Richmond-3

Yesterday we visited the second White House of the Confederacy (the first was in Montgomery) and the Museum of the Confederacy.  Unfortunately, the White House is closed every year during the month of January for cleaning and restoration projects, but the museum is now housed in a separate so we were still able to view the collections.  Still, the White House is impressive from the outside and the museum made for an over two hour tour with its three levels of exhibits.  The museum only has enough room to display about one-tenth of their entire collection- the remaining items are stored in vaults in the basement of the museum.  For this reason, they are in the process of building a second museum in Appomattox (which we are visiting this afternoon) and they currently alternate the collections on the lower level every few months. 

On the main level of the museum a self-guided tour takes you through the lives of Lee and his generals- right down to their actual shell jackets, boots, guns and even toothbrushes that were saved by their families and later given over to the museum. 

The upper level focuses on the lives of the soldiers when they were not in battle- actual letters written home, songbooks, “mess” containers and pans where they cooked food, and their outfits and clothing. 

With the largest collection of Confederate personal belongings and the most comprehensive assortment of Civil War artifacts, the Museum of the Confederacy displays authentic pieces in the heart of the historic district in Richmond, Virginia.