On Friday, we ventured into Annapolis and toured the Capitol.
It was here where General George Washington, on Dec. 23, 1783, came before Congress and resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris three weeks later, officially ending the Revolutionary War and making Annapolis the new nation's first peacetime Capitol.
Mom and Dad standing in the spot, next to George Washington, where he resigned his commission, marking one of the most significant events of our country.
Also on display, in the Senate Committee Room is Tench Tilghman's original sword, which he used as he served as a trusted aide-de-camp to General George Washington. He died in 1786 at the age of 42, at which time Washington said of him, "...none could have felt his death with more regret than I did - no one entertained a higher opinion of his worth."
That exact sword is also depicted here in this famous painting of Washington, Lafayette and Tilghman at Yorktown by Charles Willson Peale, 1784.
And the coolest thing, which I didn't even know existed until Friday is that the original two page document of Washington's resignation, which he penned himself and held in his hands as he resigned his commission has been preserved all these years and is housed here at the Annapolis Capitol!
Dad soaking it in.
It is recorded that, as he read his resignation, his hands were shaking with emotion and "The spectators all wept, and there was hardly a member of Congress who did not drop tears."
Mom and Dad on the steps of the Capitol.
Mom and I on the streets of historic Annapolis with the Capitol in the background.
Afterwards, we walked the dock and saw this cool old historic ship pull into port.
Standing in the spot where Dave and I got engaged 20 years ago.
