Parking Area-North Carolina Monument & Raine Monument

Ulysses Simpson (Hiram) Grant whom I consider to be one of our nation's greatest generals later President. After beating every Confederate General in the Western Campaign (and having to fight his superiors who he kept showing up). Abraham Lincoln finally found out about this fellow promoting him & moving him to the Eastern Campaign, giving Grant a free hand where he systematically dissected the invincible & legendary Robert E Lee & his Army of Northern Virginia. Grant saved the country we inherited and never boasting, here he simply ended the war, gave the orders to wind it down and left. Humble to the end, a true American Patriot. He never gets his due & is overlooked & almost forgotten today. But he was a hero and was loved by all Americans during his lifetime.

The large obelisk monument that you see from the parking lot is the Raine Monument (family burial site). The Raine family were the original owners of the McLean house (where the Surrender took place). To the right there is a trail through the woods that takes you back to the actual North Carolina Monument. The wooded trail loops around both monuments. To keep from getting lost, it's easiest to take the trail from the Raine monument and follow it around to the North Carolina Monument and back to the parking lot. There are trail maps located by the trail head to the North Carolina Monument. However, the signage in the woods leaves a little to be desired. It was a nice peaceful walk, but nothing exciting to explore. Had it not been for another visitor, we would've missed knowing the trail was there. There were several people looking at the signage in the parking lot when we arrived. Perhaps if we had had the opportunity to read this first, the location of the trail and trail maps may have been more clear.

Need better signage pointing to the historic landmarks.