Robbing Graves
As most wars, this was fought over access to resources, with France and England contesting North America. November 18-19, Fort Dobbs Historical Site will present a Military Time Line from Revolutionary War to the present. This living history program honors the sacrifices and contributions of veterans by telling the story of more than 200 years of military service in North Carolina. The experiences of soldiers of the American Revolution, Civil War, World Wars, and other conflicts will be shared through displays and weapons firing demonstrations. Sounds like a fun family field trip! The admission is $2.00. You can find Fort Dobbs in Statesville, NC. http://www.fortdobbs.org/events
I enjoyed my visit with the knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly ranger. The museum is small but worthy, with a gift shop of unique period items and things students might use in a report (or this author might use on her book table!)
Most of the site is under reconstruction, however, so not a lot to see. The white oak that grows abundantly in the piedmont and was used in the original construction, is being hand hewn using reproductions of period hand tools. The fort is being reconstructed using the same construction techniques and tools as the original. Piedmont, by the way, is another word for prairie, so when you see the fort surrounded by a flat plain of grass it’s an authentic look. I could imagine the wagons and the horses, the smoke from cooking fires. There would have been more trees. And there will be again, as the reforestation and reconstruction continues. A model of the fort inside the museum shows what it will look like when finished and will once again honor the nation’s past.
For writers of historical fiction or nonfiction, visits to museums and forts like this one are source material. Here is where we unearth lost language, once so eloquent, salted with words like sippit and hewn, with no economy or apology invoked. Names on gravesites are given to new literary characters to carry on once more. Food and the preparation chores buried with tough women make us hungry to know more. Verbs and nouns from our past ignite our pages and captivate the imaginations of our readers, and justify our craving for writing one more book.