[Magdalen] Frustration

[P. Dan Brittain]

On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 7:15 PM, ROGER STOKES <roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com
> wrote:

>
>
> This morning, following a recommendation, I headed for the Hampton Roads
> bridge-tunnel.  Arriving at the other side it was almost as if the clock
> had been turned back a century as the place might not have changed in that
> time, apart from paving the streets and the traffic lights. Since I had
> arrived at Fort Monroe before the Casemate Museum opened I spent a bit of
> time wandering around, taking in the atmosphere. This showed clearly why
> the Confederate Army could not have taken it during the Civil War while the
> location enable it to be a crucial Union base in Confederate territory.
> When the museum opened I was invited to tag along with what I took to be a
> group of students being given a guided tour.
>

Glad you made it there - it was a great assignment for us (twice). I was
bandmaster from 76 to 79. The band was then named The US Continental Army
Band. It's been a few years now since it was redesignated to The Training
and Doctrine Command Band. It moved to Fort Eustis when Monroe closed and
now has one of the nicest facilities. My second tour was 85-90 as command
Bands Officer.

>
> That was helpful in understanding the significance of some of the events
> that took place and helped shape American history, including in the
> abolition of slavery as slaves went there to claim their freedom, thus
> denuding the Confederate forces of a significant source of labour.
> Informative as the labels on various exhibits were the guide strung them
> together into a coherent story.
>
> An amazing bit of history. Don't know if you saw the Perry House (Edgar
Allen Poe was at Monroe under the name Perry). Another worth a visit is the
Chapel of the Centurion, started by Hampton's St John's Episcopal.

Sorry you couldn't get into Eustis, it's a good visit too. Another for a
future trip would be the Mariner's Museum in Newport News.

Wish I could have joined you and Heather and Kristen.

-- 
P. Dan Brittain
Harrison, Arkansas

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