St. John’s Episcopal Church, built in 1741, the oldest in the city, will forever be famous as the place where Patrick Henry uttered his ringing challenge for “Liberty or Death” to the American colonists. The second Virginia convention met in St. John’s, because it was the largest hall in Richmond, in March, 1775, and even at that, the original was not half the size of the enlarged present-day structure. It is worth your while to get out here and let the sexton show you the church and tell you briefly of its story. On the left, as you face the church, you will see the grave of Elizabeth Arnold Poe, the tiny actress-mother of America’s great imaginative writer. Young Edgar Poe is said to have been found more than once lying sobbing on his mother’s grave. ¶ _Proceed east on Broad to Twenty-eighth; right on Twenty-eighth two blocks to Franklin._ Soldiers and Sailors Monument Here, at Libby Hill Park, is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, erected in 1894 as a memorial to the soldiers and sailors of the Confederacy. The figure on the top is by William L. Sheppard. ¶ _Return to Broad Street; turn left on Broad, halting between Thirteenth and Twelfth._ Monumental Church This unusual-looking Episcopal church structure was built in 1812 as a memorial to more than seventy persons, including the Governor of Virginia, who lost their lives in a fire which destroyed a theatre on this site on December 26, 1811. In this theatre Edgar Allan Poe’s mother had acted a few short months before, and in this same theatre the Virginia Convention of 1788 had ratified the Federal Constitution. ¶ _Proceed west on Broad (Passing Medical College of Virginia Hospital Building) to Twelfth, turn right on Twelfth to Marshall, turn right on Marshall to center of block._ [Illustration: _The Egyptian Building · Medical College of Virginia_] Medical College of Virginia You are now in the center of the buildings of the Medical College of Virginia which cover several city blocks. Particularly notable is the concrete building on your right at the end of the block which is stated to be “the most perfect example of Egyptian architecture in America.” Erected in 1845, it is the earliest in the Medical College group. This is one of the oldest medical schools in the South and the only one to remain open during the War Between the States. The buildings now composing the Medical College group afford not only an imposing sight but with their facilities contribute greatly to the importance of Richmond as one of the leading medical centers of the country. ¶ _Circle block to right, returning to Twelfth. Proceed north on Twelfth two blocks to Clay, turn right on Clay._ Confederate Museum [Illustration: _Confederate Museum (White House of the Confederacy)_]