Saturday, June 11

Today turned out to be one of my favorite days - again! Weather still hot, but had a smile when I looked on the itinerary and saw "museum" and "house" several times, because that meant shade and sometimes air conditioning! With tennis shoes on and water bottle in hand, I was prepared for today!! We were heading to Richmond, VA.

 Tredegar

Tredegar Ironworks supplied the Confederate army with cannons and ammunition during the Civil War. A fascinating story really. Joseph Anderson hired over 750 slaves and had skilled workers train them for the jobs. It took about 2 months to make a cannon, and they worked around the clock to produce cannon's for the Confederacy. The building in the picture actually caught on fire at one time and the top stories burned. They were able to build the top story back and that is why the bricks are different colors.

American Civil War Center

This was one of the most fascinating museums I have been in. My only regret was that we did not have more time to look through it! I could have spent a lot more time here. They had a few videos to watch that were well done and informative, and lots of interactive type items at various stations. The most awe-inspiring and fascinating items were Lincoln's life masks in bronze on display. Apparently death masks used to be quite common, at one time sculpted, but about the middle ages they changed to molds made from the actual person's face using plaster or wax. There are many famous masks including Napoleon Bonaparte, Peter the Great, Alexander I and II, and many others. These masks were made as a way to honor and remember the deceased. Eventually they began making masks of the individual while still living. The masks of Lincoln were done by two different artists. The first done in 1860, prior to the war was done by Leonard Volk who asked Lincoln to sit for a bust and to save time he began with the life mask. The second one done in 1865, just two months prior to Lincoln's death by sculptor Clark Mills. Upon seeing the bronze models displayed in the American Civil War Center one realizes how hard the Civil War was on Lincoln. It is noted in the linked site below: "One friend who saw him a few weeks after the mask was made noted that he "looked badly and felt badly." To another friend Lincoln confided, "I am very unwell."

Life masks of Abraham Lincoln - from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery on Lincoln

1860 Lincoln life mask - sculpted by Leonard Volk

1865 Lincoln life mask - sculpted by Clark Mills