Country Vacations & Resorts

Anyone in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia areas might want a reminder that the Montpelier Hunt Races take place starting November 5, 2011 – first race post time is 12:30pm.

Read more about America’s 4th President, James Madison and his estate, Montpelier.

Hopefully, the mid-Atlantic weather will be better this coming weekend than last. This can be a great time of year to visit this beautiful Virginia countryside!

Watch the movie trailer…

Time in Office: November 1963 to January 1969
Terms: One +
Birthday: August 27, 1908
Birth Place: Stonewall, Texas
Date of Death: January 22, 1973
Place of Death: At his ranch – Stonewall, Texas
Buried: Family cemetery – Lyndon B. Johnson National Park, Stonewall, Texas.

Notes:

~ Edited his high school’s paper
~ First candidate to campaign by helicopter
~ Had a first, severe heart attack at age 47
~ Guided the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957
~ Liked to get drunk and drive vehicles around his ranch

Quote: “I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one’s wife happy. First, let her think she’s having her own way. And second, let her have it.”

America’s 36th President, Lyndon Baines Johnson may have been born to humble beginnings, but this energetic and ambitious young man would become one of only four people ever to hold office as a Representative, a Senator, a Vice President, and as President of the United States.

“LBJ” as he was known, was born in 1908 in a small farmhouse on the Perdanales River near Johnson City, Texas – named for one of his forebearers. Holding his first elected office as President of his Junior Class in high school, Johnson graduated in 1924 having taken part in debate, public speaking and America’s favorite pastime – baseball. Graduating from Southwest Texas Teacher’s College in 1930, Johnson honed his public speaking skills and was a informed and persuasive speaker – even conducting a class on the subject at Sam Houston High School. With his background in speaking and debate, and a father who had held 5 terms as a Texas legislator, Johnson entered politics as a congressional aide. In 1935 he was appointed head of the Texas National Youth Administration and from 1937 to 1941 he was the elected representative of Texas’ 10th Congressional district.

LBJ married Claudia Alta Taylor in 1934. With his marriage to Miss Taylor, conveniently and already nicknamed “Lady Bird” – Lyndon would begin his “LBJ” naming convention with his daughters Lynda Bird Johnson – born in 1944, and Lucy Baines Johnson – born in 1947. Even one of Johnson’s dogs was given the name “Little Beagle Johnson!”

When America entered World War II in 1941, Johnson became a commissioned officer in the Naval Reserve. He worked stateside until the Spring of 1942 when he spent a short time in the Southwest Pacific to survey military conditions and readiness to be reported back to President Roosevelt. LBJ was awarded a Silver Star though there is much controversy over how an “observer” could have done anything to warrant such a high honor.

Johnson won a Senate seat in 1948, was chosen as Senate Majority Whip in 1951, and Minority Leader in 1953. Johnson visited his various districts during his campaigning via his rented helicopter known as the “Johnson City Windmill.” A savvy, well-informed, and well-connected politician, Johnson was selected (with some controversy still remaining) as John F. Kennedy’s VP candidate in the 1960 Presidential Election.

LBJ – Travel as President

Within hours after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, Lyndon Baines Johnson became the 36th President of the United States – taking the Oath of Office aboard Air Force One at Love Field Airport in Dallas. Johnson would fly some 523,000 miles on Air Force One during his 5 years as President. He took trips to Vietnam and Asia – and one long, unplanned trip across the US and to Australia, Thailand, South Vietnam, Pakistan, and Italy. You get the feeling that Johnson’s “inquiring mind” might have thought he was missing something, somewhere…

Johnson was elected President in 1964. Due in large part to unresolved civil rights issues and the Vietnam War, Johnson decided not to run for re-election in 1968. His health was also beginning to fail.

Johnson returned to his ranch in Stonewall, Texas January 1969. He published his memoirs, and later that year the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum opened near the University of Texas – Austin. Johnson died at his ranch January 22, 1973, (one day before the ceasefire in Vietnam was signed) and willed his ranch to the public. The ranch formed the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park with Johnson’s wish that the ranch continue to be a “working” ranch – not just a museum of days gone by. Johnson is buried at the park – just a short walk from the house in which he was born.

Links:

LBJ Library and Museum
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Austin, Texas – Convention & Visitor’s Bureau
More on the life of LBJ
More on LBJ Presidential Travel

Prior: John F. Kennedy
Next: Richard M. Nixon

The Traveling with the Presidents Series.

Time in Office: 1881-1885
Terms: One
Birthday: October 5, 1829
Birth Place: Fairfield, Vermont
Date of Death: November 18,1886
Place of Death: New York, New York
Buried: Albany Rural Cemetery, New York

Notes:
~ Changed his birth year to seem younger
~ A natural born leader and independent thinker
~ Received his Master’s Degree at age 21
~ A champion of civil rights
~ Took the Oath of Office twice
~ One of 5 Presidents to never be inaugurated
~ Last incumbent to ask for but not receive his party’s nomination for re-election

Of Irish descent, America’s 21st President, Chester Alan Arthur was born in Franklin County, Vermont. Rumors also had him as born in either Canada or Ireland but none of these rumors were ever proved.

After graduating from Union College in 1851, Chester – known as “Chet” to most, began his career as a lawyer. Two political appointments during the Civil War gave him the rank of brigadier general although Arthur’s posts were with the local militia and kept him in New York.

A later selection as Collector of the Port of New York kept him in and around New York until 1878 at which time he resumed his law practice full time.

Chester married Ellen Lewis Herndon of Culpepper, Virginia in October 1859. Ellen, known as “Nell” was a gifted soprano from a prominent Virginia family and some of her style and culture helped prepare Arthur for future time which would be spent among Washington’s political elite.

Although strained by politics and the Civil War, their marriage was strong. When Nell died of pneumonia in 1880 at the age of only 42, Chester vowed never to remarry. A stained glass window he had dedicated to his wife’s memory is still in place today at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Washington DC.

A member of the political group known as the “Stalwarts” and a Republican, Chester Arthur was asked to run as Vice-President to James Gardfield in the election of 1880. They won by a slight margin and by March 1881, Chester was Vice President of the United States. In July of that same year President Garfield was shot. He died from his wounds in September 1881 and Arthur finds himself, after only 6 months as Vice President, now President of the United States.

Chester Arthur’s first act as President was to refuse to live in the White House until it was redecorated. He chose Louis Comfort Tiffany as his designer while he himself began to auction off some of the White House furnishings. Arthur enjoyed the Washington social scene and was known to actively support the latest in men’s fashion.

“Elegant Arthur’s” early political relationships were not quite as successful. Resignations were rampant during the early stages of his Presidency but Chester was not deterred. He established the Civil Service Commission, continued to support issues concerning civil rights, established for the first time a diplomatic relationship with Korea, and initiated the Washington, DC conference that established Greenwich Meridian and standardized time.

Sometime during 1882 Chester was diagnosed with Bright’s Disease, a fatal kidney ailment. Although Chester kept this information secret, questions and concerns about his overall health may have been a factor in his not receiving his party’s nomination to run for re-election, (actually Arthur’s first campaign for President) in 1884.

Chester’s health continued to decline. After leaving office in March 1884, he returned to a position as counsel at his former law firm, made a few public appearances, and took a little time to enjoy his much-loved hobby of fishing. By October 1886 Chester was gravely ill. He ordered all his books, papers and correspondence be burned and by November 18th, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, he died. He was buried in the Arthur family plot, next to Ellen at the Albany Rural Cemetery.

Chester Arthur became President of the United States because he was the right man, in the right place, at the right time. He traveled little, and made no monumental impact on the US. But, he also did no harm while still managing to contribute to what was, in his time, a fast-changing society and government.

Next: Grover Cleveland, America’s 22nd and 24th President.

Time in Office: March – September 1881
Terms: Less than one
Birthday: November 19,1831
Birth Place: Moreland Hills, Ohio (Cuyahoga County)
Date of Death: September 19, 1881
Place of Death: Longbranch, New Jersey
Buried: Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio

Notes:
~ Last President born in a log cabin
~ Garfield’s father died before his second birthday
~ Juggled Indian clubs to build his muscles
~ Garfield was ambidextrous
~ Won one of the closest elections on record
~ Only member of clergy (minister & elder) to be elected President
~ Only Representative to be directly elected as President
~ Second President to be assassinated
~ Second shortest time-in-office (200 days) See: William Henry Harrison

Young James Garfield

James Abram Garfield, America’s 20th President, was born in Moreland Hills (formerly Orange Township), Ohio. An independent youth, Garfield attended school sporadically and at the age of 16, found work as a mariner until illness soon forced him to quit. He returned to his education with renewed interest, excelling as a student and from 1851 to 1859 he was either teaching or preaching in Ohio, Massachusetts or New York. He married Lucretia Randolph in 1858 and by early 1859, Garfield had become a bit bored with teaching. By late 1859 he began studying the law. He was a powerful speaker and debator and just about the time politics and the law began to catch his full interest, along came the Civil War.

Garfield entered the war as a Colonel in the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He spent most of 1862 either in Kentucky or Tennessee where he served at the Battle of Shiloh. He became ill mid-year 1862 and after recuperating with his family at home, headed to Washington, DC to await orders which were constantly offered and then changed. He later found himself Chief of Staff to Rosecrans, Commander of the Army of the Cumberland who apparently did not take full advantage of Garfield’s tactical abilities.

Elected to Congress in October 1862, Garfield returned to Washington, DC from Ohio to await news of any military orders. He resigned his commission in December 1863 and took up his seat in Congress.

For the next 6 years, James A. Garfield continued to serve as a member of Congress and had moved his family to Washington, DC. He continued his lucrative law practice and served several important government posts – in 1872 he made his first trip west of the Mississippi to conclude a Indian relocation agreement.

A Presidency – Interrupted

March 4, 1881 was a snowy day in Washington, DC for Garfield’s Inauguration. He spent a major part of the next 199 days selecting members of his Cabinet – while trying to keep the political waters calm. He also gave government workers a day off to decorate the graves of those lost in the Civil War, appointed a Supreme Court Justice, and 4 other Federal judges.

On his way through town to deliver a speech, Garfield was shot while walking through a station of the Baltimore and Pacific Railroad. His arm was grazed by one of the assassin’s (Charles J Guiteau) bullets – the second lodged in Garfield’s spine. Exactly two months before his 50th birthday on September 19, 1881, Garfield died from infection from his wounds which ultimately led to a massive heart attack. (Gaiteau was hanged June 30, 1882.)

This was the second time the United States had three Presidents in one year. Hayes having left office, Garfield’s election and assassination, and the start of the Presidency of Chester A. Arthur – all taking place in 1881.

Some current news on James A. Garfield.

James A Garfield Monument
Monument to Garfield at the Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco
James A. Garfield National Historic Site

Next: 21st President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur.

Photo Credit

Time in Office: 1877 to 1881
Terms: One
Birthday: October 4, 1822
Birth Place: Delaware, Ohio
Date of Death: January 17, 1893
Place of Death: At his home, Spiegel Grove, Fremont Ohio
Buried: Oakwood Cemetery, Ohio. (Reinterred at Spiegel Grove State Park, 1915)

Notes:
~ His father died just before his birth
~ Family was originally from Vermont
~ An avid reader
~ Class Valedictorian – Kenyon College
~ Won a highly contested election by about 20 electoral votes
~ Kept a “alcohol-free” White House
~ Advocate for social and education reform

The 19th President of the United States, Rutherford Birchard Hayes, was born in Delaware, Ohio with his earliest education taking place in both Middletown, Connecticut and Gambier, Ohio. He then attended
Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Practicing law in what is now Fremont, Ohio but finding business there a bit lackluster, he left for Cincinnati seeking greener pastures in 1849.

Young Rutherford B. Hayes
Photo Credit

In 1852 Hayes married Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of a Chillicothe, Ohio doctor and herself a college graduate. He was devoted to his wife and often took several pictures of her with him during his military tours and travel.

Successful Military Man and Politician

At the start of the Civil War (1861), Hayes offered his services to the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Hayes saw a lot of action and was on the move in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland and was severely wounded at the Battle of South Mountain (part of the Maryland Campaign) in September 1862.

Although he refused to even campaign while fighting a war, Rutherford was elected to Congress in 1864, and was reelected in 1866. In 1867 he was elected Governor of Ohio, moving back to Fremont from Washington, DC in 1873. Although Hayes expressed an interest in returning to private life – having been on the road or in office for nearly fifteen years, he was elected again for Governor (his son, Webb C. Hayes served as his Secretary), and the Republican Party then chose him as their Presidential candidate in 1875. So much for time at home with your wife and family!

1876 Map of the Election
Photo Credit

March 4, 1877 fell on a Sunday so Hayes instead took his Oath of Office at the White House on Saturday, March 3rd. A large part of his one term was spent dealing with civil service reform and civil rights laws – along with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, problems with currency and coinage, and attempts at securing the Texas/Mexico border from Mexican bandits. Foreign policy dealt mainly with China and the issues revolving around Chinese immigration to the US.

Hayes had already stated he would not run for a second term and in late 1880 he returned to his home at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio. He remained active in local politics and causes, and also served as trustee to three universities until his death from heart attack complications January 17, 1893.

During Hayes’ lifetime, overseas travel was still mainly by steamship, long-distance land travel was by railroad, and the old reliable horse and carriage.

Up next, America’s 20th President, James A. Garfield
Prior President: Ulysses S. Grant

Time in Office: 1829 to 1837
Terms: Two
Birthday: March 15, 1767
Birth Place: A cabin in either North or South Carolina.
Date of Death: June 8, 1845
Place of Death: His home, the Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee
Buried: At the Hermitage

Notes:

~ Jackson’s father died 3 weeks before he was born, his mother died by the time he was 14.
~ Captured by the British in June 1779 and nearly died from starvation.
~ A “self-made” man.
~ First President to survive an assassination attempt.
~ Jackson was called “jackass” during his first campaign for President, The more politically correct “donkey” is still the symbol for the Democratic party.
~ Jackson is still known as “Old Hickory.”

You have to wonder what citizens of the United States and the world thought of Andrew Jackson. Former Presidents came from distinguished families with large plantations and formal education begun at a very early age.

Jackson broke the mold.

Andrew Jackson spent most of the first 14 years of his life trying to survive the American Revolutionary War. After being taken prisoner and having lost both his brother and mother to disease, the intrepid Jackson found himself next in Salisbury, North Carolina teaching school and studying law.

In 1787 at the age of 20, he was admitted to the bar and began his law practice and his travels in Jonesborough, North Carolina (now Tennessee.) Jackson spent most of the next 17 years as a frontier lawyer and was the new State of Tennessee’s (1797), first US Representative.

In 1803 Jackson bought a plot of land, built a home, and started the first General Store in Gallatin, Tennessee. He later purchased land in Davidson County and began what was to become his permanent home, The Hermitage.

Military Man…

Jackson’s military career was the focus of most of his travels between 1801 and 1821. From Fort Mims, Alabama to the Creek War and the Battle of Burnt Corn, to the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, and the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

If you would like to hear a entertaining little song written about this battle:

I think it gives a pretty good idea of what the battle was like, except that the word used in the song is “brier” not “wires” as in the text. Anyone who has ever stumbled into a brier patch will know this is sticky business! And yes, Mississippi was spelled incorrectly for anyone paying major attention!

Jackson was constantly on the move and this was certainly not vacation travel! 1817 and 1818 find him back in battle again at the Georgia/Florida border in the First Seminole Wars.

By 1829, after a vicious political campaign in which his wife, Rachel, was maliciously attacked, Jackson became the Seventh President of the United States. He was the first President to open up the White House to the public on his inauguration day – with mixed results.

On his way to Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1833, President Jackson was attacked during a stopover in Alexandria, Virginia. A second attempted assassination took place in 1835 just outside the US Capitol.

The Hermitage

Tomb of Andrew & Rachel Jackson,
The Hermitage

Jackson’s home, The Hermitage, 12 miles east of Nashville, Tennessee is certainly worth a visit. The Hermitage, the most authentic Presidential home in the United States, receives no state or federal money for its upkeep. Instead, funds from visitors, donations, and grants maintain this, one of the most beautiful historic homes in America.

This National Historic Landmark and several other buildings at The Hermitage, including Alfred’s Cabin, Hermitage Church, East Cabin, and West Cabin, have been documented by the National Park Service’s Historic American Buildings Survey. Having been there, I can strongly recommend this area of Tennessee, and Andrew and Rachel’s Hermitage as definitely worth a visit.

More on Jackson’s political life.

Details on Jackson’s military career.

Read about Jackson, Mississippi from a previous “Destinations” post.

Review the 6th President of the United States: John Quincy Adams.

Next up – President Number 8 – Martin Van Buren.

“Traveling with American Presidents” full list.

More on Presidential homes and Libraries:

The Ideals Guide to Presidential Homes and Libraries

Time in Office: 1825 to 1829
Terms: One
Birthday: July 11, 1767
Birth Place: Quincy, Massachusetts – formerly Braintree.
Date of Death: February 23, 1848
Place of Death: Inside the Capitol Building, Washington, DC
Buried: United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts

Notes:

~ Witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill at age seven.
~ Began a diary at the age of 12, and kept it for 68 years.
~ A world-traveler by the age of 18.
~ A “…child of the American Revolution.”
~ First US President to be photographed.

Young John Quincy Adams
Photo: National Park Service

How about a trip to France with your father at the age of eleven? John Adams served as an American envoy to France from 1778 until 1779 and to the Netherlands from 1780 until 1782. John Quincy accompanied his father on these dangerous ocean voyages – his mother, Abigail and his sister joining them in 1784. During the first journey, the ship carrying John and his father was struck by lightning, tossed around by a hurricane, and was fired on by British vessels.

A trip from Boston to England, even barring these other circumstances, required a journey of nearly a month.

Leyden University, Holland

At the age of 14, John Quincy accompanied Francis Dana as a secretary and French interpreter, on a mission to St. Petersburg, Russia. He also spent time in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark and, in 1804, published a travel report of Silesia. He attended Leyden (Leiden) University, Holland in 1780 which is also the year he began his personal diary.

John Quincy Adams became fluent in both the French and Dutch languages and at least familiar with German. He entered Harvard College, graduated in 1788, and in 1791 began practicing law in Boston. All this travel and accomplishment and still only 24 years of age! But he didn’t remain long in Boston….

By 1791 he was appointed (by his father), as Minister to Prussia (present day Germany and Poland), a post he retained until 1801.

John Quincy Adams even met and married his wife outside the United States, at All Hallows by the Tower, London – making him the only President with a foreign-born First Lady. Commissioned minister plenipotentiary to Russia in 1809, Adams, his wife, and their youngest son Charles Francis then spent five years in St. Petersburg and his European travel was again extended when John Quincy was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain in 1815.

By 1817, at the age of 50, he was making his eighth and final voyage across the Atlantic.

John Quincy Adams was still traveling – even after his death. His original interment was temporary, in the public vault at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Later, he was interred in Quincy across from the First Parish Church, called Hancock Cemetery. After his wife’s death, his son, Charles Francis Adams, had him re-interred with his wife in a family crypt in the United First Parish Church across the street.

Recommended reading on this intelligent and well-traveled 6th President of the United States:

On next to the 7th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson…

“Traveling with American Presidents” list

Time in Office: 1817 to 1825
Terms: Two
Birthday: April 28, 1758
Birth Place: Westmoreland County, Virginia
Date of Death: July 4, 1831
Place of Death: At the home of his daughter and her husband, New York City.
Buried: Originally buried in New York. In 1858 the body was re-interred to the President’s Circle at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The James Monroe Tomb was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1971.

Notes:

~ Third US President to die on the 4th of July.
~ Never completed college.
~ Last President to really fight in a war.
~ Was shown holding the US flag in the famous 1851 painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware.”
~ Last of the “Founding Fathers” of the United States.
~ For 24 years, Monroe’s home, Highland, was adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello in Albemarle County, Virginia.

Young James Monroe
Photo credit: Trenton, 1784

How about an action hero as America’s fifth President?

James Monroe, like Presidents before him, was not only a man of words, but a man of action. This brilliant student dropped out of college at William and Mary, participated in a raid to steal arms and ammunition from the Governor’s Palace to arm the Williamsburg militia, took a bullet in the shoulder at the Battle of Trenton, and was studying law under Thomas Jefferson – all before the age of 25!

Fifty Years of Public Service – Fifty Years on the Road…

Appointed to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782, Monroe served in the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1786 taking him from Princeton, New Jersey to the State House, Annapolis, Maryland to Trenton, New Jersey to New York City. He was elected to the Senate in 1790 and by 1791, Monroe was a party leader. He resigned his Senate seat after being appointed Minister to France in 1794.

Monroe’s first inauguration in 1817 was held on an unusually warm March day in Washington, DC where he was the first to hold an inauguration outdoors, and the first President to deliver his inaugural address to the public. His second inauguration of 1821 went back inside the House Chamber of the US Capitol due to a snow storm and a snowbound Washington.

The SS Savannah

Regarding travel during Monroe’s time – the first steamship crossed the Atlantic in 1819 – during Monroe’s first Presidential term. The SS Savannah was actually an early hybrid – both steamship and sailing ship – that left port at Savannah, Georgia on May 22, 1819, and arrived in Liverpool, England on June 20, 1819.

After his presidency in March 1825, Monroe retired to Oak Hill, near Leesburg, Virginia and which is now a National Historic Landmark. He lived there with his wife, Elizabeth until her death in 1830. Monroe then moved in with his daughter at her residence in New York and remained there until his death at age 73 in 1831.

Like other Presidents before him, James Monroe was in some financial difficulties after his years of service to the government and, at the time of his death, was still waiting for the “accounts” to be resolved.

Find out about more destinations of historic interest in Albemarle County and Charlottesville, Virginia.

Get more details about Monroe and the Battle of Trenton.

See a map of the Piedmont Region of Virginia mentioned in this post.

Read more on James Monroe’s political achievements and contributions.

Next up – John Quincy Adams – America’s 6th President.

“Traveling with American Presidents” list.