Front row seats in Libby Hill Park 4/2/15 and 4/4/15
Libby Hill Park will offer front row seats for two of the Richmond commemorations of the 150th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War.
The first will be the illumination of the city tonight, illustrating on our modern downtown buildings the flames that consumed most of the old heart of the city on April 2, 1865 after retreating Confederate troops set fires to munitions and other stores. The illumination will run from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
“Such a spectacle was presented as can never be forgotten” – The Burning of Richmond (illumination and lantern tours) 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
A unique illumination of Richmond’s downtown cityscape will represent the evacuation fires with projected images on modern buildings. Special lantern tours will lead visitors through the heart of historic burned district and living historians stationed along the tour route will share the stories of individuals who experienced the fires first-hand. Tours step off every 30 minutes from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and begin at the corner of Bank and Governor streets. Tours will last approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Note: the lantern tours follow city streets and sidewalks and are wheelchair accessible. Visitors who cannot follow the tour may call 804-226-1981 to inquire about an alternative option.
Then on Saturday morning, April 4, at the start of another full day full of events, we’ll have a front row seat for:
On to Richmond! Blue Coats Enter a Gray City, commemorative procession following route of Union army into Richmond, starting on East Main Street near Pear Street at 9:30 a.m. and arriving at Capitol Square at 11.00 a.m.
On April 3, 1865, Union troops including units of the United States Colored Troops, entered the city marching along New Market Road/Main Street.The next day, April 4, 1865, President Lincoln and his young son Tad arrived on Admiral Porter’s flagship, disembarking to a small boat on the James River below Libby Hill Park, to be rowed upriver by a contingent of just 12 sailors and Marines. Landing at 17th Street, the President and his son walked to the Capitol Building amid a joyous welcome by a newly emancipated people.
Libby Hill Park offers a great vantage point to observe both the Thursday night illumination and the start of the procession into the city on Saturday morning. For those who can join their fellow neighbors at 9 am Saturday at Libby Hill Park on the terraced steps overlooking the James River, we’ll have a vantage point to contemplate this moment in history before walking down to join the commemorative procession.
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Emily Klinedinst liked this on Facebook.
Has anyone actually seen anything?
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You would think from WCVE radio this morning and the program that there was to be a dramatic illumination. But no. So we ended up going down to the Capitol and it was small light simulations of fire on the buildings with low key but interesting oral history by reenactors sharing the reactions of Richmonders to the flight of the Confederate leadership and the burning of the city.
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