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 [...]

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 [...]

John Buchanan Floyd was born on the Smithfield plantation in Montgomery County, Virginia, on June 1, 1806, the son of John Floyd, who was governor of Virginia (1830–1834).  The younger Floyd was governor of Virginia (1849–1852), secretary of war in the administration of United States president James Buchanan (1857–1860), and a Confederate general during the [...]

Virginia women, many of whom “wished they were a man,” assisted the cause of rebellion. Manpower shortages forced them to take over plantations and assume jobs as nurses, government clerks, and factory workers. Women served as spies, knit socks and sewed clothing for soldiers, made soap, and sacrificed for the war effort by limiting entertainment [...]

Defeat left Robert E. Lee penniless and without a home. He became president of struggling Washington College in Lexington and proved to be an able educator. He revamped the curriculum—adding practical subjects such as engineering and journalism to the traditional classical studies—attracted funding, and increased discipline. And in the meantime, he publicly counseled southerners to [...]

One of Robert E. Lee’s greatest victories was at Chancellorsville (1863), but he complained that “our loss was severe, and again we had gained not an inch of ground and the enemy could not be pursued.” He risked his scarce resources in large and costly battles because he hoped to destroy the enemy’s army—or to [...]

In settling the Arlington estate of his father-in-law, George Washington Parke Custis, in 1857, Robert E. Lee confronted the political reality of slavery. He disliked the institution—more from its inefficiency than from its moral repugnance—yet defended it throughout his life. Custis, however, had liberated his slaves in a messy will that stipulated they be released [...]