This is the beginning of my last week at Petersburg. While I am becoming very anxious to get back home I also have recently realized that there is a short list of things I want to see and do before I go. Almost all of the things I put off doing for quite a while because I was thinking that there was always more time. Now some of these things are just trails I want to hike, while others are important sights I want to see. Below is my list.
The Petersburg Siege Museum
Blandford Church
Hike the new Scenic Trail at the Crater
Hike the trails at Five Forks
Write a Five Forks EarthCache
Get a BlackHandshake (Chocolate-Espresso Milkshake) from Demolition Coffee
Find an interesting present for my niece and nephew. (What do you get two-year-olds in a town focused on Civil War history?)
I visited the Siege Museum yesterday and just finished the BlackHandshake it was excellent. The architecture of the Siege Museum impressed me more than the exhibits I found there. The museum is housed in the old commodities exchange building, which dates back to before the Civil War. The building has a large, open, and circular first floor that was used to store local goods for exchange (mostly tobacco, cotton, and corn). The whole space is open up to the second floor balcony, where traders would stand, observe the commodities, and bid on the goods. The whole room is columned in what I think is a Greek-revival style and the old wooden floors creak solidly when stepped on the way only centuries-old oak can.Two exhibits did catch my eye. First, the flag that was flying over the customs house when Union troops finally captured the town. It was taken by some Michigan soldiers back home as a prize and years later returned to the city in excellent condition. Second, a type of multi-shot cannon that looked like a large version of a colt revolver on wheels. The gun was developed and built in Petersburg for the Confederates. Unfortunately the first model exploded when in trials and killed four gunners so the second gun was never fired and the design was abandoned. The impressive looking gun stayed in a warehouse for many years until it was given to the museum.
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