Left Raleigh about 7:45 a.m. on US 1 taking the US 15/501 bypass to Pinehurst below Sanford. For the uninitiated, Pinehurst is golf heaven. The Pinehurst No. 2 course is ranked in the top ten courses in the world (that's the bloody world, folks, not the county, state, or nation...the world). It's where golfers go when they die.
Pinehurst was built in 1895 and has been in continuous operation since then. I've stayed at both the old hotel and in some of the condos. Both are very nice. The condos are more comfortable, but there's just something about staying in the old hotel. You have to dress for dinner, coat required (tie not). And there's usually a classical harpist playing next to a beautiful ice sculpture. The food is good and the company convivial. It's a special place.
Stopped by the main club to get a picture of the lawn bowlers.
I pulled up by one of the valets, an older black gentleman who looked as if he'd been working there since the 1930s. The very nice man indicated I could park right there in front of the club when I asked if I could park and take a couple of pictures.I stepped off the bike, grabbing my camera, and said, "Man, you don't see something like this every day." And he said, "Oh yes you do if you come here. They're out there every day."
Yep, it's all about perspective.
This solitary gentleman was practicing up for the next croquet championship.
And then there's the golf course. They have eight of them. But there's only one number two.
I believe this is the 10th hole on Pinehurst No. 2.
I've played the course a couple of times while, the entire time, telling myself that I'm playing one of the Top 10 (!!) courses in the world!
Took Hwy 5 out of Pinehurst rejoining US 1 at Aberdeen. Took US 1 to Rockingham picking up US 74 W there.
Snapped this pic for the NASCAR fans. The famous Rockingham speedway.
Had to divert from US 74 W just east of Marshville (Home of Randy Travis) because a wreck shut down the entire highway. Managed to sneak around on a country road and rejoined the highway about five miles further west. Took US 74 to I-485 bending around Charlotte to I-85 W. Took Exit 92 in South Carolina, SC 11 to the Cowpens National Battlefield.
This is the site of one of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War. The battle, January 17, 1781, in effect threw the British out of South Carolina and, ultimately, led to defeat at Yorktown. The Americans, 970 strong, were led by Gen. Daniel Morgan, while the British were under the command of the much-hated twenty-six-year-old Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton. Morgan lay a tactical trap for Tarleton utilizing the well-known disposition of militia troops to cut and run. Tarleton bit and was soundly defeated, losing 110 dead, something over 200 wounded, and 500 taken prisoner. This, from a force numbering only 1050.
American losses reported by Morgan were 12 killed, and 60 wounded. Subsequent historians have variously estimated as many as 24 may have been killed.
My connection to this particular historic field/event may be much closer than my others. According to the genealogical book, "The Geigers of South Carolina," one of the Americans killed was a John Murff. His daughter married John Randolf "Randall" Geiger, my great-great-great-grandfather, making John Murff my great-great-great-great grandfather.
I do not know for sure if this is accurate. A book supposedly listing all 970 American patriots at Cowpens does not list a John Murff. Another genealogical tree on Ancester.com reports that John Murff died at Cowpens while another lists him as a revolutionary war soldier in 1781 and 1782. The latter date, of course, after the Battle of Cowpens.
Who knows? I don't. But I'll keep checking.
The day was saved for the Americans when the militia stopped their supposed retreat
and turned and fired almost in unison at the attacking Scottish Highlanders. The American cavalry under William Washington, then sprang "seemingly from nowhere" completing the rout of the British forces.
A monument was dedicated by the Washington Light Infantry of Charleston, SC in 1856 to commemorate this famous victory.
The Monument
And Kilroy was there.
Like most, the battlefield just looks like mowed lawns today.
Took Hwy 5 out of Pinehurst rejoining US 1 at Aberdeen. Took US 1 to Rockingham picking up US 74 W there.
Snapped this pic for the NASCAR fans. The famous Rockingham speedway.
Had to divert from US 74 W just east of Marshville (Home of Randy Travis) because a wreck shut down the entire highway. Managed to sneak around on a country road and rejoined the highway about five miles further west. Took US 74 to I-485 bending around Charlotte to I-85 W. Took Exit 92 in South Carolina, SC 11 to the Cowpens National Battlefield.
This is the site of one of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War. The battle, January 17, 1781, in effect threw the British out of South Carolina and, ultimately, led to defeat at Yorktown. The Americans, 970 strong, were led by Gen. Daniel Morgan, while the British were under the command of the much-hated twenty-six-year-old Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton. Morgan lay a tactical trap for Tarleton utilizing the well-known disposition of militia troops to cut and run. Tarleton bit and was soundly defeated, losing 110 dead, something over 200 wounded, and 500 taken prisoner. This, from a force numbering only 1050.
American losses reported by Morgan were 12 killed, and 60 wounded. Subsequent historians have variously estimated as many as 24 may have been killed.
My connection to this particular historic field/event may be much closer than my others. According to the genealogical book, "The Geigers of South Carolina," one of the Americans killed was a John Murff. His daughter married John Randolf "Randall" Geiger, my great-great-great-grandfather, making John Murff my great-great-great-great grandfather.
I do not know for sure if this is accurate. A book supposedly listing all 970 American patriots at Cowpens does not list a John Murff. Another genealogical tree on Ancester.com reports that John Murff died at Cowpens while another lists him as a revolutionary war soldier in 1781 and 1782. The latter date, of course, after the Battle of Cowpens.
Who knows? I don't. But I'll keep checking.
The day was saved for the Americans when the militia stopped their supposed retreat
and turned and fired almost in unison at the attacking Scottish Highlanders. The American cavalry under William Washington, then sprang "seemingly from nowhere" completing the rout of the British forces.A monument was dedicated by the Washington Light Infantry of Charleston, SC in 1856 to commemorate this famous victory.
The Monument
And Kilroy was there.
Like most, the battlefield just looks like mowed lawns today.
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