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Richmond History
In the forefront of American history is Virginia. At the center of Virginia history is Richmond.
The land that was to become Richmond was purchased by one of America's first heroes, Captain John Smith, in 1609. The seller, Powhatan, was father of America's first heroine, Pocahontas. The spot held great natural advantage in the colonial era, for its location at the fall line of the James River marked the farthest point inland accessible to water transport.
Modern Richmond was laid out in 1737 by William Byrd, scion of one of America's most illustrious families. His plantation, Westover, is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in America. The house, along with neighboring plantations, was host to such luminous names as Washington, Jefferson, Henry, Lee and Randolph. As political and economic shifted from the lower tidewater, Richmond became a congregating point for these people and was designated capital of Virginia in 1779.
Early 1861 found Virginia and other states of the Upper South in a waiting game. The states of the Deep South had left the Union and formed their own government in Montgomery, Alabama. The stalemate was broken in Charleston on April 12, when Confederate forces were forced to fire on Fort Sumter to prevent its resupply. President Lincoln asked for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion, and Virginia fell into line with its neighbors to the South. Richmond was designated capital of the new government to secure participation of perhaps the most important state to secede.
The battle lines were drawn between the two capitals, only 100 miles apart. The battle cry of "On to Richmond!" was heard throughout the northern states. The cry was soon hushed when a Federal army was turned back in confusion at the First Battle of Manasass. Union armies withdrew to Washington to contemplate and prepare for their next move.
It was to be another attempt on Richmond, this time from the east. General George McClellan utilized Union naval superiority to ferry his army down the Chesapeake and land at Fort Monroe. The Union army inched up the Peninsula towards Richmond, marching through plantations and Revolutionary War battlefields. They were halted inside of modern Richmond's beltway, at the Battle of Fair Oaks. Confederate General Johnston, wounded in the battle, was replaced by General Robert E. Lee, who had thus far played only a secondary role in the year long war. General Lee put his army on the offensive and, in a series of bloody battles known as the Seven Days, drove the federals back to their base on the James. Richmond was saved.
Some southerners even may have argued that the city wasn't worth saving. Wartime Richmond was a cauldron of political intrigue, overcrowding, inflation, speculation, prostitution, and about every other vice known. But it was hugely important as the home of the Confederate government, an international symbol of Southern resistance, and a manufacturing center. The Tredegar Iron Works, still visible on the waterfront, supplied a great portion of Confederate munitions.
Federal attempts on the city continued throughout the war, but it wasn't until General Grant approached Richmond in the spring of 1864 that the city was again seriously threatened. In a series of terribly bloody battles he tried to get around General Lee's flank and into Richmond. The attempts were unsuccessful, and the two armies settled into siege lines stretching from east of Richmond south to the important rail junction at Petersburg. The war took on the appearance of World War I as the armies spied each other from cold, wet trenches. Poor supply finally crippled the Confederate army, and General Lee was forced to evacuate in April of 1865. Richmond was burned by the retreating army and the Federals moved in the next day.
In the years after the war Richmond rebuilt, expanding to the west. Monument Avenue, one of the country's most beautiful streets, was laid out it 1887. It honors the city's Confederate heroes in a series of impressive monuments. In recent years a controversial statue of Richmond native Arthur Ashe has been added to the collection.
Richmond today is a symbol of the "polite decay" of William Faulkner's novels. There is mile after mile of 19th and early 20th century houses, some falling in, others needing paint, and still others finely renovated. There are also modern office buildings of both the Federal Reserve and several Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Richmond. Overall, the city needs some organization, and a good cleaning. It is eminently worth visiting though, as a home of great history, and example of modern urban life facing that history. It is also mercifully free of the artificial feeling of contrived tourist attractions and immaculate showcases. Richmond is real, and there's not an aquarium in sight.
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