My trip to Washington D.C.
By Henry
On May 1st, 2013, I started my long trip to Washington D.C. The bus left at 10:00AM, and we switched buses in Milwaukee. We stopped for dinner and then got on the bus. As most people would guess, sleeping was hard on the moving bus, and nobody got much of it. At 3:00AM, we stopped to get ready for the day. We got to Gettysburg at around 7:30AM.
The Battle of Gettysburg started when Confederate General Robert E. Lee wanted to win a battle in one of the northern states, after winning multiple in the south. Lee thought winning a battle in northern territory would give a great impact on the war in the favor of the Confederates. He decided to attack the town of Gettysburg. When the troops of Confederates got to the town, the Union soldiers were ready and on the defense. The battle went on all day, and though the Confederate attacks were strong, the Union army had held up. The second day of the battle came, and the Confederates pushed the Union troops into the small town. A northern win was close for Lee and his troops. The Confederates closed in but the Union solders didn’t give up. The Union troops were pushed onto a hill. Now the battle was a battle for the hill. The hill was rocky, so there were lots of natural barricades. There are also some walls made from the smaller rocks by the soldiers. The walls are about a foot high and still here today. Finally, Lee’s army drew back. However, the town was not in good shape. Bullet holes covered buildings, and the furniture inside them was ruined. The third and final day of the battle came. Again, the Confederates pushed hard, and again, the Union solders held up. In fact, the Union troops were so strong; the Confederate soldiers recoiled into a defensive position. But the Union troops didn’t attack. The battle of Gettysburg was over.
After Gettysburg, we went to Mount Vernon, the home if George Washington. At Mount Vernon, we saw livestock, carriages, blacksmiths, slave houses, and obviously the house George Washington lived in when he wasn’t President or visiting home. We also saw George Washington’s tomb. The house has an incredible view onto the water. George Washington died in this house.
The next day we saw the White House, but we weren’t allowed to go in. The property was big, but I didn’t expect it to be in the middle of the city. Next, we went to the Capitol building. The Capitol was designed by the same person who designed Wisconsin’s Capitol building, so it looks about the same and is only two inches taller. We started the tour underneath the Capitol. In the center of the Capitol, there is a narrow painting about half way to the top of the dome. The painting shows the history of America. The first painter almost slipped about a quarter ways done, so he stopped a little bit thereafter. The second painter finished the painting, but it didn’t go all the way around the dome, so they decided to paint the California gold rush. Then, we went to the statuary hall. There are two statues from every state in two rooms including the statuary hall. The statue from Wisconsin is Robert Lafollette. The newest statue is Rosa Parks, which is the only full black statue. It was amazing actually being in the national Capitol.
The next thing we went to was the Martian Luther King Jr. Memorial. The memorial had lots of quotes from MLK Jr. and was right on the water across from the Jefferson Memorial. It had lots of greenery to make the place beautiful.
Then we walked about 100 yards to the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial. This place had even more greenery then the MLK Jr. Memorial. It had vines growing on the walls and a few roaring waterfalls. The Memorial was big. It was like a path made by walls and nature. It was really cool. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only President in a wheel chair. However, he didn’t like to be seen in it so he put a blanket on him when he was in public.
Next, we went into the boarding house where Abraham Lincoln died. Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theater five days after the end of the Civil War. The murderer wanted to kill him during a funny part in the play, so there would be lots of laughter and noise. The plan didn’t work. Everybody in the theater heard. There was chaos. Some people rushed him over to the boarding house across the street. They laid him on a bed, but Lincoln died. The manhunt went all the way to Illinois.
The next day we got up at 6:00 to go to the Air Force Memorial. The Air Force Memorial has three prongs that stretch up into the air away from each other about 150 to 200 feet. The man who designed this memorial wanted it to look like the pattern the planes fly. The prongs also represent the three key characteristics of the Air Force: sacrifice, courage, and valor.
Then we went to the Pentagon, but we were not allowed to go inside. We saw the 9/11 Memorial. The Memorial has benches that represent each person that died in the plane crash at the Pentagon. If a bench is facing the Air Force Memorial, then the person died in the plane. If a bench is facing toward the Pentagon, then the person died in the Pentagon. The benches are arranged from the youngest person who died (three-years-old) to the oldest (sixty-seven years old). There is a wall along the outside about three feet high that says the year that the people were born. Underneath the benches is water, and if the person had any relatives that also died, they are listed above the water. The 9/11 Memorial was a very peaceful, but sad, place.
The next place we went was the National Mall. First, we went to the World War II Veterans Memorial. Every state has an arch that represents the men that fought from that state. There is a small body of water in the middle and one side has a wall of stars, each star representing 1000 soldiers that died. I got to meet a WWII veteran and shook his hand.
Then we walked to the Vietnam Memorial. The designer of the Memorial wanted it to be simple, but like a wound dug into the earth. The wall has all the names of the soldiers that died in chronological order. The designer was a woman and only 21 years old. She was also Asian American, so there was lots of criticism against her because the war was fought in Asia. There have been things placed there to honor the soldiers. The largest one was a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
The Lincoln Memorial is huge. We went around in partners so we didn’t get lost. The statue of Lincoln is half relaxed, half tense, to show the personality that Lincoln had. On one side of the inside of the Memorial it has Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It is also said that the artist who made the statue of Lincoln carved Robert E. Lee’s face on one of the tufts of Lincoln’s hair on the back of his head. We looked and saw what seemed to be a face, but it was general and not Robert E. Lee.
After lunch, we went to the Korean War Memorial. The Memorial was designed to have 38 statues coming out of the woods but because of the size of the statues they could only fit 19. So, they made a wall that reflects the 19 statues to make 38. On the wall there are sand-sifted paintings of soldier’s faces. It even has a dog. The Memorial was meant to have the statues coming out of the woods for the first time and looking around.
Then we got back in the bus and drove to the Library of Congress. In the Library of Congress we were able to see Thomas Jefferson’s Library, which he donated to the Library of Congress. But because the library was burned down during the War of 1812, only about 1/3 of the books remain. The most amazing thing about this building was the ceiling. The ceiling was made out of thousands of little tiles to make spectacular mosaic artwork. Besides the Library of Congress, the building holds different exhibits like “Ancient America” and “The Civil War”.
The last thing we did in Washington, D.C. was go to Arlington National Cemetery. I think I learned the most here. To start, Arlington cemetery was never actually meant to be a cemetery. It was a huge property owned by George Washington’s adopted grandson. He eventually married and had a daughter who inherited the land. When his daughter married, she happened to marry Robert E. Lee, who eventually became the Confederate General in the Civil War. Robert E. Lee got an invitation to be the General of the Union Army, but he lived in a Southern state. He had a difficult decision to make. Eventually, he chose to go with his state. But since he was so close to Washington, D.C. he didn’t think he could be the Confederate General while living there, so he and his family fled. As a punishment to Robert E. Lee for being a traitor to the Union, they buried dead Union soldiers on his property, thinking he would come back after the war. But he never came back to Arlington, so it eventually became a cemetery. The cemetery is huge, but by the rate people are being buried there they will have to extend the property by 2075. John F. Kennedy and his two brothers are all buried here. Coincidentally, Kennedy was at Arlington Cemetery about two weeks before his assassination. When Kennedy was up on the hill where the house is, he looked over Arlington and Washington, D.C. and said, “I could spend eternity here.” That is one of the reasons why Kennedy is buried in Arlington Cemetery. There is a flame on his grave called the “Eternity Flame” which is always burning. Then we went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The ceremony we were at was the changing of the guard. There were three soldiers there. One seemed to be the head, checking both other soldiers’ guns and posture. They did pretty cool tricks with their guns! There were two people from Madison participating in the changing of the guard. One was a AAA life saver, who saved a young child from being hit by a car.
After the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier we got back on the bus and headed back to Madison. I’m grateful to have been able to have this outstanding experience!
On May 1st, 2013, I started my long trip to Washington D.C. The bus left at 10:00AM, and we switched buses in Milwaukee. We stopped for dinner and then got on the bus. As most people would guess, sleeping was hard on the moving bus, and nobody got much of it. At 3:00AM, we stopped to get ready for the day. We got to Gettysburg at around 7:30AM.
The Battle of Gettysburg started when Confederate General Robert E. Lee wanted to win a battle in one of the northern states, after winning multiple in the south. Lee thought winning a battle in northern territory would give a great impact on the war in the favor of the Confederates. He decided to attack the town of Gettysburg. When the troops of Confederates got to the town, the Union soldiers were ready and on the defense. The battle went on all day, and though the Confederate attacks were strong, the Union army had held up. The second day of the battle came, and the Confederates pushed the Union troops into the small town. A northern win was close for Lee and his troops. The Confederates closed in but the Union solders didn’t give up. The Union troops were pushed onto a hill. Now the battle was a battle for the hill. The hill was rocky, so there were lots of natural barricades. There are also some walls made from the smaller rocks by the soldiers. The walls are about a foot high and still here today. Finally, Lee’s army drew back. However, the town was not in good shape. Bullet holes covered buildings, and the furniture inside them was ruined. The third and final day of the battle came. Again, the Confederates pushed hard, and again, the Union solders held up. In fact, the Union troops were so strong; the Confederate soldiers recoiled into a defensive position. But the Union troops didn’t attack. The battle of Gettysburg was over.
After Gettysburg, we went to Mount Vernon, the home if George Washington. At Mount Vernon, we saw livestock, carriages, blacksmiths, slave houses, and obviously the house George Washington lived in when he wasn’t President or visiting home. We also saw George Washington’s tomb. The house has an incredible view onto the water. George Washington died in this house.
The next day we saw the White House, but we weren’t allowed to go in. The property was big, but I didn’t expect it to be in the middle of the city. Next, we went to the Capitol building. The Capitol was designed by the same person who designed Wisconsin’s Capitol building, so it looks about the same and is only two inches taller. We started the tour underneath the Capitol. In the center of the Capitol, there is a narrow painting about half way to the top of the dome. The painting shows the history of America. The first painter almost slipped about a quarter ways done, so he stopped a little bit thereafter. The second painter finished the painting, but it didn’t go all the way around the dome, so they decided to paint the California gold rush. Then, we went to the statuary hall. There are two statues from every state in two rooms including the statuary hall. The statue from Wisconsin is Robert Lafollette. The newest statue is Rosa Parks, which is the only full black statue. It was amazing actually being in the national Capitol.
The next thing we went to was the Martian Luther King Jr. Memorial. The memorial had lots of quotes from MLK Jr. and was right on the water across from the Jefferson Memorial. It had lots of greenery to make the place beautiful.
Then we walked about 100 yards to the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial. This place had even more greenery then the MLK Jr. Memorial. It had vines growing on the walls and a few roaring waterfalls. The Memorial was big. It was like a path made by walls and nature. It was really cool. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only President in a wheel chair. However, he didn’t like to be seen in it so he put a blanket on him when he was in public.
Next, we went into the boarding house where Abraham Lincoln died. Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theater five days after the end of the Civil War. The murderer wanted to kill him during a funny part in the play, so there would be lots of laughter and noise. The plan didn’t work. Everybody in the theater heard. There was chaos. Some people rushed him over to the boarding house across the street. They laid him on a bed, but Lincoln died. The manhunt went all the way to Illinois.
The next day we got up at 6:00 to go to the Air Force Memorial. The Air Force Memorial has three prongs that stretch up into the air away from each other about 150 to 200 feet. The man who designed this memorial wanted it to look like the pattern the planes fly. The prongs also represent the three key characteristics of the Air Force: sacrifice, courage, and valor.
Then we went to the Pentagon, but we were not allowed to go inside. We saw the 9/11 Memorial. The Memorial has benches that represent each person that died in the plane crash at the Pentagon. If a bench is facing the Air Force Memorial, then the person died in the plane. If a bench is facing toward the Pentagon, then the person died in the Pentagon. The benches are arranged from the youngest person who died (three-years-old) to the oldest (sixty-seven years old). There is a wall along the outside about three feet high that says the year that the people were born. Underneath the benches is water, and if the person had any relatives that also died, they are listed above the water. The 9/11 Memorial was a very peaceful, but sad, place.
The next place we went was the National Mall. First, we went to the World War II Veterans Memorial. Every state has an arch that represents the men that fought from that state. There is a small body of water in the middle and one side has a wall of stars, each star representing 1000 soldiers that died. I got to meet a WWII veteran and shook his hand.
Then we walked to the Vietnam Memorial. The designer of the Memorial wanted it to be simple, but like a wound dug into the earth. The wall has all the names of the soldiers that died in chronological order. The designer was a woman and only 21 years old. She was also Asian American, so there was lots of criticism against her because the war was fought in Asia. There have been things placed there to honor the soldiers. The largest one was a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
The Lincoln Memorial is huge. We went around in partners so we didn’t get lost. The statue of Lincoln is half relaxed, half tense, to show the personality that Lincoln had. On one side of the inside of the Memorial it has Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It is also said that the artist who made the statue of Lincoln carved Robert E. Lee’s face on one of the tufts of Lincoln’s hair on the back of his head. We looked and saw what seemed to be a face, but it was general and not Robert E. Lee.
After lunch, we went to the Korean War Memorial. The Memorial was designed to have 38 statues coming out of the woods but because of the size of the statues they could only fit 19. So, they made a wall that reflects the 19 statues to make 38. On the wall there are sand-sifted paintings of soldier’s faces. It even has a dog. The Memorial was meant to have the statues coming out of the woods for the first time and looking around.
Then we got back in the bus and drove to the Library of Congress. In the Library of Congress we were able to see Thomas Jefferson’s Library, which he donated to the Library of Congress. But because the library was burned down during the War of 1812, only about 1/3 of the books remain. The most amazing thing about this building was the ceiling. The ceiling was made out of thousands of little tiles to make spectacular mosaic artwork. Besides the Library of Congress, the building holds different exhibits like “Ancient America” and “The Civil War”.
The last thing we did in Washington, D.C. was go to Arlington National Cemetery. I think I learned the most here. To start, Arlington cemetery was never actually meant to be a cemetery. It was a huge property owned by George Washington’s adopted grandson. He eventually married and had a daughter who inherited the land. When his daughter married, she happened to marry Robert E. Lee, who eventually became the Confederate General in the Civil War. Robert E. Lee got an invitation to be the General of the Union Army, but he lived in a Southern state. He had a difficult decision to make. Eventually, he chose to go with his state. But since he was so close to Washington, D.C. he didn’t think he could be the Confederate General while living there, so he and his family fled. As a punishment to Robert E. Lee for being a traitor to the Union, they buried dead Union soldiers on his property, thinking he would come back after the war. But he never came back to Arlington, so it eventually became a cemetery. The cemetery is huge, but by the rate people are being buried there they will have to extend the property by 2075. John F. Kennedy and his two brothers are all buried here. Coincidentally, Kennedy was at Arlington Cemetery about two weeks before his assassination. When Kennedy was up on the hill where the house is, he looked over Arlington and Washington, D.C. and said, “I could spend eternity here.” That is one of the reasons why Kennedy is buried in Arlington Cemetery. There is a flame on his grave called the “Eternity Flame” which is always burning. Then we went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The ceremony we were at was the changing of the guard. There were three soldiers there. One seemed to be the head, checking both other soldiers’ guns and posture. They did pretty cool tricks with their guns! There were two people from Madison participating in the changing of the guard. One was a AAA life saver, who saved a young child from being hit by a car.
After the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier we got back on the bus and headed back to Madison. I’m grateful to have been able to have this outstanding experience!