A Daily Double: Blog Update Two Days in a Row

After leaving the Washington, D.C., area Tuesday morning, we headed south, where we toured James and Dolley Madison's home, Montpelier. The home and the surrounding grounds are beautiful, and of course, no picture taking was allowed in the home. Dolley is known for saving the famous portrait of George Washington.While Madison was president during the War of 1812 with the British, Dolley was left behind in the White House while her husband went in to the field. As British troops marched on Washington, Dolley took down the enormous portrait of Washington and smuggled it out of the city to keep it from falling into enemy hands.

Front of James and Dolley Madison's home in Montpelier, Virginia

View of the Blue Ridge Mountains taken from the Madison home

Yesterday we toured some historical sights in Richmond, Virginia, one of which was the Confederate White House where Jefferson Davis lived during the Civil War. Again, no picture taking was allowed inside the house. We also visited the Civil War Museum, which is next door to the Confederate White House.

Front door of the Confederate White House

Robert E. Lee's bed, desk, etc., that he used in his tent during the war

Swords from the Civil War

Guns from the Civil War

William W. Davies spent forty years collecting buttons from notable Confederate Army and Navy officers' uniforms and then having them made into a set of jewelry, which he called Rebel Brass.

Rebel Brass

The plaque below lists the officers whose buttons were used for Rebel Brass. It may be too small to read the names, but we decided to include it anyway.