Chris' BOLC Graduation & Grandparent Visit

On Wednesday afternoon, Mimi and Grandpa flew into Richmond to visit and to be here for Chris' BOLC graduation. The kids were pretty excited to see their grandparents. Wednesday night we went out for a nice seafood dinner. Then Thursday the kids went to school as usual. Mimi, Tucker and I joined them for lunch. They were so happy to see us at their school. 

Aren't they the cutest? They sure love their Mimi. 

After school, we picked up Mimi and Grandpa and explored the Petersburg Battlefield.
We were really interested in the crater. This was the one site we didn't get to see on our previous visit.

Here's a little bit of the history. 

 Union troops began digging on June 25, completing a 510-foot shaft within three weeks. They dug his tunnel beneath the confederate high ground.  By July 27, the mine was packed with 8,000 pounds of gunpowder and ready to ignite. Brig. Gen. Edward Ferrero’s division of black troops  was chosen to spearhead the assault. Though these troops had spent most of their service guarding wagon trains and building fortifications, Burnside believed their enthusiasm would compensate for their lack of combat experience. The black troops were eager to prove themselves and defend their freedom. 

On the day before the assault, however, General Meade ordered Burnside to select a white unit instead. Burnside had his division commanders draw lots for the job. Brig. Gen. Ledlie—possibly the worst general officer in the Union army—picked the short straw. Untrained, ill-prepared, and led by a drunken coward, Ledlie’s men would lead one of the Civil War’s most calamitous attacks the next morning.

The mine exploded at 4:44 a.m. on July 30, 1864. The result stunned everyone who witnessed it.

When the dust settled, a crater 130 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 30 feet deep scarred the landscape where Elliott’s Salient had stood a moment before. A total of 352 Confederates were killed by the blast.

 But after the blast, Ledlie’s men struggled to scale their own trenches, then staggered forward into a scene of indescribable confusion and horror. Paralyzed by contradictory orders and a lack of leadership, the union soldiers failed to either widen the breach or rush toward the high ground. Instead, many Yankee soldiers plunged into the Crater or froze in positions on either side of it. Reinforcements merely added to the lack of command and control. But Union incompetence is only part of the story. The Confederate defenders on either side of the Crater recovered quickly after their initial shock and poured fire on the Union troops. Shortly after he learned of the explosion, Gen. Robert E. Lee called for fresh troops to regain the lost ground. The only available reinforcements belonged to Maj. Gen. William Mahone and they were posted two-and-a-half miles west of the Crater. His troops arrived at 8:30 am and charged across the open ground. When the confederate troops reached the edge of the Crater, they unleashed a deadly volley. The combat became hand-to-hand and men died in heaps, with human gore running in streams to the bottom of the horrid pit.  Sadly, the black troops suffered disproportionately as they became special targets for the Confederates. Many were killed after they had surrendered. The troops under General Mahone's leadership managed to recapture most of the line north of the Crater. When the firing stopped, there were some 3,800 Union casualties. The Confederates lost fewer than 1,200 men, including those killed by the explosion. 
So here's Tanner in front of the crater that has been left after the explosion. Isn't this heartbreaking?

Here's part of the collapsed tunnel that the Union troops dug 

These are the plaques in front of the crater. Tucker loved exploring the trails around the battlefield. 

This was a monument made for the Confederate troops that were defending the location and the lives lost. 

Here are Tanner and Bailey in front of the entrance to the tunnel the Union troops dug. It took them less than two days to dig this tunnel and this plan that ended in the loss of nearly 5000 lives. So sad. 

After we finished our explorations of the battlefield, we ate dinner at Texas Roadhouse. 

Then today, Friday, we took the kids to school as usual and then got ready for Chris' graduation.
After four months of hard work, Chris finished the BOLC course and now we are headed home. I'm incredibly proud of this handsome guy. He aced his course and really enjoyed learning. He had lots of homework and it wasn't easy but he dedicated himself to learning and he did amazing. I can hardly believe that after all this time, it's over and we are finally going home. 

We feel so blessed to have Don & Deveney here to celebrate this accomplishment with us. They were pretty proud too!

Here's Chris' getting his certificate. Such a proud moment. 

And some shared joke between him and his instructor. Chris really liked his instructor. He said she was really laid back and was pretty cool- which is unusual for military instructors. 

Tucker came too, since he isn't in school. He was the biggest punk the entire time, but he did enjoy cheering for his Daddy. The Baers also joined us at Chris' graduation. Mark and Shirl Baer are the missionary liason couple serving here at Fort Lee. They took us under their wings and were our substitute grandparents. They had us over for dinner more than once and the kids loved them. They were so sweet. We sure are going to miss them!

So after graduation we went back to the hotel, changed our clothes and then packed up the car. We were grateful for Don and Deveney's help. We packed the car so tight that there wasn't any wiggle room. Then we had lunch together. After lunch we said our goodbyes and then went to get Tanner and Bailey from school. After grabbing them, we hit the road to drive home. We only made it halfway and we have about 10 hours to drive tomorrow, but I can't believe we are going to be home tomorrow. CRAZY. 

We are grateful for the support of our family and friends and grateful for the opportunity we had here in Virginia. It's been so amazing and we are so proud of 2nd Lieutenant Herb!