, but it will feature the return of Traditional Dining. For the time being It will be the only direct daily train service from Chicago to Miami and South Florida.

That could change as there is talk of a new route from Chicago to South Florida through Indianapolis, Nashville, Atlanta and into Florida either terminating in Tampa or continuing to Miami. But that new route may be years away.

There are two Amtrak Trips that I am contemplating for 2025. One is to take the New Floridian (Old Capitol Limited) from Washington to Chicago and then all the way to the San Francisco Area on the California Zephyr. This is Amtrak’s most scenic route as it travels through both the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.

My second option is riding the Cresent from Washington down to New Orleans. I would then rent a car and spend several days in New Orleans, South Louisiana and Mississippi. I would then take the “City of New Orleans” from New Orleans up to Chicago.  Once in Chicago I can spend a few days running around Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois before taking “The Cardinal” back to Washington and then home.

In addition to Amtrak, I am also looking a taking another bus trip in 2025.  However, if I do travel by bus, I think that I will be giving Abbott Tours a try. While I have enjoyed my previous trips on Sunshine Tours, their prices have become a little outrageous.

The Canyonlands Trip that I took with Sunshine in 2023 was priced about $5,600. Basically, that same trip with Abbott would have cost me about $4,200 traveling as a single.

One of the Abbott Tours that I am looking at is a 12-day (11 night) trip to New Mexico and the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. The 2024 cost for a single is just a little over $2,900.

Another Abbott adventure that I am looking at is a 19-day (18 night) trip through Wyoming, Utah, Las Vegas, Arizona and New Mexico. This 18-night adventure is priced in 2024 for just over $4,600.

Those are just a couple of adventures that are on the table for 2025. If I am allowed to post this to my EBlogger site and not get locked out again, I will finish up my March Madness Trip and move on to my other 2024 Summer Adventures.