The Museum and White House of the Confederacy

The museum is informative, but the tour of the Confederate White House is the real gem here. The house has been fully restored, and our guide was full of interesting facts and really made the visit come alive. If you’re a real history buff, you’ll enjoy the museum, but I could have just visited the house and been perfectly happy. Staff were really engaged and helpful too.

I’ve been to the White House of the Confederacy and the museum next door at least 10 times over the yrs. the House was refurbished in 88 and it is still in good condition. I think I had the best guide I’ve ever had on this trip. We had company and they totally enjoyed both places. The White House tour is about 40 mins. & the museum as long as you need to read, and contemplate what you’ve seen. You’ll see history visually in what I’d call artifacts over 3 floors. You’ll see saddles, spurs, hats, uniforms diaries. It’s a living history of a horrible cost of life. I will add, historically I am aware my distant grandfather was a Calvary-​man and fought all four yrs., was a prisoner at the end of was and was released from prIson after the surrendered after Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen Grant. The Union treated the soldiers w/​a certain amount of dignity. They were sent home if they simply agreed to not take up arms against the Country. My forefather was quite ill upon release but was given his horse and rifle and sent from Goldsboro/​Greensboro back to central Kentucky. Because of his life being spared, I am alive. I exist. In closing, no matter your thoughts, history is captured in Richmond, Petersburg and Appomattox. If you don’t know this history, you should. 775,000 men died. Almost none of the Southern men were slave holders, yes, the war was certainly about slavery but not only slavery. A trip to Hollywood Cemetery should follow. It has a way of removing any glorious representation of the Civil War… that’s my commentary. It is well worth your time. States rights was influential in Gen. Lee’s decision the fight for the South. As in marriage, there’s no one reason people divorce. There is a main reason but but not only one, that doesn’t excuse slavery by any means. Learn your history of America, also the discover the at other places the beginnings of out county, how we existed and developed into America. So much of it is in Virgina.

The museum is excellent, with plenty of flags and uniforms, and even some documents from the war. Few collections approach this one in richness. The White House tour is good, too. You can visit rooms where President Davis worked, held strategy meetings, and where his family lived. Guides are informed about events there and the history of the house and preservation efforts. I have visited both the museum and the White House twice and the only reason for four instead of five stars is the intrusion of current ideology: they feel a need to bring up slavery — I saw it on a couple of signs and even heard a comment about it from one of the guides. It is pandering, though I am not sure to whom they want to pander. It’s not as bad as at a federal site, but this slave-​centric approach is getting tiresome. Even with the current ideology, the museum and White House are worth the admission price.

If you wanted a unbiased or nonpartisan view of the confederacy, it’s foundation or its eventual demise run far far away. This is a beautifully done white washed version of the history of the confederacy, ignoring or skipping over the atrocities committed by the rogue state, the fact that it fought a war for the right to own a human being, or the fact that most of the soldier involved in the conflict were poor and had no ownership of slaves and were being coerced by the abhorrent upper class. What the museum does show is a point by point analysis of the confederacies downfall, all with that unavoidable undertone that the actions of the rogue nation where less then atrocious. The only redeeming factor is the wealth of its war collection. Otherwise spend your money elsewhere.

I only had time for the museum, not the White House. The museum at $ 10 is way over priced. There were just a bunch of display cases — half of them were just confederacy flags, the other half uniforms.
I’m not a «civil war enthusiast» so maybe I’m missing something.

You get the option of a tour of the White House ($ 10), looking around the museum ($ 10), or both ($ 18). I did the tour of the White House.
Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the house. I was amazing about how much he had memorized about each piece of furniture and detail in the house. The sheer amount of original pieces within the house makes it a way cool adventure for anyone that can appreciate it. I’m no historian, but guide helped me appreciate each piece.
I’m knocking it down a star because it could use some money put into it. Compared to the VMFA, which is free, this place is a joke… you pay to go and it’s in worse shape. A little sad.

The White House is neat. but the civil war museum is so so. Unless you are really into the civil war .or maybe just want to piss off your kids by killing their day. probably a pass. save the $ and just get the white house tour…

This review is for the White House only. Perhaps if we had time for the museum as well, might have been better. I was here with my daughter’s 4^th-​grade class. The positive… the kids found the nursery very interesting, and I enjoyed the dining room, which was set up as a meeting room for Jefferson Davis. And of course the house and furnishings in and of themselves are interesting to look at.
The not-​so-​good… our tour guide was very short with the kids. Told us all prior to the tour that she would only answer 2 questions in each room, «so make them good ones.» All serious questions from 4^th-​graders are good ones, lady. At one point, one of the kids was chatting while she was talking. The manner in which she addressed it, was «Well, if you don’t listen, that’s your problem.» When she talked about Jefferson Davis’ son falling from the porch, she said that «blood and brain matter» were on the ground. Brain matter? Is this what kids need to hear?
There was also this guy, myself and the other parents jokingly referred to him as «our shadow,» who, as soon as we left a room, closed the door behind us. Like, immediately. He didn’t smile, didn’t acknowledge any of us, just followed us around, closing doors. Was very off-​putting.
We finished the tour and the tour guide ordered the kids to stand in a line against the wall, next to the gift shop. Fortunately, the kids (and their parent chaperones) ignored her, and the kids enjoyed looking in the gift shop. Speaking of which, and I know it is the museum of the Confederacy, but I just wasn’t comfortable in a place with so much stars and bars paraphernalia for sale.
The whole thing was just a weird experience.

I rarely write museums reviews for one big reason. I love the details and with museums there are so many it’s hard to keep them organized with touring. So this will be a departure from usual reviews and may offer less details, but I am sure other reviews and there are many will fill in any blanks.
Parking is off street, or some nearby garages. The museum is located at the dead end of Clay near the hospital. The area in front of both the Davis home which you will first see and the museum were clear of debris and looked great. There are a couple of things to read which are especially important if you plan to not take the tour.
Our party arrived a little after 3 PM. We found out the last tour of the Davis home was 4 PM which was something we did want to do. With kids age range of 10 – 12 we asked if the tour was worth it, because there museum of the confederacy and the home are sold differently. The staff person informed us the 45 minutes would be well spent. We received discounts on AAA and military and was allowed to stack which was awesome.
The museum house original artifacts from the war. Many of the garments, guns and other accessories are in display cases set out in chronological order which was very helpful. This is the main floor. It was truly amazing to see the condition of the garments, some more worn than others, blood soaked, bullet holes on some. The generals and top brass were in better condition.
The bottom floor seemed uneventful, but again more original artifacts. The third floor housed mainly confederate flags that had been captured.
There is also a small, but nice gift store that you can find unique offerings probably not found easily else where. Prices seemed correct for a museum which is always a little marked up, but I never am concerned as they need to keep it up and admissions don’t even break the even I imagine.
At just before 4 PM our group with around fifteen others met in the front lobby to head over to tour the Davis home. We entered in the rear basement and was led in a room with chairs for the initial talk given by Craig. Another woman who was training was also tagging along but I did not catch her name. I immediately loved the fact that there would be no film. Craig’s talk was succinct and engaging. Even our children were paying attention which says a lot to me.
Once out of the basement the tour would lead us through the two floors of the home, but not the third which was later added before General Davis took office. Each room was it’s on unique discussion by Craig and at the end he asked for any questions. It is interesting to note that all items in the home after the war were sold off at auction except three. The pair foyer statues «Tragedy» and «Comedy» in the front interior are still standing exactly where they were in the Davis family resided in it. Since the home became a museum which was in the late 1800’s they have attempted to acquire these original items back. To date they have around 65% of them and as recently as 2008 purchased bed from the Davis children’s room.
The tour was fascinating to say the least. The museum without the home tour would have been a huge missed opportunity. The children remained engaged and even riveted by the stories that Docent Craig told about the years the home was occupied by the Confederate General. I felt the biggest connection in the dining room where the 24 hour meeting was held with Davis and all the top Generals of the war to develop a new strategy. These new ideas from the meeting would yield results of extending the war 1.5 years longer. The kids enjoyed hearing about the rambunctious Davis children who were notorious around the neighborhood for running wild and often unsupervised. They did have nannies, but it was a revolving door of them and ads had to be placed anonymously because none would come to the home with the reputation of the tikes. One of the only original toys left in the bedroom is a very small cannon made in Richmond that is functional. The youngest boy would blast marbles out it in the back yard.
I was really moved by the entire experience. The war was an awful time in U.S. history, but it should never be forgotten. It is so incredible that these original pieces were retained for us all to enjoy on display. The furnishings in the Davis home that are original are extraordinarily preserved. An interesting fact to close on. Our 16^th president Abraham Lincoln toured the home much like our group did this past Saturday. The timing was 10 days prior to his assassination at Fords Theater in Washington DC.
I recommend the combo ticket of museum and White House of the Confederacy. I don’t think you will regret your decision to visit. If your like me you will even gain an appreciation for the Confederacy and this is coming from a Yankee.

I adore historic houses, which is a point in favor of this place to begin with, but the tours [I’ve done the house twice] are excellent so long as you get the right guide and the house itself is lovely if not the extravagant madness of some of the places I’ve toured [*cough*Biltmore*cough*]. The museum is beautifully-​curated and pleasantly even-​handed on the subject of the war, endeavoring to present facts instead of suppositions about the war itself and the items on display. Particularly if one is a student, I recommend getting the membership for the opportunity to view the changing exhibits on display with different items from the vaults, and to view the house in different seasons, such as when it has been dressed for Christmas.

The museum provides a year round Blue Star Discount (free). The Southern point of view of the Civil War is fascinating. We enjoyed both the museum and the tour of the Southern White House.

I really don’t know how to decide how many stars to give it. The artifacts were very interesting, and it was pretty cool seeing a house that old that was so well-​preserved and accurately recreated. The exhibits in the museum weren’t particularly put together well. It was basically just a bunch of artifacts with little context. I will say the very large display explaining the Jefferson Davis did not wear women’s clothing was unintentionally hilarious. And then…
Our tour guide in the White House went off on a tear about how the «Second Revolution» (Civil War) is not taught accurately in schools. There were two displays devoted to Nathan Bedford Forrest being a Civil War hero despite having no artifacts of his. Just… descriptions of his war exploits. One did finally mention that he founded the KKK, so it had that going. The gift shop is mostly full of Confederate flag stickers and assorted paraphernalia. It made basically no references to slavery, which is really weird given the subject matter. One display talked about black soldiers fighting for the south, then mumbled something about different states handling their pensions in different ways. That’s one way of describing it, i guess. As is using «alleged» to describe the Fort Pillow Massacre and offering no further explanation, down to not even explaining what the Fort Pillow Massacre was.
So, nothing overt, but I also wasn’t stunned when I noticed the plaque that said a ton of the funding came from The Society of the Order of the Southern Cross, the people who also fund the Nathan Bedford Forrest monument.

Great Confederate artifacts! We enjoyed hearing/​seeing the Civil War from the South’s perspective — lots to see! Tour was fun!

Very well-​done. Highly recommend. Lots of Civil War history to see and learn about. Very interesting and well-​presented.

Awesome! Very well preserved and well done. It was amazing how this place is literally surrounded by a hospital on all sides, but they left the White House untouched.
Being a history major and lover off all things history, this was a must for me. Although the Confederacy lost the war, it is great that they also didn’t lose their history.
The tour included the exhibits, one of which was being renovated, and the White House itself. It was amazing to see how tiny it was and not at all similar to DC other than being white and tall.
The exhibits were very well done as well. I recommend going! Not just because it’s a museum, but because it is a very important part of American history and should be remembered and preserved. Plus, Lincoln was here (look for the sign on the door of the museum!).

I stumbled across this attraction one lazy Saturday afternoon after studying at a coffee shop in downtown Richmond. Since I only had 90 minutes before the place closed I explored what I could in the museum area and jumped on the last mansion tour of the day.
The quick walkthrough of the museum provided a lot of interesting perspectives from the Confederate side of the Civil War and not much difference in facts from what I remember learning throughout my time in academia. The mansion tour was really good and the tour guide provided a lot of interesting stories about the folks that lived there. It’s also interesting to see this «mansion» that has been there for a few hundred years and is now surrounded by a large multistory concrete hospital as well as many office buildings. I’m a contrast kind of guy.
As a tip, it’s free if you show your military ID but worth paying the small fee to see if you are in the area.

When I heard Confederate White House I was thinking it would be similar in stature to our Current US White House and I’m not gonna lie before I read the plaque I saw the Capitol Building and figure this was it. Sadly I was disappointed in much of the White House Tour and found the Museum much more interesting.
First off it’s at the end of a historic street with great informative signs and really great architecture. The put off is the massive contemporary building built next to it. Really liked the Anchor, and other steel artifacts (not the colorful fish). Th tour prices caught me off guard. $ 15 per person for the dual access and white house tour. Audio at the museum was an extra $ 2, which if you have AAA is the discounted amount. Funny how that works out. Active duty gets a discount as well. Kids under a certain age, certain aged seniors as well.
Due to the age the ventilation is classic, be prepared for a lot of standing, some of the things are really cool and interesting and others creepy. Perhaps a blueprint would have been better with all the rooms they have.
The anecdotes and interesting facts didn’t catch my attention, but perhaps that was the tour guide who I couldn’t help but notice his pants and shirt were not his (2 sizes too big).
The museum is much more well laid out with placards, glass, in a modern building and an audio tour available. Self guided to go at your own pace. Nothing wrong with the guide, but maybe 2 questions were asked our whole tour. The gift shop in the museum is full of trinkets, none worth buying. Swindled by the lady in the elevator of my hotel who told me this was a must see for Richmond. There were a dozen other museum’s I should have checked out or perhaps just done the museum audio tour.

This is a review for both the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House of the Confederacy. They are right next to each other (snuggled in between VCU’s medical campus) and you can go right from one to the other.
The White House of the Confederacy is a small 3-​story building that was used by Jefferson Davis and his family as their home during the American Civil War. The building has been restored to what it would have looked like during that time and you get to walk around the whole building on a tour. It’s really quite an interesting building and it’s great for a northerner like myself to see the perspective of the south during that time period. The tour was very, very good, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in Civil War History. — 4.5÷5
The Museum of the Confederacy was not as good as the White House. It was a small museum and while it contained information about all the main battles, it definitely did not go into great depth with anything. The artifacts that they have there are okay, but it seemed like there should be a lot more since it’s the Museum of the Confederacy. Overall, it’s a decent museum, but there’s much more information at other museums. — 3÷5÷5

Museums are for learning. Repeat after me.
This museum, prominently featuring relics from a time-​gone-​by when the Confederate States of America was a political entity, as beleaguered as its history was during its heyday.
That was a mouthful. Let’s Unilocal this review up so you can take the most out of it.
Location: This place is right next to VCU Hospital. The parking structure next to it is where you park.
The Museum: Lots of cool items from 150 years ago or so. This museum, both in detail and in summary, tells the story of the Confederacy and its place in American history. Everyone has heard the Northern/​winning side’s version of the Civil War, but this museum provides a Confederate perspective to the war. Details from battles won or lost, personalities and leaders during the war, and the soldier’s life during the war are prominent themes plastered all over the museum. The pics I’ve posted illustrate this. Check them out!
The bottom line: Do not be appalled by the presence of Confederate flags in this place. You cannot go to the Holocaust Museum in DC and then complain about all the swastikas and Nazis, will you? Repeat after me: Museums are for learning. Even in the heart of Richmond, there is a lot to be learned from this place. Bring an open mind and a willingness to learn about US history.
Don’t forget to check out the gift shop! They have some cool stuff there, from key chains, to Southern Belle dolls, to books about Southern life, to DVDs about the Civil War. It’s small and to the corner of the museum, but it’s worth a browse.
Oh, and lastly, I didn’t encounter any racists/​skinheads/​neo-​nazis in this place during my visit. I doubt they would bother anyone, let alone me.

First off, visiting The Museum of the Confederacy DOES NOT make you a racist, and the reason why I bring this up is that there are very good odds you will see other visitors there with visible swastika, confederate, and other symbols associated with racism on their bodies in the form of tattoos and t-​shirts. I counted 6. You have been warned.
Once you get over that, come try and learn about this important period of our country. I was very impressed by the objectivity of the information of the exhibits, it was very ‘Matter of Fact,’ which was important because I was kind of expecting a biased perspective with a ‘victimized by the north’ tone.
I will admit that the exhibits do get tiring and make you feel like ‘how many confederate uniforms, flags, and rifles can they possibly show?’ This is because they’re all very similar. The art section and documents do stand out, however. The gift shop is full of cool souvenirs to make your friends uncomfortable, like confederate chap stick! :)
For a couple more bucks you’ll get a guided tour of the confederate white house, its smaller than I expected, that’s what she said, but you may as well go for it. It is a guided and very carefully monitored tour, the rooms are very well preserved and the guide is very informative. My only gripe is that pictures are not allowed inside the white house, the museum does. I mean how many time does science have to prove that photography doesn’t steal people’s souls?! Oh well…
Bottom line: The exhibits get a little repetitive and tiring, but the information is ‘fair and balanced’ in a good way. Does not make you a racist.