RICHMOND.
Arrival in Richmond.--Libby Prison.--Situation of the City.--
Historical Associations.--Early Settlement.--Attacked by
British Forces in the Revolution.--Monumental Church.--St.
John's Church.--State Capital.--Passage of the Ordinance
of Secession.--Richmond the Capital of the Confederate
States.--Military Expeditions against the City.--Evacuation
of Petersburg.--Surrender of the City.--Visit of President
Lincoln.--Historical Places.--Statues.--Rapid Recuperation
After the War.--Manufacturing and Commercial Interests.--
Streets and Public Buildings.--Population and Future
Prospects.
On the morning of October twenty-third, 1863, a large company of Union
prisoners, including the author, made an entry into Richmond, which was
the reverse of triumphant, we having been, four days before, made
prisoners of war in the cavalry fight at New Baltimore, in Northern
Virginia. A brief stay in Warrenton jail, a forced march on a hot day,
for a distance of thirty miles, to Culpepper, and then a transfer by
march and rail, landed us at last at Libby Prison, Richmond. The
"chivalry" and the descendants of the F. F. V's did not impress us very
favorably, as we marched from the depot, through some of the principal
streets, to the James River. Contemptuous epithets were bestowed freely
upon us, while the female portion of the community was even more bitter
in its expressions of hatred, and a troop of boys followed in our rear,
hooting and yelling like young demoniacs.
Libby Prison was situated at the corner of Fourteenth and Cary streets,
and was an old, dilapidated three-story brick structure, which still
bore upon its northwest corner the sign "Libby & Son, Ship Chandlers and
Grocers." The windows were small and protected by iron bars. The story
of my stay in this prison-house I have recorded in "Capture, Prison-Pen
and Escape." It was my abiding place until the seventh of the following
May, when, in a filthy, rough box-car, a number of prisoners, including
myself, were shipped to Danville. It is needless to say that my
prolonged stay in Richmond did not materially alter or improve my
impressions in regard to the city. True, our view of the city from our
prison windows was limited, but memories only of suffering, privation
and unnecessary barbarity, prompted by the cruel nature of those who had
us in charge, are associated with it. The city was at that time the
heart and centre of the then Southern Confederacy, the seat of the Rebel
government, the rendezvous of troops, and the hatching place of treason
and rebellion.
Yet one who views Richmond at the present day, unbiased by the untoward
circumstances which threw their baleful influence over us, will see much
to admire in and about the city. It is situated on the north bank of the
James River, about one hundred miles by water from Chesapeake Bay, and
the same distance a little west of south of Washington. It is built upon
several eminences, the principal ones being Shockoe and Richmond hills,
separated by Shockoe Creek. Like so many other Southern cities, its
residences are surrounded by gardens, in which are grass plots,
shrubbery and flowers; and in the business quarter are many substantial
edifices.
The Richmond of to-day is very different from the Richmond of war times.
The loyal city has been literally reconstructed upon the ruins of the
rebellious one. There are few cities around which so many historical
associations cluster, as around Richmond. It is on the site of a
settlement made as early as 1611, by Sir Thomas Dale, and in honor of
Prince Henry called Henrico, from which the county afterwards took its
name. An early historical account says it contained three streets of
framed houses, a church, storehouses and warehouses. It was protected by
ditches and palisades, and no less than five rude forts. Two miles below
the city a settlement had been made two years previously. In 1644-5 the
Assembly of Virginia ordered a fort to be erected at the falls of the
James River, to be called "Forte Charles." In 1676 war was declared
against the Indians, and bloody encounters took place between the
aborigines and their white neighbors. Bloody Run, near Richmond, is so
named, according to tradition, on account of a sanguinary battle which
one Bacon had there with the Indians; though it is stated on other
authority that its name originated from the battle in which Hill was
defeated and Totopotomoi slain.
In 1677 certain privileges were granted Captain William Byrd, upon the
condition that he should settle fifty able-bodied and well armed men in
the vicinity of the Falls, to act as a protection to the frontier
against the Indians. Richmond was established by law as a town in May,
1742, in the reign of George II, on land belonging to Colonel William
Byrd, who died two years later. The present Exchange Hotel is near the
locality of a warehouse owned by that gentleman. In 1779 the capital of
the State was removed to Richmond, from Williamsburg, the latter, its
former capital, being in too assailable a position. In 1781 the traitor
Arnold invested the city with a British force. As soon as he arrived he
sent a force, under Colonel Simcoe, to destroy the cannon foundry above
the town. After burning some public and private buildings, and a large
quantity of tobacco, the British forces left Richmond, encamping for one
night at Four Mile Creek. The village at that time contained not more
than eighteen hundred inhabitants, one-half of whom were slaves. In 1789
it contained about three hundred houses. At that period all the
principal merchants were Scotch and Scotch-Irish. Paulding describes the
inhabitants as "a race of most ancient and respectable planters, having
estates in the country, who chose it for their residence, for the sake
of social enjoyments. They formed a society now seldom to be met with in
any of our cities. A society of people not exclusively monopolized by
money-making pursuits, but of liberal education, liberal habits of
thinking and acting; and possessing both leisure and inclination to
cultivate those feelings and pursue those objects which exalt our nature
rather than increase our fortune." In 1788, a convention met in the
city, to ratify the Federal Constitution.
At the corner of Broad and Thirteenth streets stands the Monumental
Church, in commemoration of a terrible calamity which once befell the
city. On the twenty-sixth of December, 1811, a play entitled "The
Bleeding Nun" was being performed in the little theatre of the city, and
proved such a great attraction that the house was crowded, not less than
six hundred people being present on the eventful night. Just before the
conclusion of the play the scenery caught fire, and in a few minutes the
whole building was wrapped in flames. The fire falling from the ceiling
upon the performers was the first notification the audience had of what
was transpiring. A scene of the wildest confusion ensued. There was but
one door through which the entire audience, composed of men, women and
children, could make its exit. The fire flashed from one portion of the
interior to another, catching on the garments of the frantic people. All
pressed in a wild panic toward the door. People jumped and were pushed
out of the windows. Many were rescued with their clothing literally
burned off from them, and no less than sixty-nine persons perished in
the flames, among them George W. Smith, Governor of the State, and many
other prominent men and women. A great funeral was held in the Baptist
meeting-house, and the entire population of the city attended, as
mourners. The remains of the unfortunates were interred beneath a mural
tablet which is now in the vestibule of the church that was subsequently
erected on the site of the theatre.
St. John's Church, on Church Hill, at the corner of Broad and
Twenty-fourth streets, dates back to ante-Revolutionary times, and in it
was held, in 1775, the Virginia Convention, in which Patrick Henry made
his famous speech, containing the words "Give me liberty or give me
death!" It was subsequently the place of meeting of the Convention
which, in 1788, ratified the Federal Constitution. Among the members of
this Convention were James Madison, John Marshall, James Monroe, Patrick
Henry, George Nicholas, George Mason, Edmund Randolph, Pendleton and
Wythe. Rarely has any occasion in a single State presented such a list
of illustrious names as we find here. This church is a plain,
unpretending edifice, built in the style of a century ago, to which has
been added a modern spire.
The State Capitol stands on the summit of Shockoe Hill, in the centre of
a park of eight acres. It is of Graeco-Composite style of architecture,
with a portico of Ionic columns, planned after that of the _Maison
cassee_ at Nismes, in France, the plan being furnished by Thomas
Jefferson. Beneath a lofty dome in the centre of the building is
Houdon's celebrated statue of Washington, of marble, life size,
representing him clad in the uniform of a revolutionary general. Near
by, in a niche in the wall, is a marble bust of Lafayette. This building
has been the scene of many noted political gatherings. In it, on January
seventh, 1861, was read Governor Letcher's message to the Legislature,
in which he declared it was "monstrous to see a government like ours
destroyed merely because men cannot agree about a domestic institution."
Nevertheless, on the seventeenth of the same month, the Capitol Building
witnessed the unanimous passage of the following resolution:--
"_Resolved_, That if all efforts to reconcile the unhappy
differences between sections of our country shall prove abortive,
then every consideration of honor and interest demands that
Virginia shall unite her destinies with her sister slaveholding
States."
And on the thirteenth of February, the same edifice saw a State
Convention meet within its walls; on the sixteenth of April, Governor
Letcher refused the requisition of the Secretary of War for troops to
assist in putting down the Rebellion in South Carolina; and the next day
the Ordinance of Secession was passed, two months having been given to
an active discussion of its expediency, pro and con. The Confederate
flag, with eight stars, was raised from the dome of the Capitol, and the
Custom House, which stands on Main street, between Tenth and Eleventh,
had the gilt sign on its portico, "United States Court," removed. A
citizen writing from Richmond, on April twenty-fifth, says: "Our
beautiful city presents the appearance of an armed camp. Where all these
soldiers come from, in such a state of preparation, I cannot imagine.
Every train pours in its multitude of volunteers, but I am not as much
surprised at the number as at the apparent discipline of the country
companies. * * But the war spirit is not confined to the men nor to the
white population. The ladies are not only preparing comforts for the
soldiers, but arming and practicing themselves. Companies of boys, also,
from ten to fourteen years of age, fully armed and well drilled, are
preparing for the fray. In Petersburg, three hundred free negroes
offered their services, either to fight under white officers, or to
ditch and dig, or any kind of labor. An equal number in this city and
across the river, in Chesterfield, have volunteered in like manner."
A resolution was passed by the Convention inviting the Southern
Confederacy to make Richmond the seat of government. The Ordinance of
Secession having been submitted to the people, the vote in the city
stood twenty-four hundred in favor and twenty-four against, being less
than half the vote polled at the Presidential election in November
previous. Richmond became a general rendezvous for troops.
The Confederate Congress met in Richmond, in the hall of the House of
Delegates, on the twentieth of July, 1861, and the seat of government
continued there until the taking of the city marked the fall of the
Confederacy. A school-house in the vicinity of the rear of Monumental
Church, was at that time known as Brockenburg House, and was the
residence of Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Confederacy. Two
tobacco warehouses, under their former titles of Libby & Son and Castle
Thunder, together with Belle Isle, were military prisons during the war,
and in the former of these, as already narrated, the writer was confined
for several months.
About the middle of May, 1862, the Federal forces having passed Yorktown
and Williamsburg, began to move directly upon Richmond. Consternation
seized the city, all who could get away packed up everything and fled
southward. Even President Davis took his family and hastened to North
Carolina. It was resolved to destroy the city by conflagration as soon
as the Union troops reached it. The Federal army was, however, compelled
to abandon the Peninsula, and Richmond was safe for the time being. On
February twenty-ninth, 1864, General Kilpatrick, with his division of
cavalry, commenced his march upon the city, and came within six miles,
when he was compelled to withdraw to Mechanicsburg. The next day he made
a second attempt, advancing by the Westham or river road, but was
confronted by superior forces, and again compelled to fall back, and
shortly after he returned down the Peninsula.
From the beginning of the war Richmond had been the objective point of a
series of formidable expeditions for its capture, under Generals
McDowell, McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, Meade and Grant. The strong
earthworks which were drawn around the city for its protection still
remain as mementoes of the great struggle. On July thirtieth, 1864, the
Union forces advanced as far as Petersburg, and after destroying one
fort, were repulsed. It was not until April second, 1865, that the Rebel
forces were obliged to surrender that outpost, and on the following day,
General Weitzel, with his troops, entered the city of Richmond.
President Davis was attending church at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, at
the corner of Grace and Ninth streets, when a messenger brought him a
dispatch from General Lee, announcing that Petersburg was about to be
evacuated. The officers of the Southern Confederacy stood not on the
order of their going, but went at once. Jefferson Davis took his family
and left the city immediately. The Rebel authorities took with them what
stores and treasures they could convey away, burned what they had to
leave behind, and set fire to the warehouses, public buildings, and
bridges across the James River. The flames communicated to adjacent
structures, and it was thought the entire city would be destroyed. A
large portion of its business section was thus laid waste; the number of
buildings destroyed being estimated at one thousand, and the entire loss
at eight millions of dollars.
On the fourth of April, President Lincoln reached Richmond, and entered
the house which had but two days before been occupied by Jefferson
Davis, but which was now the headquarters of General Weitzel. He came
unattended, and walked up from the river into the city, without parade,
as any ordinary citizen might have done. The news of his presence soon
spread, and the colored people flocked around him, with strong
demonstrations of joy. "God bless you, Massa Linkum!" was heard on every
hand, while the tears rolled down the cheeks of some, and others danced
for joy. And here, perhaps all unconsciously, the second father of his
country emulated the first. It is told of Washington, that, a colored
man having bowed to him, he returned the bow with stately courtesy.
Being remonstrated with for bowing to a colored person, he replied that
he did not wish to be outdone in politeness by a negro. At Richmond a
colored man bowed to Lincoln, with the salutation, "May de good Lord
bless you, President Linkum!" Lincoln returned the bow with cordiality,
evidently, like Washington, determined not to be outdone in politeness
by a negro. But that bow not only indicated the noble nature of the man
who recognized a humanity broader than a color line, and over whom
already hung the dark shadow of martyrdom; but it also was a foretoken
of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Civil Rights
act, which so quickly followed the quelling of the Rebellion.
In the soldiers' section of the Hollywood Cemetery, in the western
limits of the city, overlooking the James River, are the graves of
hundreds of Confederate dead, from the midst of which rises a monumental
pyramid of rough stone. In the same cemetery, on a hill at its southern
extremity, a monument marks the resting-place of President Monroe.
General J. E. B. Stuart, commander of Lee's cavalry, is also buried
here.
The Tredegar Iron Works, which are still in active operation, and whose
buildings cover thirteen acres of ground, were the great cannon
manufactory of the Confederacy. Several battle fields and national
cemeteries are within a few hours' drive of the city. The old African
Church, a long, low building in Branch street, near Monumental Church,
is famous as a place of political meetings, both before and during the
war.
Crawford's equestrian statue of Washington, in the esplanade leading
from the Governor's house to the Capitol Square, will recall the early
days of the Republic. The statue is of bronze, representing a horse and
rider of colossal size, the horse thrown back partly upon its haunches,
on a massive granite pedestal, and around it are grouped bronze figures
of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, George Mason, Thomas
Nelson, and Andrew Lewis, all illustrious sons of Virginia. In the
Capitol Square, north of the Capitol Building, is Foley's statue of
General "Stonewall" Jackson, of heroic size, on a granite pedestal, and
near it a life-size marble statue of Henry Clay. In the State Library,
which contains forty thousand volumes, are many historical portraits.
Richmond has rapidly recuperated since the war. Her streets have been
rebuilt, and, in common with many other Southern cities, she has, since
the abolition of slavery, and the consequent elevation of labor and
attraction of Northern enterprise and capital, developed many industrial
interests. The Gallego and Haxall flour mills are among the largest in
the world. It has a large number of cotton, and a still larger number of
tobacco factories; and contains also forges, furnaces, paper mills, and
machine shops. Its chief exports are, however, tobacco and flour.
Richmond owes its present flourishing condition to its river facilities,
and the immense water power supplied by the falls. It is alike the
manufacturing and the commercial metropolis of the State. Vessels
drawing ten feet of water can come within a mile of the centre of the
city, those drawing fifteen feet, to three miles below. A canal around
the falls gives river navigation two hundred miles further into the
interior. Steamboat lines connect it with the principal Atlantic cities,
and railroads and canals open up communication with the North, South,
and West.
The city is regularly laid out, the streets crossing each other at right
angles. Those parallel with the river are named alphabetically, A street
being on the river. The cross streets are named numerically. The
principal thoroughfare is Main or E street, which is the centre of
business. The fashionable quarter is on Shockoe Hill, in the western
part of the city, where are also the chief public edifices. The
Penitentiary is in the western suburbs facing the river, and is a
massive structure three hundred feet long and one hundred and ten feet
deep. The Almshouse is one of the finest buildings in the city. There
are a large number of churches, thirteen colleges, and an orphan asylum.
Five bridges across the James River connect it with Spring Hill and
Manchester, the latter a pretty town containing two cotton mills.
The population of Richmond, by the census of 1880, was 63,803, which
showed an increase of more than ten thousand persons in ten years.
Unlike Charleston, S. C., it is surrounded by a populous rural region,
whose products find a market here, and whose population look largely to
the city for their supplies. It will never attain the commercial
consequence of Savannah or of Norfolk, but as the centre of the tobacco
region, and the seat of large manufacturing interests, it will always
possess a certain importance and prosperity.