May 21, 2012

Our Class Tours Hollywood Cemetery

Frank and I have both been to Richmond with Dr. Poland's Civil War class before, and I'd even done that tour twice before that, once with his NVCC class and once with a UVA Graduate class that he taught on 19th Century Virginia. The tour this year (on Friday) had a different emphasis: Civil War Hospitals and Prisons. Richmond is a place where you can learn about both since it has Chimborazo Park (hospital site) and Belle Isle (prison site).

Since much of the Civil War is about tragedy and death, Dr. Poland's tours often include a cemetery visit. Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery is rich in Civil War history, and is also beautifully designed as a garden-like hillside park. Named after holly trees, it opened in 1849.
Confederate Memorial

Dr. Poland mentioned that some say the iron dog once stood in Richmond but was moved to the cemetery to keep it from being melted down to make cannons during the Civil War. It stands over a child's grave.

Funny thing about that dog: The Wikipedia entry about Hollywood Cemetery links to my 2001 photo of the dog in a footnote.
Dr. Poland at J.E.B. Stuart Memorial


Jeff Davis Monument


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