Event Summary

Virginia, the Mother of Presidents and Richmond, Capitol of the Confederacy

 

J

oin historian Bill Potter of Landmark Events as we visit unique historic sites of the Richmond area. Virginia is the “Mother of Presidents” as well as the “Cradle of the Nation” and many important places are yet redolent with the memories of the Virginia founders. We will visit a variety of key venues, including Samuel Davies Polegreen church, It is unconscionable to tour Richmond and not address the Civil War, so we’ll travel to Chimborazo Hospital, the largest military hospital in the world in the 1860s, as well as one of the most distinctive Civil War military parks, Pamplin Park.


Patrick Henry


Scotchtown


Chimborazo Medical Museum


Polegreen Church


Samuel Davies


Fort Pocahontas


Great Fellowship


Hollywood Cemetery


Bill Potter

Event Highlights

Monday morning we will begin at the site of Polegreen Church to hear the stories related to the greatest preacher of colonial Virginia and perhaps in all the history of the Old Dominion, Samuel Davies. In the midst of the greatest spiritual renewal in our history, Davies came to Hanover County with gospel preaching never before heard with such power and effect. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives were transformed and the growth of Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist Churches challenged then overtook the prelatical state church in succeeding generations.

Patrick Henry is generally considered the greatest political orator of the founding generation, and a man who learned at the feet of the great Davies. Father of seventeen children, delegate to the Continental Congress, and effective governor of the state in the War for Independence, Henry was the chief Virginia architect of rebellion and independence. A non-aristocratic, frontier family man, Henry drew his neighbors, friends and colony to independence from Britain with his powerful oratory and uncompromising leadership. His home, Scotchtown, reflects practicality, hospitality, and rustic camaraderie. Our visit to the home of the “Trumpet of the Revolution”, a true son of Scottish fortitude, will not soon be forgotten as we talk of Patrick Henry’s bold Christian witness, sacrificial service for independence, and fatherhood of seventeen children and where his first wife tragically died..

The Second Virginia Convention met at St. John’s Church in Richmond, the only venue which could accommodate the House of Burgesses, thus avoiding collision and resistance by the Royal Governor. We will sit in the very seats the representatives did when Patrick Henry made his  powerful call of the colony to military preparation and resistance to British tyranny, closing with “Give me Liberty, or give me death!”


Polegreen Church


Patrick Henry


Samuel Davies


Scotchtown

Tuesday’s tour will begin at a remote and beautiful Civil War fort in Charles City County—Fort Pocahontas. We will get a private tour of this little known battlefield that is only a mile from where military historian Bill Potter lived for eighteen years. The property is owned by Harrison Tyler, grandson of the 11th President of the United States. We will visit the grounds of his estate, nestled along the shoreline of the James River

Chimborazo Hospital was the largest military hospital in the world in the 1860s. Some 76,000 Confederate wounded and sick passed through the doors of the complex. Almost 8,000 left this life there. The National Park Service has long administered the site where this facility sat, high above the James River, and where we will walk the grounds and hear stories related to the life of hospital matron Phoebe Yates Pember. A place of incredible suffering and healing, Chimborazo’s story will shock and amaze you.

Hollywood Cemetery is one of those historic sites where we step back in time and remember great men and express thanks for God’s providences. We will stand at the graves of Presidents James Monroe, John Tyler, and Jefferson Davis. On our stroll through the beautiful hills, we will visit the “Gettysburg Graveyard” overlooked by the monument to General George Pickett. There are twenty-five Confederate generals buried here, including J.E.B. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee, as well as Southern heroes like Dr. Hunter McGuire, Stonewall Jackson’s physician and Douglas Southwell Freeman, General Lee’s great biographer. When a man dies, a thousand stories die with him. We will try to resurrect some of those tales as we visit this unforgettable memorial ground.


Chimborazo Medical Museum


Fort Pocahontas

The last great campaign of the War Between the States occurred around Richmond in 1864 and 1865. We will travel to the scene of the heroic defense of Petersburg and walk among the trenches, gaining a very different perspective of the Civil War at Pamplin Park. This private, state of the art, interactive battlefield offers the unique Museum to the Common Soldier, the original entrenchments where the Union besieging forces finally broke through General Lee’s thinly stretched lines, and reconstructed forts that show the original look of the lines. We will witness infantry and artillery firing and talk with costumed reenactors — soldiers, civilians, and slaves who interpret the original farm. This is the Civil War historian’s dream historical visit.

The White House of the Confederacy served as the Executive Mansion of the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865, when Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy. The mansion was the official quarters during the Civil War of the only President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. From this house, Davis fled Richmond on April 3 1865, just before the April 9, 1865 surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. The house was the birthplace of his daughter Winnie, “Daughter of the Confederacy,” and where his son Joseph died in a fall from a porch.

Monument Avenue is the nation’s only grand residential boulevard with monuments of its scale surviving almost unaltered to the present day. For many years, the street was Richmond’s ceremonial parade route, taking its name from the series of monumental statues that honor Confederate heroes. Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson and Matthew Fontaine Murray are have graced monuments dating back as far as 1890.  A  hotbed of confusion and controversy, tour this historic street and hear the true stories from Mr. Potter.  


Hollywood Cemetery


General Robert E. Lee

Event Speakers

Historian Bill Potter

Historian Bill Potter

An experienced historian and avid bibliophile, Bill Potter combines a lifelong study of American history with an uncommon ability to captivate audiences of all ages as he traces the providential acts of God throughout the ages. Mr. Potter has taught history in high schools and colleges, has led many tours of American and European historical sites and brings to each event a wealth of experience and knowledge. An experienced researcher and writer, Mr. Potter possesses a practical knowledge of antiquarian books, documents, and artifacts and has published several short books and has penned many articles and book reviews for publication. Bill has earned a well-deserved reputation as a man gifted in communicating the story of God’s providential hand in American history. As a father of eight children, he appreciates the necessity of passing on to the succeeding generations the richness of both our regional and national history. He and his wife, Leslie, reside in Georgia where Bill serves as an elder at Chalcedon Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Event Schedule

Note: Schedule times are subject to change.

Monday, May 21
9:00am   Historic Polegreen Church (Samuel Davies)
(6411 Heatherwood Drive Mechanicsville, Virginia 23116)
    26 miles ≈ 40 mins.
11:45am   Scotchtown, Home of Patrick Henry
(16120 Chiswell Lane, Beaverdam, VA 23015)
    32 miles ≈ 45 mins.
2:45pm   St. John’s Church
(2401 E Broad St, Richmond, VA )
    1.5 miles ≈ 10 mins.
     
Tuesday, May 22
9:00am   Fort Pocahontas
(13500 Sturgeon Point Road, Charles City, VA 23030)
    35 miles ≈ 50 mins.
1:30pm   Chimborazo Medical Museum
(3215 E Broad St, Richmond, VA 23223)
    10 miles ≈ 20 mins.
3:00pm   Hollywood Cemetery (Presidents Tyler, Monroe, Davis)
(412 South Cherry Street, Richmond, VA 23220)
Wednesday, May 23
9:00am   Pamplin Park
(6125 Boydton Plank Rd, Petersburg, VA)
1:30pm   Confederate White House and Museum
(1201 E. Clay Street, Richmond, VA)
3:00pm   Monument Avenue
(1700 Monument Ave, Richmond, VA)

Accommodations

For our 2018 Riches of Richmond tour, Landmark Events has secured a block of rooms at the Hampton Inn & Suites Richmond Glenside at the discounted rate of $124/night + tax. Rooms in this block are available Sunday May 20 through Thursday May 24.

As always, you are free to stay wherever you like and there are many choices in Richmond. We like Trip Advisor as a hotel reference and VRBO or Airbnb for houses and apartments.

Hampton Inn & Suites Details

  • Free wireless internet, on-site business center, guest laundry and valet
  • Complimentary daily deluxe hot breakfast, and 24-hour gourmet coffee bar
  • Free guest parking
  • Fitness center, and 24-hour Suite Shop
  • Check-in 3pm, check-out 11am, cancellation policy: by 11pm day before arrival

To reserve your room, visit RichmondGlensideSuites.hamptoninn.com, select your arrival and departure dates, then click “add special rate codes”. In the box labeled “group code”, enter LEG.

Ticket Pricing Information

— INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL —

Book 2 Virginia Tours and Save 20% on the 2nd Tour! Book All 3 Virginia Tours and Save 25% on 2nd & 3rd Tours!
(Offer good through March 15!)

   
 

Included in This Car Tour

  • Admission / Donations to all venues
  • All guide and docent fees and  throughout the tour
  • Electronic headset receiver for ease of hearing guides
  • Biblical/providential interpretation from Bill Potter
  • Rich fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ
  • Landmark Events’ signature service throughout the tour.

Not Included in This Tour

  • Transportation, tolls and parking fees
  • Accommodations
  • Meals — plenty of places to picnic!

If you have any questions, or if we can be of service in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Tickets

Child (0-5) $0
Youth (5-12) $99
Adult (13+) $149
Additional Family Members $75
 

* To ease the burden on large families, we created this special rate for families of Five or more members. Register Adults first, then Youth until you total 4 people. Register all remaining members over 6 years old under Additional Family Members.

Study Preparation

Key People

  • Pastor Samuel Davies
  • Governor Patrick Henry
  • General George Washington
  • Governor and President Thomas Jefferson
  • General Fitzhugh Lee
  • General Fitz John Porter
  • Phoebe Yates Pember
  • General Robert E. Lee
  • General Stonewall Jackson

 

  • General J.E.B. Stuart
  • General Ulysses S. Grant
  • General George Pickett
  • President John Tyler
  • President James Monroe
  • President Jefferson Davis
  • Historian Douglas Southall Freeman
  • Novelist Ellen Glasgow

Key Events

  • The Great Awakening
  • The Second Virginia Convention
  • The War for American Independence
  • The Battle of Ft. Pocahontas
  • The Battle of Gaines Mill
  • The Battle of Cold Harbor
  • The Ratification of the Constitution
  • The War Between the States

Bibliography/Suggested Reading

  • A Son of Thunder: Patrick Henry and the American Republic, by Henry Mayer
  • Living On the Borders of Eternity, by Robert Bluford, Jr. (Samuel Davies)
  • Cradle of America: Four Centuries of Virginia History, by Peter Wallenstein

Upcoming Events

Mobile Bay Tour
March 20-23, 2024

Cradle of Liberty Tour
Aug 15-20, 2024