Here are some (terribly belated) pictures of our trip to the Fredericksburg Battlefield and Chatham. I’m sorry it’s taken so long; Flickr hasn’t been uploading my pictures quite right.
Hill on which the Confederates fought
Part of the original wall
The Innis House, which still has bullet holes from the battle in its walls
One of the bullet holes in the Innis House
Inside the Innis House, where several bullet holes are also visible
The Union Cemetary, which is hidden away behind the battlefield (unlike the Confederate one, which is in the center of town). I'm a little ashamed to say that this was a recent discovery for me.
Hill overlooking the Union Cemetary. It really is way back away from everything.
Cannons just outside the Union Cemetary
Grave of an unknown soldier.
Chatham House, where the military hospital was. It's much changed since Whitman saw it.
The gardens at Chatham. These were added in the 1920s, in an effort to bring back the estate to its colonial roots.
The garden was kind of a testament to just how much things have changed since the Civil War.
Graffiti on the walls in Chatham
More graffiti
These are the same Catalpa trees that Whitman observed the amputated limbs by in "Speciman Days." Definitely the best part of the trip, especially since our guide had prepared a specical Whitman reading by them for us. This was also one of the places where I felt the most connected to Whitman, especially since everything else is so changed.
All right. That’s all for now. I have a written post that I’m finishing up; I’m just tweaking it so that I say exactly what I want to say in it. It’ll be here before we go to DC. I cross my heart.