We're in Virginia for a couple of weeks and it's a confusing place. Specifically we are on "the peninsula", site of Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown where an awful lot of US history occurred. Jamestown is the sight of the first permanent British settlement in North America under John Smith of Pocahontas legend. Williamsburg was the first capital of Virginia and where the American Revolution began, and Yorktown is where the last battle of the American Revolution took place, the defeat of Cornwallis, under Washington and Lafayette. I'll get around to those places in a few days; they are within 30 minutes of each other by car and we are staying in the midst of them.
I'm starting with Richmond, where we landed and did no more than wander, go to one museum and have lunch before driving to Williamsburg, all of an hour away.
Adding to my befuddlement is that Richmond, now the capitol of Virginia was where, slowly but surely, the 3 initial peoples (Native, African, and European) evolved from working together to being owner or slave. Richmond was the capitol of the short lived Confederacy whose only president was Jefferson Davis. Downtown present day Richmond is derelict with blocks of empty store fronts in the midst of beautiful government buildings and grounds. Sad.
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| The White House of the Confederacy |
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| one of many versions of the Confederate flag |
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| Not sure why George Washington is featured in Richmond, but there he is. |
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| the state seal |
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| state legislature building with Jim to give the scale |
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| the stunning Carpenter Theatre |
Just in case you weren't paying attention, we've got: the first settlement, the beginning of the American Revolution, the last battle of the Revolution, the introduction of slavery, the capitol of the Confederacy.
The ironies are unlimited, such as the state motto is "always against tyranny" referring to British rule and adopted shortly before slavery was.
