Here are some articles I've written for The New York Times about Richmond. You may be surprised to learn about what life was like for free and enslaved blacks before and during the Civil War, and about how dependent the Confederate government was on black labor.
What was life like for free and enslaved blacks living in Richmond before the Civil War? "The North of the South"
How did an army hospital in Richmond become a testing ground for modern medicine? Richmond's Medical Miracle
How important was Richmond in the arming of the Confederacy?and were slaves working to build Confederate cannon? The Other Major Anderson
See Lois speaking about the black community in Richmond: