DAY FIVE

On Tuesday we planned to tour Lexington. We changed our breakfast to try the replicate Millie’s ranchero huevos, but it was nowhere near the real thing. US 11 took us past the Pick Cadillac and into downtown Lexington.

The Stonewall Jackson Home and Museum was our first stop. There was a buggy tour stopped out front but this is way too slow for our faster paced sightseeing. It was packed with “blue-hairs” who wouldn’t exert themselves enough to walk 25 feet to the museum.

We walked into Jackson’s backyard garden and it was magnificent. Not in the sense of some of the large formal gardens we have seen, but for its simplistic practicality and variety of period herbs, vegetables and flowers. There was the largest and healthiest rosemary that we have ever seen. Someone sure had a green thumb. Far in the back of the yard was the carriage house and outhouse. In one section a country scarecrow made from a potato sporting large feathers bobbed in the wind as it from a stout branch stuck in the earth.

Admission to the museum and house is $6 per adult and includes a guided tour of the two floors. It was interesting, but the lady showing us around was somewhat stodgy, had an English accent and spoke in very low tones that were hard to understand at times. Nothing spectacular here in the house that Jackson lived from 1859 to 1861. Most of the furniture has replaced the original and the guide will yell at you if you even look like you are going to touch anything. Stick to the outside garden which is free.

We walked the historic downtown streets and peaked in a few shops along the way. Artists in Cahoots has a prime spot on the Main Street and Washington corner. This gallery featured works of more than a dozen local artists. We found the computer parts clocks interesting; old hard drives and cards now made useful once again. Nancy purchased a tile with a dragon painting by Valan Stieler. A nearby novelty shop claimed to have a veggie eating dragon in the back room, but we didn’t see it.

We grabbed a late morning double espresso and made a quick trip to the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery to pay our respects. Having read a biography years ago I had learned a lot about this historic and eccentric man. His gravesite is the centerpiece of the cemetery where two Virginia Governors and 144 Confederate veterans now rest. Even though I had read a great deal about this man I didn’t understand why there were a number lemons tossed into his fenced burial site. A nearby worked told us that Jackson always sucked on a lemon before going into battle and visitors sometimes bring him a few.

A few other facts about the man; Thomas Jonathan Jackson received his nickname “Stonewall” at the First Battle of Manassas when General Barnard Bee yelled, "Look, men, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall!" He was not only one of the bravest officers, often getting right in the line of fire, but was a gifted tactician. Jackson was accepted at West Point, graduated 17 of 59 students, served in the Mexican-American War, and accepted a teaching position at Virginia Military Institute in 1851. He was not a popular teacher since he recited his memorized lessons and never offered additional information or help. Jackson was called to service when the Civil War broke out and was quickly promoted to brigadier general.

And a few oddities; Jackson always thought one of his arms was longer than the other and he would constantly hold the longer arm in the air to equalize circulation. He fell asleep easily, at times even while eating. He sometimes unexplainably led his troops in complete circles.

A famous quote by Jackson to General Imboden: “Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow; for an army routed, if hotly pursued, becomes panic-stricken, and can then be destroyed by half their number. The other rule is, never fight against heavy odds, if by any possible maneuvering you can hurl your own force on only a part, and that the weakest part, of your enemy and crush it. Such tactics will win every time, and a small army may thus destroy a large one in detail, and repeated victory will make it invincible.”

Jackson was wounded three times by fire from Confederate troops who in the dark mistook Jackson and his staff as Union cavalry. Two bullets hit his left arm and one hit his right hand. The left arm was amputated but Jackson succumbed to pneumonia a few days later. His last words were, “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.”

Leaving the cemetery we found our way to the Virginia Military Institute Museum to join the year round daily guided tour at noon. A smartly dressed cadet led the 45 minute tour pointing out some of the most interesting aspects of the campus and its history dating back to 1839. The large parade grounds feature prominent statues of former teacher Stonewall Jackson and former student General George C. Marshall, 4-Star General, US Secretary of State, US Secretary of Defense and Nobel Peace Prize winner 1953. Stonewall’s horse Little Sorrel is buried here, at least most of him. His mounted hide is on display in the VMI Museum.

There are a row of cannons in front of Jackson’s statue, but the one still in use stands alone a few yards distant. It is fired during formal parade ground activities and it has been known to somehow be secretly “loaded” with odd items such as marbles. Across the parade grounds in direct line of fire is the commandant's office which for some odd reason is the only structure on campus with no front windows.

The student dorms, four stories high, are constructed around open courtyards and reminded us of Turkish jails. The new freshmen cadets are known as “Rats” and undergo a physically grueling freshman year. Their rooms are on the top floor. Each lower floor represents another class with seniors on the ground level floor. No civilian clothes are allowed. One of the outside walls of the dorms still bears three cannon balls attesting to how close the Civil War came to the college. Actually most of the buildings were destroyed.

One eight-pound cannon ball rests on a concrete pedestal at the corner of the parade ground. Normally a little larger than a grapefruit, today it is larger than a bowling ball. The Rats over the years have painted it so many times that it probably weighs more than a hundred pounds.

After the tour we explored the VMI Museum. Besides a stuffed Little Sorrel there is the coat Jackson was wearing when he was wounded. There is also a replica of a cadet’s room, Jackson’s teachers desk, Civil War displays, and memorials to students and teachers who lost their lives serving our country. A visit to VMI is well worth the trip.

We fueled and headed north out of Lexington to find a back road to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a cool down and picnic lunch. Taking US 11 we turned left onto Old Buena Vista Road and hung a left onto Jordan Road. A sign should have been enough warning, “State Maintenance Ends”. Here the road turned to gravel, but we can negotiate that. Another half mile and the road was gated. The GPS units are not always right.

Backtracking we took US 60 once again passing the “coffee pot” building and then climbing to the BRP. We found a quiet pull-off with a nice shaded area to relax. In a matter of minutes three cars pulled-in to spoil out quietude.

It was still early so we took-off to the north and took Nettle Creek Road to the west. This was gravel, but well maintained. We soon hit pavement at Irish Creek Road and followed it and the creek to the west for eight miles. We did find a nice creek side stopping place, a high trail overlooking the water where we could spot the trout below. From South River Road we wandered the country roads returning to Lexington.

It was our last night in Virginia so we stopped and bought a couple of extra thick chops to celebrate.

This trip made us realize how dreadful the Civil War had been. From the many graves we saw, to the personal stories of tragedy, to the memorials of battles, to the museum displays ….. one must wonder how we ever got into that mess in the first place. It was not just about slavery, but mainly over states rights. Someone should have stopped it.

Sometimes we wonder if the country is not heading into another avoidable catastrophe. We need to look really hard at who we vote for in the coming years and pray they can prevent it.