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November 2010

The Boonsborough Museum of History houses a varied collection of historical objects spanning thousands of years.  Though the emphasis is on Americana, the collection includes such diverse objects as an Egyptian amulet from the 26th dynasty, a bouquet fashioned from human hair, sunken treasure from a Spanish galleon, and a flower plucked from the coffin of President Abraham Lincoln. 

The Museum’s extensive Civil War collection includes original correspondence from Clara Barton and William H. Seward, a sharpshooter’s rifle used at the Battle of Gettysburg, and a unique assortment of bullets carved by Civil War soldiers into objects of art.

Martha Washington's granddaughter once hosted the brightest luminaries of early American politics at this gorgeous home; today, the site offers visitors a glimpse of nineteenth-century life.

Tudor Place was built by Martha Washington's granddaughter, Martha Custis Peter, and her husband, Thomas Peter, son of a successful Scottish tobacco merchant. In 1805, Thomas Peter purchased the land comprising a city lot in Georgetown Heights with an $8,000 legacy from Martha Custis Peter's step-grandfather, George Washington. The Peters asked Dr. William Thornton, architect of the U.S. Capitol, to design the stately neoclassical house with its circular domed portico and expansive gardens. Completed in 1816, Tudor Place remained under the ownership of six succeeding generations of the Peter family until 1983.

This state park was the site of two Civil War battles, in 1862 and 1864.

The 1,642 acre Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological significance. In 1861, the Confederate Army built extensive fortifications here and named the site for General Gideon J. Pillow of Maury County. The confederate soldiers abandoned the fort. Remains of the earthworks are well-preserved. The park offers boating, camping, and picnicking facilities, as well as an historic park and museum.

The Center offers living history demonstrations, interpretive programs, exhibits, multi-media presentations, special events, and more than four miles of interpretive trails.

The old, untamed frontier opens up to visitors at this extensively informative center located right outside Baker City, OR. This institution preserves the history of one of the most transformative migration routes ever to grace the American landscape.

For nearly 80 years during the 19th century, the Oregon Trail guided travelers from the East to new settlements in the West. Starting in Independence, MO, it wound its way across the continent, traversed the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, and ended in Oregon City, OR. Baker City lay 300 miles east of these courageous pioneers’ final destination and represented an important stop where they could rest and replenish supplies for the last long push towards the coast.

This museum tells the history of the many people who have inhabited the island, including British troops during the War of 1812.

The Tangier Island History museum features a museum/visitors center, a walking history trail, a nature trail and water trails with free use of kayaks and canoes.

This is the site of the Battle of Frenchtown, where British and Native American forces joined to fight against U.S. troops and Frenchtown residents.

From January 18th to January 23rd, 1813, the north bank of the River Raisin became a battleground where the forces of the United States and Great Britain fought each other for the control of all of Michigan and the Lower Great Lakes. At stake was the destiny not only of the 2 countries, but also the future of Frenchtown, (known today as Monroe Michigan) of Canada, and of Tecumseh's alliance of Native-American tribes.

The British and Indian victory at the River Raisin destroyed an entire American army and upset their campaign to recapture Detroit, which had fallen to the enemy early in the war. It raised Native-American hopes that their alliance with the British would result in the preservation of their lands, while it brought grief to hundreds of families in Kentucky who had lost their sons during the bloody battle and its aftermath.

This memorial remembers the soldiers of the Battle of Lake Erie and the War of 1812.

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial was established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812, and to celebrate the long-lasting peace between Britain, Canada and the U.S. The Memorial, a Doric column, rising 352 feet over Lake Erie is situated 5 miles from the longest undefended border in the world.

Much of this site is geared toward young children. Kids can pretend to be soldiers by dressing up in military uniforms and wash laundry with a washboard and a tub.

 

 

 

 

Lift a fur bale, stand on a giant ground map of the Great Lakes fur trading routes, and zoom down a slide in the Kids' Rendezvous Interpretive Playground. Be a voyageur in a reenactment. Witness an ongoing archaeological dig. With 13 authentically reconstructed buildings, interactive displays, and demonstrations such as open hearth cooking, Native American crafts, and cannon and rifle firings, the entire family--and especially kids-- will be engaged. Located in Mackinaw City.

This historic cemetery features the graves of some of the most notable names in early American history.

Beautiful Old Saint Paul's Cemetery, located in downtown Baltimore, serves as the final resting place for a number of the men who helped make and preserve the United States in the first years of its existence. Visitors to the cemetery will be led on a guided tour past the graves of luminaries such as George Armistead, who defended nearby Fort McHenry from British attack during the War of 1812 and famously commanded his men to procure an American flag big enough for the British to see it clearly from their ships. Samuel Chase, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the first Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, is also buried in the cemetery. Though he no longer resides in Old Saint Paul's, Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star Spangled Banner, was also originally interred here.

Call (410) 419-7422 to schedule a tour of the cemetery.

This historic house/site was an important location during the War of 1812.

Situated at the convergence of the Little Elk and Big Elk Creeks, Historic Elk Landing is one of Maryland's and the Mid-Atlantic's most historic tracts of land. British troops passed through the area in August 1777, on their way to capture the American capitol in Philadelphia and in the early 19th Century it was a port for boats loaded with supplies heading for Baltimore and returning with coal, molasses, coffee, and whiskey.

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