My father had left for the second of his three tours in Vietnam about the time I was a year old, and my first memory of him is when we flew to Hawaii on R & R to meet him when I was about 3. I wanted him to be able to share his stories with someone who cared-and who found them inherently valuable. The loss of his journals had caused him even more sorrow than his retirement from the military six years earlier. I wanted to do it partly for our family and partly for him.
When a Yankee Minié ball struck him during the Battle of Giles Court House in 1862, the coin deflected the bullet just enough to prevent it from penetrating his gut and likely killing him.Ī year or so after the fire, I offered to interview my father on audiotape. George Patton, carried in his vest pocket during the Civil War. For just one example, there's a gold coin that my great-great-grandfather, Confederate Col. Other keepsakes went to West Point and the Patton Museum in Kentucky, and each has a story. The oil portrait of my grandfather that was represented in the film Patton now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. After the basement fire, assorted family relics dating back to the Civil War era were restored, cataloged and donated to museums.
Wherever we lived-Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, Germany-we spent a lot of time trudging through battlefields and other historical sites. As kids, my four siblings and I were fed a steady diet of biographies. History had always formed a huge part of our family life the fact that my grandfather had kept thousands of pages of his own letters and diaries-later published as The Patton Papers-was no fluke. My dad reversed the idea: the burning of his office extinguished something in him. Someone once told me that when a person dies, it's like a library burning down. Patton Jr., and a decorated general and famously tough warrior in his own right-choked up. Instead, my father-the namesake and only son of the World War II general George S. My father suffered second-degree burns trying to rescue his journals, but nearly all of them were reduced to ash.Ī year later, a conservator handed us what was left of them, suggesting to Dad that he could review these scraps for an autobiography and start anew. In the span of a few hours, the flames that rose from the smoldering butt he'd tossed in the wastebasket destroyed two rooms. He'd been keeping them-dozens of identical volumes bound in red canvas-for most of his adult life. Until then he could often be found down there, in the office he'd carved out for himself in a far corner, smoking a cigar and working on his diaries. In 1986, the year I turned 21, my father accidentally set fire to our basement. George Patton in 1978 at the North Africa American Cemetery in Tunisia. The long history of the Patton Homestead.Benjamin W. The background of this amazingly generous gift. Three ways to help our community to achieve this vision! Scenic Space - Make the property's serene and scenic landscape accessible for our community.Culture & Community - Transform the property into a robust facility to enrich our community and deliver a variety of educational and cultural experiences.Resource for Veterans - Expand use as a gathering place for veterans and veteran-related events.Historic Preservation - Preserve the property's deep history provide access to the Patton Archives and articulate the Patton family's dedication to both military and community service.The Patton Homestead will serve our community as follows: Patton IV, is a nationally significant historic property where families, the community and Veterans will enrich their lives through cultural events, seasonal festivals, educational programming, Veterans’ gatherings, social events and retreats. The Patton Homestead, the former home of two famous American generals – General George S. We encourage you and your family to spread out on our 23 acres while maintaining social distancing from other groups.
Due to the situation surrounding COVID-19, the Patton Homestead buildings are closed to the public until the State of Emergency is lifted in Hamilton.
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