The Story of America – Thru my eyes

Today is Independence Day. Our nation is 249 years old, what stories brought us to this day? Who are we, and why are we the way we are? We fought for freedom so many times, the Revolutionary War, Civil War, the Alamo, and more! This is the perfect day to reflect on our nations journey. Here is my story of America, through my eyes and travel over the years. This is just a fragment of things that happened, This is my snapshot.

Cahokia Mounds

Westerners were of course not the first arrivals to our nation. It doesn’t take a trip very far south from where I live to learn about one of the first cities in the US. At Cahokia Mounds, it is truly mind boggling that an entire Native American City, the largest prehistoric Native American site north of Mexico, was located near Collinsville, Illinois. The site covered 4,000 acres and included at least 120 Mounds. Although today the remains of what was and the mystery of why they left are things we wonder about, visitors can come to Cahokia and learn about these Mississippians through the museum and Interpretative center.

Revolutionary History

America fought for freedom with the British, partly in Baltimore Harbor. Francis Scott Key was an attorney that had secured the freedom of another American from the British. They were not allowed off the ship until after the attack on Baltimore. The morning after the battle, Key saw the flag still flying at Fort McHenry and he was so moved that he penned the poem first called “Defense of Fort McHenry”. The song was printed and hit the streets of Baltimore and soon everyone was calling it “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

I came face to face with a replica of the very flag that prompted Francis Scott Key to write our National Anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. We spied the Great Flag at the Star-Spangled Banner House. The flag is an exact replica of the flag that Mary Pickersgill created in the summer of 1813.

The Flag House is located at Mary’s home. As the War of 1812 unfurled, Mary created the 30 by 42-foot flag that Francis Scott Key saw from his view on a British ship the day after the British bombardment of Chesapeake Bay.

War of 1812 and Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial

Did you know that part of the Battle of 1812 occurred on Lake Erie? The beautiful Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial is a huge Doric column. It rises 352 feet and is visible for miles around. The memorial was established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812. It also celebrates the long-lasting peace among Great Britain, Canada and the U.S. The Memorial is situated 5 miles from the longest undefended border in the world.

During the War of 1812 Oliver Hazard Perry commanded American forces on Lake Erie. Commissioning several carpenters, he built nine ships. Two, the Lawrence and the Niagara, were fit for battle.

Battle came in September of 1813. Perry set sail for Put-In Bay to meet the British fleet. Under command of Robert Heriot Barclay, the British expected an easy victory because of their long cannons. This appeared a likely scenario when Americans lost the Lawrence. Perry took the ship’s flag and transferred to the Niagara. Even though things looked bad, they rallied to the cry, “Don’t give up the ship!”

The wind made all the difference moving the British in close range of American cannons allowing them to inflict heavy damage. Americans killed all the commanders of the British ships. Then the British surrendered to Perry. He won this pivotal battle at the young age of twenty-seven.

Perry’s win cut off the British supply lines and forces them to abandon Detroit and changed the outcome of the war. 

Warsaw, Illinois War history

Warsaw, Illinois is site of Two Military Forts. Fort Johnson and Fort Edwards were built on the Mississippi River. Fort Johnson was built by Major Zachary Taylor who became the 12th President of the United States. Built between 1812 and 1814 Taylor is said to have demolished Fort Johnson in 1814.

The former fort today is part of Ralston Park. The Sauk Indians and other Native Americans settled near the fort. They raised corn. Fort Edwards was built in 1817 on the northernmost bluff.

It was built for Ninian Edwards, the first Governor of Illinois. Protecting supplies on the Mississippi River, it later served as a fur trading post. Today the Forts are gone. But, a monument still stands to remind us of the history along the Riverbanks!

The Long Nine a little Lincoln History

The Abraham Lincoln Long Nine Museum has a lot of history. It is located in the historic Colonel Matthew Rogers building in Athens Illinois not too far from New Salem State Park. On August 3, 1837, a banquet took place at the building to honor the “Long Nine” . They are famous for helping obtain approval to relocate the Illinois state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. The nine legislators were called the “Long Nine” because together their height totaled 54 feet, each man was over 6′ tall or taller! The banquet was held in the upper room of the building. 

The CSS Neuse Civil War in Kinston NC

In 2017, I went on a press trip to Kinston North Carolina. The Civil War took its toll on the town of Kinston, North Carolina.  Jan Parson then of the Kinston Chamber of Commerce shared that the state of North Carolina was really on the fence when it came to the War.  “We didn’t want to be in the war.  We were a poor state but between two pillars, Virginia and South Carolina.  There were a lot of Union sympathizers in Kinston. Families were split overall we really didn’t have a dog in the fight.”

Kinston has a significant contribution to the Civil War, a one-of-a-kind history.  The CSS Neuse, is the only ironclad boat still above water. It is on display at the Interpretative Center and there is also a reproduction of this amazing boat as well. 

The Confederate Navy did not have warships, so they decided to build them.  The plan was to build a gunboat and clad it in iron.  Using railroad tracks, the iron found a new use, to coat the gunboats.  The CSS Neuse (named because of the nearby Neuse River) was built in the town now known as Seven Springs NC, It was then floated down the Neuse toward Kinston where she was outfitted with iron, guns and machinery.

The Plan

In April of 1864, Confederate soldiers on the Neuse set out to take New Bern from the Union troops occupying the area.  However, it was a disastrous voyage when the Neuse hit a sandbar. It took 30 days to get it back to port.

The ship had been returned to Kinston and was waiting to sail again when the Union forces headed their way.  Knowing they were outnumbered the crew of the Neuse destroyed the ship, rather than have it go into the hands of the Union forces.

Civil War Surrender

Outside Durham, North Carolina is a farm where a unique event took place.  On April 17, 1865 General Joseph Eggleston Johnston and Major General William Tecumseh Sherman met to negotiate terms of surrender. 

Not long before, on April 9^th, Lee and Grant had met at Appomattox and that I thought was the end of the war. I was surprised to learn that the fleeing Jefferson Davis, after the fall of Richmond had met with Johnston and ordered him to continue the fight.  The remaining army under General Joseph E. Johnston was reassembled and ready to fight until Sherman moved north into the Carolinas following his March to the Sea.   Johnston seeing nothing but guerilla warfare in the future sent a message to Sherman for peace talks and surrendering.

When they were looking for a place to meet, they found the Bennett Farm. The Bennetts were farmers that had never been slave owners. On April 18, 1865, Joseph E. Johnston agreed to surrender the Army of Tennessee.  The agreement was ultimately rejected in Washington which was filled with rage over Lincoln’s death.  Humiliated, Sherman had to again meet with Johnston on April 26, 1865, with harsher terms.  At that time, the surrender included all Confederate forces in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida – 89,270 soldiers in all.

Ironically Johnston and Sherman became close friends after war.

World War II a woman’s war too

Battlefields and generals usually tell the stories of WWII. However, they were not the only participants. Women like Mamie Eisenhower were a riveting part as well. I visited the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home.  Curator William Snyder provided us with a tour. I loved learning the Eisenhower story through Mamie’s eyes. We learned and saw so much about this President that served during wartime as a General, then moved us through the Cold War. What fascinated me though was the story of Maime Eisenhower. What I learned was that without Mamie there may never have been a Dwight.

Mary Geneva “Mamie” Doud was born in Boone, Iowa on November 14, 1896. She was the second child of John Sheldon Doud and his wife Elivera Mathilda Carlson. John was a successful meatpacking executive. Mamie’s childhood was much different than Ike’s, she lived in relative wealth. Her father retired at a 36, and the family moved to Colorado because Mamie suffered from rheumatic fever and the doctors said she would do better in Colorado’s climate. This early illness would still be with her later in her years at the Whitehouse.

Maimie had three sisters losing one Eleanor Carlson Doud, on January 8, 1912, and her younger sister, Eda Mae Doud, died on November 9, 1918. Both were buried in the family cemetery plot in Denver.

The family traveled a lot so while her education was limited, her horizons were expanded. The family traveled to San Antonio every winter in the warmer climate where the family had a home.

Their life together.

Ike and Mamie met at Fort Sam Houston where Ike was based. He just graduated from West Point. Ike took her on a tour of the facility, and he fell fast. He is quoted saying “…a vivacious and attractive girl, saucy in the look about her face and in her whole attitude.”

They had a four-month courtship and became engage on Valentine’s Day 1916. The wedding took place at the Doud home in Denver at noon on July 1, 1916. Over their marriage, she was stationed in the United States, the Panama Canal Zone, France and the Philippines. She estimated that she moved 27 times. Their longest separation was three years! This was while he was in WWII, he served as the supreme commander of the Allied forces in western Europe during World War II. She was said to write him every day during this long, lonely period of time.

She had two sons, losing one.

Mamie helped advance Ike’s career with her unending support, both during the War, and in the Whitehouse. During all their moves over the years, she kept things stable for Ike all the way down to the decorations. Making a house a home, she is a fascinating woman offering a different perspective.

Settling the land, war, invention, expansion, the stories go on and on. But this is a small part of the story of America through my eyes.