Virginia Vignettes

Weather was influential in shaping events during the American Civil War (1861–1865). For instance, concerns about weather helped determine overall strategy as well as tactics on the battlefield. Generals looked to the skies to decide when to begin spring campaigns, cursed at flooded rivers for impeding progress, and pushed their men to endure the extremes [...]

Winfield Scott was a hero of the Mexican War (1846–1848), the last Whig Party candidate for U.S. president, and commanding general of the United States Army at the start of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Known as “Old Fuss and Feathers” for his equal love of discipline and pomp, Scott by 1861 had served in [...]

J. E. B. Stuart, popularly known by his nickname “Jeb,” was the chief of cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Stuart participated in the capture of John Brown at Harpers Ferry in 1859, and earned confederate hero status in 1862 when he led 1,200 troopers in a famous [...]

Richmond, Virginia, was the capital of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–1865). It also served as the capital of Virginia, although when the city was about to fall to Union armies in April 1865, the governor and General Assembly moved their offices to Lynchburg for five days. Besides being the [...]

The Battle of the Crater was the result of an unusual attempt, on the part of Union forces, to break through the Confederate defenses just south of the critical railroad hub of Petersburg, Virginia, during the American Civil War (1861–1865). For several weeks, Pennsylvania miners in Union general Ambrose E. Burnside’s Ninth Corps worked at [...]

After the fall of Richmond in April 1865, the state government briefly relocated to Lynchburg for four days. Lynchburg, which is located just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the banks of the James River, was founded by John Lynch, who established a ferry service there in 1757. On the eve of the American [...]

Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller, whose barrel chest and blunt manner inspired his nickname, was a thirty-seven-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps who rose from enlisted man to the rank of lieutenant general. Puller was born in West Point, Virginia, on June 26, 1898. A second cousin of General George S. Patton and the [...]

The America we know today is forever in debt to a pivotal decision made on December 15, 1791. On this day, the Bill of Rights, drafted by Virginian James Madison, went into effect as a vote of ratification came from Virginia, the 10th and final state to do so to gain the necessary two-thirds approval. [...]

Colonial Williamsburg is the restored and reconstructed historic area of Williamsburg, Virginia, a small city between the York and James rivers that was founded in 1632, designated capital of the English colony in 1698, and bestowed with a royal charter in 1722. It was a center of political activity before and during the American Revolution [...]

Bacon’s Castle is the oldest datable brick residence in Virginia, a rare surviving example of Jacobean architecture in America. Built in 1665 by immigrant Arthur Allen, a supporter of the colonial governor and member of the House of Burgesses, Allen was driven from his house in 1676 when Nathaniel Bacon and men staged an uprising [...]