0:00:02 > 0:00:06I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America
0:00:08 > 0:00:10with a new travelling companion.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Published in 1879, my Appletons' General Guide
0:00:16 > 0:00:21will steer me to everything that's novel, beautiful,
0:00:21 > 0:00:26memorable or curious in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27- ALL:- Amen.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33As I cross the continent, I will discover America's Gilded Age
0:00:33 > 0:00:36when powerful tycoons launched a railway boom
0:00:36 > 0:00:39that tied the nation together
0:00:39 > 0:00:43and carved out its future as a superpower.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15I've travelled from the cradle of American independence,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Philadelphia, to the nation's capital, Washington DC.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22I'm moving south towards Richmond, Virginia on my way to Jamestown.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28Today, I move into former Confederate territory at Manassas,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31an important battlefield of the American Civil War.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34I will then head through Fredericksburg
0:01:34 > 0:01:36to Virginia's state capital, Richmond.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Since I've been in the United States, many people have told me
0:01:45 > 0:01:49that there are big differences between the North and the South.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Though not everybody is able or willing to define them.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56The way of speaking changes.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58The pace of life. The smells.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02The food. The drink. The customs and manners.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06As I hope to discover as I continue my journey south through Virginia.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Along the way I will discover how crucial railroads were
0:02:12 > 0:02:15during the American Civil War.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Actually, it was the first time that troops arrives by rail during
0:02:18 > 0:02:21the history of railroad use and military use in the United States.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25I will bottle the classic Southern tipple - bourbon.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30- You missed one. There is a little more skill to it.- Apparently!
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Michael Portillo. How do you do?
0:02:32 > 0:02:37And I will learn how to behave at Virginia's oldest cotillion ball.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- Help me. Help me.- It's easy.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57I'm headed for Manassas.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00My guidebook tells me it was the scene of the first great battle
0:03:00 > 0:03:04of the Civil War, fought July 21 1861,
0:03:04 > 0:03:09and also another battle fought August 29th and 30th 1862.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13And for the railway traveller, it tells me that at Manassas
0:03:13 > 0:03:19the Manassas branch diverges and runs 63 miles to Strasburg.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24I suspect that the fact that it was an important railway junction
0:03:24 > 0:03:28helps to account for why it was fought over not once, but twice.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34The most destructive conflict in American history
0:03:34 > 0:03:37was the Civil War of 1861 to 1865
0:03:37 > 0:03:40between northern and southern states.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45President Abraham Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery
0:03:45 > 0:03:47to new states and the southern states,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51believing that their prosperity depended upon it,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53felt threatened by his election.
0:03:53 > 0:03:5711 slave-owning southern states left the Union
0:03:57 > 0:04:01and renamed themselves the Confederate States of America.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Lincoln's Union army marched towards Richmond, Virginia,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07the South's capital.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11The first major land battle of the Civil War was about to commence.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17I'm meeting the curator of Manassas Museum, Mary Dellinger,
0:04:17 > 0:04:22at Manassas Junction, 25 miles south-west of Washington.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27In the 1860s then, what makes this place so strategically important?
0:04:27 > 0:04:29There wasn't really a town here.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31A lot of people think there was but there wasn't.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Lots of outlying farms and a small collection of buildings.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36What made this area so important was the junction
0:04:36 > 0:04:39of the Manassas Gap Railroad with the Orange and Alexandrian.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Two railroads that provided access to points north,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44south and west of here.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47So whoever controlled the junction controlled access to those areas.
0:04:47 > 0:04:5222,00 Southern Confederate soldiers advanced north to Manassas
0:04:52 > 0:04:58to confront the 35,000 Northern Union troops marching south.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Lincoln's volunteer soldiers lacked experience
0:05:01 > 0:05:05and when 10,000 Confederate reinforcements arrived
0:05:05 > 0:05:08the Union army lost cohesion.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12And in that first battle, were trains used by the forces?
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Yes, trains were used
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and actually it was the first time that troops arrived by rail during
0:05:17 > 0:05:20the history of railroad use and military use in the United States.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25The result of the battle was a Confederate victory, a resounding Confederate victory.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26They drove the Federals from the field.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30It was a humiliating defeat for the North.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Just over a year later, in August 1862,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Manassas was the site of a second battle.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44The commander of the Southern Confederate forces,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48General Robert E Lee, sent troops north.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53His target was a storage facility crucial to the Union supply chain.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57When he got here, he found an enormous Union supply depot.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02Thousands of tonnes of ammunition, clothing, food, stock.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05His troops were very hungry so they ate what they could
0:06:05 > 0:06:07and whatever they couldn't carry off they burned.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10They burned down buildings, they burned crates of uniforms.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12They destroyed it all
0:06:12 > 0:06:15because they didn't want to leave it for the Union army.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18The Union forces launched a counterattack,
0:06:18 > 0:06:21but were unable to dislodge the Confederates
0:06:21 > 0:06:23who were dug into positions in surrounding woodland.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27When Confederate reinforcements under General Lee
0:06:27 > 0:06:29arrived on August the 30th 1862,
0:06:29 > 0:06:34they inflicted heavy casualties on the Union army,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37forcing it to retreat towards Washington.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Today, Manassas National Battlefield Park commemorates the place
0:06:41 > 0:06:45where the Confederates twice saw off the Union army.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Mary, I find this battlefield very well preserved
0:06:49 > 0:06:51with just a few hints, you know.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53The cannon here, the farmhouse here.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56How extensive was that battlefield at the time of the second battle?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58The second Battle of Manassas was huge.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02At one point there was a very large charge by Confederate troops that
0:07:02 > 0:07:05was one of the largest in the war of men committed all at one time.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08What were the consequences of the second battle of Manassas?
0:07:08 > 0:07:11General Robert E. Lee, the Confederate commander,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13a lot of people consider that one of his greatest victories
0:07:13 > 0:07:17because he drove the Union army from the field and the road was open north.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22Less than a week later on September the 5th 1862,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26General Lee launched the first Confederate invasion of the North.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32These Confederate victories, you're a Virginian,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34how do you feel about them?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Well, I am very proud of my Virginia heritage and my Southern heritage,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41but I think it's important that when we look back on that and take a certain pride in that
0:07:41 > 0:07:45that we don't attempt to put our 21st century knowledge and values
0:07:45 > 0:07:47on a set of 19th century issues and problems.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50That we really need to look at it as what they knew to be true.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54I think if you do that then it's OK to celebrate that part of your past.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02The American Civil War can be represented
0:08:02 > 0:08:05as a struggle between good and evil.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07And there is truth in that.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11But as soon as you come to the South and stand here
0:08:11 > 0:08:14you develop and extra perspective.
0:08:14 > 0:08:20Those young Americans who fought and died here for the Confederacy
0:08:20 > 0:08:22deserve to be remembered and honoured.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33One in four young white Southern men died
0:08:33 > 0:08:36during the four years of the American Civil War.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40After the conflict, the North continued to industrialise
0:08:40 > 0:08:45while the ravaged South faced a 12 year reconstruction period
0:08:45 > 0:08:50to rebuild its cities, railroads and economy without slave labour.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- Can I join you a second?- Please.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Do you use the trains very much?
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Yes, actually I ride the train all the time.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03I am a cellist and if you ride the aeroplane
0:09:03 > 0:09:08you have to buy your cello its own seat, so actually I ride the train.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11It's my main mode of long-distance transportation.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Do you perform all over the United States?
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I'm working on it. I just graduated from school.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I just got my masters in cello performance
0:09:19 > 0:09:21so I'm trying to get started as a cellist.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25I'm actually just coming from Philadelphia where I got my cello repaired.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30How do you find getting it up the steps because it's quite a long way up on to these trains, isn't it?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32It's a major pain.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35The cello is a wonderful instrument but it is a hassle to travel with.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44I will leave this train at Fredericksburg,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48which Appletons' tells me is a quaint and venerable old city
0:09:48 > 0:09:52on the south bank of the Rappahannock River.
0:09:52 > 0:09:58It was founded in 1727 and contains about 6,000 inhabitants.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02An ideal place for me to begin to discover the spirit of the South.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21Bourbon corn whiskey is America's official native spirit.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24It takes its name from Bourbon County in Kentucky.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Virginia's oldest family run bourbon distillery
0:10:29 > 0:10:32was established here in Fredericksburg in 1935,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36two years after the end of the prohibition of alcohol.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43I'm meeting Brian Prewitt, the master distiller at A. Smith Bowman.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46It feels like we're walking down the aisle of a cathedral here
0:10:46 > 0:10:49but the aroma of the incense has been replaced by the sweet
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and slightly pungent smell of bourbon.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55I like to tell people it is our church of bourbon.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- Our church of whiskey.- So is bourbon a whiskey?- Bourbon is a whiskey.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04To be called bourbon it has to be at least 51% corn.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07It has to be distilled at less than 160 proof.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10It has to go into a brand new charred oak barrel.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Whiskey was introduced to America by Scottish
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and Irish immigrants who arrived in the 1700s.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22These pioneers found corn and maize aplenty
0:11:22 > 0:11:24and used them to create whiskey.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Later, the use of charred oak barrels
0:11:27 > 0:11:30made it the bourbon that we appreciate today.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34The importance of American oak is the fact
0:11:34 > 0:11:38that the porosity of the oak keeps it from basically seeping out.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41But essentially what they do is they burn this inside of the barrel
0:11:41 > 0:11:44and that will caramelise the sugars in the oak
0:11:44 > 0:11:47and it will get that nice, red layer,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49just like if you were making caramel on your stove at home.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52This is the great part. If you look at that line.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54This is about an eight-year-old barrel.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57That is how far that bourbon really got into the barrel
0:11:57 > 0:12:01- over the course of its lifetime and that is called the soak line.- Wow.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- So it is picking up flavour and it's picking up colour.- Absolutely.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09By law, we can't add colour to bourbon.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12So the only colour that we get is from the oak.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Legend has it that barrels shipped down the Ohio
0:12:17 > 0:12:21and Mississippi rivers from Bourbon County to New Orleans
0:12:21 > 0:12:24had an extra month to mature
0:12:24 > 0:12:27and their contents were considered some of the best in the country.
0:12:33 > 0:12:38Another gorgeous space and this is where the work is done.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42- Absolutely. I call this my play ground.- What a wonderful room.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45This is our bourbon still. This is Mary.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48And she is named after the matriarch of the Bowman family.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Mary is a very, very unique design.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- It looks like a child's chemistry set on a very large scale.- Yes.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58It's as if somebody just kind of drew it out on a piece of paper
0:12:58 > 0:13:00and said, "Sure, we will make it into a still."
0:13:00 > 0:13:03And that is pretty much exactly what they did.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06The distillate comes out in three phases.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08First, the sharp flavoured heads.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Then the long phase of the hearts with the sweet alcohol.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14And finally the tails.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Both the heads and the tails contain impurities
0:13:17 > 0:13:21and the art of distillation is to know when to make the cuts.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26This is where we do our cuts, where we will actually do the tasting
0:13:26 > 0:13:29and I happen to have some of the heart right here.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33One of the ways that we do this is we're just going to pour a little bit into our hand.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37It's going to make your hands nice and soft. Kind of air it out.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40- Tell me, what do you smell?- Oooh.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Sweetness.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48- Vanilla.- Really nice, sweet, soft alcohol.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50That is what we are looking for in the heart.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53You must have an extraordinary palette and nose.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56It just takes a little bit of practice. You too can get there.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58- It must be fun practising!- It is!
0:14:00 > 0:14:03The heart of the run is collected for ageing and bottling
0:14:03 > 0:14:07while the heads and tails are added back to the next distillation.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09I thought we would give you the opportunity,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12since you are here, to bottle your own bottle of bourbon.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- Would you like to give it a try? - I would love to give you a hand.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18All right. We are going to start with some bottles over here.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Throw them facedown on the rinser and basically what we need to do
0:14:21 > 0:14:24is put them right in there and line them up.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Put your foot on the lever there.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29You missed one.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Go ahead and try again. It should fill that one up.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42- Almost there. There is a little more skill to it.- Apparently!
0:14:42 > 0:14:44There you go.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46And we're just going to grab a cork and push it in
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and this is where a little elbow grease comes in.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54All right. Now for the best part of the tour, which is the tasting.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56- Yes.- We are going to taste two of our bourbons here today.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59This is a seven-year-old Small Batch bourbon.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Then we are also going to taste its older brother, the John J.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It's about ten years old. John J is my go to.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10That is the one when I'm going to sit down in the evening
0:15:10 > 0:15:12with a nice glass of bourbon, it's the John J.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15- Enough talking!- All right, let's taste.- Let's go.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19To taste the bourbon correctly,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Brian advises me at first to take a small sip to stir up the palate.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Palate definitely now awake.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33You're right about that method.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37All the flavours come zooming through your mouth, don't they?
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Now for the 10-year-old single barrel John J.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45It's bigger, rounder, fuller.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Deeper somehow. Darker.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Yes, I'm with you. That's the one.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05It's a new day and I am rejoining Amtrak's northeast regional service
0:16:05 > 0:16:08to Virginia's state capital, Richmond.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18Virginia. Named after the virgin queen, Elizabeth I.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22The colony that produced Washington and Jefferson.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26I think that in its capital I'm going to feel the pride
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and the greatness of the American South.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41But Richmond's history also has its fair share of controversy.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45In the decade before the American Civil War
0:16:45 > 0:16:49it was second only to New Orleans as a centre for the slave trade,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53with thousands transported south by rail from its slave market.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Before I explore further I'm in need of sustenance.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04I'm ordering ham and eggs with a Southern twist - grits.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Oh, that looks great.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Can you just tell me, what is grits?
0:17:09 > 0:17:12They are browned off and made out of corn.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14They are a big seller in the South.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Grits stands for "Girls Raised In The South",
0:17:17 > 0:17:20which I think is a really cute slogan.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23- I hope you enjoy your meal. - Thank you very much indeed. - You're welcome.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Popular though grits is in the South,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28I'm not sure I'm going to like it very much.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Mmm. Actually, it's not bad.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35It's a combination of porridge and semolina.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37I just came to check to see how your meal is.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40- It's great. It's very, very nice. - Do you like the grits?
0:17:40 > 0:17:43You were right to tell me to have grits. Thank you very much indeed.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Wonderful. Great.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53I'm now perfectly primed to visit Virginia's seat of government,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57which was designed by one of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson.
0:17:57 > 0:18:04This polymath was a politician, writer, lawyer and architect.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09"The most prominent building in Richmond", says Appletons',
0:18:09 > 0:18:14"is the State Capital, adorned with a portico of ionic columns.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18"The plan having been furnished by Thomas Jefferson
0:18:18 > 0:18:22"after that of the Maison Carree at Nimes in France."
0:18:22 > 0:18:25So this building has the triple distinction
0:18:25 > 0:18:29of being Roman, Jeffersonian, Virginian,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and I might add one of the most beautiful buildings
0:18:33 > 0:18:35in the United States.
0:18:38 > 0:18:44The capital was completed in 1788 and was the first state seat
0:18:44 > 0:18:47of government to be designed after the War of Independence.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53The architecture is so elegant,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55the colours are so tasteful
0:18:55 > 0:18:59and the state of restoration is absolutely perfect.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I'm meeting Mark Greenough, tour supervisor
0:19:04 > 0:19:09and historian of the Capital, in the old hall of the house of delegates.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Virginia played such an important part
0:19:12 > 0:19:15in the early days of the United States.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18For example, Jefferson, Washington, they were both from Virginia.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Other presidents?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23We've had a total of eight presidents of the United States
0:19:23 > 0:19:25who were born within the borders of Virginia.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Seven of them served in their office of president
0:19:29 > 0:19:31before the American Civil War broke out.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34After gaining independence from Britain,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37a convention adopted in Philadelphia in 1787
0:19:37 > 0:19:41established a constitution for the new nation.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44But states had to ratify the constitution.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Virginia was the oldest of the original British colonies in America.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53It was the largest. It was the wealthiest.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55It was the most populated.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57We had our ratification convention in Richmond.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00It was a few blocks from this site.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02At that point, in June of 1788
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Virginia endorsed our new national charter.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Was that very influential on other colonies?
0:20:08 > 0:20:14Virginia's vote on the question would be a great help to others
0:20:14 > 0:20:17who were wavering on whether or not to support our new federal Union.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19It was a controversial question.
0:20:20 > 0:20:2474 years later the state played an equally important role
0:20:24 > 0:20:27in the country's descent into civil war.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31The flashpoint was an attack by southern Confederate forces
0:20:31 > 0:20:37in April 1861 on Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Lincoln called for troops to suppress the rebellion.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42War had begun.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Virginia, not yet part of the Confederacy,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50now had to decide whether to fight with her southern neighbours.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54This is the room where after two months of active debating
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Virginia leaders voted to secede from the Union -
0:20:58 > 0:21:00another controversial question.
0:21:00 > 0:21:0588 voted to secede, but 55 voted to stay in the union.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09So Virginia's joining the Confederacy was by no means
0:21:09 > 0:21:12- something that could be assumed. - No means at all.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14But then she makes the vote to secede.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17What happens in this room after that?
0:21:17 > 0:21:20They next looked for a qualified leader
0:21:20 > 0:21:23to defend the border of the Commonwealth of Virginia
0:21:23 > 0:21:27and they turned to Robert E Lee and he walked into this very chamber.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30He stood on that very spot, where today there is a statue
0:21:30 > 0:21:33of Robert E Lee, and this is where
0:21:33 > 0:21:37he pledged his sword in defence of his native state.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39It is not a triumphalist statue.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44You see here a man who is showing a dignity
0:21:44 > 0:21:49and sadness in the face of America's biggest dilemma
0:21:49 > 0:21:54and in the end Lee decided to follow the fate of his native State.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59The decision to make Richmond the capital of the Confederacy
0:21:59 > 0:22:02made it a target for Union troops.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07By 1865 General Lee was no longer able to defend the city
0:22:07 > 0:22:10and on April 3rd it was evacuated.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16The next day President Abraham Lincoln entered, victorious.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Lee surrendered to Union forces on April 9th.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23The American Civil War was all but over.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Today Virginia's grand Capitol houses the state's General Assembly,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31where senators and delegates meet to discuss
0:22:31 > 0:22:35and vote on legislation, balance the state's budget
0:22:35 > 0:22:37and elect judges.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41We're now entering the Virginia House Of Delegates chamber
0:22:41 > 0:22:44and it's a chamber not guilty of understatement.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47I think many Europeans would understand that
0:22:47 > 0:22:50at the national level the United States has an upper house -
0:22:50 > 0:22:53the Senate, a lower house - the Congress,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56and an executive - the President, but that is also replicated,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00isn't it, in most of the states at state level?
0:23:00 > 0:23:03That's true. With only one exception,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05all of the state legislatures are bicameral,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07with a House and a Senate,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10and Virginia takes particular pride in being remembered
0:23:10 > 0:23:13as the oldest elected representative legislature
0:23:13 > 0:23:16still meeting in the Western Hemisphere.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21The Virginia General Assembly dates back to 1619,
0:23:21 > 0:23:25only 12 years after the English first settled the colony.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Well, here in this state of Virginia
0:23:30 > 0:23:32I feel much that makes me feel at home, which is
0:23:32 > 0:23:35maybe not surprising given that it's named after Queen Elizabeth I.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Oh, good old Queen Bess. She was on the throne
0:23:38 > 0:23:43when England began setting her sights on settling Virginia,
0:23:43 > 0:23:45but it was after her death
0:23:45 > 0:23:48and the ascension to the throne of James I that
0:23:48 > 0:23:53an English settlement took hold and it was named Jamestown,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57and the river leading to it was named the James River.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05The English heritage of this nation is more evident in Virginia's
0:24:05 > 0:24:09capital than it has been anywhere else on my American journey.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12My next stop will require an attention to manners,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14for which the English were once famed.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I'm invited to Virginia's oldest cotillion dance circle.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Hi, nice to meet you.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27Learning to dance with a partner has long been a vital training
0:24:27 > 0:24:30for young men and women of society
0:24:30 > 0:24:34and here the tradition continues for adolescent Virginians.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Hi, Jim. Hello, I'm Connor Stevens.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40- Connor, nice to meet you. - Very nice to meet you.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43I seem to have joined some sort of a receiving line.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45I don't know what it's about
0:24:45 > 0:24:48but I suspect it's some kind of test already.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55- Hi.- Hi.- I hope I'm blending in.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Hi, I'm Hayley, nice to meet you.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01- This is Angelo.- I'm Miss Davidson.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03How do you do? Michael Portillo.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Very nice to meet you, Michael, I'm Miss Williams. Welcome.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06Charmed, Ms Williams.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08- This is Andrew Cole. - Hello, I'm Michael Portillo.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Hello, nice to meet you I'm Andrew Cole.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Bob, Michael Portillo, what a pleasure. How do you do?
0:25:16 > 0:25:20- Sandra, nice to meet you.- It's my privilege. Thank you very much.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22MUSIC BEGINS
0:25:24 > 0:25:28First introduced to the colonies from Europe in the 1770s,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31cotillion became a favourite dance at assemblies,
0:25:31 > 0:25:36allowing couples to exchange partners in an early square dance.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Today the music and the dances are more varied.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Still, dance is an instrument for teaching teenagers social graces.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47I'm hoping not to let the side down.
0:25:50 > 0:25:51Help me, help me!
0:25:51 > 0:25:53It's easy.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55And go.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Out, in, out, in. Heel, heel, toe, toe.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Right, cross, right.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Left, cross, left.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04Forward, forward, forward.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Back, back, back.
0:26:07 > 0:26:08One, two, three, turn,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11five, six, seven, eight.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14'Lacking any sense of rhythm, I must call on my manners.'
0:26:14 > 0:26:16I'm sorry.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Back now, ready for the pause.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Outside rock. To the centre
0:26:20 > 0:26:25'The formal dress and white gloves worn today evoke the gilded age
0:26:25 > 0:26:31'of the late 1800s when the tradition of presenting in society
0:26:31 > 0:26:35'18-year-old debutants from America's wealthiest families started.'
0:26:44 > 0:26:48It's clear that cotillion has taught these teens
0:26:48 > 0:26:50more than fancy footwork.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Their social skills and confidence are beyond their years.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- Thank you.- Thank you, you saved me from humiliation and from myself.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Thank you very much.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15My journey through Virginia has made me feel the pride
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and complexity of the South's history.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22It was largely Virginians that shaped
0:27:22 > 0:27:26the declaration of Independence and the constitution,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and political arrangements in Colonial Virginia
0:27:29 > 0:27:32provided a model of representative government.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36I found people in this state even more polite
0:27:36 > 0:27:40than north of the Mason Dixon Line and I appreciate the welcome
0:27:40 > 0:27:42that I received at the cotillion,
0:27:42 > 0:27:47but I think before I next display my limited dancing skills,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51I shall prepare with a generous slug of Virginia bourbon.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Next time, I get into colonial character
0:27:57 > 0:27:59on Williamsburg's plantations...
0:27:59 > 0:28:01Push away from me a little bit more.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Perfect, that's a good-looking furrow.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05..I discover the truth about the first settlers...
0:28:05 > 0:28:07This is ground zero,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10this is the centre of the beginning of the New World.
0:28:10 > 0:28:15..and my spirits are lifted by the First Baptist Gospel Choir.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20# The Lord is my Shepherd
0:28:20 > 0:28:24# And I shall not want... #