Civil War Richmond

Abraham Lincoln was so eager to visit Richmond he braved torpedoes in the James River and untold dangers in the city's hostile streets.

Nothing bad happened to the president as he toured the city on the 4th of April 1865, the day after the last Confederate soldiers left town. Lincoln walked through streets filled with debris still smoldering from the fire that left much of the city's business section in ashes. He visited the infamous Libby prison near the river and sat in Jefferson Davis's chair at the Confederate White House.

Libby Prison

In the 142 years since Lincoln's visit millions have followed in his footsteps - fascinated as he was by the city that was, for four' years, in the eye of the storm. Here are some of the places of interest to visit.

DOWNTOWN

While much of downtown Richmond's Civil War fabric has disappeared - some of it destroyed by the Evacuation's Fire of April 2 3 1865, and some in favour of more modem buildings - a scattering of antebellum homes and churches remain. Most of these structures are located downtown, within walking distance of each other and are open to the public. A thirty minute drive cast to west covers the bulk of the Civil War city and the nineteenth and early twentieth century suburbs featuring memorials from "The Lost Cause".

The jewel in the crown of Richmond's Civil War sites is the Museum of the Confederacy and it's "largest artifact" the Confederate Executive Mansion. It's here you will find J.E.B. Stuart's plumed hat, Robert E. Lee's uniform, and other significant items - such as the gigantic painting "The Last Meeting", meticulously restored flags included in three floors of exhibits.

The 1818 Executive Mansion, where Davis and his family lived throughout the war has, been restored to it's wartime appearance with more than half of it's original furnishings returned. (see image at right)

Next stop is the Virginia State Capitol. This 1788 building, inspired by Thomas Jefferson, housed both the Virginia state and Confederate legislatures during the war. Lee accepted his command of the Virginia troops in the House of Delegates Chamber and Stonewall Jackson lay in state in the rotunda. This building will restored and reopened in April.

Just across the street is St. Paul's church where Lee and Davis attended, Davis was informed that Lee's lines had broken at Petersburg, both men's pews are marked.

Down the hill from the capitol by the James River is the partially restored Tredegar Iron Works, known as the 'Ironmaker of the Confederacy" which is being transformed into the American Civil War Centre.

In 1833 an engineer from Tredegar, South Wales, was hired, along with a number of fellow workers, by a group of Richmond businessmen and industrialists. His name was Rhys Davies and his job was to construct the furnaces and rolling mills, which later became the Tredegar and Belle Isle works of Richmond. So great was the contribution to the construction of the ironworks, by Rhys Davies and his fellow workers, that the proprietors named the works "The Tredegar Ironworks".

This site was a major producer of Confederate arms during the war, manufacturing more than 1,100 cannon for the Southern Armies.

There are three floors of exhibits.

Western Swing

No one should visit Richmond and miss going to the Hollywood Cemetery. It holds the remains of Davis, Stuart, George Pickett and thousands of other Confederate soldiers. There is also a large stone pyramid built in honour of the Confederate soldiers who died, this 90 foot granite pyramid was completed in 1869. Although it cost over twenty-five thousand dollars to erect, the pyramid was constructed without mortar, making the construction very dangerous. The crane was not tall enough to put the capstone into place so volunteers were requested to climb the pyramid and manually guide the capstone into place. Not surprisingly, no one responded. Eventually, a sailor, who was serving time in the state penitentiary (located fairly close to the cemetery), volunteered. For accomplishing the feat without being killed, officials granted the sailor his freedom.

The cemetery is located on hills above the James River.

Eastern Wing

This residential neighbourhood, made up almost entirely of nineteenth century homes, is built around St. John's church , where

Patrick Henry gave his famous give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775.

There is also the Civil War Medical Museum on the spot of the Chimborazo Hospital, one of the largest and most efficient in the Confederacy. There are good exhibits here and a movie.

Chimborazo Hospital

The Battlefields Richmond was the main target of the Union Armies throughout most of the war. They came close twice: once in the spring and summer of 1862 and again in the summer of 1864. The Richmond National Battlefield Park has put together an eighty mile tour route covering most of the military action from Drewry's Bluff (south of the James to Mechanicsville (northeast of the city). The tour route includes the national battlefield units at Beaverdam Creek, Gaines Mill, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill and Fort Harrison.

The Watt House Gaines Mill

The above article first appeared in the ACWS Newsletter, Spring 2007