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A Fire Terrible In Its Intensity

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Tennessee, Henderson County, Parkers Crossroads

Forrest planned to encircle the Union position with artillery, using his guns to fight the battle rather than engaging his dismounted troops in close small arms combat. When Forrest deployed his troops following the engagement at Hicks' field he ordered a portion of Captain Samuel L. Freeman's Battery to take position here. Major Nicholas N. Cox's Tennessee Cavalry Battalion (dismounted) supported the battery. Freeman's cannon were placed on this low rise, which commanded a comprehensive view of the battlefield. Additional artillery was positioned to the southeast.

These guns proved extremely affective, as Colonel Cyrus Dunham later reported: The enemy at this time had one battery on a ridge in front of and parallel to our line; one on a ridge nearly perpendicular to but beyond our line to the right, so situated as to enable him to concentrate a fire upon several portions of our line and to enfilade a part of it, and his fire had become terrible in its intensity.

The Confederate artillery kept up a constant fire, notwithstanding efforts by the Federals to silence the pieces by shooting down the artillerists at the guns. Dunham twice ordered his right flank units to charge these guns but neither charge succeeded against the deadly fire of double canister. After the second charge faltered, Forrest ordered his troops to advance. The Federal troops fell back to a new position behind a split-rail fence at the edge of the woods visible to the south.

(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Colonel C.C. Slaughter

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Texas, Dallas County, Dallas
Christopher Columbus Slaughter was the first native born cattle king of Texas. While living on the west Texas frontier he was a ranger, Confederate beef supplier, and trail driver. His ranching empire, including the Long S and Lazy S ranches, totaled over one million acres. In the early 1870s he moved to Dallas, where he founded, and was an officer in, three early banks. An initiator of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Assn., he was also noted for his philanthropy to Baptist schools, churches, and hospitals, especially Baylor Hospital.

(Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Charity & Public Work • Industry & Commerce • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

L'Overture Hospital HQ

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Virginia, Alexandria
During the Civil War, 217 was the headquarters of the L'Overture Hospital. It was named after Tousaint L'Overture — Hispaniola's (Haiti) slave revolt leader. Patients were African American Union Soldiers & “contrabands” (escaped slaves). #217 was surrounded by 12 or more buildings and tents for patients, including: surgeon's dispensary, cook house, linen room, heating plant, sutler's, schoolhouse, and a “dead house.” he hospital stretched from the corner of Prince and Payne westward, Troop barracks were across the street. #217 is the only surviving hospital building.

Civil War confiscation of property occurred on January 11,1864 when William Fowle, a large land owner, failed to pay the real estate taxes in person. He feared imprisonment for supporting the Confederate cause.

Private John Cooley, a soldier of the 27th U.S. Colored Infantry (Ohio) was the first black soldier to die in Alexandria, "…died upon entering L'Overture Hospital on May 4, 1864."

On May 17, 1864, Dr, William C. Minor, Surgeon Captain, began working a L'Overture Hospital. Later he murdered an individual in England's seedy side. On April 6th 1872, Dr. Minor was found not guilty of murder being a “certified lunatic.” He was, however, held in permanent custody. While in custody Dr. Minor became a core creator of the Oxford English Dictionary — submitting over 10,000 definitions. (NY Times bestseller, The Professor and the Madman)

On Dec 27, 1864, Surgeon Bentley received a petition signed by 443 L'Overture patients requesting "…the same privileges and rights of burial in every way with our fellow soldiers who differ only in color…" Consequently soldiers where interred in the Alexandria National Cemetery (previously interred in the Freedman's Cemetery).

Nurse Julia Wilbur, who took supplies to Alexandria's Hospital, was instrumental in changing the hospital's conditions after meeting with Surgeon Bentley in L'Overture Hospital.

Former Slaves founded Shiloh Baptist Church in the Hospital's mess hall.

On September 27, 1894, Samuel Reed, builder of #217, was "…found dead at an early hour this morning in a coal yard near the north end of the Long Bridge…close to his fish wharf…two bullet wounds…right cheek…stomach…no pistol was found…it is supposed he committed suicide." (Alexandria Gazette)

Owners of the land include: King Charles II of England (1669), The Fairfax Family, The Alexander Family, Francis Peyton, John Dundas, James Hallowell, William Fowle and Samuel Reed.

This unusual 2 bay Greek Revival style was a twin with #219.
Circa 1850

(African Americans • Science & Medicine • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, GPS coordinates, map.

Home of Dr. James Craik

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Virginia, Alexandria
Close personal friend and family physician of Washington. Surgeon in Braddock's campaign, also with Washington throughout the Revolutionary War. Was at his bedside when he died and received his last messages.

(Colonial Era • Science & Medicine • War, French and Indian • War, US Revolutionary) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Confederate Horseholders

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Tennessee, Henderson County, Parkers Crossroads

Forrest's Cavalry fought dismounted at the Battle of Parker's Crossroads, as was customary. Cavalry depended upon their mounts and military protocol defined how horses were handled in battle. One of every four horsemen remained mounted and took control of the horses of the three dismounted men. The "horseholders" kept to the rear, away from the battle but ready to bring the horses forward if ordered to do so.

The horseholders of Colonel George Dibrell's and Major Nicholas Cox's battalions were in the orchard and field behind the Parker house when Colonel John Fuller's Ohio Brigade came within sight of the battlefield.

Three Ohio Regiments swept down from the ridge and into the fields behind the Parker house while Fuller's gunners rained shot and shell on the Confederate batteries. The Ohioans' quick advance took the horseholders, whose attention was on the apparent surrender taking place ¼ mile south, completely by surprise.

In the ensuing melee, the Confederate horseholders lost control of the mounts and were forced to abandon them. Many of the stampeding horses were later rounded up by Fuller's men.

Lieutenant Colonel Zephaniah S. Spaulding, 27th Ohio, reported, "By order of Colonel Fuller I formed my line on the left of the road, fixed bayonets, and charged down the road and across the open fields which lay between us and the enemy. In an orchard we found a large number of rebel cavalry horses, with equipments, &c., complete, being held by a detail made for that purpose, all of which we captured."

(Inset: Portrait of George C. Dibrell)
"We had about 300 prisoners, and while we were parlaying about a surrender the enemy was re-enforced by General Sullivan with another brigade of infantry, which was firing upon our horse-holders before we were aware of his approach. General Forrest then ordered us to retreat, which we did in much confusion, as our horse-holders were demoralized, and many men captured in trying to get their horses." — Colonel George C. Dibrell, 8th Tennessee Cavalry



(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Wilkes Street Tunnel

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Virginia, Alexandria
The Wilkes Street Tunnel was part of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, founded in 1848 to promote trade with western Virginia. The Orange and Alexandria inaugurated its track in Alexandria on May 7, 1851 with a run to the north end of Union Street to the Wilkes Street Tunnel. Thus, the tunnel linked the railroad to warehouses and wharves along the waterfront. Located nearby, the Smith and Perkins foundry manufactured locomotives for the Orange and Alexandria and other railroads.

Wilkes Street Tunnel is typical of cut-and-cover tunnel construction. Presumably, the tunnel was cut through the bluff overlooking the Potomac River and covered to continue the streets above. After the sides were built up with stone, the arch probably was constructed over wood falsework from both sides using a centering technique to form the brick barrel vault. The tunnel was deepened after World War I to accommodate higher boxcars.

The Orange and Alexandria line was one of the many Alexandria railroads taken over by Union forces at the onset of the Civil War. While this northerly section of the railroad was incorporated into the U.S. Military Railroads, the length of track south of the Rappahannock River remained in Confederate hands.

Both sections played an major role in the strategies of North and South, as well as a decisive element in the Confederate victory at the Second Battle of Manassas or Bull Run. The Wilkes Street Tunnel gave Union Army access to the wharves for shipping military supplies on car ferries south of Aquia Creek, terminus of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad.

Shortly after the Civil War, the old Orange & Alexandria line was incorporated into the Washington City, Virginia Midland & Great Southern Railway controlled by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Wilkes Street Tunnel played a part in the rivalry between the Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads for supremacy in the north-south trade across the Potomac River. The Pennsylvania Railroad acquired Congressional authorization for exclusive use of Long Bridge (14th Street). To maintain a competitive position, Baltimore & Ohio offered trans-Potomac service by way of carfloats linking Wilkes Street with Shepherd's Ferry on the Maryland shore until about 1906.

The Wilkes Street track continued in operation until 1975 when declining industrial activity along the waterfront no longer warranted rail service. The tunnel is significant today as Alexandria's only 19th century transportation site surviving intact.

(Man-Made Features • Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Saint Mary's Catholic Parish

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Virginia, Alexandria
Founded 1795
by
Very Rev. Francis Jonatus Neale, S.J.
of Georgetown College
and Colonel John Fitzgerald, Aide de Camp to General George Washington and one time Mayor of Alexandria

Prior to 1785, the Catholic community of Alexandria assisted at Holy Mass in a log building and later at the home of Colonel Fitzgerald.

The land for the original church at South Washington and Church Streets was donated of March 17, 1788 by Colonel Robert T. Hooe, a protestant gentlemen.
The second church, in Chapel Alley, was acquired from the Methodist congregation in 1810.

The sanctuary and the major portion of the present church were erected in 1826 by the Rev. Joseph W. Fairclough.

Presented the 22nd day of June 1958 by Porto Caravan, Order of Alhambra.

(Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The West End

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Virginia, Alexandria
The area around duke street between Hooff's Run and the base of Shuter's Hill was once known as "West End." Originally subdivided and sold by John and Thomas West in the 1780s, West End became a thriving community well positioned for commerce along the Little River Turnpike (now Duke Street). The City of Alexandria annexed West End in 1915, and eventually its distinctive name was lost. With subsequent annexations, the current western portion of Alexandria became known as West End.

By 1815, a variety of tradesmen had established their homes and businesses at West End. Butchers, tanners, millers, carriage maker, tavernkeepers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, soap and candle makers chose West End for availability of large land parcels outside the town limits and proximity to customers traveling on the thoroughfares. Within the next 100 years, West End residents also engaged in slave dealing, glassmaking, brewing beer, selling dry goods and food, providing water, as well as growing flowers in commercial-scale greenhouses.

"West End--a village joining this city and separated from the Corporation limits by Hooff's Run, is a very old place… We have heard old people say that they remembered when West End, was in one sense, 'a shipping port' for that they have seen a flat bottom boat come up Hooff's Run to the Stone Bridge, land oysters there, and take on board a return cargo " —Alexandria Gazette, September 28, 1868

While some families continued in West End for generations, there was a great deal of transiency among tradesmen. Charles Jones advertised: "... he has again commenced business at WEST END Duke Street....Coachmaking... having a number of steady workmen in different Branches, and all kinds of materials for carrying on his business Extensively." Yet Jones left next year and rented his buildings to James Sheehy for his Soap and Candle Manufactory. Sheehy advertised that he kept "a few thousand weight of hogs lard" on hand. —Alexandria Gazette 2/27/1798; 12/21/1811.

From throughout the region, employers came to West End for Hiring Out Day every New Year's Day until the Civil War. African American "...men, women and children, mechanics, fieldhands, dining room servants... eating, drinking, fiddling and dancing; all their own masters, so far as having the privilege of selecting their homes for the next year goes. —Alexandria Gazette, January 14, 1860.

(sidebar) Several archaeological investigations have been conducted in advance of new construction in West End. Archaeologists have discovered the remnants of homes which lined Duke Street, the West End Brewery, the Virginia Glass Company, Cameron Mills and the burial vault of the West family, for which West End was named. Some of these sites are protected underground. The 60-foot long cellar for cooling beer survives under Duke Street between Dulany and Diagonal streets, and portions of the bottle factory's gas furnaces and flues are under Carlyle Street circle.

The brick structure at 1707 Duke is the last remaining West End building. Constructed as a home in 1819, it is remembered as the "Bruin Slave Jail" where African Americans were brought before transport to southern markets for resale.

(African Americans • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Fuller's Assault

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Tennessee, Henderson County, Parkers Crossroads

Colonel John W. Fuller's Ohio Brigade left Huntingdon well before dawn on December 31. When just north of Clarksburg, around 10:30 a.m., Fuller received orders from Generals Jeremiah Sullivan and Isham Haynie to wait for the rear guard before resuming the march.

Soon afterward, Fuller learned that an enemy patrol had attacked the generals and their escort. Fuller quickly marched toward Clarksburg, where he learned that an enemy patrol had attacked the generals and their escort. Fuller quickly marched toward Clarksburg, where he learned that Dunham's brigade had left some hours earlier. After a ten-minute wait with no word from Sullivan or Haynie, Fuller pressed southward. The brigade had not advanced far when they heard cannonading.

Fuller was within two miles of Parker's Crossroads when he received orders to wait for Sullivan, who was three miles behind him and coming up quickly with the rear guard. Fuller explained the situation to the brigade adjutant, telling him to hurry to Sullivan and request the general countermand his orders. Soon thereafter, Fuller received confirmation that a large Confederate force was between his brigade and Dunham's. Fuller immediately moved south, convinced that Sullivan would approve.

Fuller's Brigade advanced to the battlefield and took position as flags of truce were being passed near the split-rail fence. The 27th and 63rd Ohio formed on the left of the Lexington-Huntingdon Road, the 39th Ohio on the right, while the 7th Wisconsin Battery readied their three cannon on the ridge in front of you. Their approach went unnoticed by the Confederates, who were intent upon watching Dunham's brigade, now split into two isolated remnants, and the Union surrender that appeared to be taking place.

The Ohio Brigade attacked the Confederate gunners and infantry from the rear. Two Union cannon were moved to a position in front of the Parker house while the third, placed west of the road, poured a barrage of shot and shell on the fleeing Confederates. The horseholders of Cox's battalion took the brunt of the initial infantry assault and broke ranks, stampeding in panic. The Confederate victory, so certain just moments before, dissolved in the face of Fuller's timely assault.

(War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

James Bland Homes

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Virginia, Alexandria
Funded by the U.S. Public Housing Administration and built by the Alexandria Housing and Redevelopment Authority (ARHA) between 1954 and 1959, the James Bland Homes was Alexandria's fourth public housing project, and it more than doubled the city's stock of racially segregated public housing units intended for its African American citizens. Alexandria's public housing emerged from an effort to improve substandard or "slum" housing associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal of the 1930s. Many felt that the slums contributed to high crime rates and posed serious public health problems. The James Bland Homes project was preceded on the site by a World War II era federal Public Housing Authority trailer camp established in 1943 for African American residents of properties condemned during a 1941 program of slum clearance in downtown Alexandria. The establishment of the James Bland Homes required the condemnation of 57 parcels in a n area known as "the Hump." Many residents of this historically integrated working class neighborhood fought to preserve or receive fair compensation for their homes.

The design of the James Bland Homes, typical of public housing projects of the period, was influenced by the Modern Movement and included minimal decorative elements and the use of mass-produced construction materials. Joseph Henry Saunders Jr., as student of Walter Gropius and a prolific architect in Alexandria in the 1950s, was the designer. The orderly and open layout of the complex featured courtyards, circulation networks, and recreation areas inspired by the Garden City and Garden Suburb movements of the early 20th century and was designed to contrast to the perceived chaos of the slums that he public housing replaced. The Samuel Madden Uptown public housing, similar to the James Bland Homes, was built in 1945 to the west of N. Patrick Street.

"...when I lived in Bland the people that I knew were very happy to be there. The was a lot o camaraderie. We thought the accommodations were great. People watched out for people's houses. There were times when we didn't lock the door. It was a very folksy neighborhood." —James E. Henson Sr., form oral history recordings owned by the Office of Historic Alexandria.

(African Americans • Charity & Public Work) Includes location, directions, 7 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Alexandria Railroads

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Virginia, Alexandria
Three railroads developed in Alexandria during the mid-19th century, a period of limited industrial expansion for the City. Alexandrians had a invested heavily in the Alexandria Canal which opened in 1843, giving the city access to the rich Cumberland coalfields via the Chesapeake & Ohio canal by 1850. Only then did they begin to invest in railroads, the newer form of transportation, to link Alexandria with the Shenandoah Valley farmland. But the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which reached Harpers Ferry by the mid-1830s and Cumberland by 1842, diverted much of the trade to Alexandria's rival Baltimore. Nevertheless, Alexandria's railroads contributed significantly to the city's economic prosperity prior to the Civil War by transporting passengers, mail and freight to and from western Virginia.

The Alexandria and Harpers Ferry Railroad was founded in 1847 and later reorganized to form the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad which connected Alexandria with Leesburg. Incorporated in 1848, the Orange and Alexandria line reached further west to Warrenton and Gordonsville, Virginia, eventually linking with the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad at Lynchburg by 1859. The Manassas Gap Railroad was chartered to connect Strasburg and Harrisonburg in the Shenandoah valley to the Orange & Alexandria Railroad near Manassas Junction. The Alexandria and Washington Railroad was formed in 1854 to link Alexandria with the Capital City, although it was prohibited from interconnecting with other Alexandria railroads. This short line carried passengers and freight to the Virginia side of the Long Bridge (14th Street), requiring traffic to cross the Potomac River and continue into Washington by foot, stage or wagon.

All of these lines were consolidated during the Civil War when Alexandria was a vital distribution center for Union soldiers and supplies. By 1862, the Union Army had interconnected Alexandria's railroad and laid tracks across the Long Bridge for joining with the northern stretches of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The Orange and Alexandria roundhouse and machinery shops became the headquarters of the Union Military Railroads.

Following the Civil War, the railroads returned to civilian ownership and helped revive Alexandria's economy, although the City never industrialized. Tracks were extended and lines merged to link Alexandria with Richmond. During the 1870s, cattle and agricultural produce, including fresh fruit and perishable dairy products, were shipped daily from the Shenandoah Valley to markets in Alexandria and Washington.

Alexandria's lines were caught up in the rivalry between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad during the late 19th century. The Alexandria and Washington Railroad was bought by the Pennsylvania Railroad and eventually became part of the Richmond-Washington line, which opened the Potomac Yard in 1906 as a major freight interchange later managed by the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad. The original Manassas Gap and Orange & Alexandria Railroads first came under control of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and later were incorporated into J.P. Morgan's Southern Railroad System. Alexandria's first railroad, the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad formed part of theWashington & Old Dominion Railway but finally ceased operation in 1968.

(Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • War, US Civil) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Participants in the Battle of the Thames

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Ontario, The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, near Thamesville
John Adair 1757-1840: Pioneer, soldier, and statesman, Adair was a veteran of the American Revolution, was 8th governor of Kentucky, and represented that state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. He fought at the Battle of the Thames and was subsequently rewarded for his service, being appointed adjutant general of Kentucky.

Lewis Cass 1782-1866: A military officer and politician, Cass was governor of the Michigan Territory and, later, U.S. senator representing Michigan. He served as a brigadier general at the Battle of the Thames. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 1848.

Joseph Desha 1768-1842: Desha served in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the 9th governor of Kentucky. He served as a major general in command of the 7th Brigade of Kentucky Militia and commanded a division at the Battle of the Thames.
William Henry Harrison 1773-1841: Commander of the U.S. Army of the Northwest.

(Colonial Era • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 10 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Astronaut John Watts Young

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Florida, Orange County, Orlando
John Watts Young, NASA astronaut, Gemini veteran, Apollo moonwalker, and space shuttle commander, was the first American to travel in space six times. As an Orlando High School student, Young lived in this house at 815 West Princeton Street from 1945 until graduation in 1948. In 1965, he co-piloted Gemini-Titan III, a program that directly benefited Project Apollo's development and the first voyage to the moon. In 1972, Young was aboard Apollo XVI, the fifth manned landing on the moon, and was the ninth person to walk on the moon. He was commander on the first human-guided test flight of the first space shuttle, Columbia STS-1 in 1981 and the Challenger STS-9 in 1983, which carried Spacelab-1, a removable science laboratory. Young became the Special Assistant to the Director of the Johnson Space Center for Engineering, Operations and Safety in Houston, Texas, in 1987.

(Air & Space • Science & Medicine) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Participants in the Battle of the Thames

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Ontario, The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, near Thamesville
James Johnson 1774-1826: The brother of Richard Johnson, James was elected as a Kentucky State senator in 1808. He served as a lieutenant colonel in Johnson's Mounted Infantry and led the charge on the British lines at the Battle of the Thames along with his two sons. Following the war, he served in the U.S. House of representatives.

Richard Mentor Johnson 1780-1850: From Kentucky, Johnson was elected to the House of Representatives in 1806. He served as a colonel in the American Army during the war and raised Johnson's Regiment of Mounted Infantry hat led the charge on the First Nations lines. After the war, Johnson served as a senator and the 9th Vice President of the United States. He is believed to be Tecumseh's killer.

Simon Kenton 1755-1836: From Virginia, Kenton fled to the Ohio and Kentucky wilderness from 1771-1792 because he mistakenly thought that he had killed a man. He fought against the Shawnee in Dunsmore's War in 1774 and participated in the Indian Wars of the 1790s. A friend of Daniel Boone, Kenton served as a brigadier general of the Ohio Militia and fought at the Battle of the Thames.

Oliver Hazard Perry 1785-1819: After defeating the British fleet at the Battle of Lake Erie, Perry joined General Harrison's force on land and participated in the mounted charge at the Battle of the Thames. For his service in the war, Perry was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1814.

(Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 11 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Replica of the Statue of Liberty

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Iowa, Decatur County, Leon

With the faith and courage of
their forefathers who made
possible the freedom of these
United States

The Boy Scouts of America

dedicate this replica of the
Statue of Liberty as a pledge
of everlasting fidelity and
loyalty

40th Anniversary Crusade to
Strengthen the Arm of Liberty
————————
In this Bicentennial Year 1976
as in 1776 let our joint
efforts encourage and maintain
the freedom and liberty for all
who yearn to breathe free.
Rededication Day 1976
————————
Remembering September 11, 2001
and the War on Terror we continue
to strengthen the arm of liberty in the
Year 2003 as in 1950
This Statue of Liberty replica a symbol
of liberty and freedom remains now as then
a pledge of everlasting fidelity and loyalty

Decatur County
Statue of Liberty Restoration Project
2002 - 2003

(Man-Made Features • Patriots & Patriotism) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Participants in the Battle of the Thames

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Ontario, The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, near Thamesville
Isaac Shelby 1750-1826: Shelby was the 1st and 5th governor of Kentucky and a veteran of the American Revolution. As governor and at 63years of age, Shelby personally led the Kentucky Militia at the Battle of the Thames.

Tarhe 1742-1816: A Wyandot chief and loyal American, he marched with his warriors throughout General Harrison's campaign in Canada and fought at the Battle of the Thames despite being 72 years old.

William Whitley 1749-1813: Veteran of the Indian Wars, militia leader, frontiersman, and member of the Kentucky General Assembly, Lieutenant Colonel Whitley participated in the charge of the "Forlorn Hope" against Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames. He was killed in the battle and was buried on the battlefield. Some accounts indicate that Whitley, not Johnson, killed Tecumseh.

Elisha Whittlesey 1783-1863: A frontiersman and lawyer, Whittlesey served as a brigadier general and secretary to General Harrison. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives and a congressman from 1823-1838. He held many important posts in Washington, serving under many presidents including Abraham Lincoln.

(Colonial Era • Native Americans • War of 1812) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

The Road to Zion

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Iowa, Decatur County, Leon


From the late 1840s through the 1860s, an exodus of more than 70,000 Mormons passed by here on their way to their "New Zion" in Utah. Starting from Nauvoo, Illinois in February 1846, the first group of at least 13,000 Mormons crossed into Iowa to escape religious persecution, then spent the next winter in the area of present-day Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska.

In 1847, Brigham Young led an advance party of 143 men, 2 women, and 3 children along the Platte River. At Fort Bridger, Wyoming they departed from the Oregon Trail to head southwest to the Great Salt Lake. Thousands of other Mormons soon followed. Today, a marked 1,624-mile auto tour route closely parallels their historic trek.

[Background image caption reads]
During their exodus of 1846-47, Mormon pioneers set up several communities and ferry crossings along the trail to assist later emigrants going to and from their new home in Utah.

[Lower image captions read]
From 1856-60, most Mormon converts coming from Europe traveled by rail to Iowa City, Iowa, then walked more than 1,200 miles to Salt Lake City pushing and pulling handcarts loaded with 500 pounds of supplies. After 1860, the Mormon church sent oxen-drawn wagon trains from Salt Lake City to bring emigrants west to the "New Zion."

Diary pages by Mormon emigrant Appleton Harmon relate his experiences near Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff in 1847. Many Mormons kept diaries relating their ordeals and adventures.

(Churches, Etc. • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Carver Court Public Housing Complex

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Florida, Orange County, Orlando
Built in 1945 for $468,700, Carver Court was a public housing development set up by the Orlando Housing Authority in an effort to stimulate the economy, resolve growing slum and housing problems, and meet local demands associated with the massive defense buildup that had occurred during World War II. The development consisted of 16 one-story buildings and 12 two-story buildings. Carver Court was a prime example of a planned residential community, reflecting important urban planning and housing design theories of the period. As a well-defined group of affordable, multi-family, residential buildings organized around open spaces, Carver Court exemplified public housing projects constructed throughout the country during the late 1930s and 1940s. A team of Orlando’s most prominent architects and landscape architects, including Arthur Beck (1899-1990), the first Jewish architect in Orlando, Herbert L. Flint, landscape designer for the first public housing complex in Jacksonville, and F. Earl DeLoe (b. 1893), designed the housing complex. Originally built to house African-American families, Carver Court reflected attitudes toward segregation and the housing of low-income families that were characteristic of the time.

(African Americans • Civil Rights) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Ore Mines Drill

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Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County, near Scottdale
In 1905, while drilling for coal on this property now owned by the descendants of Jesse S. Eutsey, an artesian well was found. It became known as "The Drill". Please use "The Drill" with care and help keep this area clean and free of litter. Renovated and maintained by The Bullskin Township Historical Society 1998

(Landmarks) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

Ann Preston, M.D.

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Pennsylvania, Chester County, near West Grove

A pioneer physician and educator, in 1860 Preston founded the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she later established one of the nation's first nurses’ training schools. A graduate of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, she became its Dean in 1865, the first American woman to hold such an office. She was a Quaker dedicated to women's rights and an abolitionist involved with the Underground Railroad. Preston was born here.

(Abolition & Underground RR • Education • Science & Medicine) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
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