Virginia Vignettes

George Tucker was a lawyer, philosopher, economist, historian, novelist, politician, and teacher. Born in Bermuda and cousin to the famed jurist St. George Tucker, Tucker served in the House of Delegates (1815-1816) representing Pittsylvania County and won election to three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1819-1825) before, at the invitation of Thomas Jefferson, [...]

Jubal A. Early led and influenced many ex-Confederates who refought the Civil War in addresses, articles, and memoirs. He and others often exaggerated Robert E. Lee’s virtues and, in an attempt to explain away his defeats, focused on the supposed shortcomings of his subordinates-especially James Longstreet, whom they accused of losing the Battle of Gettysburg. [...]

Jubal A. Early was a Confederate general during the Civil War. Although he didn’t support secession, he became a respected battlefield commander and fought well at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in 1863. He was less successful leading the Army of the Valley during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. Known as “Old Jube,” Early was opinionated [...]

The Barter Theater, located in the Blue Ridge highlands of Abingdon, Virginia, was founded by Robert Porterfield in 1933 and designated the State Theater of Virginia in 1946. It is the longest-running professional Equity theater in the nation. (The Actors’ Equity Association is a live-theater labor union.) Opening its doors in the midst of the [...]