[x]

That was the old Virginia accent. It changed after the Civil War. Maybe it was the Upcountry changing the Lowland accent, or maybe it came up from the Deep South as Virginians wanted to sound more “Southern.” Lowland and City people whose speech sounded more like British English before the war, may have tried to sound more “country” after the war because that was more “Southern.”

[Dr. Franklin]

That was the old Virginia accent. It changed after the Civil War. Maybe it was the Upcountry changing the Lowland accent, or maybe it came up from the Deep South as Virginians wanted to sound more “Southern.” Lowland and City people whose speech sounded more like British English before the war, may have tried to sound more “country” after the war because that was more “Southern.”

I noticed that too. Accents change over time. Recordings are good to remind people of that fact.

The accent did sound a little British. Listen to educated Brits in WWII documentaries. They have a different accent there now. It's sounds curious when I watch a British historical drama. I notice the "posh" accent is wrong for the time period.