8 Jul - American Civil War Museum Tredegar & Preparing for Tropical Storm Elsa

 

Downtown Richmond today to visit the American Civil War Museum (ACWM) - Tredegar.  Rains from Tropical Storm Elsa arriving today so we needed an indoor activity.  

This museum is part of the same group as the American Civil War Museum in Appomattox and the White House of the Confederacy here in Richmond.  We ran out of time in Appomattox due to the distance, so we decided to visit this one instead.  

Part of one of the walls.  Notice the different kinds of stones used over the years

An elevator on the left to the terrace area behind the facory/museum

This used to be the National Park Service museum, separate from the ACWM, but they have a new facility now.

Power supply for the ironworks.  The wheel continues to spin with water power.  

The American Civil War Museum - Tredegar is a huge 30,000 sq ft facility built on and in the ruins of the former 1837 Tredegar Ironworks. This ironworks was one of the largest in the country before the Civil War and supplied about half of the artillery for the Confederate Army. They have really done a nice job preserving the remnants of the old factory walls, doorways, arches and other features. Entire parts of the facility are intact but they we locked up

The American Civil War Museum entrance

To the right, the National Park Service new museum, still closed from COVID

Preserved walls and archways entering the museum

Inside the museum, on the lower floor they captured the history of the Civil War with beautiful displays, timelines and artifacts. The main display is A People’s Contest: Struggles for Nation and Freedom in Civil War America.   There was emphasis on the role Richmond played in the war and there were very educational displays on the role of the "U.S. Colored Troops" (African-Americans fighting for the Union Army).  Here are just a few of the many pictures I took:

  

Awesome displays

Most soldiers were not issued pistols.  They could purchase their own if they wanted one.

Would be some great additions to my collection!

Battle Flag of the 49th North Carolina Infantry was captured near Richmond

At Appomattox, terms of surrender between Gen Grant and Gen Lee said the confederate soldiers would be "paroled" and allowed to return home.  They could take their horse and their pistol but they had to turn in their rifle or musket!

The second floor of the museum has rotating displays, and the one there now is "Greenback America".  It talks about how the US figured out how to pay off the huge debt from the Civil War and rebuilt the economic system post-war.    

The cost of equipping a soldier, then and now

Silver certificates

National bank notes

Treasury notes

Confederate dollars

Fractional currency

State-chartered bank currency

The coming of credit cards, debit cards, on-line transfers and Bitcoin

After the museum we drove further downtown to try and see the Whitehouse of the Confederacy, which is still standing. It was built in 1818 and from 1861-1865 was the executive mansion and home for Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family.  It's been preserved, but it is really in a strange place, dwarfed by and buried in the middle of the six story Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center buildings.

Photo credit:  Google maps

Needless to say we drove around and around and could not find any place to park the big ol brown truck, so at least we saw it...

The Richmond skyline

We returned to the campground just in time for the tropical storm Elsa to bring rain.  We worked in the camper the rest of the day while it rained and then it really started coming down about supper time.  Kudos to the base Emergency Management and MWR staff, though.  They stopped down to the campground and personally handed out maps outlining evacuation procedures and shelter locations.  

As I write this 2117 hrs, the rain for the most part, has stopped and the frogs are screaming outside!  We never did have much wind which is exactly what they predicted.  We have not sorted out what Friday will bring yet.  We may stay put and get a handle on what we want to see in DC.  Saturday we will make preparation to depart and Sunday we make tracks for Washington DC.  I am really not looking forward to that leg of the trip, but hopefully we can crack the nut on the mass transit system and figure out how to get around efficiently.