Civil War and Reconstruction
With Richmond being the capital of the Confederacy, the Civil War period brought profound changes to city. With the constant threat of invasion, the onslaught of deaths from nearby battlefields, and the presence of Confederate soldiers, sutlers, prostitutes, and Union prisoners, Ernest B. Furgurson, wrote in his book Ashes of Glory: Richmond at War, “Richmond was by far the most expensive, corrupt, overcrowded, and crime-ridden city in the Confederacy.”7 To further the destruction, in April of 1865 as Union forces advanced on the capitol, Confederate soldiers set fire to tobacco warehouses which quickly spread throughout leaving a majority of the city in ruins. Photographs from this time give us a glimpse of the struggling transition to rebuild its infrastructure and economy.
During the following era, that of Reconstruction, maps started to reflect the changing social dynamics of Richmond. Freedmen’s Bureau offices began instituting schools, hospitals, and newly established neighborhoods for formerly enslaved people. This map of Richmond in 1876, shows how the city was heavily divided. The city’s African American population was widely dispersed, with the center being Jackson Ward, located just north of the city center. It became a thriving hub of commerce and social life, referred to as the “Harlem of the South”. Unfortunately, the potential of Reconstruction was not fulfilled. With the restoration of White supremacy, Richmond allowed all-White city leadership to return the city to a racial hierarchy that continues to shape the city’s life to this day.
Fig. 2 [F. W. Beers, Illustrated Atlas of the City of Richmond, 1876. Accession 36095, Local government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.]
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