Gloucester, VA - Museum of the Confederacy, White House

We began the day with donuts - natch but had to drive all the way into Richmond to the Sugar Shack to get them - usually we get donuts as we leave and eat them on the way. But - better late than never. Not that we are connoisseurs of donuts but we have tasted a lot in different parts of the US and have our favorites. We particularly like old-fashioneds - and I think that they have to be in hotter fat than cake donuts or raised donuts. That is how they acquire their particular shape. Most donut shops out in the West have these - in several flavors: sour cream, regular and chocolate and sometimes other flavors. Donut shops out west also have long johns which are Gary’s favorite, In the Midwest and the South there are generally 2 types of donuts: the cake donut and the raised donut. We’ve been to donut shops which have only cake donuts and you can choose your frosting and your sprinkles. Lines circle this donut shop on a Saturday morning. Today the Sugar Shack which rates a 4.5 out of 5 on Yelp has all raised donuts with different frostings and sprinkles. I chose the white and chocolate criss-crossed frosting with the chocolate chips on top. Gary chose the white frosted with coconut sprinkles and the white frosted with chocolate chips. I think we’ll be flying high today.

We were not the only ones who wanted to start their day with donuts. The line was long for the entire time we were there - most getting a dozen or more. When we got there, we were anxious about their having any for us but they were baking even as we stood in line, continually bringing out trays of donuts. They bake them so fast that they don't have time to put out little signs with the types of donuts. You just have to ask what each one is. 

Now, on with the day’s business: the Museum of the Confederacy, the Confederate White House and the Maggie Walker NHS. We took Interstate 64 into Richmond and it was almost bumper to bumper all the way in at 70 mph. Holy cow - and it was a Saturday - what must it be like on a weekday? Now, we know that the traffic is much heavier out in the East but we certainly didn’t expect this. Of course, the route we were on was the direct route between DC and Richmond on the West and Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton and so forth on the East. Lots of Navy and vacationers who want to be on the beach. Busy, busy road.

The Museum of the Confederacy had a boatload of Civil War artifacts - the ‘world’s most comprehensive collection of artifacts’ - and organized them really well. Each section began with a large map showing all the battles in that year and then each battle had its own display case with artifacts, pictures of the owner of the artifacts and description of them. You can see the map and understand where the action was and then go to each of the battle display cases to see more about it.

Here’s Lee’s whole campaign tent with desk, chair, bed, dishes, trunk, and lots of little artifacts that he had during the war. They had put some lights behind it and tossed some leaves on top to make it look realistic. His saddle, his gloves, his boots, all ready for him to enter and put on ready for the next day’s march.

Here are JEB Stewart’s artifacts: his writing desk, his saddle, sword, gloves and the hat I’ve seen many pictures of him wearing.

Here’s a red cloth that one division tied on their arms so that they wouldn’t shoot at each other in the heat, smoke and fire of battle.

An amazing collection of artifacts.

On the second floor was a display of battle flags. The confederacy couldn’t make up its mind what flag to have. Each division then made its own flag which made for a lot of confusion in battle. When they did come up with a design, it was so similar to the Union flag, that again confusion reigned. And, when confusion reigns in a battle, men die of ‘friendly fire.’ Finally they settle on the Stars and Bars.

One room had the battle flag from many of the divisions that charged up the hill in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. One person described it as a sea of flags waving in the wind and slowly moving across the field as the units who carried them marched towards the enemy. 5600 out of 12,000 died. Then there was this picture taken in 1913 with some of the lucky survivors of Picketts Charge reliving the battle and the charge.

In the basement they had a melange of artifacts from their ‘Knick-Knackery’ - their storage rooms. I could never fit into this dress. Makes me remember Scarlet O’Hara’s 18” waist. (She must not have had many donuts.)

Very complete museum and very well organized. 

Part of the Museum experience was a tour of the Confederate White House - yes, it was the White House, the Confederate White House. Since Jefferson Davis was the only President that the Confederacy had, his was the only family in it. And what a family. The Davises had 3 children when they moved in (one had died at the age of 1 before they moved in) and had 2 children while they were here. They played throughout the house and the house rang with their rollicking laughter and their screams of job. But, unfortunately the Davis children met sad endings: one, Joseph, was 5 when he fell off the second floor porch and died within an hour. In the decades following the war, 3 more succumbed to disease. Only 1 lived to have children of her own

The Civil War certainly pitted brother against brother. Lavinia Davis was from New Jersey and had relatives who were fighting for the Union while Mary Todd Lincoln was from Kentucky and had relatives who were fighting for the Confederacy.

We toured the home and saw the office and rooms where Davis, an insomniac used to work far into the night. Here also he met with his generals, Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson among others. Interestingly, much of the furniture is original. When it looked as if Richmond would be taken by Federal troops, the Davis family fled, taking very little with them except their personal belongings and clothing. Then, when the war ended, souvenir hunters scarfed up a lot of the furniture, the furnishings, the books, the lights, etc from the house. Later, when the city of Richmond needed money to rebuild the city, they held an auction for what was still left. Then the home was used as an elementary school until 1889 when the home was saved from destruction and ultimately became a museum. Slowly but surely many of the original pieces of furniture began to dribble in as people who had inherited pieces from their parents realized that they could donate them to the museum. Our guide tells us that they still get a piece of two donated.

Here’s a picture of the house during the war.

Richmond certainly did not escape destruction during the war. Many battles were fought around it since it was the capitol of the Confederacy. Fire consumed much of it at the end, until the Union troops came in and put the fire out.

‘Climbing K2 or floating the Grand Canyon in an inner tube. There are some things one would rather have done than do.

                                                                                         Edward Abbey