Pointless Prize: Civil War History

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 203269 wrote:

FYI, I have been doing my research to plan rides starting 1/1! So far, I’ve found that one sign no longer exists (since it was a CSA sign, and that is a bad thing now), and I have yet to find a sign for another historic house (although, I have found pictures online). I still need to look at that property a bit closer.

Hopefully, I don’t encounter too many of these obstacles once Jan. starts!

But, in that regard, if I take a picture of a building that has no sign (but is clearly related to the civil war – and I tell the story), will that count as a marker?

Great question! In a situation like this, I would want one additional thing posted to Strava: a photo of the historical marker from your original source.

So in this case you need 3 things:
1. A photo of your bike and the house/historical site that used to have a historical marker
2. Photographic proof that such a marker once existed
3. A description of how this site/marker/former marker is related to the Civil War.

Have fun scouting!

[BicycleBeth]

@SarahBee 203280 wrote:

I am organizing a Civil War Forts of DC ride(s), so stay posted. It’s a longish full route even with no stops and super hilly since all the forts are on the ridgeline. At least 2 rides, maybe 3. We’ll see, but this is on my bucket list after hearing about it during my tour of the Congressional Cemetery.

Please keep me in the loop! I’d love to join in and lead one too!

Beth

[lordofthemark]

@BicycleBeth 203208 wrote:

Lord of the Mark,

Yay! I used to live in Foxchase on Taney Ave, a street that would count for this challenge since Chief Justice Taney ruled in the Dred Scott case. Crazily enough, I didn’t even realize the streets in my old neighborhood were all named after Confederate generals until recently—Pickett, Van Dorn, Beauregard, etc.

Thank you for playing!

Beth

When the City annexed the West End (previously in Fairfax) around 1950 they passed a law saying all new North South streets had to be named after Confederates. That law was only repealed relatively recently. I find it particularly worthy of note that we have a street named after Bloody Bill Quantrell, arguably a terrorist. (the street is not terrible to ride on, though getting to it is – interesting)

[lordofthemark]

@SarahBee 203280 wrote:

I am organizing a Civil War Forts of DC ride(s), so stay posted. It’s a longish full route even with no stops and super hilly since all the forts are on the ridgeline. At least 2 rides, maybe 3. We’ll see, but this is on my bucket list after hearing about it during my tour of the Congressional Cemetery.

As a proud resident of Fort Ward Heights, I am quite aware that all the forts were sited based on military tactics, and not on bikeability.

[BicycleBeth]

I found my first #CivilWarMarker and #CivilWarStreet today!

#CivilWarMarker I rode to the Josiah Henson House in Rockville/N Bethesda. Josiah Henson was a former slave who dutifully obeyed his master and tried to buy his freedom. Cheated out of his freedom, he ran away to Canada with some of his family. He was a conductor in the Underground Railroad. The book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was based in part on his experiences and influenced Northern opinions toward slavery. Some of the markers from the Josiah Henson cabin on Riley Plantation are pictured above. I still need to visit the lower part of the grounds.

#CivilWarStreet Confederate General Jubal Early marched his troops down Rockville Pike toward the defenses of Washington in 1864 culminating in the Battle of Fort Stevens.

Photos are here on Strava

[AlanA]

Thanks for the links to the leaderboards in the first post!

I guess we got a head start on the competition. I also did some research on this dreary day, so beware!! I may start doing some streets, too.

Oh, and some of my descriptions of events might not quite be as factual as what happened. I like to keep things a bit more amusing.

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 203553 wrote:

Thanks for the links to the leaderboards in the first post!

I guess we got a head start on the competition. I also did some research on this dreary day, so beware!! I may start doing some streets, too.

Oh, and some of my descriptions of events might not quite be as factual as what happened. I like to keep things a bit more amusing.

Sure thing! I was surprised that there wasn’t a leaderboard for this year’s pointless prizes and Rumi asked the question about her Quax prize. Then I realized that I need to generate my own leaderboards.

I planned out my marker and street for tomorrow. I have to be home for work by 8:30 am so I won’t have much time. Thankfully, I live close to the Battle of Fort Steven’s.

[lordofthemark]

Wait only one Street per day? Dang, I forgot and too pics of several street signs in West ALX this morning. I will tag the pics for the day, but leave the others up, is that okay?

[BicycleBeth]

@lordofthemark 203625 wrote:

Wait only one Street per day? Dang, I forgot and too pics of several street signs in West ALX this morning. I will tag the pics for the day, but leave the others up, is that okay?

Hi Lord of the Mark, any photos you post today of streets/signs today means that you can’t use those streets/signs again later… Since you have SO many West Alexandria streets to choose from, this may not be limiting for you.

[BicycleBeth]

@lordofthemark 203625 wrote:

Wait only one Street per day? Dang, I forgot and too pics of several street signs in West ALX this morning. I will tag the pics for the day, but leave the others up, is that okay?

Remember to hashtag your Strava title with #civilwarstreet so that you can get credit. I didn’t see you on the leaderboard yet.

[AlanA]

I found the Landon House in Urbana today. It’s a pretty impressive building. Sadly, it’s owned by a private party and they are renovating it, so the only good view was from the front. The back looks awful.

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[AlanA]

@BicycleBeth 202904 wrote:

Civil War History Pointless Prize

RULES EDITED on 1/3/2020 TO ADD:
1. Hashtags, photos, and Strava captions/rude comments must be completed no later than 3 days after the date of the ride. No saving up those points for the last minute!
2. You must be willing to accept my Strava friend request or have a public profile that I can follow so that I can read your civil war posts and audit them for accuracy and completeness.
3. If your Civil War Marker is not clearly connected to the Civil War on the marker itself, then you must explain the connection in your comments. For example, you see a courthouse or fort sign that you know was relevant to the civil war but is otherwise not explained on the sign. You take a picture with the marker and your bike. You should also explain what the connection is to the Civil War.

Haha. I guess the “rude comment” part is for my interpretation of the actual events! (I actually assume you meant “ride”, but it’s funnier with rude).

And, while I will not get any markers today, I had plenty of time to do some more research (in the car and online).

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 203768 wrote:

Haha. I guess the “rude comment” part is for my interpretation of the actual events! (I actually assume you meant “ride”, but it’s funnier with rude).

And, while I will not get any markers today, I had plenty of time to do some more research (in the car and online).

Haha! I loved your commentary actually and it made me go look up what kind of carousing JEB was up too. I’ll go fix my “rude” typo now.

[JoM]

Charles Benedict Calvert owned Riverdale Plantation, which spanned over 2,000 acres, which includes College Park and some parts of the University of Maryland Campus. In 1856 he founded the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC). While Calvert owned slaves, he was pro-union.

In April 1864, General Ambrose E. Burnside and 6,000 soldiers of the Union’s Ninth Army Corps camped on the MAC campus. The troops were en route to reinforce General Ulysses S. Grant’s forces in Virginia.

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_{http://civilwarwashingtondc1861-1865.blogspot.com/2011/09/college-divided-university-of-md.html}

[Kbikeva]

In the edited rules for sites that aren’t necessarily marked as CW sites, you mentioned our bike being in the photo. I don’t see that requirement in the other rules (Markers, Streets). So — should our bikes be in the photo or is that optional except if the site isn’t obviously CW?

[Author]

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