Readers/Users are welcome to navigate through what is available so far, and are encouraged to check back regularly to see what links/features have been added.
As the result of taking a class in Augmented Reality (AR), as partial fulfillment of my course work in the PhD program of Writing and Rhetoric at George Mason University, I have created an AR feature for Tour 13 of Avenue of Armies: Civil War Sites and Stories of Luray and Page County, Virginia (you can see my reflection “paper” on this project, here)
This is the initial page of the web of mini-blog entries and pages I’ve created to augment both the physical published book and the key sites encountered on the tour. In addition to adding new means of accessibility to information already available in the book, I’ve also added new sites and information in which AR technology will play a minor role. There are sixteen “auras” (AR experiences) in the digital expansion of Tour 13. Seven auras are accessible from the actual historic sites, “in the field” (including two auras at the site of the Luray “Slave Auction Block); none are accessible from nine of the ten photos within the print version of the Tour 13 of the Avenue of Armies book (the Luray Inn aura will be created after I create the link to which it will lead); and one is accessible from within the Barbee Monument page in the digital tour. There will be more AR features in this project as it is further developed.
The AR features can only be accessed through the Aurasma Application used on Droid Smart Phones and/or tablets. In order to experience the AR features via smartphone or tablet, please access the Play Store icon on your device, and in the search block type “Aurasma”. Once you have downloaded the app, you need to subscribe to the “Avenue of Armies” auras (search “Avenue of Armies”).
Though additional sites and information is being provided through this digital expansion, there is no additional cost to the reader/tourist/consumer. Please note that in order to fully experience the tour, you must have a physical copy of Avenue of Armies. Content as it exists in the book will not be fully replicated on this site or in the AR features.
As listed in the published book, the key sites for Tour 13 include:
- Green Hill Cemetery (p. 127)
- Barbee Monument (p. 129)
- The 1918 Confederate Veterans’ Monument (p. 130)
- Luray Train Depot (p. 132)
- Inn Lawn Park (p. 134)
Avenue of Armies 