Travelers to wartime Richmond had a wide choice
of luxurious hotels, inns and taverns.

By John K. Trammell

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The outbreak of the Civil War ushered in an era of radical change in Virginia. Starting with fanatical John Brown’s failed revolution at Harpers Ferry, and ending with a devastating defeat and painful reconstruction six years later, citizens of the Old Dominion experienced a decade of upheaval that would forever change the fabric of their social and domestic life.

Nowhere was this change more evident than in the new Confederate capital of Richmond. What had been a quiet, conservative Virginia city of 38,000 people was transformed overnight into the political and industrial center of a nation at war, the defiant guardian of an imperiled culture.

Much of Civil War­era Richmond has passed away in a physical sense, due in part to the 1865 evacuation fire (started by Confederates and put out by Federals), but mainly due to the irresistible drive of modern progress. A sense of place still remains, however, and the modern tourist, with a little detective work, can gain a feel for what life must have been like in such a unique and stirring time.

The James River, as always, is a central geographic landmark, winding through the very heart of the city with sometimes breathtaking beauty. During the Civil War, almost every structure or place of importance was within sight of the river, and a hotel room facing south on an upper floor would often have a view of the river.

In the summer of 1861, newcomers had a significant number of hostelries, taverns or boardinghouses to choose from, ranging from such upscale hotels as the Exchange or Spotswood to the cramped confines of a dozen or more second-rate boardinghouses. As more and more people entered the city on military and political business, the population of the city swelled, eventually doubling prewar totals, and a social caste within, and sometimes competing with, pre-existing society began to emerge.

Because of the need for rooms and living quarters, hotels and taverns became natural gathering places for the newly formed Confederate government. For the price of a drink or a meal, boarders could hear political debates, haggling over government contracts, and news of the war.

Perhaps foremost among the Richmond hotels was the Spotswood. Completed shortly before the war (1859-60), and located at the southeast corner of 8th Street and Tan Road (now called Main Street), the Spotswood became the place to see and be seen. An impressive five-story brick structure with an ornate iron facade, the Spotswood was similar in many ways to Willard’s Hotel in Washington, D. C. Few people of importance to the South failed to visit its rooms or parlors at some time during the war. It became a vital nerve center within the capital; its basement even served as the Confederate post office.

For even casual students of the Confederate cause, the names of two men head the list of numerous wartime guests at the Spotswood. Robert E. Lee, then a colonel, rode through Richmond for the first time during the war, taking up lodgings at the Spotswood until a permanent residence could be arranged. The day before his arrival, Richmond had suffered the first of what would become many wartime scares, when word came that the Federal warship Pawnee was steaming upriver to attack the city. Though the alarm proved to be false, the arrival of Lee signaled an exciting time for the city, as well as foreshadowing an ominous end that was not yet in sight. Four years later, Lee would travel the same Richmond streets to his home at 707 East Franklin Street–a defeated general of a lost cause.

The other most important Spotswood guest was Jefferson Davis. The president of the Confederacy arrived in Richmond on May 29 to a booming salute of guns, and, after an enthusiastic greeting from Governor John Letcher, Mayor Joseph Mayo and others, he proceeded through the crowded streets to the Spotswood. Davis stayed in room 83, which the proprietor had decorated specially to serve as his parlor. The business of the new nation demanded Davis’ attention immediately, and the new chief executive worked out of his Spotswood lodgings until a home was furnished for his family.

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