Beautiful Historic Virginia Part 1

 My parents' "trip to the Gordonsville area of Virginia, you'll find particularly interesting the photos of Montpelier, James and Dolly Madison home near Orange, Virginia. James Madison was the father of the US Constitution. There's lots about the home and the land surrounding it. During the Civil War the Confederates camped over much of it, after Gettysburg this is where the Confederate Army had the great religious revivals, they were searching for the inner strength to fight on, that God was on their side. Gen. Jeb Stuart had one of his famous balls at Montpelier in the Madison house. In order to stop desertion of Confederate soldiers after Gettysburg 10 members of the 3rd North Carolina who had deserted and were headed home were captured and tried and executed there, very sad. Archaeologists are excavating Confederate winter camps on the surrounding land. At the entrance to Montpelier is a restored train station with its colored entrance and "separate but equal" waiting room, back in the old days of my youth it was still common to have both a white and colored entrances to some places in the South especially bars and restaurants."

  During the Civil War the town of Gordonsville, Virginia was extremely important to the economy and war effort of the Confederacy because of its railroad and road systems. In Gordonsville is one of the very few remaining Civil War hospitals. After the great battles in the northern part of Virginia train load after train load of dead and wounded soldiers were brought through Gordonsville for distribution to hospitals in Richmond or other hospitals in cities and towns further south, the hospital in Gordonsville was filled with wounded throughout the entire war.

 University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia