Well, the unexpected drive home afforded us the opportunity to stop and tour the Arkansas State capitol in Little Rock. We had stopped here on our honeymoon, but it was closed so we did not tour the building then.Christmas in the state capitol.Looking up in the rotunda.Senate chamber.Dome in the Senate chamber.House of Representatives chamber.Dome in the House chamber.Arkansas Supreme Court.Arkansas Governor’s office.Copper doors.
I have been to the Texas State Capitol several times in the 1980s, but I didn’t really go all through the capitol, Of course, there must be scaffolding to mar my picture!The building is constructed of pink granite from Texas.The sculptures on the grounds were very well done, great detail and relief.Confederate memorialBattles listed, including Fredericksburg.Other battles listed, including Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse.Honoring Spanish Tejanos. Spaniards were in Texas as early as 1519.Monument to the Heroes of the Alamo.Looking up in the rotunda.Between the points of the star are letters spelling TEXAS.Surrender of Santa Ana in 1836, creating the independent Republic of Texas.David CrockettPresident George W. Bush, as Governor of Texas.Governor John Connally was riding with President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963 when the president was assassinated. Connally was hit in the arm.House chamber, dressed for Christmas.House Christmas tree.Senate chamber, dressed for Christmas.Senate Christmas tree.The lights spell out TEXAS.Dawn at the Alamo – fall of the Alamo – “The Moral Victory” by H.A. McArdle.The Battle of San Jacinto – “Retributive Justice”, by H.A. McArdle.President Lyndon B. Johnson.Governor’s Public Reception Room. Governor Abbott was not in when we visited.“The Spirit of Texas”, by Gerald Harvey Jones, bronze.Chandelier in the reception room.“Mexican Huts, San Antonio”, 1881, by Edward Grenet.Cool doorknobs. Only in Texas.Cool hinges, only in Texas!David Crockett.Sam Houston.
The Tennessee State Capitol was completed in 1859.Statue of Andrew Jackson on the grounds of the state capitol. Tennessee was home to three presidents – Jackson (7th), James K. Polk (11th) and Andrew Johnson (17th).President James K. Polk and First Lady Sara Polk are buried on the grounds of the state capitol.Statue of President Andrew Johnson.Liberty Bell replica.Senate chamber.House chamber.Tennessee State Supreme Court chamber.Portrait of significant Tennesseans.Andrew Jackson.Andrew Jackson. He is so popular he gets two busts in the capitol!Andrew Jackson.James K. Polk.James K. Polk.Andrew Johnson.Andrew Johnson.David Crockett, Tennessee native and hero of the Alamo.Cordell Hull, the longest-serving Secretary of State in US history. He served for 11 years under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during most of World War II.Sampson W. Keeble, first African American elected to the Tennessee state legislature.
So I added Annapolis to my capitols list, and of course the dome is undergoing renovation.Front of the Maryland State Capitol. This is one of the oldest state capitols.This cannon dates to 1634, when it arrived from England and was mounted on the walls of the fort at Old St. Mary’s MD.Ship’s bell from the USS Maryland, 1921.Senate chamber.House Chamber.George Washington statue.George Washington portrait.Painting that depicts General George Washington resigning his command of the Continental Army at the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783.Benjamin Franklin bust.Main foyer.Looking up to the rotunda.Frederick Douglass statue in the Old House of Delegates Chamber.Harriett Tubman statue.Maryland Governor’s House.
Statue of George Washington in front of capitol stepsThe rotundaHouse of Representatives chamberSenate chamberView of the lobby from the second floorStairs to the second floorBust of Robert E. LeeThere were four South Carolinians who signed the US Constitution. They are honored with plaques inside the capitol. Pierce Butler…Charles Cotesworth Pinckney…Charles Pinckney……and John RutledgeBattle of Cowpens by William Ranney“Marion’s Camp”, General Francis MarionOne of several paintings in the capitol showing battles of the Revolutionary War. There were more battles in South Carolina during that war than any other state. The American victory at Cowpens in 1781 is considered the turning point of the war in the South and was an important step toward victory at Yorktown. “Angel of Marie’s Heights”. Sergeant Richard Kirkland of South Carolina became famous during the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862 when he broke ranks to give water to Union soldiers who were gasping and screaming in agony. A sculpture in Fredericksburg marks this event.
