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Richmond National Battlefield Park :-
The Civil War (1861-1865) remains the central, most defining event in American
history. Richmond, Virginia, was at the heart of the conflict. As the industrial
and political capital of the Confederacy, Richmond was the physical and
psychological prize over which two mighty American armies contended in bloody
battle from 1861 to 1865. At stake were some of the founding principles
of the United States as the growing nation divided over the existence and
expansion of slavery. Only after the new Confederacy fired on a federal
fort in Charleston harbor and Lincoln had called for troops to preserve
the Union, did Virginia join the Confederacy. As war began, neither side
anticipated the brutal clashes and home front destruction that brought death
or injury to more than one million Americans and devastation to a broad
landscape, much of it in Virginia.
Cannon boomed within earshot of Richmond. All of its residents saw their
lives transformed. Wartime Richmond, swollen by government, the military,
refugees, prisoners, and the wounded, lived with anxiety and hope. Martial
law and rationing were routine. Disease claimed thousands.
ACCESSIBILITY
Each of the park units are wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair available on
site at the Fort Harrison Visitor Center and the Civil War Visitor Center
at Tredegar Iron Works.
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