Sunday, April 25, 2010

Roadside Attraction

After yoga in Alexandria yesterday at the Pure Prana studio, I made an improptu decision to visit my brother and sister-in-law outside Richmond so I could finally give them the Christmas present I've be hauling around in the Mini for them since December.  Drove straight down, enjoyed dinner at a great little restaurant near their home, and left early this morning in time to make choir practice at church. 

On the way home I spotted a sign pointing to the site just south of Port Royal, Virginia, of the farmhouse where John Wilkes Booth was killed.  I had read about this in an interesting book called "Assasination Vacation" by Sarah Vowell.  As Ms. Vowell had reported, the site is between the north  and southbound lanes of Route 301, accessible only from the northbound side.  After parking on the side of the road, I followed a well-worn path a short distance through the woods to a small clearing.  There is no hint of the house and barn that used to be there.  What I did find was the marker stone shown above.  I Googled, but found no reference to the "Twenty First Century Confederate Legion".  I'm guessing they were not fans of the recent Health Care initiative.  Also, no clue about the significance of the pennies, other than they have Lincoln on them and were mostly facedown.

3 comments:

  1. I didn't know Sarah wrote books. I'll have to pick this one up.

    I actually went to school with her (she was in my younger brother's grade) and enjoy her NPR bits when I here them. She can hold a grudge, though. A couple of years ago in a "This American Life" bit, she raked my former neighbor over the coals, by full name more than once, for comments he made to her in high school, over 20 years ago...

    Looks like those Confederates can hold a grudge, too...

    Brent

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  2. Since moving from just north of the Mason-Dixon line - and from a famous Civil War town thanks to Pickett and Lincoln's address - after HS to the hills of Virginia in college to North Carolina since, I've come to get a "full circle" understanding of the "War of Northern Aggression". This stone is - how can I say it nicely and so they don't revoke my southern accent and send me packing - interesting.

    - Meno

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  3. We have traveled that road numerous times and never knew this existed. Very interseting.

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