The Power of Selective Memory

We all have painfully derived instances of selective memory. Things in the past that we have chosen to forget for the sake of mental health, sanity and quality of life. Most of Michael’s lost memories revolve around painful sports losses. (He’s lived a charmed life.) Super Bowl XXXVI Rams vs. Patriots. Georgetown in the 1982 [...]

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Antietam National Battlefield

Sharpsburg, Md. Visited: June 2, 2006 NPS Site Visited: 297 of 353 NPS Website; Local Website WHAT IS IT? Site of a September 17, 1862 Civil War Battle; the bloodiest single day battle in United States history. The North referred to the battle as Antietam, the creek that runs through the grounds, while the South [...]

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Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg, Pa. Visited: April 9, 2006 NPS Site Visited: 283 of 353 NPS Website; Local Website WHAT IS IT? Site of the most famous battle fought on United States soil. The dramatic Civil War fight occurred from July 1-3, 1863 and took more than 50,000 casualties. BEAUTY (6/10) Over the last fifteen years, groups like [...]

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Fort Moultrie National Monument – part of Fort Sumter NM

Sullivan’s Island, S.C. Visited: October 20, 2005 NPS Site Visited: 264 of 353 NPS Website; Local Website WHAT IS IT? Coastal defense fort that saw continuous military use for nearly two centuries, including major battles in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. BEAUTY (6/10) Red bricks replaced the namesakes of Fort Moultrie’s Palmetto Fort in [...]

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Fort Sumter National Monument

Charleston Harbor, S.C. Visited: October 19, 2005 NPS Site Visited: 264 of 353 NPS Website; Local Website WHAT IS IT? Federal defense fort located in the middle of Charleston Harbor. On April 12, 1861, Confederate troops deluged the Fort with artillery fire, captured the Union soldiers and officially began the American Civil War. BEAUTY (7/10) [...]

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Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

Appomattox, Va. Visited: October 11, 2005 NPS Site Visited: 257 of 353 NPS Website; Local Website WHAT IS IT? Rural Virginia town where, on April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant, ending the American Civil War. BEAUTY (6/10) The quaint village of Appomattox Court [...]

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Petersburg National Battlefield

Petersburg, Va. Visited: October 11, 2005 NPS Site Visited: 256 of 353 NPS Website; Local Website WHAT IS IT? Site of the prolonged 9½-month long, 1864-65 U.S. Grant-led campaign and siege against Robert E. Lee and the War’s last Confederate stronghold, Petersburg, Va. The April ’65 fall of Petersburg resulted in Lee’s surrender at Appomattox [...]

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Gauley National Recreation Area

Summersville, W.Va. Visited: October 10, 2005 NPS Site Visited: 255 of 353 NPS Website WHAT IS IT? One of the world’s top ten most challenging white-water rivers. BEAUTY (8/10) Uh, scenery? We barely had the time or the notion to look around and appreciate the gorgeous fall colors, the shimmering water surface, the churning rapids, [...]

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Richmond National Battlefield Park

Richmond, Va. Visited: October 7, 2005 NPS Site Visited: 253 of 353 NPS Website; Local Website WHAT IS IT? Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Battlefield sites scattered throughout the city’s outskirts commemorate the Union’s attempts to take the city in both 1862 and 1864. The [...]

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Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park

Fredericksburg, Va. Visited: October 5, 2005 NPS Site Visited: 251 of 353 NPS Website; Local Website WHAT IS IT? Perhaps the bloodiest locale on the North American continent. The four Civil War battles commemorated by the Park took over 100,000 casualties including the War’s most famous soldier, Stonewall Jackson. The battles memorialized are the December [...]

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