Famous Folks and Shields

To finish up the pictures of heraldry from our recent trip to Virginia, I’m going to include some of the coats of arms that I found in our tour of Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

(On a completely different topic, if you ever get to go to Richmond, plan to stop and eat at Buz and Ned’s. Best barbecue I have ever had! We now return you to your regularly scheduled heraldry blog post.)

Let me say right off the bat that I like walking through old cemeteries; not only are there often a lot of interesting sculptures and headstones, but you can often find heraldry in one form or another. And Hollywood Cemetery was not only a trove of such finds, it’s also got a lot of famous people buried there.

Two American Presidents, one Confederate President, several generals, politicians, and other folks who made a name for themselves doing one thing or another, as you can see from the plaque (above) placed near the entrance.

I noticed, as we were walking the grounds, several examples of what is not really heraldry, but is definitely a shield, right down to the gige, the leather strap by which the shield was slung across the shoulder or across the neck and shoulder.

No coat of arms; just two simple words: In Memoriam. Another similar motif in the cemetery simply said, My Husband. I found it to be very moving. Not heraldry, really, but better than just a blank shield that leaves you wondering if it’s supposed to be simply decorative or if they never got around to finish it. (Though I did find a couple of those, there, too.)