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Monongahela to the Founding Frontier
  • Lynyrd
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Monongahela to the Founding Frontier

An open-ended adventure by Lynyrd. Read more
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  • Trip start
    October 9, 2026
    LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler

    Mt. Vernon

    September 27, 2021 in the United States ☀️ 79 °F

    Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, sits on the Potomac River about 15 miles south of Washington, D.C. Washington inherited the property in 1761 and expanded it from a modest farmhouse into a 21-room Georgian mansion, with the plantation growing to roughly 8,000 acres at its peak.

    The estate was a working agricultural operation, worked by hundreds of enslaved people. Washington freed those he owned outright in his will, though about half the people living there were "dower slaves" belonging to his wife's estate and were not freed. Today, the site includes a memorial to the slaves.

    After Washington's death in 1799, the property declined until the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, founded by Ann Pamela Cunningham, purchased it in 1858. It's one of the earliest historic preservation efforts in the U.S., and the Association still operates the site as a private nonprofit.    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler

    Where the heck did I put that?

    October 9 in the United States ☀️ 84 °F

    Get away day! Can never find everything even though most of my travel stuff lives in a couple of boxes. Guess I shouldn't wait till the morning of the flight to pack.

    Seems like a long time ago that we put this trip together. It was actually two years ago that the seed for this trip was planted when I visited Linda, but this year with the 250th I thought this would be a cool road trip, and getting to do it with my Aunts just made it even better.Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler

    The Battle of Fort Ligonier — October 12, 1758

    October 10 in the United States ☁️ 68 °F

    During the French and Indian War, French soldiers and their Native American allies attacked Fort Ligonier in western Pennsylvania, hoping to disrupt the British advance toward Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh). The attack began when French forces struck British troops guarding livestock outside the unfinished fort. After several hours of fierce fighting, British defenders under Colonel James Burd used artillery to repel the attackers. The French withdrew, and the British retained control of this critical military outpost. The victory helped secure the British supply route and contributed to the French abandonment of Fort Duquesne the following month, paving the way for the founding of Pittsburgh.Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler
    Linda and Bea at the gate of Fort Ligonier
    Linda and Bea at the gate of Fort Ligonier

    Lost in the Wilderness

    October 10 in the United States ☁️ 68 °F

    After all the delays leaving Denver, I think the pilot was in a hurry to get to Pittsburgh. He apparently considered the last 10 feet of descent optional. Baggage in the overhead bins definitely shifted.

    True to form, I managed to get lost almost immediately after picking up our rental Jeep. Apparently, leaving the airport was my first navigational challenge, and certainly not my last. Add in trying to figure out a Jeep full of unfamiliar buttons, switches, and gadgets in the dark, and we had all the ingredients for an adventure. Somehow, despite my best efforts to explore parts of western Pennsylvania we never intended to see, Bea and I made it to Linda's before the stroke of midnight.

    Today we drove to Ligonier for Ligonier days and the reinactment of the French attack on the Fort.

    Tomorrow starts our road trip begins!    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler

    The Battle at Bushy Run

    October 11 in the United States 🌧 57 °F

    The Battle of Bushy Run, fought August 5–6, 1763, near present-day Jeannette, Pennsylvania, was a decisive British victory during Pontiac’s War, a widespread Native American uprising against British control following the French and Indian War.
    Colonel Henry Bouquet was leading approximately 500 British soldiers westward to relieve Fort Pitt, which was under siege. Near Bushy Run, his column was ambushed by Native American warriors, primarily Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, and Seneca, determined to prevent reinforcements from reaching the fort.    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler

    Layghing in the rain

    October 11 in the United States 🌧 57 °F

    Linda finally understood what Bea had endured during our drive from the airport—thanks to a navigation mishap that sent us wandering through Pennsylvania’s back roads, with Google Maps deserving at least some of the blame.

    We started the day with a leisurely breakfast, learning more about the family tree before heading out to Bushy Run. Although it's only a little over an hour from Linda's house, this was her first visit.

    Google Maps seemed a bit confused about exactly where Bushy Run was located, and my navigation skills didn't help matters. On the bright side, we got to see more of Pennsylvania's lesser-known back roads. Eventually, Waze came to our rescue and was promptly promoted to chief navigator for the remainder of the day.

    It rained most of the day, but the rain stopped whenever we got out to explore. At Bushy Run, we visited the small museum and watched a short film recounting the battle, giving us a better appreciation of the history that unfolded there. We visited the first battle site where the memorial statue was located.

    Our next stop was Fort Necessity. I found it interesting that, although he was not a British officer, George Washington, serving as a colonel in the Virginia militia, fought the French alongside the British. It was also fascinating that, only a few years later, the French became our allies in the Revolutionary War.

    No road trip is complete without dinner at Cracker Barrel. After more miles in the rain and some spots if very dense fog we are comfortably settled in at Frederick.    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler
    Model of Fort Necessity
    Model of Fort Necessity

    Battle of Fort Necessity.

    October 11 in the United States 🌧 59 °F

    On July 3, approximately 700 French soldiers and Native American allies attacked Washington's force of roughly 400 men. The fort's location proved disastrous. Surrounded by higher ground and nearby woods, the defenders were exposed to enemy gunfire. Heavy rain flooded their trenches, soaked ammunition, and turned the battlefield into a muddy nightmare.
    After hours of fighting, Washington agreed to surrender. His troops were permitted to withdraw on July 4, while the French destroyed the fort.
    Although a humiliating defeat for the young Washington, the battle provided valuable military lessons. More importantly, the confrontation helped ignite the French and Indian War, which eventually expanded into the global Seven Years' War, reshaping the balance of power in North America.    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler
    The Private Soldier Monument, "Old Simon"
    The Private Soldier Monument, "Old Simon"

    Antietam National Cemetery

    October 12 in the United States ⛅ 73 °F

    Established after the brutal September 17, 1862 confrontation, Antietam National Cemetery serves as the final resting place for thousands of Union soldiers who perished in the single bloodiest day of American military history.
    Following the battle, hasty field burials left thousands of corpses shallowly covered across local farmlands. To resolve this health hazard and offer a dignified burial space, the State of Maryland purchased 11 acres of grounds in Sharpsburg in 1865. Dedicated on September 17, 1867, the cemetery holds the remains of 4,776 Union service members from the Maryland campaigns, over 1,800 of whom remain unidentified. Confederate dead were excluded from the site due to prevailing postwar tensions and were eventually reinterred in separate cemeteries nearby in Hagerstown, Frederick, and Shepherdstown.
    At the heart of the grounds stands the Private Soldier Monument, dedicated in 1880. Known locally as "Old Simon," the colossal 250-ton granite statue depicts a Civil War infantryman standing at parade rest, gazing north toward his fallen comrades.
    Though originally intended solely for Union Civil War casualties, the burial grounds remained open for subsequent veterans until filling to capacity in 1953. Today, the site contains around 250 post-Civil War graves, holding veterans who served in the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War. Managed by the National Park Service as part of Antietam National Battlefield, the cemetery stands as a solemn monument to military sacrifice and the tragic human cost of national conflict.    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler
    Alexander Gardner 'View on Battle Field of Antietam, Burial party at work' 1862
    Alexander Gardner 'View on Battle Field of Antietam, Burial party at work' 1862One view ...... and another22,700 casualties in one day of fighting, hard to comprehend.On Sept 17, 1862, 8,000 soldiers fell in 3 hours at Antietam’s Cornfield in brutal pointblank combata mortuary cannon monument mounted muzzle-down on a stone base. One of 12 at Antietam ...These mark where a general was killed. This one is General Stark of the Confederate Army.Philadelphia Brigade MonumentOn Sept 17, 1862, over 5,000 casualties fell in 3 hours at Antietam’s sunken "Bloody Lane."Irish Brigade Monument at Antietam National BattlefieldOn Sept 17, 1862, 500 Confederates held Burnside’s Bridge for hours, causing over 500 casualties.Brother in Law on opposite sides of the bridgeAt Burnside's Bridge, Union troops finally crossed late that afternoon, driving Lee to the brink.

    Antietam: A Turning Point in the Civil War

    October 12 in the United States ☁️ 63 °F

    The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, remains the bloodiest single day in American military history, with roughly 22,700 casualties on both sides combined.

    Confederate General Robert E. Lee had invaded the North, hoping to win a decisive victory on Union soil, bolster Southern morale, and encourage foreign recognition of the Confederacy. His campaign was compromised when a Union soldier found a copy of Lee's orders wrapped around cigars in an abandoned camp. The orders reached General George McClellan, who nonetheless moved cautiously, giving Lee time to consolidate his scattered forces.

    The fighting unfolded in three major phases. In the morning, savage combat raged through Miller's Cornfield and around the Dunker Church. Midday brought the assault on the Sunken Road, later called "Bloody Lane," where Confederate defenders were eventually overrun. In the afternoon, Ambrose Burnside's troops struggled to cross what became known as Burnside's Bridge, held by a small Georgia force, before A.P. Hill's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and rescued Lee's right flank.

    Tactically, the result was a stalemate. Lee withdrew across the Potomac the following night, and McClellan declined to pursue, a decision that contributed to Lincoln removing him from command in November.

    The strategic consequences were enormous. Antietam gave Lincoln the victory he needed to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, reframing the war as a fight against slavery and effectively ending any chance of British or French intervention.    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler
    Built in 1897 at Bloody Lane, Antietam's 85-foot stone observation tower overlooks the battlefield.
    Built in 1897 at Bloody Lane, Antietam's 85-foot stone observation tower overlooks the battlefield.Looking up inside the observation towerLinda and Bea at the base of the observation towerBea and Linda looking at Burnside's Bridge

    Civil War Day

    October 12 in the United States ☁️ 72 °F

    The main theme of our road trip is the Revolutionary War but it's hard to drive past such an important Civil War battlefield that turned the tide of the war. I remember little of history taught in school and most of it was memorizing dates but setting foot on sites like Antietam, Gettysburg, USS Arizona Memorial, Mauthausen Concentration Camp, diving Truk Lagoon and more where men, and women, have died in anger brings history out of the textbooks and makes it real. You begin to understand that behind every date and battle were real people, families, hopes, and lives cut short. These places remind us that history isn't just something that happened long ago; it's something we can still feel, learn from, and hopefully keep from repeating.

    In addition to Antietam and the Antietam National Cemetery we visited the National Museum of Civil War Medicine that explores the challenges faced by battlefield surgeons, nurses, and wounded soldiers, revealing medicine’s evolution amid war’s horrors.

    We decided that as good as Cracker Barrel was last night, and in spite of one being very close to our hotel we had a fine Italian dinner sitting on the patio watching a group of young boys playing football in the park next to the restaurant.

    Yesterday we fired Google maps as our navigator, after tonight's drive back to the hotel I might be fired as our driver with yet another unplanned sightseeing tour, this one of Frederick's neighborhoods.    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler
    This is a replica of the stove we were trying to look at1Punishment for looking at art while carrying a concealed water bottle

    The Great Art Museum Caoer

    October 14 in the United States ☀️ 88 °F

    Linda, Bea and I were visiting the art museum in Williamsburg. I expected a quiet afternoon appreciating art, but I had made the mistake of being with my two aunts, neither of whom respects authority when it gets between them and a good time—or a beverage.

    As we descended the stairs, a museum employee spotted our water bottles and stopped us with the urgency of a medical emergency. We had three choices: throw away the bottles, return upstairs and lock them in the front-door lockers, or leave.

    Linda considered this for half a second. “I ain't throwing my bottle away!”

    That was less a response than a declaration of war. I hadn’t organized a protest or even expressed an opinion. I was simply trying to enjoy the day with my two aunts who had decided hydration was a matter of principle.

    We agreed to leave—or so I thought. Apparently, “we should leave” meant “we should leave eventually, after one more look at everything.”

    Back upstairs, Linda and Bea resumed wandering. I followed because abandoning the two of them already attracting museum personnel seemed irresponsible. Before long, another employee began shadowing us. Wherever we went, he appeared nearby. I imagined an emergency staff meeting: “All right, everyone, we have two women, three bottles, and one confused man.”

    When we turned toward the original decorative stove from the Governor’s Mansion, our shadow quickly approached and told us we had to leave.

    I wanted to explain that I was merely traveling with the suspects. I hadn’t supplied the contraband or encouraged the rebellion. I was just trying to look at a stove.

    But I kept quiet. At 71, I didn’t need a museum ban on my record, especially one that might follow me around Williamsburg. I didn’t want to be recognized at the next historic site as “the get away driver from the great water bottle incident.”

    So we headed for the exit, Linda and Bea satisfied that they had stood their ground, while I wondered how sightseeing had become a security incident.

    And our terrible offense?

    We had water bottles.

    Well, technically, they had water bottles. I was just the innocent bystander—a very thirsty-looking innocent bystander.

    That's my story and I'm sticking to it.    Read more

  • LynyrdMonongahela to the Founding FrontierTraveler
    The March to Valley Forge by William B. T. Trego.
    The March to Valley Forge by William B. T. Trego.

    Valley Forge

    October 16 in the United States ☀️ 73 °F

    Valley Forge is remembered as one of the most difficult periods of the American Revolution. In the winter of 1777–1778, George Washington and his Continental Army established their winter encampment about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Washington chose the location because it offered defensible high ground, access to nearby supplies, and a position from which the army could monitor British forces occupying Philadelphia. The Continental Congress had been forced to flee the city, and Washington needed a secure location to regroup his army.

    More than 12,000 soldiers arrived, along with hundreds of women and children known as camp followers. These civilians helped cook, wash clothes, care for the sick, and support the army.

    The soldiers faced shortages of food, clothing, and supplies. They quickly set about building approximately 2,000 log cabins, many completed within six weeks. The camp eventually resembled a small city. By population, Valley Forge would have ranked as the fourth-largest city in the American colonies.

    Disease proved deadlier than the winter weather. Smallpox inoculation, an early form of vaccination, helped protect soldiers from the disease.

    Despite these hardships, Valley Forge became a turning point for the Continental Army. Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian military officer, arrived and took on the task of improving the army's discipline and fighting skills. He developed a practical training program, teaching soldiers how to march in formation, handle their weapons, and execute battlefield maneuvers. Rather than training only officers, von Steuben drilled a small group of men who then passed their skills on to other soldiers. His methods helped transform an inexperienced collection of militia and regular troops into a more disciplined, effective fighting force.

    Washington repeatedly appealed to the Continental Congress for money, food, clothing, and other supplies. The army's supply system was badly strained, and soldiers sometimes went without basic necessities. Congress authorized additional funding and took steps to improve military supply arrangements, although money alone could not immediately solve the problems of transportation and procurement.

    By spring, the army was better organized and prepared for battle. Valley Forge demonstrated that perseverance, leadership, and training could turn hardship into strength.    Read more