Philadelphia  Valley Forge   Gettysburg   

2009

Driving from Columbus to Philadelphia in Loris' little Volvo was a little cramped.  Of course most of our trunk space was taken up by snacks... just in case.

We stopped at Valley Forge on our way into Philly.  Dave was ready to stretch his legs after 8 hours in the car.  Anthony Wayne... 

Lori, Jeremy and Regina at The Valley Forge Memorial Arch 

Arch detail  

We probably didn't spend the time looking around that the park deserved.  Of course Dave got to tell his infamous park story.

We then checked into the Holiday Inn Express on Walnut street.  It was a great location for walking around town.  Lots of interesting restaurants and bars nearby.  An interesting spot was the Comcast building with its huge HD video wall. 

It was a short walk to the Comcast Building after we had dinner at the Italian Bistro on Broad Street.    The famous LOVE sculpture on the way. 

It was only a 10 minute walk to the historical district downtown.  The tower of Independence Hall.    Where it all happened 

  Jeremy was a good sport  

The historic area was real interesting.  By the end of the afternoon, we had overdosed on historical knowledge.

We needed some downtime from the 1700's, so we headed out to a Phillies baseball game.  We had the pleasure of riding along with people (girls) going to the Jonas Brothers concert.  The subway was packed.

It was an easy ride to the stadium as the last subway stop is the sports complex . . . so it makes it hard to miss your stop.  There was a short rain delay.

This is Lori and myself on the famous steps of the Art Museum.  Yes, Lori ran up the steps.  She was a little out of breath. The Museum has lots of neat things. The Armory collection was impressive. Boat house row is behind the museum.  The view is nice and Fairmount Park are worth going around the back to experience.

Regina and Jeremy in front of Rocky at the Art Museum.

GETTYSBURG

The North Carolina Monument

This is the approximate area that John B Ford fell in the battle of Gettysburg.

John B. Ford enlisted in the CSA Army on May 9, 1861 at age 28 as a private in Company "G" 6th Regiment NC Infantry Volunteers at Rutherfordton, NC.  He was promoted to Sergeant on July 25th 1861 by special order of Colonel Lee and appointed Color Bearer for the Regiment.  On November 14, 1861, his regiment was changed to the 16th Regiment NC Infantry - State Troops.  On August 2, 1862, he was elected to the office of 2nd Lieutenant and sometime  thereafter was temporarily transferred from Company "G" to command Company "H" during the absence of its officers.  He was wounded December 13, 1862 at Fredericksburg VA and admitted to General Hospital No. 1 in Richmond VA on the 15th where he remained until January 5th when he received a 30 day furlough to recuperate.  He returned to the rolls of his own company in February 1863.  He became a casualty of the action at Gettysburg PA on July 1, 1863 and died two days later on the 3rd of July.

The battlefield looking towards the town of Gettysburg from the Confederate view point.

The vantage point from the Pennsylvania monument.