We have almost a 4 hour drive to North Carolina this morning. My goal is to finish this post before we get there. (I'm not kidding. Between looking out the window, listening to a book on tape, getting munchies, stopping for a turkey sandwich at a rest area, I have a lot of distractions!)
Before we left for Richmond, while in the motorhome, we saw a front-end loader rumbling through the campground with a coffin in the bucket. We did a double-take. . . it was a little eerie. I knew we were out in the boonies, but not THAT far. We then remembered that the campground was hosting their Halloween activities this weekend. They were setting up their haunted house. (this is a very popular thing with campgrounds. We have camped with our two oldest grandchildren at such events in Michigan and they love it.)
We did a Trip Advisor search of what to see and do in Richmond. Our first stop was St. John's Episcopal Church, site of Patrick Henry's famous speech. The existing building was erected in 1741, but the parish itself dates back to the early 1600's.
Many churches (especially rural ones, which this certainly once was) have cemeteries on the grounds. Usually off to the side or in the back. Not St. John's. The main sidewalk up to the front entrance goes right through graves and tombstones, including Elizabeth Poe, Edgar Allen's mother (our second creepy feeling of the day).
We were reminded by our guide that for decades, the colonies in America were loyal British subjects, mainly because Britain ignored us. Only when the Crown started to impose taxes upon us did the rumblings of self-government and independence begin. Taxation without representation. . .
In 1775 the Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, disbanded the Virginia House of Burgess because of the revolutionary rhetoric and prevented them from meeting in Williamsburg, then the capital of the colony.
Facing imprisonment, members gathered at St. John's church in March for several days. On March 23, 1775, with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson sitting in the pews, 38 year old country lawyer Patrick Henry delivered his fiery speech:
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others my take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
(that bears a striking resemblance to Joshua 24:15 - ". . . choose you this day whom you shall serve, but for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.")
It is said that Washington was the sword of the revolution. Jefferson was the pen of the revolution. And Patrick Henry was the voice of the revolution.
The church holds reenactments of the speech on Sundays from May through September, so we just missed the opportunity.
Patrick Henry went on to organize the militia and briefly command the Virginia forces until Washington persuaded him that his greater service would be to direct the organization of a new government of Virginia. He did and became the first governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was re-elected four times.
From St. John's church, we headed into the heart of downtown Richmond. (both Charlottesville and Richmond are very hilly cities). The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center was built around the White House of the Confederacy, our destination. In fact, we were directed to park in the hospital parking garage, because the museum was right next door. Tours are given on the hour and we had about 40 minutes, so we took a 10 minute walk to the State Capitol, designed by you-know-who. (Thomas Jefferson). Mike commented on how convenient it is because all the state government buildings are in a circle around the capitol. (unlike our capitol in Lansing). We entered at the back of the building and I wanted to walk to the front to get a picture. Not much of a picture because the entire front was covered in tarps for remodeling.
Continuing around the capitol, we saw the Governor's residence. It was pretty, but I wasn't going to take a picture until we read the plaque and realized the historical significance (see picture below). While I was taking a picture, we experienced our first example of southern hospitality. A Virginia State Trooper came out of the guard house and asked if we would like a tour of the mansion! We said we only had about 10 or 15 minutes because we had to be back at the Confederate White House by 3. He quickly got on the phone and a lady came out and said, "Come on in. We'll make it quick."
The first floor is like the White House, open to the public and the second floor is the private living quarters. She said the governor had just walked in, but we didn't see him. (we actually had to ask just who is the governor of Virginia? FYI - Bob McDonnell).
I asked if there were any children living in the mansion. She said no, that the governor's youngest are in college. But she showed us pictures of previous governor's children (including Charles and Lynda Robb's, LBJ's daughter) with their lemonade stands in front of the mansion.
The tour was quick, but so nice.
Oh oh. . . we are pulling into the campground and I am not finished. And even worse, Mike wants to wash the motorhome! Darn, darn. . . I'll continue typing in a few hours.
This is a tangent, but when we got set up in the park, I told Mike I was glad we didn't have to use their restroom facilities. On the other hand, it is a great, long pull-through site and cheap. We were half-way through washing the RV when the owner came by and said it wasn't allowed. (The reason we picked this park was when I called to make a reservation, the lady said we could). On the other hand, it is not raining, so we are grilling burgers for dinner and when I went to the office to buy a bundle of wood, I got the biggest bundle ever for $4. So it is a campfire, burgers, and watching the Tigers on our outdoor TV. We have found very few campgrounds out east here that allow you to wash your RV. Every park we stay at in Michigan lets us. One park's motto is "When you look good, we look good". Maybe we have a different view of water, what with being the Great Lake State!
Back to Richmond:
We literally ran and got back for our 3:00 tour of the Jefferson Davis White House. I found a kindred spirit when our tour guide (a young man in his 20's) encouraged us to ask questions because he had a head full of useless information. That is what Mike says about me! I smiled. Mike just rolled his eyes because he knew what he was in for. This guy was enthusiastic, to say the least. These are the kinds of questions I ask: "Why Jefferson Davis?" "Why Richmond?"
Jefferson Davis was a senator from Mississippi when he was tapped to become President of the Confederate States of America. He and his wife Varina and their three children moved into the home that the Confederate government leased from the city of Richmond in August 1861. Two more children were born in the 4 years they lived there. They were forced to flee during the evacuation of Richmond on April 2, 1865. Robert E. Lee was a frequent visitor and 36 hours after Davis fled, Abraham Lincoln came to the house to discuss post-war plans.
The house has been very well preserved and restored and the tour guide really brought it to life. (we have found that so many times, a tour guide can really make or break your experience).
We then drove 3 miles to the Hollywood Cemetery. It is one of only 3 places in the country to have two presidents buried there. The other two are Arlington and United First Parish Church in Quincy, MA. With Jefferson Davis interred here, Hollywood actually claims to have 3 presidents. I'll tell you the grave sites we saw at Hollywood and let you guess the names of the presidents who have their final resting place at the other two.
This cemetery is HUGE, but easy to navigate by following the painted blue line and using the $1 map.
We saw the tombs of James Monroe (5th president) and John Tyler (10th president), along Jefferson Davis, his wife and and all 5 children. They have a large confederate memorial, also.
Running out of daylight, we drove to Monument Boulevard. We thought this was going to be a several block section of statues, one right after the other, that we would walk. Instead, there were several blocks between the statues, and we drove it. I didn't get pictures of them all, including a really neat one of Arthur Ashe who grew up in Richmond. And we also didn't see the Robert E. Lee monument (another darn it). Considering that Lee is one of Virginia's favorite sons, the fact I didn't see a statue of him the whole week we were in Virginia is unbelievable. The houses on Monument Blvd. were almost as impressive as the statues.
Next up was a place to eat and try to watch the Tigers. We found ourselves on the campus of VCU - a very urban campus. Walking down the street, we passed City Dogs, and we could see they had the game on. They had every kind of hot dog we've ever heard of, along with lots we hadn't. They had a Boston Dog, Manhattan Dog, Tennessee Dog, Wisconsin Dog (to name a few), but no Michigan Dog, so we opted for the local Richmond Dog. The fact that Tuesdays are $1 Richmond Dog Day played into that decision.
Experiencing history isn't free. We paid 3 tolls getting to Richmond, and paid them while getting around Richmond. But we found gas for the Jeep at $2.99 and diesel for the RV was some of the cheapest we have seen. You have to be thankful for the little things. . .
We easily could stay in Virginia several more weeks, as there is so much to see. I am envious of those that live here amidst all this history. And just so you know this is a site seeing trip and not a shopping excursion, there was an IKEA a mile away from our campground in College Park and we didn't go. How often do you get to one when you live in rural Michigan? And I need a 9 x 13 pan for the motorhome!
The number of horse farms we saw in Virginia surprised us. You would think we were in Kentucky.
Our stop in North Carolina is just for one night on our way to Myrtle Beach, SC. Again, not enough time to explore everything.
(Answers to presidential burial sites: Arlington has Kennedy and William Howard Taft. Quincy, MA has John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams)
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