Richmond: capital of two nations at war

Capital of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, Richmond still bears the scars of that conflict alongside a present that critically reexamines that memory.

The center is explored on foot; some historic sites require a car.

The Capitol of Virginia, designed by Thomas Jefferson inspired by a Roman temple in France, served for years as the seat of the Confederate government during the Civil War.

Just steps away, the American Civil War Museum recounts the conflict from multiple perspectives, including those of freed slaves and African American communities, through letters and personal belongings.

Moving along the James River, one walks the Canal Walk, a pedestrian path following the city's historic commercial canal.

As evening falls, the Church Hill neighborhood, with its Victorian homes, houses the church where Patrick Henry delivered his famous speech 'Give me liberty or give me death'.

Several Confederate statues removed from Richmond in recent years, including the one that once dominated Monument Avenue, reflect an ongoing debate about how the city should tell its past.

Patrick Henry's 1775 speech, delivered right here in Richmond, stands among the most influential rhetorical moments of the entire American Revolution.