A Biography Of Lynchburg

Lynchburg, Virginia, is not and has never been a typical Southern city. It grew and thrived not by commitment to agriculture, but manufacture. All the while, it retained its cultural identity as a Southern city, wedded to Southern “gentlemanliness” with all of its implications. Though a slow and conservative city, Lynchburg has developed a unique identity. It is a city with enormous vitality, great engagement, and large resiliency in large affairs or times of crisis (such as the Civil War, depressions and booms). Its resolve, measured and passionless, is essentially Stoical. More than the sum of its people-parts, it is a city with a soul. Beginning with the early history of Virginia, this book covers seriatim Lynchburg’s infrastructure (such as its canal and railroad systems), religious/educative legacy, economics, key moments, and other defining aspects (including newspapers, politics, medicine, and entertainment).

This presents the architectural development of one of Virginia's major cities, from its founding in 1786 to the present. More than 175 photographs and 150 drawings, prints, and early pictures illustrate the historic significance of this "city of seven hills." Major architectural styles are represented by structures designed by nationally prominent architects of the day, including Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Jason Davis, Ralph Adams Cram, and Vincent Kling. Influenced by their Quaker origins, early Lynchburg builders were conservative. It was not until the 1890s "boom" that more exuberant architecture gave the city a Victorian countenance. Eventually, Lynchburg could boast some of the most impressive residential enclaves in the state, with Tudor, Norman, and Spanish Revival houses. Predictably, the traditional Virginia Georgian proved to be the most popular of the period styles. -- From publisher's description.

The titanic three-day battle of Gettysburg left 50,000 casualties in its wake, a battered Southern army far from its base of supplies, and a rich historiographic legacy. Thousands of books and articles cover nearly every aspect of the battle, but not a single volume focuses on the military aspects of the monumentally important movements of the armies to and across the Potomac River. One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863 is the first detailed military history of Lee's retreat and the Union effort to catch and destroy the wounded Army of Northern Virginia. Against steep odds and encumbered with thousands of casualties, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee's post-battle task was to successfully withdraw his army across the Potomac River. Union commander George G. Meade's equally difficult assignment was to intercept the effort and destroy his enemy. The responsibility for defending the exposed Southern columns belonged to cavalry chieftain James Ewell Brown (Jeb) Stuart. If Stuart fumbled his famous ride north to Gettysburg, his generalship during the retreat more than redeemed his flagging reputation. The ten days of retreat triggered nearly two dozen skirmishes and major engagements, including fighting at Granite Hill, Monterey Pass, Hagerstown, Williamsport, Funkstown, Boonsboro, and Falling Waters. President Abraham Lincoln was thankful for the early July battlefield victory, but disappointed that General Meade was unable to surround and crush the Confederates before they found safety on the far side of the Potomac. Exactly what Meade did to try to intercept the fleeing Confederates, and how the Southerners managed to defend their army and ponderous 17-mile long wagon train of wounded until crossing into western Virginia on the early morning of July 14, is the subject of this study One Continuous Fight draws upon a massive array of documents, letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and published primary and secondary sources. These long-ignored foundational sources allow the authors, each widely known for their expertise in Civil War cavalry operations, to describe carefully each engagement. The result is a rich and comprehensive study loaded with incisive tactical commentary, new perspectives on the strategic role of the Southern and Northern cavalry, and fresh insights on every engagement, large and small, fought during the retreat. The retreat from Gettysburg was so punctuated with fighting that a soldier felt compelled to describe it as "One Continuous Fight." Until now, few students fully realized the accuracy of that description. Complimented with 18 original maps, dozens of photos, and a complete driving tour with GPS coordinates of the entire retreat, One Continuous Fight is an essential book for every student of the American Civil War in general, and for the student of Gettysburg in particular. About the Authors: Eric J. Wittenberg has written widely on Civil War cavalry operations. His books include Glory Enough for All (2002), The Union Cavalry Comes of Age (2003), and The Battle of Monroe's Crossroads and the Civil War's Final Campaign (2005). He lives in Columbus, Ohio. J. David Petruzzi is the author of several magazine articles on Eastern Theater cavalry operations, conducts tours of cavalry sites of the Gettysburg Campaign, and is the author of the popular "Buford's Boys" website at www.bufordsboys.com. Petruzzi lives in Brockway, Pennsylvania. A long time student of the Gettysburg Campaign, Michael Nugent is a retired US Army Armored Cavalry Officer and the descendant of a Civil War Cavalry soldier. He has previously written for several military publications. Nugent lives in Wells, Maine.

This book is a biography of Richard Clarke Sommerville, an educator, amateur actor, and artist, whose life spanned the last quarter of the nineteenth century and six decades of the twentieth century. His dedication to the fine arts was not just a passing interest, but was central to his definition of the right way to live. Education was the key to his positive attitude. He held definite views about what an education should do for the individual. His education within the home environment, his experiences within the educational settings of his day, and his ultimate acceptance of his own lot in life helped him, in part, to formulate these views. Many of his views are as timely today as they were then. His message is to all students from a very special teacher. Contents: 'The Jewel on the South Branch'; The Hampden-Sydney Years; The Restless Young Man; A Return to the Classroom; A Return to Virginia; 'As a Man Thinketh...'; The Professional and the Employee; 'Friend of the Student'; The Man and His Art; The Emeritus Years.

This work contains brief biographical and genealogical sketches on a hundred or more Lynchburg families known to the author. It primarily concerns people who were born in the period from about 1750 through the early 1800s.

"Until recently, it has been difficult for anyone with an interest in the Army of Northern Virginia's horse artillery, which served under legendary cavalry commander J. E. B. Stuart, to envision what the men of the battalion endured. With the publication in 2002 of Robert Trout's seminal book, Galloping Thunder: The Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion, the endeavors of the unit were rescued from obscurity." "In Memoirs of the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion, Trout provides readers with complete versions of three important primary documents written by soldiers of the battalion. Lt. Lewis T. Nunnelee's history of Moorman's Battery is based on a seven-volume diary that Nunnelee kept during the war and features near daily entries of the battery's actions." "The "History of Hart's Battery," as told by Maj. James F. Hart, Dr. Levi C. Stephens, Louis Sherfesee, and Charles H. Schwing, is, as Trout puts it, "a cannon of a different caliber." It recounts in broader terms the battery's history from its inception before the war to its surrender as the last horse artillery in the field. The authors offer rare glimpses into the development of tactics learned from the "school of the battlefield."" "Finally, Louis Sherfesee's "Reminiscences of A Color-Bearer" fleshes out many of the stories in the history that he co-wrote with Hart and his fellow soldiers. Filled with short vignettes, it offers a behind-the-scenes look at the battery in action." "Together, these rich documents provide welcome insights into the day-to-day experiences of the often overlooked Confederate horse artillery, which played an important role in cementing Stuart's reputation as one of the most outstanding cavalry commanders in the Civil War." --Book Jacket.