We were driving along, on our way to the property Saturday, pointing out to Megan various things along the way (Jason and the three boys were in the vehicle behind us) when we entered the Petersburg National Civil War battlefield. Megan remarked that she had never seen a Civil War reenactment and wondered if we had (we have not), when we noticed a large gathering at the Five Forks intersection where we were supposed to be making the turn onto White Oak Rd. As we approached, we caught sight of the “Southern Cross” flying high…..and what do you suppose we had happened upon?!
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- the spot where “Willie” Pegram, beloved Confederate artillery officer, was mortally wounded
Megan could have kicked herself for not having played the lottery that day. 🙂
Having grown up in Richmond VA, Max is used to the constant reminders of the Civil War and the heavy focus on the history of the Confederacy, so it was not a shock to him to see the Confederate flags flying. (We had to have a long talk with him when he was in the fourth grade after he returned from a field trip to the Petersburg Civil War Museum proudly wearing a Confederate cap and waving the Confederate flag….there is a certain part of that history lesson that is left out in the 4th grade and a huge emphasis on the pride of southern heritage.) Never having lived south of the Mason Dixon line, however, Jake and Adam have had no such exposure …I hear the reaction in their car was particularly amusing.
It dawned on me later that April 1st was the 148th anniversary of battle of Five Forks, the loss of which sealed the fate of the Confederate army and led to the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond on April 2nd, 1865. (For anyone interested in more information on that battle, you can check out the link to our Civil War history page on the upper right.)
the coleman cabin 
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