1839
The Exchange Building
Siege Museum
Civilian Life Behind The Lines
June 1864 - April 18, 1865
This building survived the siege of Petersburg. (It is a shame all those power and phone lines decorate every street in America now. On the other had, no lines mean no power...) Today, according to the Smithsonian Institute, it is one of the few tobacco exchange buildings that has not had its "sales" floor plan modified even though it is 175 years old. Notice at the very top of the building. That is centered over the ground floor where all of the tobacco would be brought in for display. The second floor gallery inside is where all of the buyers would stand to bid on the different lots of tobacco. Mighty fancy building for tobacco sales - but that was where Virginia made most of its money back then. Tobacco was king here.
Today, this building has become a museum for civilian life during the siege.
Look at the SIZE of some of the cannon balls and shells that bombarded the city for NINE months. A civilian walking down the street could expect one of these to land on them at any time. They could be sitting in their dining rooms and have one crash in through a wall. Children could be playing in their own yard and become unintentional targets
This museum has something that exists no where else in the world:
I suppose, given its failure, that it's a good thing another one doesn't exist. It looks like a giant pistol revolver. In a pistol, the cylinder holds bullets. The cylinder for this cannon holds cannonballs. It is painted black and the museum lighting on it is abysmal so no photo came out usable - you'll just have to come here and see it for yourself! (Maybe that was the museum's plan all along?)
I did some internet research after getting home and found no photograph of it, but I did find a copy of the original patent for this monster! Here's the web address if you want to have a look for yourself.
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