Chimborazo

What a week it has been. The title is relevant, but I'll get to it later. I have a lot to say, so I might as well jump right in.
I fully realized this week what a four day weekend can really mean when you maximize your time. I think I maximized my time this weekend. I'll discuss my weekend first, and then I'll go back and put down what I did during the work week.

Saturday morning I took the first train from Union Station to the Richmond Main Street Rail Station. While in totality I spent a little over 30 hours in the Capitol of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I had a ton of fun. The train ride was about ten or fifteen minutes short of three hours, so I was a bit anxious to get up and start walking. The weather was cold, but clear. I had mapped out a basic route of what I wanted to do from Saturday morning to Sunday evening, but the very beginning of the trip had a lot to do with sheer luck of the draw. When I got to my hotel, the room was not ready yet - which I fully expected - so I left my backpack with the bell hop, and got on my way. My first stop - where it all could come unraveled a bit - was trying to get a tour of the State Capitol. Their website said to allow for a significant wait, something that could be as short as an hour I suppose but certainly as long as needing to come back the next day. An hour wait would have messed up my whole plan, which isn't a big deal but would have compelled me to knock something off the list for lack of time. I lucked out; I arrived only a couple of minutes after a tour had left, so I jogged through this new and very nicely done underground passage to catch up with the group under the Capitol.

This is a quick view behind me as I caught up to the group.

Thomas Jefferson, I literally almost ran into him as I began to walk backwards after taking the above shot.

Interesting fact that I learned right off the bat, the movie Lincoln that came out at the end of 2012 was filmed almost entirely in Richmond, with a lot of the scenes filmed right in the Capitol Building I was about to go in to tour. As I went through the rooms and the guide pointed out which scenes were filmed where, I almost immediately began to make the connections.

During one of the most recent restorations, contractors unearthed this elevator shaft from the early 1900's. How they ever "earthed" this in the first place is beyond me, but they pulled it off.

A theme that will develop over the weekend is me stumbling onto pre-planned special Presidents Day Weekend events...this is the annual wreath laying at the base of the marble statue of George Washington. This statue is widely considered the most accurate depiction of the first President, as the artist sailed from France to Mount Vernon to meet with Washington himself, rather than sculpt from a drawing as was the usual custom. The dome it stands in the middle of is equally impressive.

This model is in the old Senate Chamber. Looking at this model, the Senate Chamber extended from left to right at the front of the building. It was divided by a hallway when the two wings were later added.

This is a clock.  There is a story that has to do with the Astor Family, but the details are on that little plaque there, and my eyesight isn't what it used to be...

Here is another shot of Washington with less people there.

When you look up from Washington, this is what you see.

That's the Governor's office.

That's Washington down there.

This is Robert E. Lee in the middle of the Old House Chamber; there is a significance to its placement, which I'll get to...

During the Civil War, the Confederate Congress met in the House of Burgesses and Virginia's State Government moved upstairs into what has been expressed as attic space. The Lee statue is positioned where the Confederate General stood and accepted the commission as a general in the Confederate Army.

This is our tour guide, such a lovely lady. The scepter to the right is removed from this case by the Sergeant at Arms and moved in a ceremony to the House Chamber to mark the opening of a legislative session. It is a bigger deal to open and close sessions in the Virginia State Government since they are a part-time legislating body, meaning the 45-60 days they're in session are much more valuable.

A better shot of the old chamber.

See these two doors? I know they don't look like a lot, but the scenes where Tommy Lee Jones - playing Thaddeus Stevens - was in his office where shot right here.

His desk was right up against this wall.

The new House Chamber is where the scenes from Lincoln were filmed deliberating the 13th Amendment; they took out the plush chairs for antique wood chairs...they also took down the big TV screens.

Schyular Colfax, the Speaker of The House sat right up there.

That's the gallery where Sally Field (Mary Todd Lincoln) sat.

Every former governor gets a portrait done; this one (Governor Mark Warner, 2002-2006) and the one below are of two former Governors who are now US Senators.

Gov. Tim Kaine (2006 - 2010).

During the tour I got a phone call from the hotel saying my room was ready to check in to....so I ran back after the tour of the Capitol to the Omni to check in, which by the by is an awesome hotel.

I had an epic bathroom too. The best part was, the whole place was clean and didn't smell like a new car. Also, the stationary and pens were superb.

So after I got over how awesome my hotel was, I got back into the city to see some more stuff before the end of the day. My first stop was the Valentine Museum. A pretty big advantage - sort of unexpected but nonetheless welcomed - to going to Richmond on Presidents Day Weekend was how many things were free. The Valentine Museum is essentially a representation of Richmond through the centuries. It was nice to go through, but certainly not something I'd pay for...ever. It was a museum of a museum for all intents and purposes. Valentine was the name of the guy who endowed the original museum, after buying up an entire city block. The original house was built on the street corner in 1812 by John Wickham, a guy known most for being a loyalist, who defended Aaron Burr in court during his treason trial. Valentine made his money through this meat juice extract, and opened up the museum in 1898. The museum today is a tribute to varying years in the past. It was confusing to walk through. I appreciated the Wickham history the most since there was a strong connection to the beginning of our nation. Nonetheless, it was a great place to start; everywhere else built off of it.

Tobacco.

Tobacco cart.

I did appreciate the tobacco exhibit because it was a major part of Richmond's economy...tobacco used to be seen as fashionable, and people didn't know how harmful it could be.

If you want to smoke like a monarch who's been dead for hundreds of years, use these cigarettes.

This exhibition case was at the World's Fair, it had dozens of bottles of...meat juice...in it.

I'm not sure I really understand what meat juice is, but Valentine essentially pressed juices out of an array of meat products in an effort to treat his ill wife. Somehow, it worked; so he decided to market it...I was wrong thinking this would be the last I saw of this meat juice...you'll see later on.

This is a dug out canoe from the original museum exhibition.

This is a mock-up of a facade from the old museum...the whole museum of a museum bit going on right here.

This clock is on display because it used to be situated over the information desk as a regular clock. The lady who sat at the desk below the clock was called the "clock lady" because she was there for so long...so now the clock is on the wall here just hanging out as a tribute to her.

This is John Wickham.

This is an old cash register.

This is an old tobacco press.

These are warped tennis rackets.

This is a halogen Esso sign.

The coolest part of the whole place was the actual Wickham House, which you needed to take a guided tour through. Pictures weren't allowed though which was kind of a bummer. The museum provided a valuable backdrop to my next stop, the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House of the Confederacy.

Coming from the North, I've accepted the fact that the Civil War was presented to me in a very particular way, a way that might really leave out some important ideas. That's why - if you really are a student of history and want to understand it - you study as many sides as possible. This stop accomplishes just that. I'm not saying I agree - I really don't - but I am saying now I have a greater appreciation for the states'-rights argument than before. Pictures were not allowed in the White House, which is essentially a mansion commandeered by the Confederacy to house President Jefferson Davis. The museum portion depicts the evolution of the movement from start to finish. There were a ton of original artifacts which makes it all the more compelling. I discovered one of my favorite names there as well, P.G.T. Beauregard. He was a Confederate General. A commonly accepted idea is that when the war began, most of the best generals were from the South, and they left the U.S. military along with their seceding states. Beauregard, A.P. Hill, Robert E. Lee and Joe Johnston are just some of the most accomplished generals going into the conflict, and none of them were Union generals. William T. Sherman, Philip Sheridan and Ulysses Grant weren't "discovered" by Lincoln until later in the conflict. I loved this stop of the trip; it was illuminating on so many levels.

This hat was worn by P.G.T. Beauregard.

Look at the arm on the uniform closer to us, see the hole ripped through? Yeah, this guy didn't survive. As the quality of medicine has progressed, this kind of hit would be fatal less often. During the Civil War however, that was not the case.

Part of the "scorched Earth" policy implemented by Sherman included the destroying of rail lines...they would heat up the rails and wrap them around trees so as to prevent the South from rebuilding their system infrastructure when the army cleared out.

Body armor was used by some soldiers. Unfortunately this Union soldier wore only the front portion and not the back portion...and he was shot in the back.

The most common form of operation during the Civil War was an amputation. Most wounds occurred to the extremities, and it was easiest at that rate with the sheer volume of wounded to just amputate the limb. After about 3 months, they would try and attach a prosthetic..such as this left arm.

Espionage was notorious during the war. This doll was filled with medication to sneak from North to South. The blockade effectively blocked most trade for the South, which made it increasingly difficult for doctors to get proper medication for their patients.

The Confederate Navy was pretty small in relation to the Union Navy.  The C.S.S. Shenandoah was - like most ships - commissioned abroad and used purely for commerce raiding (attacking Union trading ships), rather than trying to break the blockade or directly engage a ship of the line.

The outside of the Museum of the Confederacy.  The White House is to the right.

This is the rear of the White House. At the time. the ornate facades, gardens and porches faced away from the street because of how dirty the roads were. It wouldn't be proper to entertain guests right at streets edge with all the dust and associated rubbish.

On my walk back I passed the John Marshall House, it's closed for the season, but it nevertheless is an impressive, yet so unassuming, structure.

John Marshall was one of the most influential Chief Justices of the United States Supreme Court.

It got dark pretty quickly; I took this picture of the Capitol right after I ate dinner.

So this was the end of day 1. I was really tired, but so very excited. I laid down in bed and read a bit, and then fell asleep. I slept like a rock, the bed was so comfortable, and there were FOUR pillows! Anyhow, I had a massive agenda for Sunday, and I needed to get an early start. The first destination was Monument Avenue. It was a 45 minute long walk just to get to the edge of this road. There were about a half dozen massive statues in the middle of round-a-bouts depicting important Confederate leaders...except for the most recent statue.

Robert E. Lee, the largest and most imposing of all the statues.

Fun fact, Lee's favorite horse, Traveler, is not depicted here.

J.E.B. Stuart, the first monument you come upon.

The Jefferson Davis monument.

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

Matthew Maury, a master navigator of the seas. After the war, he became a tenured college professor.

The final monument was of Arthur Ashe, the international tennis star from Richmond who won 3 Grand Slams and was the first African American selected to play Davis Cup, the tennis equivalent to Golfs' Ryder Cup.

So at this rate, I was in a tad bit of a time crunch. I had to make sure I was back to the hotel by 1pm to check-out, so I had to make sure I could get to the rest of the things I wanted to cover in the morning session. I was off to Hollywood Cemetery, resting place of two U.S. Presidents, the lone President of the Confederacy and a whole host of Confederate war dead. This cemetery is a fraction the size of Arlington, so I thought right then this would be no big deal. I was wrong, what I failed to remember was that I spent the entire day at Arlington...I was giving myself a little over an hour to power walk around this place. Like every cemetery I've been to, it was gorgeous.

The entrance.

This is where J.E.B. Stuart is buried.  He was a Major General in the Confederacy; he was killed in combat at the Battle of the Yellow Tavern...a battle that literally took place next to a tavern.

President's Circle. The original idea was to bury all of the Presidents from Virginia here...they managed to get 2 out of the 8.

James Monroe. He died in NY, was disinterred and re-buried here.

President John Tyler is the only President to not die a citizen, he served in the Confederate Congress, and like all members of the Confederate Congress he renounced his American citizenship.

It was a bit jarring to see a Confederate flag...but there were many.

This is a massive monument to all of the Confederate war dead.

Franklin Powell was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

 My next stop was Tredegar, the old iron works right on the James River that helped sustain Confederate manufacturing during the war.

This is the canal flat-bottomed boats would pull through to load and unload on the docks.

Richmond was never besieged or bombarded by the Union.  As the Confederacy was retreating farther South, they set fire to part of the city. The area right by the water, Shockoe Slip, where Tredegar Iron Works were...the following pictures are of what remains.

These three vents came off the state penitentiary that stood near this spot.

The Civil War center next door I wasn't allowed to use flash photography, and the lighting was pretty poor so I didn't have any decent pictures. At this point, I had to go back to the hotel to check out. I was cutting it pretty close time-wise, but I managed to get there. The afternoon agenda had only two things, but they were spread out so it I was right in thinking it was going to take the entire afternoon. My first stop was St. John's Church, the site of Patrick Henry's famous "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death."

Edgar Allen Poe's mother.

I remember hearing this guys name a lot.

George Wythe was the first professor of law in America. He trained Jefferson, Marshall and many others.

This was the pew from which Henry made his speech.

Henry didn't make the speech in the church because he was trying to appeal to a congregation - St. John's church was the largest meeting house in Richmond before the Revolutionary War, and the Second Virginia Convention met here, far away from the capitol of Williamsburg and the watchful eye of the Royal Governor. The House of Burgesses was dissolved by the Royal Governor for supporting the Boston Tea Party, but still met for multi-day meetings on a regular basis. This convention was one such meeting.

My next stop was Chimborazo, a bluff overlooking Richmond where 150 independent structures stood during the Civil War as a hospital. A medical officer who scouted the site named it Chimborazo after a dormant volcano in Guam. Today, there's only one building. It's an old weather station that is now operated by the National Park Service. Inside, there are exhibitions about Civil War Medicine in the Confederacy.

I can't tell you how many "medical kits" I saw this past weekend...they're all geared towards amputation.

This is what Chimborazo looked like in the day.

At this point, I'm wiped. It might not seem like a lot, but the walking was debilitating. The exercise was great though. I walked something like 22 miles total, 19 total on Sunday alone.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. Everything went perfectly; the room was great, the food was great, I saw everything I wanted to see and I caught the train just fine. On Friday and Monday I worked out of D.C. Friday morning I went to some Smithsonians I had missed previously and Monday I spent the day in Alexandria, Virginia for Presidents Day. I'll start with Friday and work forward.

The first stop was the National Botanical Garden; I can't really explain what I saw aside from the fact it was very impressive seeing all these different plants, flowers and trees from around the world.

This is what the outside of the building looks like.

The next stop on Friday was the Hirshhorn Collection...it's a modern art museum. I have made no attempt to hide the fact in previous posts of my skepticism of modern art, but I thought I'd give it a try....

Stacked wood.

I have no words to describe shoe soles wrapped around a bottle.

I could do this...I could seriously do it.

This is by far my favorite piece of Modern Art yet...

This looks pretty cool doesn't it? Yeah, this one is also a winner.

Monday was Alexandria. Since it was Presidents Day, everything history-wise was free, which I didn't know but was psyched about. I also got to see an entertaining Presidents Day Parade and a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknown Revolutionary War Soldier.

This is the first thing you see off the train, a massive monument to George Washington funded and maintained by the Masonic Lodge.

This monument is placed on the spot where citizens of Alexandria assembled to join the Confederate Army before the Union Army arrived.

I never went to a city with its own folding reviewing stand for parades.

City Hall.

This is the Visitors Center...pretty cool how old it is.

This building used to be a torpedo factory, but today houses a series of artist studios.

Small little torpedo exhibit.

I wanted to go into this apothecary, but it wasn't open yet...so I kept on strolling down the street.

I came upon this church. I'm a lover of good architecture, so I crossed the street.

This is what I found in the back, a full blown ceremony on Presidents Day, honoring the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Revolutionary War.

This is that tomb

Wouldn't be a proper ceremony without a 21 gun salute.

I finally got the opportunity to go inside, and it was lovely inside.

While the congregation had been around since before The Revolution, the building itself dates back to the early 1800's. The first building was struck by lightening and burnt down. But the historian there tells me they rebuilt it to exactly how it looked.

The clock is stopped on the time they found out George Washington had died. They held three of the largest memorial services to him.

The apothecary was open when I walked back. Back in the day, the way problems of a medicinal nature were solved was by bleeding people...some people think Washington died of excessive blood-letting.

Meat Juice!!!!!!!!

The same place you could buy pharmaceutical supplies was the same place you could buy paint.

I can think of a reader who will appreciate this.

Some of these boxes were full of supplies when the pharmacy was turned into a museum..I think Dragon's blood is empty though since it's unlikely they went all the way back to Scandinavia to try and harvest more.

The parade...I have no words; it was great.

I remember these guys from parades back home; it's so funny to see them..always a crowd pleaser.

John Carlyle was the only guy in Alexandria with a front lawn. Shortly after they finished his house a law was passed making front lawns illegal in an effort to maintain the urban look. Carlyle was one of the founders of the city.

That's not green paint, it's green wallpaper.

I went on to a tavern and firehouse. At some point I'll post those pictures as well. But in an effort to just get this post online, I'll post them later.

"Let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees."
~Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

These were his last words as he lay dieing near the battlefield. It echoed a widely held sentiment that most men were ready to be done with war.

I had a great, fast-paced weekend. I love history as much as politics, and this weekend was incredible. I certainly have plenty of other things up my sleeve for the future.