Great American Railroad Journeys - Season 1 Episode 14

Michael leaves federal capital Washington to Richmond, capital if senior state Virginia and of the Confederation. First stop is Manassas, an old rail road crossing, which helps to explain it was the site of two major civil war battles, both won by the Confederate general Robert Lee. Next Fredericksburg, for a taste of bourbon after an elaborate visit to a distillery of the Kentucky-created corn-based US version of whiskey. Finally Richmond, the fall of which spelled the defeat of the Dixieland secession but not of structural racial inequality. Michael attends a cotillion class, a 'European' tradition and a refined way to prepare youths to social life.