In 1781 British forces led by the traitor Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Virginia's new capital city. In 1864 Federal forces began a siege of Richmond which ended with the surrender of the city. In 1971 Virginia's General Assembly voted to perpetuate the Lost Cause by instituting an economic siege of the city that has lasted until this day. Metropolitan Richmond has flourished, and the Lost Cause has died. Is it not time to end the final siege of Richmond? Three parts: 1. Aspiration and destruction: the siege begins. 2. Tightening the siege: A ring around the city. 3. Lifting the siege: The Jewel at the Center.