Readers may find this discussion of Thomas J. Wood at Chickamauga engaging.
I’ve always wondered about the notion that Wood would have obeyed an order he knew was bad out of spite when he knew that men might lose their lives as a result. Then again, Wood shifted his story about Chattanooga a few times as well, in the process missing the whole point about the debate about the assault at Missionary Ridge.
Could it be … the Robinson House?
The Robinson House, built in the 1850s, served as an old soldiers home for Confederate veterans as part of the same complex which includes the Pelham Chapel (Confederate War Memorial Chapel) about which we’ve heard so much … it was the first target of the Virginia Flaggers. It is currently owned by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Restoring (and repurposing) the building has been a subject of discussion for years. This summer the VMFA announced that it had engaged a leading Richmond architectural firm to renovate and repurpose the building. It will become a regional visitors center.
The future of the house has been a subject of discussion among members of a certain Confederate heritage organization.
Scott Mingus has featured a diorama of the structure and its surrounding buildings at the time of its use as a soldiers’ home here.
There’s no comment from Susan Hathaway, leader of the Virginia Flaggers, as to what she thinks of this plan. Given how verbal she has been when it comes to the VMFA’s management of the Confederate War Memorial Chapel, this is something of a surprise. Neither Hathaway nor her supporters have been forthcoming on why she’s been so silent on these matters, or why she’s no longer flagging outside the chapel, although other Flaggers continue to do so.
Once the flag on I-95 goes up, what happens to the Robinson House may well become a major focus for those people concerned with preserving Confederate heritage in the Richmond area.
Crossroads 