The weekly Butte record., 1866-05-12
Richmond in 1856.

The picturesque situation Of Rich
mond, on the hills facing the James riv-
er, is well known. 1t is one of the hand
soonest cities in the Union. Standing
at the head of navigation, surrounded
by a fertile country, and connected by
railroad with important routes Of travel
in every direction, it commanded before
the war smart trade, and was growing
rich in resources separate from slavery.
Then it was seat of learning, polite
mes and politics, and was made interest
ing by all the associations that charac-
terize about one of the oldest capitals
in the Union. 1t was proud and aris-
tocratic. But pride goeth before fall,
and Richmond had her fall when she
became the rebel capital, beleaguered
four years, and fred at last by the
hands of her own defenders as they left
the city to "the invader" The con-
fagration started by the order of Breck-
inridge burnt back about four blocks
from the river front up to Main street
the great business thoroughfare, and
for a mile in length. The destruction
of property must have been immense,
for this area comprised the principal
business section of the city. The build
ings were nearly all brick, and the
bleached walls still stand in good
many places, though as general thing
they have been leveled, the bricks
picked and cleaned and piled up for use
in rebuilding. The lower side of Main
street, which was the boundary of the
fire, has been more than half rebuilt,
the new stores being larger and hand
somer than the old ones. Shocoe Hill,
the principal elevation in the city, rises
in the rear Of the burnt district, and
commands fine view. On this hill
stands the State Capitol, an oblong
building of succeed masonry, with tall
Ionic pillars of apparently the same
material in front. In this building the
rebel Congress held its sessions. 1t
was built in 1882, and is said to be the
Oldest State Capitol in the Union. The
chambers occupied by the Confederate
Senate and House are very shabbily
furnished, and the carpets are dirty,
thin and ragged. A fine lot of new
Brussels carpeting which was ordered
from Europe in 1864 was captured on
n blockade runner off Wilmington, and
Virginia is too poor now to make an
other purchase. All of the rooms in the
building are equally shabby. The
Senate chamber is very small, but there
were very few Senators. The chair
which Stephens occupied in presiding
over the Senate, and which was hand
some piece of furniture originally, has
been cut and torn by relic hunters till
nothing but part of its whitfield skele
ton and its spring seat are left. These
were put in the loft 70 save them.
Confederate notices, names and dates
are penciled on the walls of the passage
ways. In the square court that occu-
pies the centre of the building, under a
sky-light, stands Houdon's famous mar
BILE statue of Washington, bearing this
simple inscription from the artists CHS
eli: Fait par Houdon, citoyen Francais,
1888. The French Republic and Wash
ington both lived at that date. There
is no more satisfactory portrait of Wash
ington than this. The figure is digni-
fed, the face full of character. Wash
was not a very large man, as this statue
and Powers, in the Patent Office at
Washinton City, convince ME. A
plaster copy of Houdon's fine work,
which is full length, stands in the old
Hall of Representatives, in the Nation
al Capitol. In side niche near the
original stands marble bust of Lafay-
ette. The State Library opens near
by, and contains portraits of John Ran
dolph and other Virginians. While
our troops were in Richmond they rifed
the library largely for relics, taking
away many books that, as the old col
ored ianitor sadly told me, cannot be
replaced. | did not learn that they
ever took anything else from Richmond.
Climbing to the roof of this ancient
Capitol of the Old Dominion, where
treason lately held violent counsel, l
had wide and delightful view of the
city and surrounding country, the for
tihcations, the points reached by Stone
man and Fitzpatrick, the Tremain ma
chine works. the river with its islands
including the sadly famous Belle Isle
and long black scar of the burnt dis
trict. Surrounding the Capitol is a
small park, the grand feature of which
is Crawford's noble bronze equestrian
statue of Washington, elevated on q
pile of granite, at the corners Of which
stand figures in bronze Of Madison,
Monroe, Jefferson and Patrick Henry.
These figures are full of dignity and ex-
preston. Near by, protected from the
weather by temple-like structure. is
Hart's marble statue, life iize, of Henry
Clay. Some vagabonds have broken
off several fingers from the hand of this
statue, and Houdon's Washington has
also been mutilated.
Facing the Capitol grounds on the
lower side-for they decline towards
the riyer-sfanis the yerv handsome