Civil War & Emancipation Day

On Saturday, April 12, Richmond celebrated Civil War & Emancipation Day! What is exciting about this is they had lots of sites that normally cost money that were free! They also had lots of reenactors at the different sites.

We started the day at Historic Tredegar as this site had the most activities. We visited the American Civil War Museum (normally would cost us $28) which is to the right.

This museum is unique in that they looked at the Civil War from the perspectives of the Union, the Confederacy & the slaves.

I loved the timeline the museum has. It runs throughout the museum & highlights any event during the wartime with facts, maps & pictures.

Here David is talking with one of the singers. This man did an awesome version of Joshua Fought The Battle of Jericho. David really liked him.

Mary Ryan puts Jessica & David to work rolling cartridges for the Confederate Soldiers. She was one of the best re-enactors I've seen. She never broke character. The kids didn't quite know how to take that.

This man was giving a demonstration on rifles from cleaning to firing!

Here David is standing in front of a "window" overlooking the water wheel. It was one of the best places to stand on a warm day. A nice cool breeze came through & cooled us off.

Here the kids were getting recruited into the army.

Next they were drilled on how to march & shoot their weapons. This was the first recruitment/drilling exercise we've attended that had guns for the kids to use.

We almost skipped this as we were tired but David really wanted to go. The white building in the center of the picture is the White House of the Confederacy.

First we visited the museum. They had a neat timeline map that showed all the major events during each year of the Civil War.

Every major battle of the Civil War had a display case filled with artifacts from the battlefield & items from soldiers who fought there.

The last exhibit talked about the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Then we went on a tour of the Confederate Whitehouse! I wish I could show you pictures, but photography was not allowed. If ever in Richmond, you should visit it. After the Civil War, the local women's group helped acquire the building & then went to work finding all the furnishings that had been auctioned off. They used auction records to locate the buyers then convinced a lot of them that it was their patriotic duty to help preserve the memory of the Confederacy by donating what they had bought to the museum. Thanks to their hard work, over 50% of the furnishings during the Whitehouse days where found. Mrs. Davis returned to the Whitehouse several times to help them set the rooms up as they were during the Confederacy!

Here is the back of the Whitehouse. This is the part that actually faces the road.

 

I love historic markers! I love that the time was taken to mark the history of different places! When I see those signs, I know we are going to be learning something new!!

 

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Day 1 in DC

My girls on the Metro!

My guys on the Metro!

Walking to Ford's Theatre.

Ford's Theatre!

Waiting in line to tour Ford's Theatre Museum!

The museum covered Abraham Lincoln's life. This museum was built in the 1990s.

The kids with a life-size statue of President Lincoln.

It's amazing how many times Lincoln had to change commanders of the Union Army during the Civil War.

Part of an exhibit on the co-conspirators of John Wilkes Booth.

The gun that shot President Abraham Lincoln.

A timeline of President Lincoln's last day!

A timeline of John Wilkes Booth on the same day!

This hallway details the last hours leading up to the assassination. It was also the hallway between the theatre & a tavern next door where Booth had a drink while waiting to do his evil deed.

Ford's Theatre! It is a working theatre. The current play is "Spelling Bee". The Ranger did a great job describing the events of the night of April 14, 1865.

The box seats where President Lincoln was shot! It has been left exactly as it was that day (with some restoring done).

Next we crossed the street to the Peterson Boarding House. This is where President Lincoln was brought. Above is the parlor where Mrs. Lincoln waited.

This is the bed where President Lincoln died. It was so short they had to lay the President diagonal on the bed. They brought him here so he could die in private with dignity.

Attached to the Peterson House was another museum that detailed the aftermath of Lincoln's death. This is a display of books written about Lincoln!

Next we hopped the Metro to Arlington National Cemetery.

View of DC skyline from JFK's grave.

The Lincoln Memorial across the Memorial Bridge.

The Washington Monument.

The Capitol Building on the far left & Jefferson Memorial on far right.

Jamie & I praying our respects at the gravesites of President & Mrs Kennedy & 2 of their children.

David at the gravesite.

The simple grave of Robert F Kennedy.

The Lee House. It looks like limestone but is really brick covered with stucco to make it look more expensive than it is!

General Lee married a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington and inherited this plantation.

When the Union Army advanced on the Lee Estate, Mrs Lee left her household slave in charge of guarding all of the Washington family memorabilia that she had collected.

Just a small part of the 624 acres of Arlington National Cemetery!

Soldier on guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

Leaving the cemetery.

On the Memorial bridge. This bridge is symbolic of the bringing together of the country after the Civil War. It connects the Lee House at Arlington National Cemetery with the Lincoln Memorial.

Visiting Lincoln Memorial!

The Reflecting Pool & Washington Monument which is under construction for repair damage from the 2011 earthquake.

The Vietnam Memorial.

The Three Servicemen statue at the Vietnam Memorial.

A squirrel who posed for me!

The World War II Memorial!

Posing in front of White House!

Posing in front of the Washington Monument.

On the National Mall.

And just to prove that I was here too, here we are in front of Capitol Hill!

It was a long day of touring but we got to see a lot of things!

 

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