Virginia Historical Society (August 2, 2015)

This has always been one of my favorite museums in Richmond, but it has been closed for the last year undergoing a makeover to the tune of something like $30 million.
They had some amazing things to see, such as this display. These are the bones of actual Civil War soldiers shot by the actual rifles of the day. It was amazing the caliber of the guns used.
The war started out with almost Revolutionary War tactics but the weapons had been greatly improved. Later in the war they learned and adopted what would later be used in WW1...Trench Warfare.
There was a lot of Civil War history, and I am glad to see, some good comments about the "Lost Cause"  which according to the museum was created to defend the undefendable. The Civil War was about the end of Slavery, not for some sort of State Rights (well, except for the right of states to own slaves). The war ended all of that, and brought the US up with most of the rest of the world.



This is the inside of the museum, showing some of the displays and some of the cases. I have noted some old familiar displays and some exciting new ones. They have done a remarkable change for the better to this museum.

I love aviation and loved this display. The planes at top were used in windtunnels for testing at NASA in Hampton, VA. They have a big research center there and have since the early days of spaceflight. NASA though is also about aviation.
The flight suit and helmet beloned to Francis Gary Powers who was famous for being shot down in this U-2 over the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
All in all it is good to have this museum back, and I had a great time exploring it, and you can be sure that there will be more posts about the museum in the months and years to come.
As for the day, it was a rainy morning so I took the car there for this trip. Later in the day it dried out and I got to ride the motorcycle.
That event is on my Racing with the Wind Page, for that went to another favorite event.