Museum and White House of the Confederacy
- Carmen
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Editor Pick
Museum of the Confederacy
- September 18, 2006
- Rated 5 of 5 by
zabelle from Portland, Connecticut
The Museum of the Confederacy is next door to the White House of the Confederacy. You will want to buy a combination ticket for $10. Be sure to check on the times of the White House Tour. What we did was tour the museum, go on the tour of the White House and then return to finish the museum.
What a different perspective on the War between the States you get here. Being from the North, the Confederates are usually regarded as traitors . At this museum, the Southerners are Patriots doing what their forefathers did before them, leading a second revolution to protect their rights and liberties. In the South, 900,000 men served the glorious cause, that is three out of four white males of the age to serve.
I found the display of tintypes and ambrotypes particularly poignant, it puts a face on the war and the face is very young. It is jut wrenching. Another exhibit shows the jacket of a young man killed in the conflict. The hole is quite visible where the bullet went through the material and into his body.
Having visited the Stonewall Jackson Shrine in Fredericksburg, I was touched to see the exhibit of his personal effects. They have his cap, his scabbard, his field officer sword and even a handkerchief with bloodstains that was used to bind his wound. They do a great job of making all the exhibits easy to follow and visually appealing.
The entry level floor introduces you to some of the main players in the War. There is an excellent display of Robert E. Lee memorabilia. Everything in the display is original. We see the sword of general Johnston that was worn by his father during the Revolutionary War. We also see the epitaph written by a young soldier and hung on his tomb as well as that soldiers jacket.
As a fan of JEB Stuart I especially enjoyed seeing his boots, his gauntlets his saddle and that jauntily rakish hat. I think I would have really enjoyed meeting him.
The exhibits are spread over three floors. The upper floor has a lot of maritime information. This was a sea war as well as a land war.
On the lower floor there is a short video about flag conservation. You will understand the importance of this work when you see how many flags they have been able to preserve. On this lower level we meet the average soldier. There are letters written to mothers and sweethearts back home from the battlefield. These offer an insight into what was going on in their heads and what was going on in the battlefield. They are sad, touching and occasionally humorous.
There is a lot to see and read here. Depending on what your interest level is allow about three hours for the visit of both the Museum and the White House of the Confederacy. There is a small gift shop on the lobby level.
From journal Historic Richmond-Part 2 The Confederacy
Editor Pick
The White House of the Confederacy
- September 18, 2006
- Rated 5 of 5 by
zabelle from Portland, Connecticut
In 1890 the Ladies Hollywood Memorial Association rescued the White House of the Confederacy from destruction. They formed the Confederate Literary Society and in 1896 opened the House up as a Museum. Thus began the Confederate Museum. The name was changed to The Museum of the Confederacy in 1969 and in 1976 the Museum moved to its new building next door. Now it was time to restore the Mansion.
Built in 1818 by Doctor John Brockenbrough, President of the Bank of Virginia the house had passes through several owners before it was purchased by the city of Richmond to house the Jefferson Davis family in 1861. Beyond its role as the White House, it was also a family home to the Davis family. Mrs. Davis gave birth to two children while they lived in the house and in 1864 five year old Joseph Davis fell to his death from the porch on the east side of the house. These and many other facts we learned from our guide Cara as we took our 45 minute tour of the house.
The tour begins in the lobby of the Museum of the Confederacy and moves over to the basement of the house. The house we see today today was created by Lewis Crenshaw who purchased it in 1857 and added the third floor and gas lighting, he also added a flush toilet. It was Lewis who sold the house to the Commission in 1861 with its furnishings for $43,000. He was paid in installments in Confederate currency. After the War everything was sold even the wallpaper and rugs and it was turned into a school.
Today after a twelve-year restoration about 60% of the original furnishings have been restored to the house. What isn’t original is from the period. One good thing is that when the Union Army came into Richmond they didn’t sack the house. On April 4, 1865, Union Officers entertained President Abraham Lincoln in the parlors of the house. Jefferson Davis had fled from Richmond on April 2, 1865.
What I got from my visit here was not more knowledge about the Confederacy. That I got at the Museum of the Confederacy. Here it was more about the President of the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis was quite an amazing man, blind in one eye, never very well (he had chronic insomnia), he still managed to serve first the United States as a hero in the Mexican War and then as a senator from the state of Mississippi. He was a graduate of West Point and these qualifications made him the ideal choice to lead the Confederacy.
You need to be able to climb stairs to visit here. We moved from the basement to the first and second floors. We visit the public and private quarters as well as Mr. Davis’s office. Most of the main figures of the Confederacy visited here, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E Lee, Joseph Johnston and James Longstreet.
From journal Historic Richmond-Part 2 The Confederacy
Museum and White House of the Confederacy
- March 13, 2002
- Rated 4 of 5 by
kwest from Richmond, Virginia
This musuem houses the world's largest collection of Confederate artifacts. The musuem is well-presented and you can also visit the adjacent White House of the Confederacy that served as Jefferson Davis' house throughout the war. This is arguably Richmond's most significant attraction.
From journal Richmond VA
Museum and White House of the Confederacy
- July 28, 2000
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Carter from Richmond, Virginia
Dig the digs of Davis. The former executive Mansion of the Confederate President has been beautifully restored and features 11 rooms decorated with Victorian furniture.
In the summer its live! Living history is performed on the museum steps. Inside is the largest collection of Civil War exhibits and artifacts in the country and living history is performed on the steps in the summer.
Mon.-Sat., 10-5, Sun. noon-5. Combined tour of both Museum and Presidential Mansion is $9.00.
From journal A City of History: Museums and Sites
The Museum of the Confederacy
- July 13, 2000
- Rated 4 of 5 by
Carmen from Fairfax, Virginia
The Museum of the Confederacy is a must-see for Civil War buffs from both the North and the South. As you probably know, Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy during the War Between the States, and served as headquarters for Jefferson Davis's presidency. There are many displays of Civil War artifacts and such, and relates an emotional history of Virginia's sons that fought in the war, as well as presenting the economic and political views of both sides.
The most interesting thing, to me anyway, is the Museum's collection of battle flags. The museum keeps these in storage to protect the fabric, but flags from both the North and the South are kept and restored.
Also, all you 'family tree' keepers may find some interesting information about your forefathers here.
From journal Virginia's Capital City