19th century

The Aquia Train Robbery
LibraryPoint Blog, 1890s, 19th century, Aquia Creek, Crime, History Feature Articles, Quantico, Railroads, Robert Hodge, Stafford County (Va.), Trains, Virginia History, History Blog
03/16/2010 - 10:04am

This account has been compiled from the Free Lance newspaper of Fredericksburg, Virginia, October 16, 1894 through September 27, 1895, by Robert A. Hodge.

The Declaration of Independence
American Revolution, Continental Congress, FYI Articles, History, History Feature Articles, Kids Homework Help, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia History, Virginia history for kids, Virginia Johnson
03/15/2010 - 11:00am

What kinds of people settled the new lands of America? They had their own ideas about laws, religion, and what makes a good government. They were, in a word, independent.
In 1776, England was faraway, and people on this side of the Atlantic were heartily sick and tired of paying taxes on top of taxes to finance England's empty treasury. They were tired, too, of losing money by having the Crown interfere with their trade overseas. The men in the assemblies shouted that King George was a tyrant, so the King's men stopped the assemblies. When they still protested, the King brought in the army, making the colonists put them up in their houses. Any crimes the soldiers committed against the colonists were handled in the King's court by the King's judges.

Hardtack, Artificial Oysters, and Goober Peas: Making Do on the March and in a Civil War Kitchen
Civil War - U.S., Cooking, FYI Articles, History, History Feature Articles, Kids Homework Help, Recipes, Reenactments, Virginia History, Virginia history for kids
03/15/2010 - 10:56am

By Jane Kosa

Food was abundant at the beginning of the war, but it soon became scarce for Southern soldiers as well as for the civilians. Behind the Blue and Gray: The Soldier's Life in the Civil War by Delia Ray provides graphic descriptions of the rations that the soldiers received:

"With the lack of fresh food, the Federals resorted to satisfying their hunger on flour-and-water crackers called 'hardtack.' These biscuits were a half-inch thick and so hard they earned names such as teeth dullers' and 'sheet-iron' crackers.' Even worse, the hardtack was frequently infested with worms and weevils. One soldier counted thirty-two worms in a single cracker."
(p. 31)

Great Lives Series: Booker T. Washington
LibraryPoint Blog, Reading Room Blog, 20th century, African American, Autobiography and Biography, Education, Great Lives series, Reconstruction era, Slavery, Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, History Blog
02/03/2010 - 9:55am

Born a slave in Franklin County, Virginia, Booker T. (Taliaferro) Washington went on to become a nationally-known leader and educator. He shared his educational philosophy with U.S. presidents and served as the first president of Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University.

Great Lives Series: Thomas Jefferson
LibraryPoint Blog, Reading Room Blog, Autobiography and Biography, Great Lives series, History, Politics, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Johnson, History Blog
01/27/2010 - 11:39am

On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, the University of Mary Washington invites the public to a free lecture on Thomas Jefferson.

Civil War Weather in Virginia
Civil War - U.S., New in Virginiana, Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, Weather, History Blog
01/11/2010 - 11:14am

Serious Civil War historians should find Robert Krick's book to be a very useful reference as weather is always a factor in battle. The former park service historian has compiled official information along with anecdotal references taken from soldiers' books, diaries, and letters as well as newspapers. Includes sunrise and sunset data from a period almanac.

Sinners, Saints, and Soldiers in Civil War Stafford
LibraryPoint Blog, Civil War - U.S., New in Virginiana, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Virginia Johnson
01/11/2010 - 10:25am

Stafford County was the southernmost part of the Union occupation of Virginia for much of the Civil War and as such it drew all sorts of characters to its farmlands and creeksides. General Daniel Sickles--described by his contemporaries and historians as a scoundrel, murderer, rapscallion, rogue, and adulterer--took charge of the 2nd Brigade of Hooker's Division, Army of the Potomac. He enjoyed scouting the enemy by hot air balloon and held extravagant parties for his officers while in Stafford.

Shiloh Cemetery Graves
19th century, 20th century, African American, African Americans, Cemeteries, Fredericksburg (Va.), Genealogy, History Feature Articles, Robert Hodge, Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site), Shiloh Baptist Church (Old site), History Blog
01/11/2010 - 10:15am

Robert Hodge reported in 1981 that this is from a report prepared by a students of Germanna Community College in circa 1979. Report is not verified and was unsigned. Indeed, there is a variation in the name Bumbrey - represented as Bumbray here, but there are stones with Bumbrey in the cemetery. The original list was accompanied by the following statements:

"The following list of names is a list of people buried in an all black cemetery in the City of Fredericksburg at the corner of Monument Avenue and Littlepage Street.

Historic Government Island to Become a Park
LibraryPoint Blog, 18th century, 19th century, Aquia Church, Architecture, Buildings, D.C., Quarries, Slavery, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, Washington, History Blog
12/18/2009 - 12:42pm

The new 17-acre park, located in northern Stafford County near Aquia Harbor, will become part of the county's own park system when it opens next year. Government Island is historically significant as the source of Aquia sandstone, used in such structures as the White House, the U.S. Capitol, Aquia Church, Gunston Hall, Kenmore, and Christ Church in Alexandria. In 2002, the House passed a resolution recognizing the historical significance of Aquia sandstone quarries on Government Island.

Marlborough Point: In the Stream of History
LibraryPoint Blog, 18th century, American Revolution, Civil War - U.S., Colonial Virginia, fossils, French and Indian War, Genealogy, History Feature Articles, Marlborough Point, Mercer family, Natural World, Powhatan Indians, Regional, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, History Blog
12/09/2009 - 11:41am

Follow Marlborough Point Road down to the eastern tip of Stafford County, and you will pass by lots of new housing mushrooming into the forests and fields that were once favored by both the Native Americans and colonial settlers.  This section of the county is home to not just centuries of local history but millennia.