If you want to understand the history of this nation, there are far worse places to begin that journey than northern Virginia. Richmond is a good place to start, specifically The American Civil War Center.
This part of the country is suffused with Civil War sites, Civil War museums and Civil War battlefields what sets The American Civil War Center somewhat apart is the perspective it brings to bear on this pivotal point of our country’s journey. It bills itself as “the nation’s first museum to interpret the Civil War from Union, Confederate and African American perspectives.”
Indeed, the center’s flagship exhibit is In the Cause of Liberty, and it’s housed in the historic 1861 Tredegar Gun Foundry, the place that gave birth to the some of the conflict’s instruments of war. Start the visit with the interactive film What Caused the Civil War? Move through the relics, artifacts and stories of the war itself. Finish the tour with the post-war Legacies section, which helps put all that sacrifice into perspective.
After the center, rent a car and follow the path of the James River for an intimate insight into a time that, quite literally, vanished with winds of war. Explore the James River Plantations and see some of the 33 plantations listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This is a trip best done slowly, with no “must-do” list posted on the dashboard.
When you return to Richmond you might take some time to process what you’ve seen the past couple of days – and to smell the flowers as well. The perfect place to do both is the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. If you make it before the end of August you can take in Thursday-evening wine tasting and music. If the holidays find you in Richmond, you get to be bedazzled by half-a-million seasonal lights.
(Image: rvaphotodude)
