Vandalism as History, from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources . . .

  . . . or how to tell if your state's Department of Historic Resources is possibly a bunch of political hacks.

Curiosity drove me to see what our state Department of Historic Resources thought of our iconoclastic times. 

And so from the Department's own website under "DHR Guidance Regarding Confederate Monuments" we find this statement- that the "DHR offers these guidelines to support the removal of monuments in a manner adhering to best preservation practices", which, if you think about it, is an odd statement coming from an organization whose supposed mission statement is "to foster, encourage, and support the stewardship of Virginia's significant historic architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources."

In these "guidelines" we find . . . italics are my own.

Paint removal: The owner of the monument should decide if the paint is now an important part of the history of the monument that should be preserved before the decision for removal is made. Please keep in mind that while paint and other forms of vandalism may be disfiguring to the monument, it may also now form an important part of the history of the monument. If it is decided that the paint removal is necessary.

. . .

Conservation/Preservation of damaged monuments: The owner of the monument should decide if the damage is now an important part of the history of the monument that should be preserved before the decision for repair is made. Please keep in mind that while vandalism may be disfiguring to the monument, it may also now form an important part of the history of the monument. 

 

Historical Markers in the News

From the New Kent Historical Society . . .

The Department of Historical Resources (DHR) will be replacing and updating two older markers in New Kent County;  

(1) New Kent Courthouse WO-16

  

(2) Peninsular Campaign WO-31.  

VDOT notified the DHR that the markers are in need of replacement, and VDOT has some funds on hand to support this work. 

In other "marker news", a new marker for the Highway Marker Program has been approved for King William County . . .

Pamunkey Indians in the Civil War 

Residents of the Pamunkey Reservation, ten miles southeast of here, aided Union troops during the Civil War. About a dozen Pamunkey men enlisted as guides, scouts, gunboat pilots, and spies for Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. Women and the elderly provided intelligence, shelter, safe passage, food, and supplies for Union troops. Confederate authorities pressed Pamunkey men into service as laborers and punished others for their Unionism with imprisonment at Richmond’s Castle Thunder. After the war many Pamunkey Indians won compensation from the federal Southern Claims Commission for property damaged or taken by Union soldiers. 

Sponsor: DHR
Locality: King William County
Proposed Location: intersection of King William Rd (Rt. 30) and Powhatan Trail (Rt. 633)

And for some more background on the Historical Marker program here is a 2011 thesis from Joseph D. Bayless III.

Three Historical Markers for Cumberland Landing

At the historic Cumberland Platation at Cumberland Landing, New Kent County, Thursday, October 6, three new markers were dedicated by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Speakers were:

Camilla Tramuel, President New Kent Historical Society; Kent Radwani, local historian; Mark Daniels, local historian; Julie Langan, Department of Historic Resources; John Poindexter, owner of Cumberland Plantation.

McClellan's Camp at Cumberland Landing- WO-23

French Cannon at Cumberland Landing- WO-22
(See also April 1847 issue of Southern Literary Messenger)

Cumberland Town- WO-21

How It's Made 1860's version

                      Panoramic View of Richmond in Ruins, from the Old Arsenal looking down the James River, April 1865.

A little astray . . ., while researching the the State Department of Historical Resources Marker Program I came across this recent sign approval (July 2012) . . .

 "The 'Confederate Ordnance Lab Explosion relays the story of the massive explosion' in March1863 that destroyed the building on Brown’s Island that housed an assembly production for cartridges and other ammunition. The “ordnance laboratory and complex” employed many women and children and at least 40 people were killed in the explosion, which was set off when “worker Mary Ryan accidentally ignited a friction primer according to the marker."

Not New Kent related, but interesting personally since I have always had an interest in Civil War military industry and industrial accidents. A niche interest perhaps (alright, definitely). It all started while researching my Great-Great-Grandfather's Civil War history. William Clark McPhail (1831-1885)of Eastover, North Carolina avoided conscription by serving in the State Salt Works at Wilmington. Salt was so important, employment at the works was a protected occupation.

 North Carolina State Salt Works

 Civil War Salt

Women in Civil War Arsenals

Confederate States Laboratory

Richmond Arsenal

The Danville Arsenal

The Washington Arsenal

Selma Naval Foundry

Bellona Arsenal

Mid-Lothian Mines

 Augusta Powder Works

 Confederate Ship Building

 The Nitre & Mining Corps

. . .and the big one . . .

The Comstock Lode

Coming to a Road Near You . . .

This newly (OK, OK, 2010) approved State Highway Historical Marker is to go up in the vicinity of the fire tower on Williamsburg Road, perhaps at the intersection of Old Williamsburg Road or the crossover of  I-295. Commemorating events of the War of 1812(whose Bicentennial we are in the middle of ), the text reads . . .

"During the War of 1812, Virginia established three militia posts on the outskirts of Richmond to guard against possible British Invasion. Within a mile of this point was built Camp Carter (Sept. 1814-Feb.1815) under the command of Gen. John H. Cocke. Camp Holly Springs (April 1813-Feb.1814) was located five miles southwest at Route 5 near Newmarket Road, under Gen. Robert Porterfield. Camp Bottoms' Bridge (Sept-Nov.1814) under the command of Gen. William Chamberlayne, was two miles east at Bottoms Bridge. These posts were never threatened by British forces during the war."

The threat to the approaches to Richmond seemed very real after the British military moves in Hampton Roads over the summer of 1813, culminating in the Sack of Hampton in the middle of June. Militia from all over Virginia as well as North Carolina encamped on and behind the line of the Chickahominy to defend the capital of Virginia. I assume Camp Bottoms' Bridge would be on the high ground in Quinton to protect the approaches to the bridge. The information sheet on the marker principally relates to Camp Carter, but I believe there is more information to be found in the records, specifically in the Virginia Legislative Petitions. Some of the petitions from New Kent asking for state reimbursement, relate tales of losses from militia encamping on private land.

 "The Virginia highway marker program, which began in 1927 with the erection of the first historical markers along U.S. Rte. 1, is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,400official state markers, most of which are maintained by Virginia Department of Transportation, a key partner with the Department of Historic Resources in the historical marker program."