The night before I left on this journey, Colleen was moving some things back home and I was trying to get a lot of the watering done. We ordered pizza and sat down to watch one of our favorite programs, "Who Do You Think You Are?" We laughed about my upcoming journey and the possibility of having my very own historian to meet me at the forts.
Today, I got a nice early start after a very good night's rest. I thought that I would never arrive to Fort Davis. I drove through several deserted towns or so they appeared to be, but most of the drive was through endless Texas desert. The small town of Ft. Davis was a welcome sight.
I began with the visitor's center. It was unmanned when I entered and so I had the opportunity to browse their book selection. The first ranger was only there to fix the computer or cash register. Then she went to get another ranger to help me. She was so enthusiastic! She tried to look John O'Donnell up on the data base for the fort, but he was not listed. "Oh", but I said, " I have his documents and he was indeed stationed here. He was promoted to corporal and to sergeant at this base." I happened to put the documents on a thumb drive and so I had them with me. She was absolutely thrilled. She had a 9:00 AM meeting and I was eager to look around the grounds. We agreed to meet again after her meeting and my tour.
John O'Donnell was stationed at the old Fort Davis which unfortunately was burned down by the Apaches. They were made from oak and cottonwood pickets and had a roof that was either thatched or of canvas. So what is left of the old fort, is only the foundations of the buildings.
I had always wondered if John O'Donnell's wife, Mary Catherine Kissane, went with him or if she did not, where did she live? I was told that you had to be single to enlist, however, you could marry after your enlistment. In the later years, I saw pictures of wives and children at the fort. In my reading, I discovered that there were 13 houses for married soldiers and their families.
After visiting Ft. Davis, I drove on to Carlsbad Caverns. This was my first visit here. I took the narrated walking tour. The coolness of the caverns was delightful after the 100+ degree weather that I had a the fort. The caverns were impressive and definitely worth the stop.
I registered into my hotel and made a date with Colleen to Skype. I did some laundry and then went out to eat. I am trying to orgnize my things and figure out what to do with the things that I am collecting.
Tomorrow will be a long drive to Pueblo, Colorado with no fun diversions planned along the way. I am indeed grateful to my great grandfather and all of those with him who helped make the world a better place while enduring great hardship to do so.
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