Bucky

Bucky traveled to Delaware yesterday(3/25/09). He visited the Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House in Odessa, Delaware. Believed to be one of the smallest Quaker Meeting Houses in the nation, the Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House was built in 1785 by David Wilson and presented to the Friends as a gift. Local tradition identifies this structure as a stop on the Underground Railroad during the years preceding the Civil War. While enroute to destinations north of Delaware, runaway slaves would hide in the loft of the church in order to escape capture. Prominent local Quakers who served as agents on the Railroad included John Alston and John Hunn. The Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
For more info, check this web site: http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/underground/de1.htm

Bucky went to Philadelphia this past weekend. First stop:Independence Hall.Known as the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, Independence Hall is one of the most recognizable historical landmarks not only in Philadelphia, but in the entire nation. The hall is the centerpiece of the 45-acre Independence National Historical Park , home to 20 buildings of historical significance (many of which are open to the public). The Liberty Bell is located right around the way, though its original home was Independence Hall's bell tower.

Next stop was the Betsy Ross House.The Betsy Ross House is generally recognized as the place where Betsy Ross lived when she may have made the first American Flag. Several of her surviving family members, including daughters, grandchildren and a niece, said that this was the site of the legendary event.

The house is located just blocks from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The front part of the building was built around 1740, in the Georgian style, with the stair hall and the rear section added 10 to 20 years later. Ross is believed to have lived here, with her first husband, John Ross (d. 1776), from 1773 to about 1785.

The last stop was the Edgar Allen Poe House at the northwest corner of 7th and Spring Garden Streets,Philadelphia. Edgar Allan Poe lived in Philadelphia for about six years (1838-1844), spending his last year to 18 months at a house on North 7th Street. With him lived his beloved wife Virginia, his treasured mother-in-law Maria Clemm (whom he called Muddy), and their adored feline, a tortoise-shell tabby named Catterina.

Poe came to Philadelphia, which was at the time the literary center of the United States, boasting many publishers of books and magazines. Six years before his arrival, Poe had already sold a handful of tales to The Philadelphia Saturday Courier. He now hoped to land a job working on a magazine which would provide him both stability and the money needed to continue writing.
Poe arrived in Philadelphia with a patchwork resume reflecting a man whose career consisted of starts buoyed by optimism and terminations clouded by peevish fits. That record would continue during his tenure in Philadelphia.

Bucky and I had a busy day in Philadelphia. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Bucky is still in the Philadelphia area with cyclejohn. Bucky spent yesterday (Feb. 1,2009) visiting Valley Forge National Historic Park. This is the site where George Washington and his ragtag army spent the winter of 1777-78.It was common practice in the eighteenth century for armies to suspend hostilities during the winter months. In the winter of 1777, Washington chose a site at Valley Forge because it would be easily defended from surprise attack. He also trusted that provisions for the soldiers would be readily available from local farmers.

From the beginning, however, lack of food and clothing were serious problems for the 12,000 encamped men. They had little to eat other than fried dough, referred to as "fire cakes." The soldiers were in tatters. Accommodations were hastily constructed: bunkhouses with canvas walls, dirt floors and fireplaces. This housing was smoky and cold—an ideal place for the spread of infectious disease. The soldiers were subject to bouts of cold that thawed into mud, then refroze. Local farmers were reluctant to exchange food for the nearly worthless Continental scrip and some preferred to deal in hard money with the British 25 miles away in Philadelphia. During the course of the winter, the American force dwindled to about one-half its initial size, due primarily to desertion. One of the few bright spots at Valley Forge was the presence of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian general who had met Benjamin Franklin in France and received from him a letter of introduction to Washington. Von Steuben assumed the task of training the Continental forces and managed to instill a sense of discipline and positive morale. Von Steuben later served at Yorktown, and after the war he was awarded a pension by Congress.

Bucky is now heading toward Pennsylvania.