[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 207301 wrote:

Dang. I guess I should have used my “Appomattox” Ave. before this clarification. But, I thought that would be pushing the limits, so I didn’t even bother. Or, I could be a sleaze and use it for tomorrow!! (Although I won’t, because that’s not the way I am).

Oh, and Beth. How about a reminder of posting something in the picture or ride description as to why the picture is significant.

Hi Alan,

Yes! I do need to do that rule reminder too. Thank you for the reminder! None of the zero description hashtags and pics will count when I review the photos for those who win. So far, the people who are the top contenders have been doing this. But I’d hate to see bad/disqualifying habits spread.

And thank you for not being a sleaze tomorrow! I have plenty of streets I’ve been avoiding that are related to battles and not people as well.

[BicycleBeth]

I have a rule reminder and clarification for the #civilwarstreet game.

The Civil War streets, other than those used for troop and supply movements, should be named after historical FIGURES from the Civil War to include topics related to secession, slavery, abolition, the Underground Railroad, and Reconstruction and the politics of these events. Just to be clear, a key figure or historical figure is a PERSON not a city, battlefield, park, ship name, etc. The key figure should be historically remembered in some way that was relevant to one of these topics. Streets do not need to literally be named after the person. They can just be the same name as the surname of the historical figure.

Reason for clarification: I have seen people use places, battlefields, and ship names for the #civilwarstreet hashtag. At first, it was just with casual players but today I saw it in one of the top players who has a chance of placing for the prize. So I wanted to nip this in the bud before more people start doing this. Let me know if you have any questions.

Retroactive grace period: I will allow ONE non-figure #civilwarstreet name that was documented in Strava and otherwise meets the rules up to and including the date of Monday, 2/8/2021.

[BicycleBeth]

@josh 206980 wrote:

Out of curiosity, are all these street names known to be related to these Civil War people, or is it just a hopeful assumption? Names like Monitor and Merrimack are obvious, but I’d always assumed that ones like Truman or Jackson were named after presidents. While trying to figure out some of these name origins, I did learn about the great Arlington street renaming of 1932, and how a County committee created a unifying naming scheme for the county’s formerly ragtag, disparate streets.

Hi Josh,

For this game, we don’t need to prove provenance for the street name. Alan A asked this question awhile ago and I bet the answer is buried in week 1 of our posts. The most important thing for this Pointless Prize is for players to learn about the history of the Civil War rather than the history of how a street got its name (also interesting but not well-documented in many cases).

I hope that helps clarify things.

[BicycleBeth]

@bikesnick 206146 wrote:

Buchanan Street (McLean, VA)

Franklin Buchanan was an officer in the US Navy. He submitted plans to the US Secretary of the Navy for a naval school and served as the first Superintendent of what became the US Naval Academy. The Superintendent’s quarters at USNA is the Buchanan House.
During the Civil War he resigned and became the only full admiral of the Confederate Navy. He commanded the CSS Virginia (built on the hull of the USS Merrimack), the first steam-powered ironclad warship.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23214[/ATTACH]

Wow! Great detail!

[BicycleBeth]

@lordofthemark 205761 wrote:

There certainly are a lot of different civil war related markers and street names around here.

I have found myself taking a much narrower approach to this game. Basically doing markers only of forts. By doing so I have been led to several places I had never visited before, which of course means figuring out bike routes I had never tried before, which to me is one of the fun things about FS pointless prize games. So far all have been forts in NoVa, the so called Arlington Line, which as Paul Wilson pointed out, are not all in Arlington (I am still trying to learn when the line received that name, as Arlington County did not exist then, and not all the forts were close to the Custis-Lee Mansion called Arlington) For streets, I have only done streets in Alexandria named after CSA officers (since all new NS in west alexandria were so named for about 40 years, there are a lot)

I will probably diversify as I run out of places in the above categories. My next major goal is to explore the circle forts in DC. Hints about the best routes through greater Anacostia to the circle forts from the Wilson bridge will be appreciated.

Fort Foote is an easy place to visit from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and there bike lanes and share the road signs to get there. I haven’t been to the Anacostia forts yet so I can’t help there.

[BicycleBeth]

@bikesnick 205954 wrote:

Dr. Mary Walker served as a surgeon during the Civil War and received the Medal of Honor for her efforts. She is the only woman to ever receive the medal.

She volunteered for the Union Army, crossed enemy lines to treat wounded, was captured and arrested as a spy. After the war she wrote and lectured supporting the women’s suffrage movement. The Walker-Whitman Clinic in DC is named in her honor.

Walker St, Vienna VA
[ATTACH=CONFIG]23110[/ATTACH]

Super cool!

[BicycleBeth]

Hi everyone! I love all the Strava and forum activity about the Civil War. I have a rule clarification and a resource for you all.

Rule clarification: Reconstruction counts for Civil War History just like abolitionism, slavery, and the Underground Railroad do.

Incredible resource: Historical Marker Database: https://www.hmdb.org/ You’ve got to see it to believe it! The markers are photographed, categorized, mapped, and more. You can search near you and see all markers on that subject within 50 miles of you. I’ve had luck finding Civil War related markers with these topics: Civil War, Abolitionism/Slavery, Abraham Lincoln, and African Americans so far.

Happy hunting and learning about our history!

[BicycleBeth]

@Boomer2U 204839 wrote:

Provence indisputable! #civilwarstreet – Sharpsburg MD

Sent from Boomer_Cycles via my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow! That’s definitely a General Robert E Lee street there! Great work! I’m so excited and a little jealous that you and Beth are biking through Antietam. So cool!

Beth

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 204823 wrote:

Just me again with another silly question.

Using your example: “Lee” Street appears in multiple cities in the region. You could ride “Lee” Street in 5 different cities on 5 different days and have them all count.

Does any street marked as “Lee” count? Or the same with Lincoln or any other last name that could be associated with the Civil War. Lee is a very common name, and could have been named for Charles Lee who happened to own the land around the road. How do we actually know that a street with only a last name is named for a Civil War person? If I find “E Lincoln St, Oregon, WI 53575” will that count? (lol, and yes, I did find that street online).

Again, just checking to see what I have to work with. It’s a long way until the end of Winter and I may have to get creative, and I don’t want to break any rules.

Hi Alan A,
I’ve struggled with this same question since it’s hard to show the exact origin of many street names. For example, the Carroll family goes back to before the Declaration of Independence in the state of Maryland but a specific Carroll, Gen. Carroll, was in the Union Army. Since I know the origin of Carroll and Old Carroll St in Takoma Park to be related to Gen. Carroll, they would both count. However, there are cities, towns, and counties named (and probably streets in them) after other members of the Carroll family that maybe shouldn’t count.
So unless there is clear evidence to the contrary that a street is named for a different Lee, Grant, Lincoln, Sheridan, Jackson, Stuart, Mosby, Reno, Tubman, Douglass, John Brown, Jubal Early, Stevens, Franklin, Longstreet, etc, etc, then for this game the street name will count as a civil war key figure. Be sure to explain, as usual, who your key figure was. If you think the provenance of the name is highly suspect, then you may want to choose another but my reviews are unlikely to catch this except in the most egregious cases.

So there’s a Jackson Ave near me. I don’t know if it’s named for Andrew Jackson or Stonewall Jackson or another Jackson altogether. Since I can’t find the origin online easily, I will assume that it is for Stonewall Jackson for the purposes of this game.

The most important part of this game is learning more about history and helping others learn more in the process.

I hope that helps!

Beth

[BicycleBeth]

@Brownws 204767 wrote:

This one was a few feet from the Civil war in Silver Spring. But takes place beforethe civil war. Contender?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I can’t see a pic. But if it’s related to the politics and policy situation that caused the Civil War it counts as long as you explain why. So it could be related to slavery or the abolitionist movement or the Underground Railroad including before the war and that all counts.

[BicycleBeth]

@bikesnick 204645 wrote:

Taylor’s Tavern and Professor Lowe’s Balloons (Falls Church, VA)
The first aerial reconnaissance in American military history took place here, with a balloon filled with gas from Washington Gas Company.

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Nice! I almost hit Taylor’s Tavern today myself but since today was a recovery day I went for one that wasn’t up a hill. Great find! And thank you for including the website. I’m loving that historical marker database.

[BicycleBeth]

@HokieBeth 204708 wrote:

Antietam Battlefield at dusk

Gen Benjamin C Christ

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m so jealous that you got to bike at Antietam today, Hokie Beth!

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 204625 wrote:

Sorry. Another silly clarification regarding streets. A great example would be a development that has a Lee St, Lee Rd, Lee Ct, etc. They are clearly in the same city/area, but do have different names.

Hi Alan,

Since these are all different streets, they can all count separately.

Beth

[BicycleBeth]

@rachel_c 203314 wrote:

Yep. I am that person, registering after the deadline. So hoping there is a straggler team. Happy New year all!

And you’re now on Team 26, Rachel! Welcome!

[BicycleBeth]

@AlanA 204385 wrote:

Hiya Civil War buff. Team #26 could have something to do with Rt. 26 (Liberty Rd) in MD. A major route between Frederick and Baltimore during the Civil War.

Haha, and you will probably be seeing a few posts from me with this road in it!!

Good luck to your team.

Thank you, Alan! I appreciate your support and positive spirit. And I love the way you can tell a story! ��

[Author]

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