One advantage of visiting the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond is that the Confederate White House is literally right next door. My parents and I were able to get tickets for a tour of the Confederate White House at the museum and had plenty time to browse around before the tour began. The Confederate White House served as the official residence of the first and only president, Jefferson Davis, and his family throughout the Civil War.
Before we even entered the Museum of the Confederacy or went on the tour, my parents and I looked around outside at a couple of interesting artifacts. The anchor and a propeller shaft of the C.S.S. Virginia were on display. The C.S.S. Virginia, a Union ship recovered and renamed, was the first ironclad built by the South. It had a battering ram, heavy guns, and sides covered with iron plating. This ship squared off with the U.S.S. Monitor, another ironclad with revolving turret, in a battle off Hampton Roads, changing naval warfare forever.
The White House was the center of social, political, and military life in the Confederacy. The house was bought by the City of Richmond after the start of the Civil War and the capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, Alabama. This mansion contains many original furnishings but much of it has been restored. We saw the rooms for formal affairs and the family's private rooms. Also, the second floor holds Jefferson Davis's office. Abraham Lincoln made his way to the Confederate White House and sat in his office chair after the fall of Richmond.
The house served as the center for Confederate military operations and often meetings were held in the dining room. Military aides, Cabinet members and others came through the house on a regular basis. The family experienced tragedy in that house in 1864 when Davis's son Joseph fell from the portico and died. Then, the Davis family was forced to evacuate their home in Richmond in 1865 after Federal troops broke through Lee's lines and moved into the city.
Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside, but the house is impressive with its elaborate furniture and rooms. I felt amazed to stand in the same places as such American icons as Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Abraham Lincoln, once stood. Next up, I visited my first Civil War battlefield as we headed up to Fredericksburg.
Links to Learn More:
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Confederate White House
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond
After our adventures in Yorktown and Williamsburg the previous day, my parents and I headed to Richmond, Virginia. It was almost surreal for me to be in that city as it has been a dream of mine to visit Richmond for a long time. While we did not have time to see everything around that area, we made a point to see the Museum of the Confederacy in downtown Richmond. I had heard that the museum was worth seeing, and after visiting, I agree!
The Museum of the Confederacy holds an impressive amount of military and civilian artifacts from the Confederate States of America. It contains documents, artwork, clothing, weapons, flags, and pictures from the Civil War period (1861 to 1865). The exhibit on the first floor takes visitors through the major events of the Civil War and the role of prominent Confederate generals and leaders. The museum also has exhibits on the civilian life of the South during the war and Confederate artwork during that period.
I really enjoyed looking at all the artifacts from the well-known generals in the Confederate Army. It had personal items and uniforms from generals such as Stonewall Jackson, James Longstreet, J.E.B. Stuart, and Robert E. Lee. Many of the uniforms on display were from regular soldiers as well and a few of these had holes where they were struck during battle. The information on the major campaigns and battles of the war was excellent as well.
There were a few things that really struck me while browsing among the exhibits of the museum. First of all, looking through the artifact collections, I came to the one on J.E.B. Stuart. I was struck by his riding boots and how you could see where they came up to his knees. Several battle flags were on display, ripped and torn, that had the names of specific battles on them. I was also struck by photographs of Confederate soldiers, many who were killed or wounded. While looking at those pictures, the Civil War became real to me in a new way.
I'd recommend this museum to any Civil War enthusiast. I walked away gaining a new appreciation of the men who fought for the Confederacy and Confederate history. While we were at the museum, we also took part in a tour of the Confederate White House, where Jefferson Davis stayed with his family as the president. It is located only a few yards away from the museum and is the subject of my next post in this series.
Links to Learn More:
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Our Misadventures in Colonial Williamsburg
My parents and I left the Yorktown Battlefield in the late afternoon. Since we were on a limited time schedule for the next few days, we originally planned to spend at least half a day in Colonial Williamsburg. However, after spending the afternoon in Yorktown, we did not arrive in town until the evening. Little did we know that we had to buy tickets to get into the many historic sites, and the Visitor Center that sold the tickets was already closed. We ended up walking around downtown, checking out a few shops and other places in the area.
One place we did get to see so late in the day was the College of William and Mary. This college is the second oldest in America being chartered in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II in the Virginia Colony. The college has close ties to the founding fathers in that George Washington received his surveyor's license and Thomas Jefferson completed his undergraduate education at the school. One of the buildings on campus, the Wren Building, is the oldest college building in America with its construction beginning in 1695, before the town of Williamsburg existed.
Williamsburg itself became the thriving capital of Virginia beginning in 1699. It was transformed into the cultural, political, and educational center of the most influential of the American colonies. In Williamsburg, the concepts of the American republic under patriotic leaders such as Jefferson were nurtured and helped shaped the dream of American freedom and independence. Near the end of the Revolutionary War in 1780, the capitol was moved up to Richmond, and Williamsburg became a simple college town for a long time.
In 1926, an effort was made to preserve and restore the buildings and a large part of the colonial town for future generations. Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg today can get a glimpse of what life was like in the American colonies. People can visit the original and historic buildings, browse the museums, and look around the shops. Also, visitors can encounter many people in period costumes, see live programs in Revolutionary City, and get an idea of 18th Century trades. Since my family and I did not get to see much of the town, we want to go back again and spend more time there.
Next up, this series will fast-forward in American history to period of the Civil War when my parents and I headed to Richmond.
Links to Learn More:
