The first time I set foot in Richmond, Virginia, I was an aspiring writer working on a (terrible) novel about a family torn apart by differing loyalties during the Civil War. Newly married, living in Charlottesville, Virginia, I was fascinated by the amount of resources the state of Virginia provided about the war, its background, and the lives of the people who fought in it.
Historic homes on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. James Kirkikis/Shutterstock
