| The City of Richmond in Panorama |
| Some extrordinary photos! |
| After the fall of Richmond, as Union troops fought to put out the fires set by retreating Confederates, a swarm of journalist and photographers descended upon the city. For the previous four years, the city above the James had been the goal of millions of Yankees, and finally, here they were. Lincoln visited the capital while the section along the waterfront, the Burnt District, was still smouldering. While all of this furious activity was taking place, some of the best known military photographers, who had followed Federal armies throughout The War, began to set up shop from every rise of ground and street corner. Many of the shots taken by these artist survive today, and the most astounding of these are the panoramas. These are made up of multiple pictures, encompassing entire sections of the city. |
| View from Church Hill |
| This was taken from a position on the edge of Church Hill, looking west. To the far left of the picture, can be seen the falls of the James River. The area in the immediate foreground is Shockoe Valley (better known as Shockoe Bottom today), now home to numerous bars and restaurants. The street running perpendicular to the middle of the photo is Grace Street. Just behind it to the right you can see Broad Street running up Shockoe Hill. The Capitol and spire of St. Pauls Church can be seen in the background center. Today, Shockoe Hill is covered by highrise office buildings. At the far right, barely visible, is the Brockenbrough House, or the White House of the Confederacy, home to Jefferson Davis and his family. |
| Below: The same area as it appears today. |
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| View from Gambles Hill |
| Here is a remarkable photo of the City. To the far left, in the background, is the Capitol and the spires of some of the more prominent churches. To the right and just below the Capitol is the Customs House. Just to the left of that (the large twin buildings) is The Spottswood Hotel, the home of the offices of many of the government departments when the Confederates first moved their operations to Richmond. Just to the right of all of that can be seen the Kanawah Canal Turning basin and first strech of the waterway. The huge, burned out ruins to the right of the photo was the sight of the Confederate Armory. This, along with the Tredegar Iron Works (just outside of the photo to the right), provided the armies in the field with the vast majority of the weapons and stores that allowed them to fight off immense odds for four long years. The falls of the James River are along the right of the photograph. All of the center of the photo shows the devastation that wiped out a large section of the City during the Evacuation Fire in April of 1865. |
| View of Rocketts Landing and Confederate Naval Yards |
| Here we see the yards from which much of the Confederate navy on the James River was built and maintained. Both the buildings in the foreground, and those along the southern shore, were the headquarters for the James River Squadron, a force often led by quite capable leaders, at other times in the hands of less skilled officers, but never strong enough to descend the stream to break the stranglehold on the capital. By the end of The War, three ironclads, the CSS Virginia II, CSS Fredericksburg, and CSS Richmond (as well as one more, the Texas, still on the ways, only weeks away from launch) patroled the river and supported Lee's lines below the city. In this photo, the ships seen are part of the Union navy which had bottled up the Southern warships. You will also notice the stacks and wrecks of a few Rebel vessels which had been scuttled when it became evident that Richmond was doomed. One of these, the Patrick Henry, had been the training ship for the Confederate Naval Academy. For more on naval operations, click here. |
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| View of Richmond from Manchester |
| Here is another of the amazing panoramic photographs of Richmond taken in April of 1865. This view is north from the southern bank of the James (known as Manchester) showing almost the entire skyline of the city from east to west. Mayo Island is visible in the middle of the picture. In the background above that is the Capitol. Pratts Castle and the State Pentinetary can be seen in distance at right. Church Hill occupies the far right. |
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