The Square was the heart of political and social Richmond during the war, and in some ways the heart of the Confederacy as well. A nearly constant parade of soldiers marched through here on their way to battle, reviewed by their officers, politicians and hanky-waving ladies. Many of the South’s dead heroes lay in state in Virginia’s capitol building. Military bands provided almost nightly entertainment and citizens enjoyed picnics and quiet, shady moments — when not interrupted by boys engaged in rock fights. “The Square is much resorted to by all classes, and is a most agreeable spot on which to while away the prosy hours of the long summer evenings,” the Richmond Dispatch reported in June 1862. One class of citizens, Richmond’s slave and free black population, was not allowed on Capitol Square unless serving whites or holding a specific pass. That changed in the last days of the war, though, when a group of black Confederate troops drilled in the Square in front of a crowd of thousands. Their performance, reported in the Richmond Enquirer,“would have done credit to veteran soldiers.” Although changed somewhat, the buildings and monuments on the square are reminders of the time. Begin your tour of the Capitol building at the Bank St. entrance at 10th St. The Virginia State Capitol is open for self-guided tours 8 am–5 pm Monday–Saturday and 1–5 pm Sunday. Free guided tours are offered 9 am–4 pm Monday–Saturday and 1–4 pm Sunday. For more on Capitol Square and the Capitol, see www.virginiacapitol.gov.

Image: The Capitol, 1865

Major changes have been made to the 1788 Capitol since the Civil War, when the building housed both the Virginia and Confederate legislatures. The two wings and the front steps were added early in the 20th century.

During most of the war, the Confederate House of Representatives met on the second floor (at the top of the front steps) in the front of the building. The Virginia House met in its traditional quarters on the same floor in the back. Both Senates met in rooms on the third floor.

It was a crowded place at times. The two legislatures met at the same time an estimated 50 weeks during the war. Of special interest to Civil War visitors inside the building:

A large Virginia flag, which flew over the Capitol building when Richmond fell in 1865, is on display in the exhibit area. The flag was "captured" by a Massachusetts major who took the prize home with him after the war. His grandson returned the flag to the state in 1927.

Busts of notable Confederates line the walls in the Old House of Delegate chamber, now a museum room. Also in the room is a statue of Robert E. Lee standing on the spot where he accepted the command of Virginia forces in April 1861.

Built as a guardhouse in 1825 and used as part of Richmond's alarm system, the bell in the tower rang frequently during the war to summon local militia.

Image: Washington Monument, 1865.

Many people are surprised to learn that George Washington was a principal symbol and a "patron saint" of the Confederate States of America, so much so that the image of this statue was used on the Confederacy's official state seal.

Most Confederates believed the United States had deviated from the true national course set by Washington, who was a Virginian and a slave owner.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis chose this setting for his official inauguration. Davis took the oath standing on a platform facing the Governor's Mansion on a rainy Feb. 22, 1862, Washington's birthday. A small plaque marks the spot on the east side of the monument.

Throughout the Civil War, this was a gathering spot for individuals and groups. One such group met here April 2, 1863, to protest food shortages. The growing crowd - made up mostly of women and boys according to most accounts - eventually passed through the Ninth Street gates and headed south into downtown. They marched silently down Ninth Street armed with a variety of weapons. They wreaked havoc on the downtown streets and in Shockoe Bottom, looting shops and inflicting thousands of dollars worth of damage before they were stopped near 14th and Main streets.

The Washington Monument was dedicated in 1858.

William "Extra Billy" Smith was twice Virginia's governor (1846-1849 and 1864-1865). He also was a U.S. Congressman, a state senator, member of the Confederate Congress and a Confederate army general.

Before his political career, Smith gained notice extending postal routes across the country, for which he received 'extra' payments. Just days before the battle of First Manassas, at the age of 64, he was appointed colonel of the 49th Virginia Infantry. His uniform not yet ready, Smith went into that battle wearing a business suit and deploying a blue umbrella.

He fought in most of the major battles in the East and was wounded five times during the war (severely at Antietam). He was promoted to the rank of general and fought at Gettysburg after being elected governor in May 1863 (he began serving Jan. 1, 1864). He was the last Confederate Virginia governor, fleeing town April 2, 1865, just ahead of Federal troops.

The Smith statue was dedicated in 1906.

This is the first of many monuments erected in Richmond honoring famous Confederates. The statue was "presented by English gentlemen as a tribute of admiration for the soldier and patriot Thomas J. Jackson."

Better known as "Stonewall," the famed general lay in state in both the Governor's Mansion and the Virginia State Capitol building following his death in 1863.

The Jackson statue was dedicated in 1875

Following John Brown's Raid in 1859, Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire led a group of southern medical students home from Philadelphia schools, a sample of the sectional conflict already brewing in the country. During the war he served as medical director for Stonewall Jackson's Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia. He treated Jackson after the general was wounded at Chancellorsville (May 1863) and tended him in his final moments at Guinea Station (south of Fredericksburg).

Following the war Dr. McGuire became, among other things, the president of several national medical associations. His Memorial Association placed this monument here near his most famous patient.

The McGuire statue was dedicated in 1904.

Image: Governor's Mansion, 1865.

This Federal-style building has been the home of Virginia governors since March 1813. It is the oldest such mansion in the nation still being used for its original purpose.

Two Virginia governors occupied this house during the Civil War. The first, John Letcher, was a reluctant secessionist and a stickler for process. But, after Abraham Lincoln's call for troops following Fort Sumter, Letcher actively supported a secession ordinance and, later, the Confederacy. He was imprisoned for several months after the war before returning to his native Lexington.

The other wartime governor, William "Extra Billy" Smith, served from Jan. 1, 1864, to the fall of Richmond April 2, 1865.