Between 1849 and 1859, Virginia raced to pierce the Blue Ridge Mountains by rail and reach the Ohio River. At least 300 enslaved people labored involuntarily toward that goal, along with 1,500 Irish immigrants. The state leased the labor of enslaved Virginians from local slaveholders, including four connected with nearby University of Virginia. Blue Ridge Tunnel and Blue Ridge Railroad historian Mary E. Lyons explored hundreds of primary documents...

From the whippoorwill's call on the first day of spring through the first snowfall, Edna and members of her family gather fruits, berries, and vegetables from the fields, garden, and orchard on their Virginia farm and turn them into wonderful meals. Includes facts about the life of Edna Lewis, a descendant of slaves who grew up to be a famous chef, and five recipes.

Arthur Jordan and Elvira Corder were young and unafraid, but their love was doomed. He was black, she was white, and this was Virginia in 1880. When Elvira became pregnant, the couple fled Fauquier County to live in Maryland. But her father found them and recruited neighbors to help kidnap them. Four nights later, a mob dragged Arthur from the county jail in Warrenton and lynched him. Elvira, taken to a hotel in Williamsport, Maryland, was never heard...

"That churches are one of the most important cornerstones of black political organization is a commonplace. In this history of African American Protestantism and American politics at the end of the Civil War, Nicole Myers Turner challenges the idea of always-already-politically engaged black churches. Using local archives, church and convention minutes, and innovative Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping, Turner reveals how freedpeople in...

Discover the real story behind the most famous family conflict in American history - the bloody backwoods battle between Appalachian clans, the Hatfields and McCoys. This new film goes beyond the myth to show how the feud was ignited.

"The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson's Idea of a University is an accounting of Jefferson creating the University of Virginia. Using a biographical approach, this book shows that his vision did much to anticipate the modern university and that it was influential in the development of American higher education. Furthermore, the university distinguishes Jefferson as an advocate of a public education system"--

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought December 11-15, 1862, is often remembered for the seemingly futile attacks by the Army of the Potomac against dug-in Confederates on Marye's Heights. Less well understood is the fighting south of the heights on what has become known as Slaughter Pen Farm. In this work, the images of thirty Union soldiers are published for the first time. They give a face and history to those men who struggled across that bloody...