NOTE: Fort Monroe, VA was officially closed by the U.S. Army yesterday , September 15,2011 after 188 years of Army service. The Fort was handed over to the state of Virginia. The Fort, has more than 170 historic buildings, 565 acres and a significant Civil War history. There is hope that there will be a creation of a new National Park which is being evaluated by a bipartisan group in Congress and the National Park Service.
This is the 20th post in the Me and Lizzie May series. What started as just an inquisitive look into the maker of an antique steamer trunk has since morphed into a fascinating portal to the past. Lizzie, George and Charley Ulmer had all but been forgotten and yet they were stalwart, adventurous people who lived very interesting lives and in their own ways were a part of the history of this country. Cheer on George and Charley as we near the end of the War of the States and fervently hope for their survival.
After an emotional week with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, George spent his days running errands for Lieutenant Russell at and around Fortress Monroe. He was soon well known around the Fort as he was generous with his cigars bought with the additional eight dollars per month he had been detailed for the printing job. He made a mess of that job but happily still kept the salary.
One beautiful day he sat pensively smoking a new cigar without a care in the world ignoring all the commotion down at the wharf. Soon he saw for himself what all the noise was about as a huge ocean steamer came into sight and dropped anchor. The Union Captain signaled and soon a small boat full of sailors was lowered and rowed to shore. The Officer at the stern barked one order after the other ruining George’s peaceful moment with his cigar. When they reached the wharf , the pompous Officer shielding his eyes from the strong afternoon sun pointed at George with a frown on his face.
Uh-Oh. It was strictly prohibited to smoke on the wooden wharf for obvious reasons. Up until now George had not bothered to follow any rules and had got along just fine. He puffed away in defiance pushing away the nagging feeling that the Officer looked vaguely familiar…
me and lizzie may 