Posted on 12/22/2021 9:50:37 PM PST by blueplum
RICHMOND, Va. — A rust-colored 1875 almanac, a cloth envelope and a silver coin were found Wednesday in a time capsule that lay hidden beneath a towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Virginia for more than 130 years.
As intriguing as the water-damaged items were, they’re not what many were expecting to see after state conservators spent five hours gingerly prying the time capsule open. Even the mortar-encrusted lead box was a bit of a surprise....
...There were three books total. Besides the almanac, there was a tattered book with a pink cover that appeared to be an edition of “The Huguenot Lovers: A Tale of the Old Dominion” by Collinson Pierrepont Edwards Burgwyn. He was a city of Richmond civil engineer who worked on the plans for Monument Avenue, where the Lee statue had stood.
There also appeared to be a pamphlet ....
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
bookmark
more about the texts:
“The 1875 almanac, titled The American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, is described by Britannica as “an annual handbook for astronomers, containing predicted positions in the sky of the principal celestial objects and other astronomical phenomena.”
“From 1877, under the direction of the astronomer Simon Newcomb, it became the best of the national ephemerides,” the publication states.”
“Another of the books appeared to be an edition of The Huguenot Lovers: A Tale of the Old Dominion by Collinson Pierrepont Edwards Burgwyn.
In the preface of the novel, the author asks for “an indulgence for his effort at portraiture of the characteristic of devotedness in the negro.”
“If an excuse is needed for this, he trusts that it will be found in his desire to put upon record, so as to be remembered whenever this book is read, the act of one of that race who protected the dead body of his brother on the battle-field of Gettysburg.”
the coin is “a silver 1887 British Victorian penny”
https://richmondmagazine.com/news/richmond-history/lee-monument-time-capsule-mystery-deepens/
the coin is the most interesting in that it’s silver - was it Royal Maundy Money, part of an American collectors’ set, maybe? seeing how most circulating pennies in England at that date were bronze?.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(British_pre-decimal_coin)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Maundy#Maundy_coinage
It’s a damn shame America’s -—holes defaced and tore this important statue down. A major part of AMERICAN history. The history the non-Americans who are only here for the free sh*t really HATE.
They were disappointed that they didn’t find a noose in the box.
There was a three page letter from Lincoln, not mentioned, that requested lee to lead the army of the Potomac, pleading with him not to join the confederacy and confirming that Epstein didn’t kill himself.
You guys catch that? A civil engineer on the project threw one of HIS OWN BOOKS in there. A novel, no less. Awesome.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.