Various memorabilia from the Civil War, but not the treasure they awaited: the time capsule buried 134 years ago under the base of General Robert Lee’s statue in Richmond, Virginia, revealed its secrets today, but did not satisfy the Americans. collectors who were looking forward to it.
Inside the box, experts from the Virginia State Department of Historic Resources found Civil War bullets, banknotes and coins minted by the Southern Government, newspapers and magazines, an 1887 Almanac, books, a Bible and documents from local Masonic lodges. Two small wood carvings – the Masonic symbols of the ruler and diabetes – and a Confederate flag were in an envelope. According to experts, the wood of the sculptures comes from the tree where the tomb of Thomas “Stonewell” Jackson, a general of the Confederacy of the South, was located.
In one of the books there was a bookmark with the profile of General Lee. The box also contained a fragment of a bomb used in the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862.
The highlight was a drawing of a woman kneeling in front of the coffin of President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated on April 14, 1865. The sketch was published in Harper’s Weekly two weeks later.
Collectors hoped the box would contain a photograph of Lincoln in his coffin.
The contents of the box are “in better condition than we would expect,” commented Kate Ridgeway, the service manager, as she carefully opened the metal time capsule.
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