Salvage These Bones
October 7, 2013 8:06 PM   Subscribe

A long-planned long weekend visit to DC to check out Harper's Ferry and Antietam in a few days has been infuriatingly stymied by the shutdown. The plan had been to go see a lot of stuff related to John Brown's Raid, Civil War battlefields, and African American art housed at the National Gallery. The trip was in part to do research for a creative writing project about Mr Brown, and part for some general shenanigans. Now what?

- We are starting and ending our journey in DC where we have a place to stay
- We have a rental car
- Four adults no kids
- 75% of us dislike hiking and other outdoor sports
- 25% of us are pretty pregnant
- 100% of us would be interested in super authentic super delicious cheap eats

We are super confused about what is still open as a state site and what is closed as a federal site. Suggestions welcome for still-open Civil War sites and museums within 2 hours of DC. Thanks so much.
posted by sestaaak to Travel & Transportation around Washington, DC (18 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Here are the Maryland State parks that have to do with the civil war. They should all be open.
posted by empath at 8:19 PM on October 7, 2013


Frederick MD is just up the road from DC and has good eats in its walkable little historic downtown section, and has the Museum of Civil War Medicine. (Full disclosure: I haven't been in, but their exterior display promises grisly details.)

Maryland State Parks' list of Civil War sites

similar list with map for Virginia Civil War sites including state parks (PDF)
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:20 PM on October 7, 2013


The Town Of Harpers Ferry (Use Your GPS To Go To The Train Station) Is Right By The Np Area, Though It'S rather hilly.
posted by brujita at 8:34 PM on October 7, 2013


Right, but all the John Brown related stuff is in the national park, so you won't be able to see it. You might be able to see Jefferson's rock? Not really worth a drive out there, if the point is looking at civil war stuff.
posted by empath at 9:20 PM on October 7, 2013


I remember doing a driving tour of South Mountain Battlefield, which is on the MD state park list linked above--might be a possibility since some of you dislike hiking. Also the drive to there from DC goes through two of my favorite eats-- if you like sushi and if you like Mexican in a gas station.
posted by inevitability at 9:32 PM on October 7, 2013


Neither Civil War nor technically museum, but Monticello in Charlottesville is not a national park and still open. As is the University of Virginia, if you want to wander the Grounds and see the buildings.

There's also a fair amount of stuff in Richmond, including the Museum of the Confederacy, which will be unaffected by the federal shutdown. Also, Appomattox. I offer that with the caveat that I haven't been to the Richmond museum since I was a kid, and even then I clearly understood just how one-sided the presentations were. I can't vouch for them having changed.
posted by gingerbeer at 9:48 PM on October 7, 2013


Ethiopian food. Fasikas if you're just starting with it. Otherwise, we all have our little favorites.

Raven Bar and Grill (its only a bar no food), my neighborhood bar.

Meridian Pint for beer.

Room 11 for wine.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:50 PM on October 7, 2013


Also -- the whole New Market complex is state and therefore open.
posted by gingerbeer at 9:54 PM on October 7, 2013


I would check out the Shenandoah Valley, about 90 minutes west. Many many (many!!) sites. Winchester saw at least three battles, and the Kernstown battlefield has a pretty good little museum. I can also report that it is doable by pretty pregnant people. I think the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley has some Civil War items, not totally sure but it is open and pretty good for its size.
posted by emkelley at 12:02 AM on October 8, 2013


I would also browse virginia.org. They list the six national battlefield parks, so presumably others you'd find there would be state and therefore open.
posted by emkelley at 12:09 AM on October 8, 2013


You may be interested in the Underground Railroad? They call it a 'hike' but my 80year old mom had no problem with it.
posted by 0 at 4:02 AM on October 8, 2013


Lexington VA is about 3 hours away and is good for a day of exploring.

You've got the Lee Chapel and Museum and StoneWall Jackson's House. The VMI tour discusses the school's role in the Civil War, and and there is a museum on campus. Also, if you are there on a Friday don't miss the parade at 4:30 PM. Not Civil War related but still of interest militarily is the George C Marshall museum on the grounds of VMI, and the Museum of Military Memorabilia, which is the personal collection of the father of skateboarder Lance Mountain.
posted by COD at 5:03 AM on October 8, 2013


President Lincoln's Cottage at the "Old Soldier's Home" in DC is foundation funded and open for business during the shutdown. This was the original "war room" where Lincoln personally oversaw Union troop movements in near real time using the new technology of the telegraph which spidered out from this location across the expanding fronts. Civil war sites don't get more vital than this one!
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 5:36 AM on October 8, 2013


I was going to suggest Ethiopian food. Then I saw that one of you is very pregnant. You could still eat Ethiopian, but for extra listeria precautions purposes you might want to avoid kitfo or some other Ethiopian meat dishes that are typically served rare. Go with tibs.

Another option would be to go to the Columbia Heights/Mount Pleasant area for Cuban (Mi Cuba Cafe), Mexican (Taqueria Distrito Federal) , or Guatamalan food (Corado's).

The Newseum should still be open and might have some Civil War sections.

Don't lose hope, it's always possible the lapse in government funding will be over by Friday night! Although no one knows for sure...
posted by donut_princess at 5:56 AM on October 8, 2013


- 100% of us would be interested in super authentic super delicious cheap eats

For this one, the last Washingtonian Cheap Eats issue did a cool breakdown by ethnic cuisine type.
posted by ersatzkat at 6:14 AM on October 8, 2013


If you do decide to drive down to the Sharpsburg/Harpers Ferry area, some stops worth making are O'Hurley's General Store and Blue Moon Café (Oh my god, the baked brie!) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. O'Hurley's hosts a bluegrass/old-time jam Thursday nights - I've never been, but I've heard it's a good time for musicians and audience alike. Also in Shepherdstown is Rumsey park, which contains a large monument to James Rumsey, who built one of the first steam-powered boats. There's not much to the park, but it's situated on a bluff with an impressive view of the Potomac river.

A few minutes across the river from Shepherdstown is Sharpsburg, Maryland, where you'll find Burkholder's Baked Goods, a wonderful Mennonite bakery. (Frustratingly, their hours aren't on their website so you probably want to call ahead.) Although the Antietam battlefield proper and visitors centers will be closed, I'm pretty sure you would still be able to drive over and see the Dunkard Church from the road.

You could also go to Gettysburg, which is about 90 minutes away form DC according to Google Maps; I'm sure all of the shops and museums downtown and on Steinwehr avenue are still open. Fair warning, though, there's definitely a strong tourist trap vibe to most of them, which can be fun in the right mood and downright distasteful in the wrong mood. But there are some gems among the souvenir shops: The Horse Soldier has a lot of civil war antiques on display and for sale. American History Store has an extensive selection of books with a predictable focus on U.S. Civil War history and U.S. history in general. Dirty Billy's Hats and Wilderness Lodge Leather & Hat Shop are must-sees if anyone in your group is a hat person (especially if they're men, who usually get short shrift when it comes to hats.) And finally, I think there's no better way to spend your tourist dollars in Gettysburg than sitting for a tintype or ambrotype photo at Victorian Photography Studio. They offer a digital option, but you gotta do the real deal - wet plate collodion, ~14 second exposure time. (They have a complete wardrobe of period clothing.) The Hilberts are lovely people and do beautiful work.
posted by usonian at 7:07 AM on October 8, 2013


You might want to check out Civil War Trails. They have lists of sites for each state. Here is the John Brown list. There are a lot of sites in Charles Town, where he was tried and hung.
posted by candyland at 7:24 AM on October 8, 2013


Oh - Also in Gettysburg, the privately run General Lee's Headquarters Gift Shop and Museum is actually far more tasteful than you'd ever expect from its name. It's not very big, but if I recall correctly admission is free (or if it's not free, it must be very nominal because I don't remember getting gouged there.)
posted by usonian at 10:44 AM on October 8, 2013


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