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Sunday, March 16, 2003

By George Oxford Miller

RICHMOND, Va. -- The man addressing the delegates looks us in the eyes and with an impassioned voice proclaims, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"

Every Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the cry rings again through the old church, just as it did in 1775. Yet this isn't Williamsburg or Philadelphia -- it's Richmond. Patrick Henry made his famous declaration in St. John's Church not many blocks from the Greco-Roman state capitol designed by Thomas Jefferson.

As capital of Virginia, Jefferson's home state, Richmond played just as significant a role in the rebellion of the Colonies as it did in the rebellion of the Confederacy. With Jefferson as governor, the state passed the first laws guaranteeing religious freedom and individual rights that later became the bedrock of the Bill of Rights, which solidified the Colonies into a single Union.

Richmond prides itself with its prominence in early American history, as well as with its showcase gardens, restored riverfront district, and scenic canal walk. But most of all, it's proud of its Civil War heritage.

As a 19th-century industrial, cultural and political center, the town was the heartbeat of the Old South. It was the capital of the Confederacy and the focal point of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant's campaigns. When Richmond finally fell, the South capitulated.

Yet, after a few days in the 400-year-old city, I get the feeling Richmond only half-heartedly followed Lee's example at Appomattox.

		If you go For a booklet listing events, attractions and accommodations, call the Richmond Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-804-783-7450, or visit www.richmondva.org. For information about Civil War sites, contact the Richmond Civil War Visitor Center, open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at 1-804-771-2145; www.nps.gov/rich. The Jefferson Hotel is at 101 W. Franklin St.; 1-800-424-8014; www.jefferson-hotel.com. -- George Oxford Miller

As a recent transplant to north of the Mason-Dixon Line, I occasionally yearn for a dose of Southern sentiment, and Richmond more than fills the prescription. When we check into the elegantly restored Jefferson Hotel, my ears relax to the soft accents and slow-paced speech.

At breakfast at Aunt Sarah's, a "Hi, Darlin'" pancake house, my palate savors a side of buttery grits served with the eggs. I feel a nostalgic comfort in the shared roots of my surroundings. But for my wife, a native of Pennsylvania Dutch country, the immersion in Southern attitude offers more than she had expected.

I remember the shock when I first visited New York City and saw the gold statue of General William Sherman in Central Park. How could the man who pillaged the South and left Atlanta in ashes be venerated with a statue? I sensed that my wife felt the same way when we stopped at the towering statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, on Monument Avenue.

Richmond celebrates its Confederate legacy with a mile-long tribute to the fallen heroes. "It's called the most beautiful street in the South," the concierge at the hotel tells us. Beginning with J.E.B. Stuart, who led the cavalry at Gettysburg, Monument Avenue commemorates a Civil War leader every few blocks. We cruise the tree-lined esplanade past a larger-than-life Robert E. Lee to "Stonewall" Jackson. Jackson faces the North so he can see the approaching enemy.

After the monument to Matthew Fontaine Maury, the renowned oceanographer who developed underwater mines for the Confederate navy, we reach the most recent addition to the boulevard of fame, Arthur Ashe Jr. That the African-American tennis champion stands alongside the leaders of the lost cause seems incongruous, even in the New South.

A few blocks away, memorials to the past line another wooded avenue.

Rows of white crosses and weathered stone angle across the rolling hills of Hollywood Cemetery. Instead of the Stars and Stripes, Confederate flags, politically incorrect in most circles, wave in numbers at the grave sides. Two U.S. presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler), Jefferson Davis, 24 Confederate generals and 18,000 Johnny Rebs rest in ordered plots.

The pain of the defeated South surrounds us like the fallen leaves driven by the wind.

Not all the glory of the South faded with defeat, though. We visit the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, founded by the philanthropist who built the Jefferson Hotel. The gardens cover 24 acres with seasonal and perennial plantings. Scenic walking paths lead through seven themed gardens and a wetland. In the spring, masses of tulips and daffodils paint the landscape, while redbuds and dogwoods splash color across the grounds. The Teahouse in the Asian Garden serves lunch with a panoramic view of a lake and the gardens.

Much of the glory of Richmond was restored in the 1980s and '90s. Besides his gardens, Lewis Ginter built the Jefferson Hotel in 1895 as a showplace worthy of the capital's place in history. A $34 million renovation restored the beaux arts palace to its original elegance. A stained-glass ceiling domes over a life-sized, Carrara marble statue of Jefferson in the reservation lobby. A double staircase descends to a lower lobby surrounded by marble columns and a mezzanine furnished with antiques and memorabilia. In 2001, Forbes Magazine rated the hotel as the "Best in America."

Restoration also revived the town's warehouse district along the banks of the James River. The dilapidated buildings and the canal system were restored to their turn-of-the-century charm. Now, bookstores, boutiques, galleries and chic restaurants fill the red-brick buildings.

The James River Canal Walk combines the beauty of art and landscaped gardens with a glimpse into Richmond's past. Plaques and sculptures along the 1.25-mile path commemorate 400 years of historic events. In 1607, Capt. John Smith journeyed up the James River from Jamestown.

He stopped at the Falls of the James, a 3- to 6-foot drop in the channel. The rift effectively blocked boat travel inland from coastal settlements.

George Washington envisioned a canal to bypass the obstruction. In 1789 a system of canals turned the river into a transportation corridor and Richmond grew into a major center for commerce, transportation and iron production. Once again, a statue depicts a past era. Silhouetted by glass skyscrapers in the background, a sculpture of a slave paddling a boat through the locks commemorates the efforts of African-Americans in early Richmond.

As the seat of the Confederacy, Richmond abounds with museums and historic sites. After visiting the Museum and White House of the Confederacy and the Black History Museum, we toured the Richmond Civil War Visitor Center. Located at the old Tredegar Iron Works, the center is the headquarters for Richmond National Battlefield Park. Besides describing Richmond's ordeals during the war, the visitor center serves as the starting point for the 80-mile driving loop of 10 major battlefields.

"Sixty percent of the casualities and 25 percent of the significant battles of the Civil War occurred within 75 miles of Richmond," Ranger Mike McKinley explains. He leads us to an exhibit that describes the last days of the Confederacy in Richmond. "When Grant marched on the town, the Confederate officials left by train and ordered the warehouses burnt. The fire devastated 20 square blocks of downtown," he says.

The irony doesn't escape my wife. "So before Jeff Davis caught the last train out, he did the same thing to Richmond that Sherman did to Atlanta?" she asks.

Suddenly, the statue of Sherman in Central Park doesn't seem so shocking.

George Oxford Miller is a freelance writer who lives in Clarksboro, N.J.