God and Country
History, religion, war and politics make strange bedfellows, but they do go hand-in-hand. This tour shows a little of all – from the protectors of our freedom to our freedom of religion. Land acquisitions. Strategies. Growth and division.
Day One
Your tour begins at Fort Bragg where you’ll pick up an escort for your trip around the reservation, as manycall it. This is Federal, not State, property, so check out the signs as you drive around. They look a little different.
Years before the base was created, Longstreet Presbyterian Church, with adjacent cemetery, was built. Founded in the 1700’s, it is often termed a “mother church,” spawning others nearby. There’s simply got to be an interesting story about how the Federal Government acquired the land…
A visit to the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum will help you get a better orientation about Fort Bragg. Check out the C-130 in front. More planes are in back of the building. Your self-guided tour continues inside where you’ll explore the role of the 82nd Airborne since World War I. Plan a stop at the gift shop for an array of T-shirts, collectibles and military music CD’s.
Several chapels on base feature stained glass windows depicting battles, strategies and artwork. The 82nd Airborne Division Memorial Chapel features seven stained glass windows, each representing different military campaigns. The Main Post Chapel represents one of the first military religious buildings funded by the government. If the light is right, you’ll want a photo of the stained glass windows made of more than 14,000 tiny pieces of antique glass.
Windows of the Division South Chapel tell more about battles that have occurred in the past ten years. Children are an important component in the windows of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Memorial Chapel. It’s dedicated to the widows and children of members of the Special Forces.
It’s lunchtime! Please be our guests at the Fort Bragg Officer’s Club. Many famous members of the military have passed through our doors, some of them high-ranking politicians! Perhaps you’ll see one. If not, your dessert will serve up some humor and levity today.
You know, politics and leaders are everywhere. Even in Falcon. That’s a speck on the map, but its international impact is significant. Falcon is the birthplace of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Today, it is the headquarters of the North Carolina Pentecostal Holiness Church. Nondenominational prayer and camp meetings are held throughout the year, just like they were in the early 1900’s.
Long before Falcon was formed, a big fire was brewing up the road. No, it didn’t have much to do with worship. It was a real estate deal.
A small group of Confederate soldiers held back the infamous General William T. Sherman’s Union army. The battle resulted in a blood bath. Today, you can see how the events unfolded at the Averasboro Civil War Battlefield. Even though you’ll see a small cemetery, many of the 350 soldiers and 1,200 wounded were cared for elsewhere.
You know, along with churches and battles comes a little politics.
There’s no better place to see it than at Countryside Furniture Store in Hope Mills. Democrats, Republicans, Independents and others will get a real kick out of this place. “Test sit” the furniture. Read the wall. See the Warner political family tradition!
Your next stop will be the hotel to change and get ready for dinner.
Day Two
Old-timers remember when downtown Fayetteville wasn’t exactly the kind of place you wanted to go. Today, thanks to politics, movers and shakers and visionaries, it’s safe, beautiful and offers quite a bit to do for the American family.
Pathways wandering through the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in downtown Fayetteville give you a glimpse of historic international religious, military and political strife. In the simulator, grab a line and hang on! Will your parachute open? Only time will tell. Be sure to stop by the gift shop. You may want some reading material for the ride back home!
Within a few blocks of the Museum is the downtown area. Shopping. Restaurants. Even art exhibits at The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. The old post office is a pretty building beckoning your entrance.
Continue walking along the brick streets and take your photo at the round-a-bout by the Market House, Fayetteville’s National Landmark and site of many historic occurrences. Check out the markers all around it and see what happened there. That way, you’ll definitely know you were in Fayetteville!
Care to linger and shop a little before leaving? Go ahead. Your coach will wait on you!
Estimated Price: $95-$165 pp plus hotel
based on a 40 person group
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