USA – Page 82 – Kevin's America

Greeneville TN

Home of President Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States. President Johnson was sworn in as president when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865.

This is one of two homes in Greeneville that Johnson lived in.

This is the other. He lived in each home about the same amount of years.

This is a replica of the house in Raleigh NC where President Johnson was born. The original house no longer stands. He was born into poverty.

This is a replica of Johnson’s tailor shop, which is inside of the museum.

President Lincoln added Johnson to the ticket for the 1864 election. Lincoln, a Republican, chose Johnson, a southern Democrat in an effort to unite the nation as the Civil War was drawing near an end.

After Lincoln died, Johnson was sworn in using this Bible.

President Johnson was a conservative, constitutionalist…

President Johnson was the first US President to be impeached. The Republican-controlled Congress opposed virtually everything Johnson did. Congress passed a law called the Tenure of Office Act, which essentially tried to disallow the president from removing his cabinet members. Johnson vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode his veto. The president went ahead and fired Secretary of War Stanton, believing the act to be unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson, which is a political action that is similar to an indictment in the criminal justice system. The trial in the Senate, requiring two-thirds vote to convict and remove Johnson from office, voted 35-19 to convict and remove, which was one vote short of removal!

Senator Edmund Ross of Kansas cast the final, and deciding vote, against convicting President Johnson.

Monument and grave of President Andrew Johnson.

Orange County VA

So we took advantage of a beautiful Presidents’ Day holiday this year, and went to Orange County, home of one US President and birthplace of another.

MONTEBELLO

MONTPELIER

This is a beautiful house! Maybe even more impressive than Monticello!

This is the view from the front porch at Montpelier.

President Madison’s bed in his later years, when he was too weak to walk upstairs.
This is also the room that he died, June 28, 1836, six days short of July 4, the day that Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on. He was last signer of the Constitution to die.
One of his nieces asked him “What is the matter?”
His last words were “Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear.”

This is the room where James Madison wrote the United States Constitution.
Actually, he carefully drafted a proposal to replace the failing Articles of Confederation. He took his proposal to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, and as discussions progressed, became know as the Virginia Plan, which was mostly adopted with a few changes based on ideas from other states. Virginia was the tenth state to ratify the new constitution in 1788, and the current United States form of government was launched!

Outbuildings, such as smoke houses and slave quarters

A pitcher honoring President Madison, misspelled “Maddison”.

President Madison was our shortest president. When I first started studying about the presidents, I read that he was 5’1″ tall, and when I reached that height in fourth grade I was very proud to be as tall as a president! Now, depending on whose research you read, President Madison’s height was anywhere from 5’1″ to 5’6″.

Graves of President James Madison and First Lady Dolley Madison.

Shortly up the road from Montpelier is this house, which was the home of freed slave George Gilmore, who built it in the 1860s.

MONTPELIER STATION

Interesting scene here. Notice the signs above the doors. This is what life in the south was like during Jim Crow.

This is the room for the “colored” people.

This is the much larger room for Whites.

JAMES MADISON MUSEUM

A horse-drawn Rockaway carriage from the 1880s.

President James Madison’s favorite chair

Everything in the picture belonged to President Zachary Taylor:
Bed, grandfather clock, general’s chest and chair.
Although born in Virginia, President Taylor grew up near Louisville, Kentucky.
He enlisted int he US Army in 1806 and eventually rose in the ranks to brigadier general. He fought in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, second Seminole War, and finally the Mexican-American War, during which he emerged as a national hero for winning the Battle of Buena Vista even though outnumbered 4 to 1. As a national hero, he won the 1848 presidential nomination from the Whig Party, and then the presidency. He died in office in 1849, elevating Millard Fillmore to the presidency.

The museum holds a pretty large collection of arrowheads, and Indian tools, as well as ancient rock drawings.

The town of Orange once had a very busy silk mill, and there are artifacts from that mill in the museum. This ball of silk would be spun into silk thread one mile long!

RAPIDAN VA

Driving through the countryside of Orange County, we passed through the little village of Rapidan, which spans the Rapidan River, and rests in both Orange and Culpeper Counties.
This is the Waddell Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1874 in the Carpenter Gothic style with board and batten siding.

This is the Rapidan Schoolhouse, built in 1887 for the rector’s eight children. It was later used as the town library.

MITCHELLS VA

This is Mitchells Presbyterian Church in Mitchells, Virginia. This is the village where my father was born in 1925.

These are the graves of my grandparents.

These are the graves of my great-grandparents.

CULPEPER VA

This memorial park is located in the town of Culpeper.

Dedicated to Culpeper County natives who have served in the US military.

These stones honor my father’s five brothers who served in World War II.

Civil War battlefield at Brandy Station.
This battle on June 9, 1863, the largest cavalry battle of the entire Civil War, lasted for one day, as the Union forces slowed down (but did not stop) General Robert E. Lee’s progress toward Gettysburg, and the battle that would occur there on July 1-3.

We finished our day here at the Frost Cafe in the town of Culpeper.
They have the best fried chicken!

George Washington’s Mount Vernon

After all these years we FINALLY made it to Mount Vernon!

Entrance with the circle drive. Again, we visited a landmark that was hidden by scaffolding! They are doing some structural rehabilitation on this side.

This is the porch that faces the Potomac River.

Potomac River from Mt Vernon’s front porch

Tulip Poplar planted by George Washington in 1785.

The ballroom, where the Washingtons entertained.

Mirror actually owned by George Washington.

George and Martha Washington’s bedroom. George died in this bed in 1799. Martha closed the door and never slept in this room again. She died in 1802.

The actual key from the French Bastille. This was a gift to George Washington from French Marquis de Lafayette.

The museum was very full and informative. There are several videos that are very well done.
This is a scene of young George Washington as a surveyor

Revolutionary War General George Washington on his horse

George Washington’s actual dentures. They were not wood, but a combination of human and cow teeth, and elephant ivory!

George and Martha with grandchildren “Washy” and Nelly

As our nation’s first president, Washington was certainly self-aware of his importance in the country’s future and continuity.

So it looks like people have been rubbing Washington’s nose, so…

… since we did it with Abraham Lincoln, why not Washington?!

We made it home Thursday night. It is hard to believe we were gone two weeks and packed so many things into each day. We saw so much of the beauty of God’s creation, and so much history! America is such a great country! This trip we crossed twelve presidents off the list! And five state capitols!

And all five Great Lakes!