Virginia Capitol Connections Summer 2019

Virginia is for History Lovers By Lucy Smith As Virginia is for Lovers celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2019, there is no better time for travelers to come discover all that Virginia has to offer. Rich in history with deep roots, Virginia features America’s first colonial settlement, is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, and home to preserved historical homes, Civil War sites, ties to the Civil Rights Movement, and the Crooked Road Music Heritage Trail. In Virginia, travelers can fill endless hours discovering more than 400 years of notable history, from cliff to coast. One could say the first “tourists” to visit Virginia date back to 1607 when the first colonial settlers arrived at Jamestown. Jamestown, located nearWilliamsburg, attracts thousands of visitors each year and shares the story of the brave people who founded the colony. This educational experience depicts the European, Powhatan and African cultures that would intersect in Jamestown and shares how they laid the foundation for the NewWorld. Visitors can stay in the “Historic Triangle” and travel to learn about the dawn of America at Colonial Williamsburg, immersing themselves in the 18th century and retracing the footsteps of the founding fathers at the Governor’s Palace, where Virginia first declared its independence in 1776. Complete the “Historic Triangle” at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and the neighboring Yorktown Battlefield. The capstone battle of the Revolutionary War took place in Yorktown when General George Washington and his troops defeated the Red Coats and Cornwallis surrendered, effectively ending the American Revolution. As the first, largest and most prosperous of the British colonies, Virginia was home to four of the first five Presidents of the United States, with a grand total of eight presidents hailing from Virginia- -the most of any state in the country. George Washington, our nation’s first president, grew up in Stafford and lived his adult life at Mount Vernon in Fairfax. Third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson, is also a Virginian. He grew up at Tuckahoe Plantation in Richmond and moved to Monticello in Charlottesville. Jefferson spearheaded the Louisiana Purchase, drafted the Declaration of Independence, and founded the University of Virginia. Our nation’s fourth president, James Madison, also called Virginia “home sweet home.” He resided in Montpelier and is credited as the Father of the Constitution and composer of the Bill of Rights. Fifth U.S. president, James Monroe, called Virginia home as well. PresidentsWilliam Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson are all from Virginia as well. Visitors can follow in their footsteps and learn about these notable men at places such as Berkeley Plantation, Hollywood Cemetery, and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum. From the Shenandoah Valley to Hampton Roads, history lovers can follow in the shadows of the nation’s presidents spanning from the Revolution to post- World War I. Visitors hail from far and wide to re-trace the steps of the Civil War in Virginia. Around the state, you can gain a glimpse of the war through the eyes of women, African-Americans, soldiers, spies, and children at Civil War sites. Travelers and locals alike are invited to walk the grounds of Manassas National Battlefield and Petersburg National Battlefield. To get a poignant look at the full picture of the Civil War, travelers can visit the newly re-opened American Civil War Museum, which is the result of a merger between the American Civil War Center and the Museum of the Confederacy. While in Richmond, visit the Virginia State Capitol, a structure designed by Thomas Jefferson that served as the Capitol of the Confederacy See Virginia is for History Lovers , continued on page 17

Virginia Capitol, his service was at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and he was buried at Hollywood Cemetery. His grave was not marked by the United States government until fifty-three years after his death and the tradition of the President sending a wreath to be placed on Presidential graves on their birthdates was not started until 1967, one hundred-five years after his death. Zachary Taylor died at 10:35 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9, 1850 at the age of 65 years and 227 days. He became ill on the evening of July 4 and died five days later. The cause might have been food poisoning or heat stroke, but likeWilliam Henry Harrison, a recent theory is that his weakened condition made him fatally vulnerable to contaminated water from the White House well. Mrs. Taylor refused to accept his death. She would not allow a death mask to be made and she would not permit his body to be prepared for viewing, even though death was obvious after an open casket visitation for three hot July days in the East Room of the White House. He was temporarily entombed in Washington for three months while his place of burial was being prepared in Kentucky; Mrs. Taylor required his casket to be opened to check for signs of life when it left Washington and then again before he was entombed in Kentucky. To resolve a conspiracy theory that he had been poisoned, his remains were exhumed in 1991 and tested, but no toxins were found. Nevertheless, conspiracy theories do not go away and some continue to believe he was the first President to be assassinated. Thomas Woodrow Wilson died at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, February 3, 1924 at the age of 67 years and 36 days. With seventeen months left in his term, he suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and barely able to speak. His wife became his gatekeeper and is believed to have been the de facto acting President for the remainder of his term. He lived three years after leaving office. He had a large funeral service at Washington National Cathedral that was nationally broadcast on radio, but Mrs. Wilson notified many of her husband’s political adversaries that they were not welcome to attend. She specifically wrote to Republican Senate Majority Leader Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, that his attendance would be “embarrassing to you and unwelcome to me.” . The circumstances associated with the deaths of our Presidents often reveal a very human side of these men. Their funerals, at least in modern times, enable us as a nation to put their service in a unique perspective by focusing on their contributions rather than their deficiencies; they are a wonderful vantage point for a glimpse of a united country, even if it is only for a brief period of time. Bernie Henderson served

in Virginia government as legislative assistant to two Delegates and a Senator, Assistant to the Commissioners of the State Corporation Commission, Director of the department of Commerce, Director of the Department of Health Professions and Senior Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth. He has managed seventeen funeral homes and is the Chief Executive Officer and Funeral Celebrant of Nelsen Funeral Homes and Woody Funeral Homes. He currently is a gubernatorial appointee on the Virginia War Memorial Board and the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Board.

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V irginia C apitol C onnections , S ummer 2019

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