Mid-Atlantic

Completed

Moravian Church Settlements—Bethlehem

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This is a model of the Gemeinhaus or community house of the Moravians in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, built between 1741 and 1743. The model is inside the original building, the largest 18th century log structure in continuous use in the US. There are several Moravian buildings from the same period in the historic district in Bethlehem, including housing for men and women, a pump house—the first municipal water system in the US—, a chapel, and a tavern, and all are now recognized as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes similar Moravian sites in the Denmark, Germany and the UK. Their school buildings are now part of Moravian University here.

The Moravians, a Protestant sect that predated Martin Luther, originally came from Moravia, now the Czech Republic, but their prime benefactor was a Saxon (German), Count von Zinzendorf, so their Bible is in old, low German. They created settlements around the world in order to do Missionary work, and in Pennsylvania, they were famous for their hospitality, music and for their early efforts to learn Native American languages and hold peaceful conferences with both native and colonial leaders.

The Gemeinhaus was multifunctional, especially before other buildings were finished, and one use was as an inn. The knowledgeable docent led me into the large simple chapel on the second floor, a music room with various instruments that predate the famed Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and explained various exhibits with original items, including fine silk needlework, kitchen items and more. While many of the later buildings are still in use by the University and as housing, the core building’s remarkable preservation makes this is an exceptional way to step back over 250 years into colonial, and early American history. But also walk around the fascinating historic town, which includes an 18th century Native American house.

But my favorite building is the Sun Inn tavern from 1758, where George & Martha Washington stayed, Sam Adams drank ale, and an impressively long list of revolutionaries met over many years. It seems likely to me that Ben Franklin would have met members of the Iroquois Confederacy here, along with Moravian translators, inspiring him to incorporate their ideas into his design of our US democracy which balanced the needs of both the states and the country. There’s no better way to experience history than to raise a glass to our founders in one of their favorite drinking establishments!

South Carolina & Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridors

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These are two obscure heritage areas in the Carolinas, but none of the state or national park employees I spoke with had heard of either. While the South Carolina NHC has historic sites, plantations and gardens, the parks included—like Pinckney, Sumter, and Overmountain Victory—are unrelated. And while the Revolution NHC includes Moores Creek, it excludes many other important battles in the Carolinas and neighboring states. Don’t waste time following these confusing corridors, but instead start with an overview at historic Camden.

Here’s the story of the Revolutionary Campaign in the southeast, focusing on national sites and affiliates. Virginians Henry, Jefferson and Washington led their colony into rebellion, in concert with the north. Virginia colonial governor Lord Dunmore called in troops, organized loyalists and even formed a regiment of liberated slaves. Echoing Bunker Hill, Patriot militia fought well at Great Bridge in 1775, prompting Dunmore to order the shelling of Norfolk Virginia. Echoing Concord, the Patriots cut down a broadsword charge at Moores Creek North Carolina in 1776. And at the end of 1778, the Patriots took Savannah, followed up with a victory at Kettle Creek Georgia in early 1779.

But in May of 1779, the British sacked Portsmouth in Virginia, kicking off their southern campaign in earnest. In late 1779, the British returned to Savannah, capturing it after a siege. In early 1780, they took Charleston SC after another siege. Next, they turned their attention inland, hoping to sway more loyalists, keep their large southern colonies, and then take the fight back to the northeast. In 1780 the British fought over a dozen battles around Charleston and Camden (see Cornwallis’ HQ below) in South Carolina, consolidating their control over the colony.

But the British were ruthless in the south, revoking pardons, burning homes & farms, and imprisoning or hanging those who wouldn’t sign loyalty oaths. The most infamous example happened in May 1780 at Waxhaws—named after a local tribe—, when Banistre Tarleton massacred Patriots, inspiring further rebellion. Popular resentment against the tyrannical British grew, especially among the Scots-Irish settlers. After Gates lost his leadership position after failing at Camden, Nathaniel Greene began a much more effective guerrilla campaign in the back country.

The Patriots didn’t win all their battles, but many of the British victories were Pyrrhic, causing them to cede territory even after eking out technical victories. The back country belonged to the Patriots, especially when reinforcements crossed the Appalachian Mountains on the Overmountain Victory Trail. The Patriots won at Kings Mountain in late 1780, then again at Cowpens in January 1781.

Even though the British subsequently won at Petersburg VA, Ninety-Six in SC, and at Guilford Courthouse NC, clearly, they were not winning the broader campaign. Cornwallis brought his troops north to Virginia. After a close battle near Camden, the remainder of the British forces retreated for Charleston, with the last battle in the southeast fought at Eutaw Springs in September 1781. The denouement was set for Yorktown.

Mid-Atlantic Trails

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5 historic trails link multiple sites in the region, and 3 scenic trails are park units. Here’s a quick summary in case you are interested in exploring the trails in the region.

Historic trails

Scenic trails

Virginia in Photos

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Celebrating completing the Old Dominion State!

Appomattox Court House, Arlington House, Assateague Island, Booker T. Washington, Cedar Creek & Belle Grove, Colonial (plus Jamestown affiliate), Fort Monroe, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania, G. Washington Birthplace, G. W. Memorial Parkway, Great Falls Park, Maggie L. Walker, Manassas, Monticello (world heritage site), Petersburg, Prince William Forest, Richmond, Shenandoah, and Wolf Trap are above.

Virginia has parts of the Appalachian NST, Blue Ridge Parkway, Cumberland Gap, Harpers Ferry, and Potomac Heritage NST units. Five historic trails pass through too: Captain John Smith Chesapeake, Lewis & Clark, Overmountain Victory, Star-Spangled Banner, and Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route. Virginia has 2 unique heritage areas, Northern Neck—birthplace of Washington, Madison & Monroe—and Shenandoah Valley Battlefields—centered around Belle Grove—, and Journey through Hallowed Ground shares Civil War history across 4 states, including several sites above.

Affiliated Sites in Mid-Atlantic

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All Mid-Atlantic NPS affiliate sites done ✓, including important colonial and civil rights history.

  • Benjamin Franklin National Memorial is inside the lobby of a Philadelphia science museum.
  • Delaware Brown v. Board of Education Civil Rights Sites include several schools.
  • Gloria Dei Church National Historic Site is in Philadelphia and not to be confused with this.
  • Green Springs National Historic Landmark District is a rural area of Virginia.
  • Jamestown National Historic Site is part of a larger park near colonial Williamsburg Virginia.
  • Natural Bridge State Park contains the historically important geologic feature below.
  • Pinelands National Reserve is a large forest biosphere in New Jersey.
  • Red Hill—Patrick Henry National Memorial is a large historic estate and museum in Virginia.
  • Robert Russa Moton is the school site above of a student Civil Rights protest.

Read more about affiliate sites and see those in other regions.

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

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The trail stretches from Virginia, through a corner of Tennessee, south through North Carolina and into South Carolina at Cowpens and Kings Mountain (below). Revolutionary War re-enactors and enthusiasts follow parts of the trail on foot and by car annually, ever since some Boy Scouts walked the whole length in 1975. I’ve crisscrossed the area, and it’s beautiful country with whitewater rivers and some steep mountain slopes. Both the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway cross and run along near the trail, and the Biltmore Estate is near the middle.

Many of the colonial settlers in the highlands here were descendants of Scots-Irish lowlanders, and their families still held grudges against the British, especially those who fought to extend the Empire by force. The British sent officers to the Carolinas to bribe and intimidate their subjects to remain loyal to the crown. They sent mercenaries, regular soldiers, and raised local militias to threaten settlers, particularly in the foothills. Their heavy-handed tactics provoked the Appalachian settlers. One particularly offensive leader was Major Patrick “Bulldog” Ferguson, who had ordered the bayonet slaughter of sleeping Patriot troops at Little Egg Harbor, NJ. He also designed the Ferguson rifle, a breach-loading rifle, and was wounded in the right arm in the Battle of Brandywine against General Washington, after which the British took Philadelphia.

The trail commemorates the pursuit of Ferguson’s army from north to south, by the citizen militias that rose up from Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas against the overbearing British threat, culminating at Kings Mountain. Immediately before and after the events of the Overmountain Victory, the Patriots also won decisively at Musgrove Mill and Cowpens, respectively. These Appalachian Patriots turned the course of the Revolutionary War.

Normally, high ground is superior during fighting, but the ridge at Kings Mountain is steep, fairly straight and narrow. Once the patriots managed to get on both sides, the British became easy targets on top. Ferguson was shot off his horse, shot a young soldier asking him to surrender, and was finally shot multiple times and urinated upon before being buried in an unmarked grave where he lay. A headstone was later placed in the woods not far from the large monument at Kings Mountain below.

Pennsylvania in Photos

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Celebrating all the parks in the Keystone State! Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS, Benjamin Franklin NM (affiliate), Delaware Water Gap NRA, Edgar Allan Poe NHS, Eisenhower NHS, Fallingwater WHS, Flight 93 NMEM, Fort Necessity NB, Friendship Hill NHS, Gettysburg NMP, Gloria Dei (affiliate), Hopewell Furnace NHS, Independence NHP, Johnstown Flood NMEM, Steamtown NHS, Thaddeus Kosciuszko NMEM, Upper Delaware SRR and Valley Forge NHP are all above, plus Pennsylvania has 8 National Heritage Areas, parts of the Middle and Lower Delaware River parks, parts of the Appalachian, North Country and Potomac Heritage NSTs and of the John Smith Chesapeake, Lewis & Clark and Washington Rochambeau NHTs.

Gloria Dei National Historic Site

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So, a couple years ago, I visited Old Swedes church, the oldest original Swedish church in the new world dating back to 1698, and I confirmed that it was a national park site before taking the interesting tour complete with silly ghost stories. And I checked it off my list and posted it on this website. But I was wrong. A careful reader messaged me—to avoid public humiliation—and explained that I had the wrong Old Swedes church.

So, last month, I went to Philadelphia and finally visited the Old Swedes church above, built in 1700. I spoke with the pastor, and he explained that this is the oldest Gloria Dei Lutheran church in America and the oldest surviving church in Philadelphia (not Delaware where I foolishly was before). The pastor forgave me, and I hereby offer my humble public confession.

The moral of the story is that if you look up NPS Old Swedes church, you are likely to get the one in Delaware, which is an affiliated part of the First State NHP, but if you look up NPS Gloria Dei church, you are likely to get the affiliate NHS church above in Philadelphia. Also, the stone and brick work on the two facades are obviously different. As an act of contrition, I offer the following photo of the inside of the Philadelphia Old Swedes, complete with the Kalmar Nyckel sailing above the congregation.

Maryland in Photos

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Celebrating the Old Line State! Antietam, Assateague Island, Catoctin Mountain, Clara Barton, Fort McHenry, Fort Washington, Greenbelt, Hampton, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad, Monocacy, Piscataway Park, and Thomas Stone are all above.

Appalachian Forest NHA, Appalachian Trail, Chesapeake, C&O Canal, GW Parkway, Journey Through Hallowed Ground NHA, Harpers Ferry, Potomac Heritage, Rochambeau Route, Star-Spangled Banner are all partly in Maryland, and several of these parks and trails are part of the Baltimore and Southern Maryland NHAs.

Green Springs National Historic Landmark District

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I don’t expect every site to be Yellowstone, but this one is very disappointing.

In 1935 the NPS acquired development rights to the land from property owners in this historic area of Piedmont in Virginia, making this an affiliate site. Green Springs is known for a healthy mineral spring, for some horses bred 200 years ago, and 3 dozen historic farms and other buildings dating from 1735 to 1920. The oldest is Boswell’s Tavern, frequented by Jefferson, Madison and Patrick Henry. Lt Col Banastre Tarleton raided the county with his cavalry in 1781 during the Revolution.

However, the historic properties are all owned privately and are not open to tourists. So there’s nothing for visitors to see now. Boswell’s Tavern now looks like an unremarkable, updated private residence with an old chimney. There’s no museum or guide, and many of the houses, like the one above, are behind fences, hedges and hills, to be invisible from the public roads. Someday, perhaps, this will be a worthwhile place to visit, but for now, there’s no point.