Aerial.America.S01E03.Virginia
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00:00It's known as the mother of all states, and with good reason.
00:09The history of Virginia is the history of America.
00:14Virginia was home to many leaders of a fledgling young nation, and the structures they built
00:20stand tribute to their ingenuity and their vision.
00:25Its lush fields have been the site of bloody battles, as well as moments of great triumph.
00:32It's the site of what may be the most ambitious history lesson in America, as well as a school
00:40that charted the path for American education.
00:45From ancient natural wonders to modern curiosities, Aerial Virginia travels across a diverse and
00:54rugged landscape.
00:57It is the realm of pirates, the source of legends, and the launching pad for American
01:05democracy.
01:24The James River, it's a vital waterway that handles more than 25,000 barges full of gravel
01:51and grain every year.
01:55And it's the artery that first led European settlers to the new American continent.
02:04Lined with massive estates and pockets of wilderness, the James cuts a wide swath through
02:10the state.
02:11But it's here, at Jamestown Island, where the story of Virginia, and a nation, begins.
02:22Settlers arrived here in 1607, and low walls mark the outlines of the first permanent English
02:28settlement in North America.
02:32The community was anchored by an old fort, which most people believed had been washed
02:36into the James River.
02:38In 1994, archaeologists began to uncover remnants of the fort, including more than 150,000 artifacts.
02:49All of this land was once controlled by a collection of Native American tribes.
02:56They were often at war with the settlers, led by Captain John Smith.
03:02In December 1607, Smith and some of his men were captured by the Algonquins.
03:10According to Smith, the tribe's chief, Powhatan, was on the verge of killing him, until the
03:17chief's daughter, Pocahontas, intervened and saved his life.
03:23Modern historians believe this scenario is unlikely.
03:27They argue that Smith's account was probably based on a cultural misunderstanding.
03:38The early history of this area is further explored at the nearby Jamestown Settlement.
03:44The ships we see in the harbor below are recreations of the vessels that early settlers would have
03:49taken over from England.
03:52The biggest of these, the Susan Constant, probably carried 105 passengers and 40 crew
03:58members on the arduous, four-month-long journey.
04:04The James Fort area features replicas of thatched-roof buildings, including a church, a guardhouse,
04:11and the governor's house.
04:17To the southeast is Norfolk, the world's largest natural harbor, and a city with a
04:23proud military tradition.
04:27Many World War II veterans served here, and it's still a stop for many seafaring military
04:32officers.
04:37On the northern edge of the city, Norfolk houses the largest naval installation in the
04:41world.
04:44The seven miles of wharf and pier space are home to 75 ships.
04:50Another 3,000 ships pass through here every year.
04:56One ship that's not going anywhere is the USS Wisconsin, which has been decommissioned
05:01and turned into a museum.
05:07One of the largest battleships in the world, it's also one of the toughest.
05:14Destroyed in April 1944, the Wisconsin was part of a fleet that destroyed hundreds of
05:19Japanese ships and planes in the Philippines.
05:24But after several successful missions, a furious typhoon swept through, sinking three supporting
05:30destroyers.
05:32The Wisconsin was unharmed.
05:38The vessel's durability would be tested again and again as it later held off enemy forces
05:44in the Korean War and the Gulf War.
05:48The old battleship was finally decommissioned after 47 years of service in September 1991.
06:01Norfolk's MacArthur Square is named in honor of Douglas MacArthur, the larger-than-life
06:06five-star general.
06:09The centerpiece is the MacArthur Museum, formerly the Norfolk Courthouse.
06:15When it originally opened in 1850, this cupola was the highest point in the city, and visitors
06:22used to climb into it to get a bird's-eye view of the harbor.
06:28Just north of the Chesapeake Bay lies Hampton Roads.
06:32It's the site of the oldest continually English-speaking settlement in America and an aeronautics and
06:38commercial fishing hub, but it originally made its name as a haven for pirates.
06:45Every summer, a festival is held here in honor of one of the legendary figures who terrorized
06:51the high seas, Blackbeard.
06:54When Blackbeard was finally captured, his severed head was put on a pike at the entrance
06:59to the Hampton River to deter others from entering a life of crime.
07:06Hampton has played a key role in the world of modern aircraft and in the space program.
07:14Air warfare as we know it began at Langley Field in 1921.
07:19This is where Brigadier General William Mitchell led the first trials on airplanes designed
07:24to attack battleships, an experiment that would eventually lead to the creation of the Air Force.
07:45Around the same time, some of the earliest experiments in aeronautics were being done
07:50here, and when NASA decided to put a man on the moon, they brought the first astronauts
07:55here to train.
08:03Near Hampton is the home of the Gibraltar of the Chesapeake, better known as Fort Monroe.
08:15Designed for the fifth president, it's the largest stone fort ever built in the U.S.,
08:22and the moat that surrounds it makes it a remnant of a lost era.
08:29During the Civil War, the fort remained in Union hands, and later it was the home of
08:35a very famous prisoner, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who was captured in Georgia
08:42in May 1865, and immediately brought to the stone fortress.
08:49For months, Davis was kept in chains, cut off from the outside world, and denied bail
08:57or a trial.
09:01He was finally released on parole after almost two years, and later received amnesty from
09:07President Andrew Johnson.
09:16Long before it was torn apart by Civil War, America fought for its freedom from England,
09:22and here in Yorktown, troops fought the last major land battle of the Revolutionary War.
09:31General George Washington and his army, assisted by French soldiers, won a decisive battle
09:36here, leading to a surrender of British forces.
09:45There's only one resort island in Virginia, and it sits along Virginia's eastern shore.
09:52Chincoteague means beautiful land across the water, and that's just what this is.
10:00Home to just 4,000 people, it hosts a million visitors a year.
10:06Chincoteague is known for its oysters, clams, and fishing, but it's surely most famous for
10:11its feral horses.
10:15Chincoteague horses are notable for their unusually small size.
10:19Full-grown ones are no bigger than the average pony, and seem to be the perfect resting place
10:25for these birds.
10:30Every year, all of the horses are taken by water to the nearby island of Assateague,
10:36where they are auctioned off to keep the herd from getting too big.
10:43Assateague is a barrier island that's been designated a National Seashore.
10:51The goal is to protect its 37 miles of beach, as well as the many different animals that
10:56live here, including 320 species of birds.
11:04More than half of the National Seashore's 48,000 acres is near the coast, a landscape
11:10that's constantly changing due to wind and water.
11:20To the south is Virginia Beach, the most well-populated city in the state, and a premier
11:26tourist destination, with 28 miles of surf, sand, and good times.
11:37It's hard to imagine today, but for many years, this was a quiet seaside town.
11:45Its lone hotel burned down in 1907, and it was 20 years before another took its place.
11:54In its heyday, the Cavalier was as elegant as its name.
12:00When it opened in 1927, the $2 million structure featured every amenity.
12:08One of those perks was running water in each room, including a separate tap for salt water,
12:15which was believed to have healing properties.
12:19F. Scott Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, and several presidents have graced its halls, as did Adolph
12:26Coors, the founder of Coors Brewery.
12:31In 1929, the 82-year-old fell to his death from a six-story window.
12:37No one knows if it was an accident or not, but legend has it that Coors' ghost still
12:43haunts the grand old Cavalier.
12:49Over the years, as Virginia Beach has become more populated, a huge amount of waste has
12:55piled up, and the result is Mount Trashmore.
13:00The 68-foot-tall peak is made of pure garbage, all of it covered with grass and converted
13:06into a city park.
13:13On April Fool's Day in 1992, some local radio personalities made Mount Trashmore the butt
13:19of a too-clever joke.
13:23They announced that the garbage heap was about to erupt from pent-up methane.
13:29The humor was lost on some listeners, who flooded 911 with calls about whether to evacuate.
13:41Cape Henry is home to this lighthouse, the official symbol of Virginia Beach.
13:48It was commissioned by the federal government when George Washington was president, and
13:52built with stone from the same quarry used for the White House, the Capitol, and Mount
13:57Vernon.
13:59The fish oil used to keep the light going here was always a potential fire hazard.
14:06The original structure was replaced in 1881 by this second lighthouse just a few hundred
14:12feet away.
14:15It's nearly twice as high as the original, and shines a light that's visible up to 19
14:20miles from shore.
14:25Right next door to the lighthouses, but easy to miss, is a replica of a crucifix, erected
14:31by a ship full of Englishmen in 1607.
14:35They built it to thank God for their safe journey to the New World, but they were soon
14:40scared off by a group of Native Americans and fled upriver to Jamestown, where they
14:48settled.
14:51Of course, those early settlers would have been amazed and dumbfounded to see a bridge
14:55stretching right across the Chesapeake Bay.
15:02The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is both a tourist attraction and a travel convenience,
15:08connecting the Virginian mainland near Virginia Beach with the eastern shore.
15:16When opened in April 1964, this 17-and-a-half-mile bridge tunnel complex was considered one of
15:23the seven engineering wonders of the modern world.
15:32Colonial Williamsburg is perhaps the most ambitious living history museum in the U.S.
15:39The former capital of Virginia, it houses 88 structures from the 1700s and early 1800s,
15:46and more than 300 acres of plants that would have thrived here in the colonial era.
15:55Virginia's largest historical preservation project was actually funded by a famous New
16:00Yorker, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
16:07Rockefeller was brought into the project by local pastor W.A.R. Goodwin of Bruton Parish
16:12Church.
16:13When they began buying properties, Rockefeller kept the project secret so that residents
16:20selling their homes wouldn't drive up prices.
16:24Finally, Rockefeller revealed his intent to restore the town to its colonial glory.
16:31Some residents were suspicious, but most were intrigued by the idea.
16:37The buildings are full of interpreters who dress, talk, and act as though they're living
16:41in the 18th century.
16:44Some are actors or historians, and others just have great enthusiasm for America's past.
16:52As a result, what might have been a colonial footnote is a tourist mecca.
16:58A million visitors come here every year.
17:04Not all the buildings here are originals, but it can be hard to tell which are authentic
17:10and which aren't.
17:13The magnificent Governor's Palace burned down in 1781.
17:18This is a reconstruction based on a floor plan drawn by Thomas Jefferson, and a 1770
17:25inventory listed many of the original furnishings.
17:30Just north of Williamsburg, in Charles City County, the ten-acre Berkeley Plantation is
17:35linked to many firsts.
17:40It's the birthplace of President William Henry Harrison, who died just one month after his
17:45inauguration, the first president to die in office.
17:51In July 1862, when Union troops occupied the plantation, it was the first spot where a
17:57new lights-out bugle call was played, a simple but powerful tune known as Taps.
18:06According to legend, Taps was played over the burial of a Union soldier.
18:14But this site is probably most famous for what some consider the first Thanksgiving.
18:25On December 4, 1619, more than a year before the Pilgrim set sail, Captain John Woodleaf
18:32and a group of Englishmen landed on the James River.
18:42He said that this day shall be yearly, and perpetually kept holy, as a day of thanksgiving
18:48to Almighty God.
18:52But it was Abraham Lincoln who made Thanksgiving an official holiday, and he was honoring the
18:57Pilgrim's Feast in Massachusetts, not Jamestown.
19:12Another historic home along the James River is the Shirley Plantation.
19:19Although it's now a National Historic Landmark, the main house is still owned and lived in
19:24by descendants of the original owner, Edward Hill.
19:32This is the site of one of the oldest family-owned businesses in North America, going all the
19:37way back to 1638.
19:41It's the year Hill established a tobacco farm on this 800-acre property.
19:51The current house was built a century later for his great-granddaughter.
19:58Future Confederate General Robert E. Lee spent much of his childhood here.
20:03His mother, Anne Hill Carter, was born, raised, and married at Shirley Plantation.
20:17Virginia's state capital, Richmond, has an eclectic mix of neighborhoods, from Jackson
20:23Ward, known as the Harlem of the South, to Church Hill, a 19th century neighborhood that
20:30overlooks downtown.
20:34The history of Richmond is closely tied to its Confederate past.
20:40After Virginia seceded from the Union, Richmond immediately became the new capital of the
20:45Confederacy, and its headquarters was the State Capitol Building.
20:52When Thomas Jefferson designed the structure 70 years earlier, he modeled it after a Roman
20:57temple.
21:00Nearby stands a historic building that's nearly hidden by a group of towering modern structures.
21:07It's the White House of the Confederacy.
21:11In August 1861, when Jefferson Davis moved in, he had no idea he was under close watch
21:18by one of his own slaves.
21:22Mary Bowser was a Union spy, with a photographic memory.
21:28But under suspicion, Mary escaped from Richmond in January 1865, just months before the arrival
21:35of Union troops, when Davis himself fled.
21:39On the outskirts of Richmond, in neighboring Henrico County, is the largest sports venue
21:45in Virginia, the Richmond International Raceway.
21:51Although there's little activity on off days, on race days, this stadium regularly packs
21:56sellout crowds of 110,000 spectators.
22:00It's gone by many names over the years, but one thing has remained constant here, and
22:06that's the presence of the Petty Family.
22:10Three generations of the Petty Family, Lee, Richard, and Kyle, have roared to victory
22:15here, solidifying their reputation as one of the first families of NASCAR.
22:26Richmond boasts the only street in the U.S. that's a National Historic Landmark.
22:31Monument Avenue runs through the heart of the city's Fan District.
22:36The tree-lined promenade is noted for its extraordinary architecture, but may be most
22:41famous for its statues, including Robert E. Lee, and of course, Jefferson Davis.
22:52In 1996, the city added the statue of a different kind of rebel, native son Arthur Ashe.
23:01In the 1950s, when the African-American Ashe was learning to play tennis in this segregated
23:06city, he was turned away from the white courts in nearby Bird Park.
23:12Finally, Ashe moved to St. Louis, where he had the chance to play on integrated courts
23:19and be trained by a professional coach.
23:24He would become the first African-American winner of Wimbledon.
23:31Although Virginia was one of the last states to leave the Union, more than half of the
23:41battles in the Civil War were fought here, including at Petersburg.
23:50After a failed attempt to capture Richmond in 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant set his
23:56sights on Petersburg.
24:01The city had four rail lines, critical for bringing food and supplies to Richmond.
24:08If he could shut down the rail lines and roads here, Grant knew he could overtake the Confederate
24:13capital.
24:14And soon, the longest siege in American history had begun.
24:22Over the course of 292 days, Union and Confederate soldiers exchanged gunfire from their trenches.
24:31Desperate to snap the stalemate, Grant's men tunneled behind enemy lines and packed four
24:37tons of gunpowder beneath one of the Confederate camps.
24:43The explosion blasted this crater in the landscape and carved a gap in the Confederates' line.
24:49But as Union troops surged into the crater to attack on foot, Lee's men regrouped and
24:55launched a counter-assault.
24:59Fighting continued here at Petersburg for several months. Grant eventually prevailed,
25:04but paid a heavy price.
25:09During the ten-month battle, at least 42,000 Union soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured.
25:20For all the emphasis on history, Virginians still know how to have fun, especially at
25:32the Kings Dominion Amusement Park, which has been thrilling kids of all ages since 1975.
25:43Some of the attractions from its early days still remain, like a one-third scale version
25:49of the Eiffel Tower, and the Carousel.
25:57The theme park has really made its name with adrenaline-pumping rides like the Dominator.
26:07The winding 4,000-foot steel track anchors the longest floorless roller coaster in the
26:12world.
26:20And the 272-foot descent on the park's Drop Tower ride is the steepest in North America.
26:28Those who prefer to find their thrills on the greens may be drawn to the nearby Kinloch
26:45Golf Club.
26:50Since its opening in 2001, this Par 72 course has become known as the Augusta National of
26:57America, and it's been named one of America's 100 Best Courses.
27:07Kinloch was the brainchild of a real estate developer who first wanted to put a residential
27:11community here. When he decided to create a world-class golf course instead, he enlisted
27:19a local sports agent to help make his vision a reality.
27:26Unlike many courses, most of the features here were made by Mother Nature, not the course
27:32designer. Many of the original trees were also preserved during the clearing of the
27:37land, giving this the feel of a much older course.
27:46To the northwest is Charlottesville, a college town, but it's also part of the living legacy
27:53of Thomas Jefferson.
28:02Jefferson lived here, at Monticello. To him, it was more than just a home, and according
28:08to some historians, it serves as a kind of architectural autobiography.
28:16The name Monticello means little mountain in Italian, a fitting description of the location
28:25where the self-taught architect chose to build his home.
28:32Construction on the 43-room mansion began in 1770, shortly after Jefferson was first
28:37elected to public office. It went through many designs and redesigns, and wasn't finished
28:45until 1809, the last year of his presidency.
28:52Jefferson was influenced by the designs of the late Italian architect, Palladio, and
28:58his travels to France inspired him to add skylights, and the famous dome room.
29:07Jefferson, who valued his privacy, left the house surrounded by trees.
29:14He did clear enough space for several gardens, where the avid horticulturist grew more than
29:19250 kinds of vegetables and herbs.
29:27Jefferson once said, I am as happy nowhere else and in no other society, and all my wishes
29:33end where I hope my days will end, at Monticello.
29:40His days did end here, on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after American independence.
29:50Jefferson left instructions that his gravestone should be an obelisk, and he also wrote his
29:55own epitaph.
29:58Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence,
30:05of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia.
30:14Jefferson, who didn't even mention being the country's third president, clearly didn't
30:19want his work at UVA to be forgotten.
30:26Jefferson had his hand in every element of the school's creation. He designed the buildings,
30:34chose books for the library, and helped shape the curriculum.
30:42The retired statesman even hosted a weekly dinner for students, including a young writer
30:48named Edgar Allan Poe. The author of The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart never earned his degree
30:55here. After running up too many gambling debts, he had to leave school early.
31:04When the university opened in 1825, it served a class of just 123 students. Today, it regularly
31:13has an incoming class of about 3,000 first-year students.
31:20Considered one of the top public colleges in the nation, UVA is still known as Mr. Jefferson's
31:26University.
31:31The Charlottesville area is also home to several wineries, and again, they trace their heritage
31:37back to Jefferson, known by many as the father of American wine. He planted dozens of grape
31:45varieties himself, and when a small group of Italian vintners arrived in Virginia, he
31:51donated 200 acres of land for them to do the same.
31:57After Prohibition, Virginia's wine production virtually disappeared, but in the last 20
32:03years, the number of wineries has multiplied from six to more than a hundred.
32:14Northeast of Charlottesville is Montpelier, the plantation home of former Jefferson protege,
32:20James Madison.
32:23After leaving office, the fourth president of the United States found that his land had
32:27fallen in value, and he was nearly broke.
32:34The primary author of the U.S. Constitution held back from publishing some of his papers.
32:40He hoped they would bring cash to his wife, Dolly, when he was gone.
32:47By the summer of 1836, the last surviving founding father was gravely ill. Legend has
32:55it that a friend urged Madison to take medicine that would prolong his life until July 4th.
33:03Madison refused, and died less than a week before the 60th anniversary of American independence.
33:11Soon, his wife was forced to sell Montpelier to pay off increasing debt.
33:23Appomattox Courthouse National Park, 20 miles east of Lynchburg, is where the last chapter
33:29in Civil War history was written.
33:34The 1,800-acre park has 27 restored structures, including the McLean House.
33:43It was here on April 9th, 1865, that General Robert E. Lee had a 90-minute meeting with
33:49Ulysses S. Grant.
33:52Lee and Grant hammered out the terms of a surrender of Lee's troops, ending the bloodiest
33:57war in American history with a handshake.
34:05There was never an official peace treaty signed between the North and the South. That would
34:10have meant acknowledging the Confederacy as a separate country, something the United States
34:15refused to do.
34:28Virginia's Shenandoah Valley is a 200-mile-long swath of wide-open green space.
34:35Bordered by the Blue Ridge Mountains on one side, and the Alleghenies on the other, this
34:44lush space is dotted with historic villages and towns, and filled with more than its fair
34:51share of natural wonders.
34:57The valley is named for the majestic river that runs through it. The Native Americans
35:03called it the Shenandoah, or Daughter of the Stars, because of the way the light sparkles
35:09off it.
35:17Explorers first discovered the area in the mid-1600s, but the first European settlers
35:23didn't put down roots here until the early 1700s.
35:42With its scenic countryside, Lexington has attracted many transplants to the area, including
35:49Stonewall Jackson, who spent a decade here. He noted that,
35:55Lexington is the most beautiful place that I remember of having ever seen in connection
36:00with the surrounding country.
36:04Jackson lived here while teaching at the Virginia Military Institute. The nation's oldest state-supported
36:10military college has more than 1,000 students. They serve in ROTC while enrolled here, but
36:18may go into the armed forces or become civilians when they graduate.
36:25When Stonewall Jackson taught here, he was still known by his given name, Thomas, but
36:31he soon earned his first nickname. He was so unpopular that his students called him
36:38Tom Fool.
36:41Jackson left to fight the Civil War in April 1861 and never returned. He was buried here
36:49in May 1863 after the Battle of Chancellorsville.
36:55The former teacher of artillery tactics died of complications from a gunshot wound after
37:01being accidentally shot by his own men.
37:08Lexington is also the final burial place of General Robert E. Lee. His remains are at
37:15Washington and Lee University, where he served as president.
37:24Not far away, one of the oldest tourist attractions in the nation soars across the sky.
37:32Natural Bridge is 90 feet wide and over 200 feet tall, and estimated to weigh about 36,000 tons.
37:48This was a sacred site for Native Americans, who first dubbed it the Bridge of God.
37:56In the 18th and 19th century, European tourists traveling the countryside by carriage considered
38:03this a favorite destination, and it was often listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders
38:12of the World.
38:17Thomas Jefferson bought the site from King George III of England to make sure that it
38:21stayed in public hands. Jefferson felt that in this spot, the rapture of the spectator
38:30is really indescribable.
38:38Near Natural Bridge sits a curiosity that's definitely man-made, seemingly familiar and
38:44yet unique. This replica of Stonehenge, built by Mark Klein, opened on April 14, 1863.
38:51It was built on School's Day, 2004, and is known as Foamhenge.
38:58The original in England was built over hundreds of years. This replica, with 16-foot-tall
39:04pieces of styrofoam, went up in little more than a day. The first version of it blew right
39:11over, so Klein added pipes to route it to the ground, and it's been standing tall ever
39:17since.
39:21The valley is dotted with small towns, each one more picturesque than the last. But rural
39:29Virginia doesn't get much more quaint than Mayberry. Mayberry's picturesque Mayberry
39:36Mill is one of the most popular spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and one of the most photographed
39:43sites in Virginia.
39:51Bordering the Shenandoah Valley is a scenic stretch of road that hugs the Blue Ridge Mountains,
39:58running from Front Royal to Waynesboro. President Herbert Hoover was known to fish in the area,
40:05and legend has it that he liked the view so much he wanted others to be able to share
40:09it by car. The road was finally approved by President Franklin Roosevelt.
40:18The 105-mile road was built by local farmers, some of whom were displaced by preservation
40:23efforts here. The eventual cost was about $40,000 a mile. But the view? Priceless.
40:40South and west of the Shenandoah Valley lies the region known as Appalachia. This is a
40:50place with a rich culture all its own, and a long tradition of exploration and adventure.
40:59Forged by wind and water, Cumberland Gap is one of the few major breaks in the Appalachian
41:04mountain chain. This 20-mile-long national park contains 20,000 acres of wilderness,
41:14extending into Tennessee and Kentucky. Adventurers like Daniel Boone helped to forge the way
41:22through the gap for early pioneers. It continued to be the best route to the western U.S. until
41:29the early 1800s. At Virginia's southern border sits the city
41:41of Bristol. Built on the site of a former Cherokee village, the town was a popular stop
41:47for people heading west in the footsteps of Daniel Boone. But Bristol may be best known
41:54for a vicious border dispute with the neighboring town of Bristol. Bristol, Tennessee that is.
42:03The state line ran right down the middle of Main Street. In 1889, a Tennessee man was
42:09arrested for trying to put a water line in what Virginia officials claimed was their
42:14land. With tempers flaring, armed militias headed out from each state. But the battle
42:22ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the border to be finalized once and
42:27for all. In a show of good faith, the two Bristols
42:36erected a massive sign over the aptly renamed State Street. One half of it in Virginia,
42:44the other half in Tennessee.
42:52Back in northern Virginia, Civil War buffs can visit a spot that reveals history times
42:57two. Manassas National Battlefield is the site of a pair of deadly encounters, the first
43:06and second battles of Bull Run. On July 21, 1861, the Civil War was just getting underway.
43:14When Union troops arrived here, they expected a quick victory and a short war. At first,
43:22the Union Army seemed to have the upper hand on Henry Hill. But one group of soldiers managed
43:27to hold their ground behind General Thomas J. Jackson. A fellow officer shouted,
43:33Look, there's Jackson standing there like a stone wall. And from that day on, he was
43:39known as Stonewall. As the battle raged on, the Southerners managed to push back their
43:48northern counterparts. But the two sides had lost a total of 900 men, and any hope for
43:55a fast end to the war had vanished. Here on Battery Heights, the two armies faced
44:03off again in August 1862. By then, they were much more seasoned, and the stakes were even
44:11higher. Union General John Pope set up headquarters behind this house and plotted a return strike
44:19against Jackson. A series of uncoordinated attacks did little damage to the Confederate
44:27Army. Finally, after three days of fighting, the Union Army fled over Stone Bridge. The
44:34result was one of the South's great triumphs. Their victory was short-lived. Less than a
44:45month later, Abraham Lincoln unveiled the Emancipation Proclamation, a decisive moment
44:53in ending slavery and the Civil War. From its pre-Revolutionary roots to its Civil War
45:04battles, from its celebration of architecture to its preservation of natural splendor, Virginia
45:13has been critical in the shaping of modern America. By celebrating the traditions of
45:20its Founding Fathers, without losing its sense of fun, Virginia remains a place well-rooted
45:27in the past, yet firmly grounded in the present and well-positioned for the future.