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Contents of time capsule removed from Robert E. Lee statue pedestal revealed
MSNBC and AP ^ | 22 December 2021 | AP uncredited

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 ...


TOPICS: Books/Literature; History
KEYWORDS: erasinghistory; robertelee; statue; timecapsules; virginia
bounty hunters think this isn't the only treasure to be found and are convinced there's another box made of copper
1 posted on 12/22/2021 9:50:37 PM PST by blueplum
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To: blueplum

bookmark


2 posted on 12/22/2021 9:54:14 PM PST by GOP Poet (Super cool you can change your tag line EVERYTIME you post!! :D. (Small things make me happy))
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To: blueplum

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.”

https://www.knau.org/npr-news/2021-12-22/experts-find-books-a-coin-and-an-envelope-in-robert-e-lee-statues-base

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


3 posted on 12/22/2021 10:20:15 PM PST by blueplum ("...this moment is your moment: it belongs to you... " President Donald J. Trump, Jan 20, 2017) )
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To: blueplum

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.


4 posted on 12/22/2021 10:42:38 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer (You can vote your way into socialism but you have to shoot your way out of it.)
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To: FlingWingFlyer
It gives a new view of oral histories, doesn't it.
Stories will be his only remembrance.
5 posted on 12/23/2021 2:25:42 AM PST by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
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To: blueplum

They were disappointed that they didn’t find a noose in the box.


6 posted on 12/23/2021 2:46:18 AM PST by Fresh Wind (Der impfstoff macht frei. The vaccine will make you free. Your papers, please.)
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To: blueplum

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.


7 posted on 12/23/2021 3:06:46 AM PST by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world or something )
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To: blueplum
There was one other item...


8 posted on 12/23/2021 3:19:25 AM PST by GreenLanternCorps (Hi! I'm the Dread Pirate Roberts! (TM) Atsk about franchise opportunities in your area.)
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To: blueplum

You guys catch that? A civil engineer on the project threw one of HIS OWN BOOKS in there. A novel, no less. Awesome.


9 posted on 12/23/2021 3:41:07 AM PST by LanaTurnerOverdrive (Not your guinea pig)
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