This part of the trip focused on three elements; Visit as many of NPS sites in western and central Virginia as route allowed; Visit our friends from PA in Lexington and, look for the grave marker of Dick's gg grandfather, John R Gaston. John R was killed in the second battle of the Wilderness near Chancellorville on May 6, 1864.

Our first NPS unit in Virginia was Appomattox Court House NHP, where the terrible US Civil War ended. The meeting of Generals Lee and Grant at the McLean House, was described by Grant as, “he was embarrassed to ask for the surrender of Lee”. The character of both Lee and Grant was of such a high order that the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia has been called "The Gentlemen's Agreement." The terms would parole officers and enlisted men but required that all Confederate military equipment be relinquished. Lee asked if the terms allowed his men to keep their horses, for in the Confederate army men owned their mounts. Lee explained that his men would need these animals to farm once they returned to civilian life. Grant responded he would order his officers to allow any Confederate claiming a horse or a mule to keep it. General Lee agreed that this concession would go a long way toward promoting healing. Grant's generosity extended further. When Lee mentioned that his men had been without rations for several days, the Union commander arranged for 25, 000 rations to be sent to the hungry Confederates. THE WAR WAS OVER! I apologize to everyone about the length of this narrative, but ithis meeting, in my opinion, was one of the most important events in American history.

Next we stayed with our friends, Susan and Stephen Denson, in Lexington who shared their southern hospitality and wine with us. They also gave us a wonderful tour of Washington and Lee (W&L) University and the adjacent university, Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Robert E Lee became president of W&L directly after the Civil War.

After leaving the Densons, we went to Fredericksburg in hopes of finding information and a gravestone, if possible, of my gg grandfather, John R Gaston. After getting to Fredericksburg, we first visited the “Battle of the Wilderness” site, just to see where it is. After reading about it, I could not visualize the site as it appeared in May of 1864. Next it was the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center. The center also has the records of the national cemetery. After some discussion, a most helpful volunteer found the records for John R, located the grave marker and took us out to the cemetery and to the grave stone. I saw the small stone with his name on it and I was very close to tears. I am very grateful for the volunteer’s help.

When he enlisted, he was 40 years old, father of 4 boys, the oldest 9 and youngest just over a year. He was a farmer, 5-7 ˝ inches tall, gray eyes, dark hair and a dark complexion. Often I have wondered what motivated him to join the military. Was it money? The government was paying $360 bounty for enlistments. Was it patriotism? His ancestry was Scotch-Irish. They were a very patriotic group of people. He enlisted March 31st, 1864 and died on May 8th, 1864.Thank you all for your patience and reading about my personal quest.

From here it is on to the Shenandoah NP along a beautiful section of the Skyline Drive and spend the night in Winchester.