History on the Heights

BY KATHERINE CALOS - Staff Writer
Published: August 19, 2008

If you’re wondering what’s Colonial about Colonial Heights, Henry Kidd can tell you. Better yet, he can show you.

Kidd, a historical artist and lifelong Colonial Heights resident, was chosen to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Colonial Heights with a limited-edition artwork.

His “Colonials on the Heights” was unveiled at the Fort Clifton Festival this year on the very heights where Continental artillery fired on British soldiers in Petersburg in April, 1781. Legend has it that an officer referred to the Colonials on the heights, and the name stuck.

“The battle in Colonial Heights, as insignificant as it seems, is one of the things that led to Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown,” Kidd said. That surrender in October, 1781, led to the end of British rule in America.

Kidd’s colored pencil drawing pays homage to city officials past and present by including many of them in the battle scene. Look closely at the Continental soldiers, and you may recognize six past mayors: John Wood, J.C. Kollman Jr., Chris Kollman, Charlie Townes, Ernie Payne and James McNeer. Also incorporated in the scene are city manager Rick Anzalot, the artist himself and the artist’s son, Brian Kidd.

The original artwork is on display outside city council chambers in city hall. Limited edition prints are on sale for $60, and artist’s proofs cost $125. Kidd said he was honored to be chosen for the project, particularly since art isn’t even his full-time job. He’s worked for 28 years in the purchasing department at Philip Morris.

In historical circles, Kidd is better known for his Civil War affinity. He’s a re-enactor with the 12th Virginia Infantry, a Civil War unit that grew out of the Petersburg Grays militia. He recently self-published and illustrated a novel, “Petersburg: War on the Doorsteps.” His drawings for the book include Union soldiers, such as the U.S. Colored Troops that fought in the Battle of the Crater, as well as Confederates. Prints of his drawings are for sale at Civil War sites such as Gettysburg, Pa., where the 12th Virginia participates in yearly re-enactments.

He’s also used his art to support police and firefighters who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Shortly after the attacks, he created a poster-size image of a policeman and fireman backed by the twin towers and a billowing American flag. He’s visited every firehouse in New York City to present a framed print. He’s in the process of doing the same in Northern Virginia.

Fort Clifton, now part of Berberich Park, also had Civil War significance. Confederate artillery on the heights helped protect the Appomattox River approach to Petersburg. One of Kidd’s paintings depicts the action on May 9, 1864, when the guns sank a Union paddlewheel, the U.S.S. Brewster.

At the festival, the sounds of Civil War firing came from participants who paid $3 a shot (or two for $5) to shoulder a Smith carbine or Enfield rifle. Members of TWBTS Inc. (which stands for The War Between The States) measured out powder and loaded the guns — without bullets, of course. Randy Stevens of Matoaca even offered a chance to pull the trigger to his 3-year-old grandson, Austin Sowards of Hopewell. Austin stayed at his side but was more interested in holding the noise-reducing muffs tightly against his ears.

Money raised by TWBTS supports Civil War exhibits at Violet Bank, a Colonial Heights home that was used as a headquarters by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in 1864. Articles on display there include Stonewall Jackson’s fall-front desk from his office at Virginia Military Institute and the portable writing slope Jackson carried in his saddle bags.

Other festival-goers ignored the war in favor of shopping for art and crafts. Vendors offered anything from jewelry to lawn furniture.

The event also gave a chance to visit with old friends while eating barbecue prepared by the Moose Lodge and listening to music from the Fort Lee Dixie Band.

Elizabeth Dyson, who lives near Chester now, reminisced with her brother, Henry Kidd, about taking dance lessons at Violet Bank before it was a museum. “We played bingo there on Friday nights. It was like a community center,” she said.

Kidd also recalled the city’s past with his sculptures, which weren’t for sale. One of them showed a barber sitting in the barber’s chair with a child on his lap for a first haircut. The barber was his father, he said, and he was famous locally for his gentle touch with the littlest customers.

“I grew up loving Colonial Heights,” Kidd said, “and history.”

To learn more about Colonial Heights, visit http://www.colonial-heights.com