American Civil War Museum, Richmond, VA (10/31/2022)

Monday, October 31, 2022
One more Tyler Arboretum membership reciprocity opportunity, the American Civil War Museum in the Tredegar Complex, Richmond, VA.

The Tredegar Iron Works is a historic iron works plant that opened in 1837. By 1860, Tredegar was the largest facility in the South. It played a significant role in the decision to relocate the capital of the Confederacy from Montgomery to Richmond. The facility produced iron plating for the first Confederate ironclad warship, the CSS Virginia. It also produced 1,100 artillery pieces during the war. This is about half of the Confederate’s total domestic production.

Union Brigadier General Anderson ordered 50 armed guards to protect the facility after the Confederates left Richmond. He wanted to protect the facility from being destroyed by Confederate soldiers who were ordered to burn the munitions and industrial warehouses. As a result, the iron works is one of the few Civil War era buildings that survived the burning of Richmond.

The American Civil War Museum with the
Tredegar Pattern Building on the left, and the
2019 building of the museum on the right

Water wheel

Functioning water wheel (KSS)

Statue of Abe and Tad Lincoln (2003, by David Frech)
commemorates President Lincoln's visit to Richmond
with his son one week before his assassination;
Confederate heritage groups tried to block the
erection of the sculpture and disrupted the dedication

Rather than binding the wounds of the nation, the Abe and Tad statue opened the wounds of the former Confederacy...

Tamiko, Tad, Abe, and Kent

Secession cockades sold like hotcakes (rather like
johnny cakes!) in South Carolina after they seceded in 1860,
and they featured the palmetto tree!

So that means the South Carolina state flag still carries a sign of the Confederacy, the palmetto tree that was added in 1861. (P.S. The South Carolina state flag has not been standardized since 1940, and each manufacturer may have its own version. Meanwhile, the state legislature still cannot agree on a standard design.)

The Confederacy was so confident that the war would be
short, that this saying became common

And in so believing, they did not prepare their population for the trials of war, the many dead, the shortages of food and goods. The civilians of the South suffered more than in the North.

Sword belt, riding boots and spurs
of General Robert E Lee

A map drawn on a bedsheet shows details
of the First Battle of Manassas (July 21, 1861)

General P G T Beauregard signed the map,
verifying it as a correct rough skecth of the battlefield

A prosthetic arm and amputation saw

Slouch hat, Colt 51 Navy revolver,
and haversack of General Robert E Lee

Forage cap, haversack, field glasses
and case of Lieutenant General
Thomas J "Stonewall" Jackson

Bandolier (as in a strap that cross diagonally
across the body) and baldric (in this case, I am
assuming it is the cartridge box/container) of a
Native American who fought for the Confederacy

Pocket Telegraph Relay

Field telegraph wire; a first during the
Civil War was the use of telegraph
communication between the field
commanders and military leaders
across great distances

A Bullet Rosette is the result of two
bullets (minie balls) colliding in midair;
found on the battlefieeld near the
Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia

Slouch hat, gauntlets, 1860 US Cavalry saber,
LeMat Grapeshot revolver (Army model), and
holster of Major General J E B Stuart,
displayed on his campaign desk

Riding boots of Major General Stuart

From top: bonnet made of corn shucks,
palmetto cap, and palmetto boater hat

Coding disc

Twisted rail, also called "Sherman's neckties,"
prevented rail lines from being easily repaired

Can we excuse General William T Sherman's March to the Sea as a necessity of war? Is General Sherman a terrorist? Sherman stated they were "not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people." This was a change from the original feeling that civilians in the Confederacy were still Americans and should be treated as one would any American. Yet as the war dragged on, the feeling changed.

It was said General Sherman's troops set fire only to military installations in Atlanta in order to cut supply lines to the Confederate armies (but fires spread). However, rogue troops may not have followed the Special Orders set by Sherman, and did their own thing, probably setting more fires than needed.

It was also stated that Sherman's army did not destroy any towns in the path of their March to the Sea. However, they did steal food and livestock, and burned the houses and barns of anyone who tried to fight back. (Confederate armies had to forage for food and livestock as well.) Or did the civilians in the path of Sherman's army burn their own crops and livestock to keep them out of the hands of the Union troops? There is much to consider.

Sherman's army also developed a large following of civilians as he marched to the sea, and these people were often blamed for the pillaging and raping. Having to deal with these followers impeded the progress of Sherman's army.

Today with the 1977 Geneva Conventions, General Sherman would be considered a war criminal. During the Civil War, he operated in a gray area. It was Sherman's intention to do what was necessary to end the war. (We heard that same intention during World War II.)

Outfit worn by Confederate President
Jefferson Davis when he was captured

Sunglasses (!) and compass taken from the captured
Confederate President Davis; Davis wore sunglasses due
to a problem with his eyes after having suffered malaria

We continued driving homeward up I-95 N.

Roadside America Attraction: Rest Stop of the Future,
which was originally the Delware House Travel Plaza (2010),
but was renamed the Biden Welcome Center in 2018;
with an "environmentally sensitive and sustainable design"

So in 2010, hand-drying blowers were considered
environmentally-friendly as they saved many trees,
yet today they are thought to be unhygienic by
blowing around more bacteria and germs

Kent will attest that the urinals in the men's restroom were waterless, another of the 2010-era innovations meant to save water,; however, with improper maintenance and cleaning, they tend to cevelop an odor. No odor detected here.

The interior still looks modern

Couldn't complain about cleanliness, so maybe only
liberals stop here (go ahead, and slap me: bad joke!)