Hey! We’re coming to Virginia to tour Civil War stuff, can you show us around?

With the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War in full swing, I imagine many of you are hearing this from family and friends.  I want to share with you some ideas for showing off our wonderful museums and historic sites while showing your visitors a great time!

My adventure began at my recent high school reunion, when classmates that I would not have pegged for Civil War buffs started talking to me about Virginia’s many CW sites.  I invited them to visit, and lo and behold this past week they took me up on the offer!  Tip #1:  Don’t offer unless you are serious – these CW aficionados WILL jump at the opportunity!  Since my favorite thing in the world is visiting museums and historic sites, and my immediate family run when they see that gleam in my eye, I was excited.

My three friends only had a few days to spend in Richmond and wanted to focus on the Richmond battlefields, particularly the 1862 Seven Days Battle sites.  After many emails and tentative itineraries vetted, we arrived at a plan of action that would include Richmond museums and battlefields, Petersburg battlefields, the new Appomattox Museum of the Confederacy outpost and McLean House NPS site, and added at the last moment – the Monitor Center at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News.  A bit off the main trail but one of my friends had a fascination with the Monitor that dated to childhood so we managed to squeeze it in.  Tip #2:  If you are going to try to “do it all”, plan a couple of days’ bed rest after you are done.  You will be exhausted!

They were to arrive late on Monday.  I was delighted to find rooms for them at the Linden Row Inn in downtown Richmond, because it has a connection to Civil War history (some were owned by Confederate soldiers).  The Inn staff kindly let me stock the rooms with cold local beer and bags of Bugles (get it?) to welcome them.  The next morning I picked them up and we began what I had dubbed the 2012 Terrier Campaign (after our high school’s mascot). 

First stop was the Richmond Battlefield Visitor Center, run by the National Park Service, located at Tredegar on the James River.  We saw the orientation film, perused the exhibits, and gathered brochures and maps.  BTW they have an incredible topographical map model with lights to explain the different battles and army lines.  Tip #3:  Be sure to ask for suggestions and directions from the Park Service staff.  We got some fine advice from the rangers and they gave me turn-by-turn directions for setting out on the battlefield trail.

My gentlemen:  Russ Ragsdale (Fort Collins, CO), Brad Bain (Kansas City, MO) and Henry Granberry (Nashville, TN)

Next of course we advanced on the American Civil War Center at Tredegar.  This great museum is organized to examine the full impact and import of the Civil War on our nation from three perspectives: the Union, the Home (South), and Freedom (the African American experience).   What amazed me is that while we all four walked through the displays relatively together, and read all the panels, we each came away with tidbits that the others had missed – so the museum experience was extended over lunch as we compared notes.  I’m not sure that P.G. T. Beauregard had anything to do with it, but keeping with our theme I took them to Beauregard’s Thai room at 103 E. Cary St. (no surprise to those who know me – I LOVE that place).  Tip #4:  Be sure to factor in plenty of food, whether at restaurant stops or stocking the car with cookies, candy, snacks and bottled water.  After all, an army travels on its stomach!

After a stop to look at the site of Libby Prison (between Dock and E. Cary St. , S. 20^th to 21^st St.) we made our way to the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House.  I had not visited in a while and was blown away by the degree to which VCU Medical Center has swallowed up that part of Court End.  You have to REALLY want to find it – bless them for making all kinds of signage to guide visitors.  We were met by dear friend Eric App, Director of Museum Operations for a brief orientation before we toured the exhitibits and White House.  He in turn connected us with Cathy Wright, Collections Manager and flag guru, who gave us a wonderful tour of the flag storage area.  This was particularly special as one of my gentlemen had brought a flag purported to be a Confederate battle flag he had purchase from some scurrilous antique dealer.  Alas, it was not to be.  But, as Eric said so tactfully “It IS a flag.”  Just not from the Civil War.  Tip #5:  It pays to know people.  Eric and Cathy made our visit so incredibly special, and they were so generous with their time and expertise.  My tip #5 ½ is to get more involved with VAM and get your networking mojo going!

Our final stop of the day was to visit the site of the Civil War Chimborazo Hospital complex and the medical museum there, also an NPS site.  Over 75,000 patients went through Chimborazo during the course of the war.  They had great exhibits about medicine during the Civil War and the hospitals in Richmond (Chimborazo, as huge as it was, was not even the largest – Richmond became quite the hospital complex during the war). My favorite exhibit was on advances in medicine contributed by the Confederate doctors.  The NPS staff was helpful, friendly and very informative.  Tip # 6:  If you don't have one, get an NPS Passport book to collect stamps - it adds a bit of fun.  It was 5pm at the end of a long day, however, so we let them close up and just like soldiers on leave headed for respite at the nearest public house (Capital Ale House in this case). 

Check back tomorrow for more adventures in Virginia history tourism!