USO Canteen FReeper Style....Liberty R&R Goes to Virginia Join Us .......July 6,2002

You're welcome, old friend.
Ain't that woman something else??

You are ready? So am I!

Do you like my hat??

You know, cote, that's the first time I've ever connected my screen name to James Coburn!
Honestly!
I wish I had Coburn's money and he had my good looks!
LOLOL!

A great theme for the Canteen today...Virginia..

I have never lived in Virginia, but have visited there several times on vacations...

My best remembrance of Virginia is from 1976, and the bicentennial celebration...In May of that year, me, my husband our two young boys, and my parents, all made the trip from Chicago, Illinois, to go back east, mainly Virginia, to experience what we could to add to our celebration of the bicentennial...

Altho not in Virginia, our first big stop was Gettysburg, Pa...We camped, in our tents, right outside of Gettysburg, planning the next day to visit the historic battlefield, and spend the day there...

During the night, my husband woke up in a panic, screaming he heard canons, men hollering, men shooting...in short, he thought he heard a battle...Now, my husband is down to earth, and does not imagine things, nor does he believe that he was dreaming...he says, to this day, he was wide awake, and lay there, frozen with fear, in his sleeping bag, listening to this battle...he is not the first, nor will he be the last to hear such sounds from this battlefield..many believe that the spirits of the men who fought and died there, still haunt the old battlefield to this day, that on a quiet night, if you listen hard, you will hear the sounds of battle, the sounds of men...

Take it or leave it, believe it, or dont...All my husband knows, is that he heard what he said he heard, and no one can dissuade him of that belief...

We then all toured around Virginia...the settlement of Jamestown, Monticello, Yorktown, Ash Lawn, and Williamsburg...all exciting and wonderful places to visit...

I guess, all round, our favorite place was Williamsburg...we spent 3 days there, and it was quite an education for the whole family...two things stand out from our tour of Williamsburg..

First were the pubs and restaurants...it was interesting, that in many of the restaurants in Williamsburgh, the only things that were on the menu, were things that were available, when Williamsburg was in its prime...disappointing for my young boys, who really wanted a coke with their meal, and chocolate ice cream for dessert...but the food was excellent, and we got to see what fare was served in Williamsburg...

The second thing I remember most from Williamsburg, was when the 'town crier'(one of the many actors at Williamsburg), began to issue the call to arms, trolling for recruits to join the miltia...

My dad was one of the first to step up and volunteer, followed by my hubby and our two boys...soon other men and boys volunteered, and pretty soon there was a whole little 'army', ready to march off...they were put in formation, given wooden guns, and such, the fife and bugle, and drum players came along, and the orders were shouted to 'march'...

And in formation, this whole group of 'touristy' men and boys, with their cameras and sunglasses, and maps, and things of modern convenience, were for a few short minutes, transported back in time, at least in their minds, and were now 'volunteers' to fight..the music played, the men and boys marched off...

What I remember most, was the huge grin on my dads face..he was just smiling ear to ear, and so proud to have volunteered and to march...the men marched off to the woods, whereby ended their participation...

All the men and boys came back to us women, who had been following them, as they marched along...the 'town crier' gave the men his compliments for a job well done, and announced that the next 'marching performance' would be at such an such a time, for those who would be interested in repeating their performance...

It was really wonderful to watch the 'tourists' participating in this event...they all felt so patriotic, and for a brief time, felt themselves transported back in time, to the very early days of this country...

That was many years ago ...dont know if they still have that same act going, but hope so, as it was so popular, and gave the tourists a chance to really participate...

Thank you for that link. I heard on the television this morning that the river is still rising downstream and taking many homes out with it. We need to continue to pray for the Texans being affected by this disaster.

HEYYY how come I wasn't pinged to visit this thread??? *L* My hubby is based out of NAS Norfolk and we live in NAS Oceana base housing!! Anyways, welcome to our lovely state!

Wonderful link! I've always wanted to visit the Smithsonian Institute.

Thanks so much for a great thread...we all owe Virginia a debt we can never repay.

You are ready? So am I!

Do you like my hat??

That was an absolutely great post SAM. Robert E. Lee was a good man.

Good Afternoon, Cote!

Yep - amazing spirit. I know I'd not do half as well as she.

When we lived in Seguin, back in the day, my father was a volunteer rescue guy whenever the Guadalupe went crazy, and to this day I remember his stories about the destructive power of a wall of water on just about anything in its path.

He also hammered into my mush head; be sure to check the floodplain maps before buying any property, and for sure, before building on it. Good advice Dad, thanks.

Morning Mom - what a great story. I'd not heard about the battleground ghosts, but if BigDom says it's so, then that's the way it is. I can see the tourist guys, and I'm smiling at the picture. Thanks. JL

THE GREAT SEAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH - The great seal of the Commonwealth was adopted by the Virginia's Constitutional Convention on July 5, 1776. Its design was the work of a committee composed of George Mason, George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, and Robert Carter Nicholas. George Wythe was probably the principal designer taking its theme from ancient Roman mythology.

The original design was never properly cast and a number of variations came into use. Attempting to legislate uniformity, the General Assemblies of 1873 and 1903 passed acts describing the seal in detail. In 1930, a committee was named to prepare an "accurate and faithful description of the great seal of the Commonwealth, as it was intended to be by Mason and Wythe and their associates." The committee set forth the official design in use today, which is essentially the design adopted by the Virginia's Constitutional Convention of 1776.

The obverse side of the great seal depicts the Roman goddess Virtus representing the spirit of the Commonwealth. She is dressed as an Amazon, a sheathed sword in one hand, and a spear in the other, and one foot on the form of Tyranny, who is pictured with a broken chain in his left hand, a scourge in his right, and his fallen crown nearby, implying struggle that has ended in complete victory. Virginia’s motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis (Latin for "Thus Always to Tyrants"), appears at the bottom.

On the reverse side of the seal are the three Roman goddesses, Libertas (Liberty) in the center holding a wand and pileus in her right hand, Aerternitas (Eternity) with a globe and phoenix in her right hand, and Ceres (Fruitfulness) with a cornucopia in her left hand and an ear of wheat in her right. At the top is the word Perservando (Latin for "by Persevering"). A border of Virginia creeper encircles the designs on each side.

Official colors were established by the Art Commission in 1949 and a water color, the only official model for flag makers and stationers, hangs in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The Secretary of the Commonwealth is designated by the Code of Virginia as the keeper of the great seal. The great seal of the Commonwealth is affixed to documents signed by the governor and intended for use before tribunals and for purposes outside the jurisdiction of Virginia.

Links for our service men and women from Virginia
Virginia newspapers

"I have not yet begun to fight": The Story of John Paul Jones

Adapted from Lauren Pitre's article for SWONET

Today, the most recognizable name of a naval officer of the American Revolutionary War
is that of John Paul Jones. Historic sites associated with his story attract tourists from around the world.
Jones was born John Paul on July 6, 1747, in Kirkcudbright, Scotland. At 12 he entered the British merchant marine and went to sea for the first time as a cabin boy.

Jones became first mate on a slaver brigantine in 1766 but soon left that trade in disgust. He was appointed master in 1769. As master of a merchant vessel, he killed the leader of his mutinous crew in self-defense at Tobago in the West Indies in 1773.To avoid trial, Jones fled to Virginia and was considered a fugitive by the British. He concealed his identity by adding the surname Jones.

At the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, Jones went to Philadelphia and entered the Continental Navy. In December he was commissioned a lieutenant on the first American flagship, Alfred. Jones was quickly promoted to captain in 1776 and given command of the sloop Providence. While on his first cruise aboard the Providence, he destroyed British fisheries in Nova Scotia and captured sixteen prize British ships.

In command of Ranger in 1777 and 1778, he operated in British home waters and made audacious raids on England’s shore.In recognition of his exploits, he was placed in command of five French and American vessels. Aboard his flagship, the Bonhomme Richard, Jones led his small squadron in the capture of seven merchantmen off of the Scottish coast. On September 23, 1779, Jones fought one of the bloodiest engagements in naval history. Jones struggled with the 44-gun Royal Navy frigate Serapis, and although his own vessel was burning and sinking, Jones would not accept the British demand for surrender, replying, “I have not yet begun to fight.” More than three hours later, Serapis surrendered and Jones took command.

According to some historians, Jones remained appealing as much for his actions as for his personality. British chapbooks, an early form of dime novels, pictured him as a ruthless marauding pirate akin to Blackbeard. His attacks on British ships were often sudden and sometimes bloody. The vision of a swarthy scalawag persisted even to the writings of Rudyard Kipling a century later.

In person, however, Jones was another man. Thomas Jefferson and others referred to him as ‘little Jones’ and he may have been 5’5”. Unlike other merchant seamen, he was well dressed, carried a sword, and conducted himself with practiced decorum.. Add to that a Scottish brogue, and light Celtic features. He was never an easy man to get along with, intense about his honor and his duties, a harsh military master. But he was surprisingly sociable. He was a prolific poem and letter writer, spoke some French, and, though he never married, was involved in many romances. Above all, no one questioned his daring. In Britain, his naval actions against the mother country certainly led to his presentation as a pirate.

In 1788, Russian Empress Catherine the Great appointed Jones rear admiral in the Russian Navy, in which he saw action in the Liman campaign in the Black Sea. He left the Russian service in 1789 and moved to Paris. He was appointed U.S. Consul to Algiers but died before the commission arrived. His body was buried in Paris, but in 1905, after a lengthy search, his remarkably preserved corpse was discovered and removed from a gravesite in Paris and transported to the United States. Through the intervention of President Theodore Roosevelt, Jones’ remains were re-interred in an ornate tomb at the Naval Academy Chapel at Annapolis, Maryland in 1913 when the tomb was completed

Please take a moment and Thank a Service Man or Woman.
Just Click on the graphic to send an e-mail.