Have you ever wondered how Richmond was started?

This
post will tell you how. In the beginning of Richmonds history
William Byrd I was given a big plot of land, which would later
become Richmond. Richmond already had a few settlements
and then William established a fort. William Mayo later founded
Richmond, and then laid out the original street plan for the city.
Richmond got its name from a city in England. In 1768 William
Byrd III had to auction off a lot of the unsettled land in
Richmond to help with his debts.
If we fast-forward a little bit in history during the Revolutionary
War Patrick Henry gave his Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
speech in St. Johns church. During the war Richmonds port of
Warwick was burned down by British troops, but the city
recovered from it quickly. In 1700 the first bridge was also put
up across the James River. It was called the Mayos Bridge and
was named after the founder of Richmond. It is crazy that this
was the first bridge to go across the river because now there
are so many that go across the river. In 1779 they passed a bill
to have religious freedom in Richmond. Which was the first
one in America, I find it had to believe that up until 1779 the
people who lived in the colonies did not have the freedom of
religion.

After most of the south had left the United States they made
Richmond the capital of the Confederacy, and Jefferson Davis
the president of the Confederacy. Richmond had Stonewall
Jackson and Robert E. Lee guarding them they thought that
they were safe they also thought they couldnt lose the war.
The Confederates used Belle Isle as a prison for the Union
troops. The Confederates only had one canon and a few troops
on the island because it was almost inescapable. There were
giant rapids on one side and a canon on the other. Many
troops died on the island and now when you go on the island
there is a graveyard for all of the troops who died.
After the city was burnt when the Confederates lost the war the
city had to go into a period of rebuilding. They basically had to
start building like nothing was there. It took 25 years to
recover from when the Union burnt down the city. To put that
into perspective if we were born right when the war was over
they would still be rebuilding the city.
Now the city is full of history but still is modern and artsy.
Richmond has things to do outdoors and so many things to do
indoors like museums and a few monuments. As you can see
Richmond has come a long way from where it started. Many
monumental things have happened in the city and many
famous people have been in the city.