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Look into the eyes of these soldiers and see the faces of those who dared to stare into the face of Death.

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 landscape, as well as to those that charged up the slope of Marye's Heights into Confederate fire.

Authors Matthew Borders and Joseph Stahl introduce you to these men, their stories and their sacrifice on the bullet swept battlefield of Fredericksburg.

Go behind the scenes with never before reported stories of intrigue from some of the most colorful characters in Virginia politics over the last half century.

Read about the changes that political figures have brought to the Old Dominion, from Henry Howell's legendary gubernatorial run in the 1970s through 2020's successful battle for Richmond Public Schools against the Dominion Coliseum. Along the way, see how visionaries challenged Virginia to overcome her legacy of segregation and how that history still affects our destiny today.

Hailed by the New York Times as part of "a major revolution in racial politics in America'? for running the groundbreaking campaigns of Governor Doug Wilder, author Paul Goldman has spent decades on the leading edge of Virginia politics.

When romance was met with murder… 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 from again. Stories of lynching are all too common in the postbellum South, but this one tells a unique tale of a couple who were willing to sacrifice everything to be together—and did./Author Jim Hall tells a classic tale of forbidden love, one of hope crushed by hate.

Told through the eyes of three Irish immigrant families who helped build it, discover the groundbreaking story of the  construction of the Blue Ridge Tunnel.

In one of the greatest engineering feats of his time, Claudius Crozet led the completion of Virginia's Blue Ridge Tunnel in 1858. Two centuries later, the National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark still proudly stands, but the stories and lives of those who built it are the true lasting triumph. Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Hunger poured into America resolute for something to call their own. They would persevere through life in overcrowded shanties and years of blasting through rock to see the tunnel to completion. Prolific author Mary E. Lyons follows three Irish families in their struggle to build Crozet's famed tunnel and their American dream.

Visit "The Hot," "The Warm," "The Healing," Bath Alum and Millboro Springs as they once were. See the gentry who paid small fortunes to "take the waters," and the generations who served them with grace. Our breathtaking views may seem to have changed little through the years; these photos show just how different the view over Warm Springs Gap was a century ago, just how Hot Springs appeared when Main Street was barely more than a flower-filled field. Bath's proud, independent, industrious population is shown at work and play, at school and church, at home on the porch. Fabled, long-gone faces once again come into focus, while those still enjoying life here today are captured in childhood, or the glow of youth.

Raise a glass to Virginia, birthplace of American spirits, and its long history of distilling and imbibing.

Colonist George Thorpe first crafted “corn beere,” an ancestor to bourbon, in 1620 at Berkeley Plantation, and George Washington once operated one of the nation’s largest distilleries. Icy mint juleps were first served in Virginia until the state was one of the first to enact Prohibition. That dark period gave rise to bootlegging, moonshining, and even NASCAR.

Through well documented research, interviews with key stakeholders, and plenty of cocktail recipes for the reader to shake and stir at home, author Patrick Evans-Hylton showcases the rich history of 400 years of drinking in the Commonwealth.

Compiled for the first time in this volume, this selection of articles by Harry Kollatz Jr. sheds light Richmond's lesser-known history.

Richmond, Virginia's beautiful capital on the James River, has seen more than its fair share of history. Although it is probably best known as the site of one of the first English settlements in America and its role as the Confederate capitol in the Civil War, the city's past has much more to offer. Since 1992, Harry Kollatz Jr. has been recording the lesser-known heritage of Virginia's Holy City in his "Richmond Flashbacks" column in Richmond magazine. From the inauguration of the world's first practical electric trolley system an early Civil Rights activists, to a psychic horse and a wild ride on a sturgeon, he has covered it all.

Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle County have the peaceful charm of another era. Author Jean Cooper reveals fascinating details of Charlottesville's history at every turn.

Nestled at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this area's celebrated allure comes from a storied past filled with intriguing people and events. Author and local resident Jean Cooper brings Charlottesville's past to life while providing a useful guide to the city's most historic streets, buildings and neighborhoods. This guide invites all to explore different time periods of Charlottesville's history including the colonial era, the War for Independence, the Civil War and early twentieth century.

Take a trip down memory lane to beloved destinations for fun and families across Virginia’s tidewater.

Cruise the rails of Ocean View Amusement Park’s “The Rocket” roller coaster, dig for fossils at Hampton’s Rice’s Fossil Pit, celebrate the winter season at Portsmouth’s Coleman’s Nursery and learn the significant role that Buckroe Beach’s Bay Shore Beach Park played in American history. From the Great White Fleet to a Wild West park, journey through this vibrant history with author and historian Nancy E. Sheppard and discover whether such cherished places can ever truly be lost.

Discover crimes that made headlines across northern Virginia in the 1950s and 60s. As the suburbs of Washington, D.C. expanded in the mid-twentieth century, growth inevitably led to increasing crime, and grisly murders began to shock local communities. Learn the story of the killer and his victim who are buried only a few yards apart. The truth behind the tale of the murderous toddler and the sad story of the death of an agent at National Airport belie the picture perfect image of those decades. Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and Prince William witnessed atrocities that grabbed headlines in their day but have since faded from collective memory. Local author Zachary Ford uses detailed research drawn from contemporary accounts to bring these stories to life.

From farmers to pastors, teachers to sailors, and everything in between, the Black history of Hanover County reflects the dedication and values of the community.

Freedwoman Betsy Hogg Tinsley, in time, became one of the largest landowners in Ashland. Founded in 1870, Brown Grove Baptist Church has been the center of its neighborhood for more than 150 years.

During the time of segregation, Lucian Hunter of Mechanicsville worked to make sure that Black students could get to school. The Barksdale Theatre in the Hanover Tavern produced Virginia’s first professional play based on the African American experience. Tracing their history back to 1796, the Brooks family boasts military service across five generations.

Author and local social studies teacher Joe Gorman celebrates the rich history and proud heritage of Hanover County African Americans.

History You Didn’t Learn in School

Discover powerful stories left out of most history books. Author Jeffrey Bennett reveals the hidden legacy of Black Virginians. From 1865 to 1877, over 80 Black politicians served across the state. Learn about a brave Black woman who spied on Confederate President Jefferson Davis while disguised as an enslaved worker.

See the history of more than seventy Black communities lost in Virginia. Read the story of a 135-year-old church and the meaning behind land passed down through generations. These stories show the strength and impact of Black families before and after slavery. Perfect for history lovers and older readers, this collection brings forgotten voices back to life.

Located in the heart of Southside, Virginia, Red Hill is the historic home and burial site of Patrick Henry, the Founding Father famous for his “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech. Named for its distinctive crimson soil overlooking the Staunton River Valley, Red Hill became Henry’s final home in 1794, and it is where he died in 1799. After spending nearly half his life in the political arena defending the rights of the people, Henry’s later years enshrined his legacy as a Cincinnatus of his time. Generations of his descendants as well as descendants of those he enslaved lived on the estate until 1944, when Lucy Gray Henry Harrison, the last of the Henry family to reside there, passed away. That year, the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation was established to purchase and preserve Red Hill as a public museum. The foundation’s mission of education and historic preservation continues today.

Take a holiday to beautiful Virginia Beach and discover the area's rich history, dating back to the 17th century.

Virginia Beach offers a variety of attractions, but few who visit know that there is an area with a history that dates back to the 17th century. Many early structures remain intact and appreciated, while others fell into ruin and exist only in photographs and memories. Then & Now: Virginia Beach is a road trip through the past and present.

With more than four hundred years of history, Virginians lay claim to the invention of southern barbecue.

Native Virginian Powhatan tribes slow roasted meat on wooden hurdles or grills. James Madison hosted grand barbecue parties during the colonial and federal eras. The unique combination of vinegar, salt, pepper, oils and various spices forms the mouthwatering barbecue sauce that was first used by colonists in Virginia and then spread throughout the country. Today, authentic Virginia barbecue is regionally diverse and remains culturally vital. Drawing on hundreds of historical and contemporary sources, author, competition barbecue judge and award-winning barbecue cook Joe Haynes documents the delectable history of barbecue in the Old Dominion.

Historian Carole Herrick uncovers the history of this former farming village to thriving community in over 200 vintage images.

McLean was a farming community in 1910, when Henry Alonzo Storm established a general store that included the McLean Post Office. The store was located on Chain Bridge Road beside a stop on the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad, an electrified trolley that ran from Rosslyn to Great Falls Park.  The stop was named after John R. McLean, a founder of the trolley and owner of the Washington Post newspaper. A village and vibrant community gradually developed around Storm's Store..The Franklin Sherman School, the first consolidated public school in Fairfax County, opened near the store in October 1914; McLean Day, the first event of its kind in the county, started in 1915 to raise money for the school; and the McLean Volunteer Fire Department incorporated in 1923 as Station 1 in Fairfax County.

A Century of Faith

The first Mass was offered for what would eventually be known as St. Rita Church in the humblest of places, a cobbler’s shop on East Custis Avenue in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria. The ladies of the yet-to-be-established parish provided its name—St. Rita of Cascia is the patron of impossible causes. The first small church was built on Hickory Street in Mt. Ida and a parish was founded on September 21, 1924. Through depression, war and post-war growth, political and social change and into a new millennium St. Rita Church has grown under its namesake’s patronage. A beautiful new church was built in 1949 and a school was founded in 1952. The St Rita Centennial Committee tells the stories of a century of community.

Once serving as the capital of the United States for three days, the town of Leesburg, Virginia stands at the crossroads of American history.

As a rural hinterland of the Washington, D.C. area and situated on the northern fringe of the old Confederacy, Leesburg has seen troops and generals, travelers and settlers, and politicians and presidents walk its streets, and opposing political views tear its population apart. Unity and patriotism returned and characterized the town during the world wars. With the arrival of nearby Dulles International Airport in the 1960s, Leesburg and its surrounding towns experienced a different kind of movement-tremendous population growth.

Today, Leesburg is a vital and fast-paced part of Northern Virginia's economy. Yet, despite its modern edge, the town has maintained its old rural character and has striven to preserve its colorful 245-year-old history.

The history of a town is almost like a personal diary, each day filled with the events and people who made their mark.

This collection could be thought of as Hampton’s diary, as authors Wythe Holt and Edward B. Hicks offer up a day by day history of the stories that shaped this jewel of the Commonwealth. The city’s story begins at the origins of Old Point comfort as early as 1608 on the coast of Virginia and about 25 miles from the first permanent English settlement in the New World, Jamestown, but that’s only the beginning of the story. The Emancipation Proclamation was first read to the public on the grounds of what is now Hampton University under what would soon be called the Emancipation Oak. NASA’s Langley Research Center helped send astronauts to space and tested the Apollo Lunar Lander. Fort Monroe encompasses nearly two centuries of service to the country, as historic and symbolic site during the Civil War as a Union stronghold in the midst of the Confederacy and as the largest stone fort in North America. Join Holt and Hicks and enjoy the rich historical legacy of Hampton every day of the year.

Whether assisting escapes through the Underground Railroad, forming banks, publishing a newspaper, or providing recreational facilities, Portsmouth's African Americans created one of the most stable middle-class black communities in America.

African Americans in Portsmouth built a strong, insulated community because they were cognizant of the need to look inward. Early 20th-century leaders such as Dr. William Reid, Nancy T. Wheeler, and the Reverend Harvey N. Johnson Sr. were civic models and guiding forces for a community emerging from the ravages of slavery, and enduring the hardships of segregation.

Black America: Portsmouth, Virginia captures the world of an ever-changing community and a people who persevered, no matter the odds.

In rare photographs, the book reveals the history of the people and places of Lurary and Page County.

Formed out of necessity in 1831, Page County had a great need to operate within its own boundaries of the Massanutten and Blue Ridge Mountains. A very unique situation arose when this rural area was coupled with the discovery in 1878 of something as spectacular as the Luray Caverns. Along with this new fame followed a large influx of tourists, industry, and varied commerce into the entire county from the lifeline created by the formation of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in 1881. During the reconstruction years after the Civil War, and with the formation of ""land and improvement"" companies throughout the United States, Page County, along with the rest of the country, was booming. In fact, this unbridled growth was happening much too fast for this newly reformed country. This in turn brought about a severe recession in the 1890s that affected everyone, including the people of Page, no matter how secure they may have seemed with their new attraction.

Historian Pattie Gordon Pavlansky Cooke offers the reader a chance to rediscover roots that have been blurred by the mists of time.

Filled with local stories and anecdotes and containing an impressive range of photographs--from snapshots of veterans of the War Between the States to high school class pictures from the 1950s; from early images of the resort area to photographs documenting recent changes to Louisa--this new book will earn a lasting place on area bookshelves and will be handed down from generation to generation for years to come. Louisa and Louisa County will be enjoyed by older folk as a trip down memory lane, and appreciated by younger generations as a glimpse of an era when life was harder, but perhaps simpler. Also a valuable source of information for newcomers to the area, this powerful work serves to remind us of the importance of understanding our past and preserving our heritage in our march toward the twenty-first century.

Photographs and text present the evolution of Fort Myer in its first 100 years, including its buildings, people, and events.

Overlooking Washington, DC, Fort Myer holds a commanding view of America's capital. As the war ended and reconciliation began, only this fort remained and was later renamed to honor the US Army's first signal officer, Brig. Built in 1863 from the Custis-Lee estate, one of 70 defensive Civil War fortifications of the capital, this historic US Army post was known as Fort Whipple. Gen. Albert J. Myer. These acres of Arlington Heights are distinguished by unique events, including the beginnings of military aviation, the Army Cavalry showcase, ""The Three Sisters,"" and the National Weather Bureau. During World War I, Army officers trained here to fight ""Over there,"" and today two units call Fort Myer home: the Army Band (""Pershing's Own,"" since 1942) and the 3rd Infantry (""The Old Guard,"" since 1948). Photographs and text present the evolution of this national landmark in its first 100 years, including its buildings, people, and events.

Honeybees have been a part of Virginia's history since they arrived with the first European colonists.

They were Jamestown's valuable addition, a Civil War soldier's sweet if painful temptation, and served as home front heroes when the world wars caused sugar shortages. In recent years mead has seen a resurgence along with beekeeping, and has claimed a place as a craft beverage in the Old Dominion.

Join author Virginia Johnson to hunt escaped swarms flying wild in the forests, visit modern-day observation hives and follow the mead path across the Commonwealth for a taste of history.

Ghent, perhaps more than any other Norfolk suburb, has a story to tell that transcends its historic port city lineage, reaching national importance in its planning and execution.

The Ghent District is a historic and treasured neighborhood within Norfolk, and though the story of its origins have been muddied over the years, its legacy is clear, as the Ghent Historic District has been on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1980. Despite changing times and tastes, Ghent's period architecture, tree-lined streets, and attractive waterfront location combine to ensure that Ghent will remain a beloved, integral area of Norfolk for generations.

A Hidden History of Unequal Access

During the Jim Crow era, many public libraries were segregated. The public library plays a fundamental role in communities by providing free educational resources, boosting literacy and knowledge, and serving as a place of refuge. Despite this, many were inaccessible to Black residents and continued to resist integration even after the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education. Discover the truth about the barriers imposed on the Black community and learn about the citizens-turned-activists who used protests and lawsuits to achieve more equitable library services. Their legacy resonates today as libraries continue to evolve and embrace more inclusive practices.

Join Fairfax County librarians Chris Barbuschak and Suzanne LaPierre as they investigate the overlooked and little-known history of segregated library services in Northern Virginia.

Author and researcher Char McCargo Bah recounts the stories of the men and women buried in Alexandria's freedman's cemetery and the search for their descendants.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Federal troops secured Alexandria as Union territory. Former slaves, called contrabands, poured in to obtain protection from their former masters. Due to overcrowding, mortality rates were high. Authorities seized an undeveloped parcel of land on South Washington Street, and by March 1864, it had been opened as a cemetery for African Americans. Between 1864 and 1868, more than 1,700 contrabands and freedmen were buried there. For nearly eighty years, the cemetery lay undisturbed and was eventually forgotten. Rediscovered in 1996, it has now been preserved as a monument to the courage and sacrifice of those buried within.

Go inside the long-forgotten 19th century period when Alexandria left Virginia and incorporated itself into the fledging Distric of Columbia.

This groundbreaking history uncovers the time in the 19th century when Alexandria left the commonwealth of Virginia and became incorporated into the emerging District of Columbia. It was an experiment that failed after half a century of neglect and a growing animosity between North and South. However, it was a fascinating time when cannon were dragged onto city streets for political rallies, candidates plied their voters with liquor and devastating fires ravaged the city.

With a forward by Elizabeth Thalhimer Smartt, learn about William Thalhimer's elaborate plan to save Jewish Germans from Hitler and the Third Reich.

During Hitler's rise to power in the 1930's, Richmond department store founder, William Thalhimer and his family traveled to Germany to visit relatives and business contacts. Thalhimer was deeply disturbed and increasingly alarmed as the anti-Semitism that he and his family witnessed escalated into the violence Brown Shirts and Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. Thalhimer became determined to aid Jews fleeing from Germany, and he eventually met a representative of Gross Breesen, a German-Jewish agricultural training institute. The mission of Gross Breesen, and eventually Thalhimer, was to train young Jews in agriculture in hopes that the expertise gained would ensure the students' successful emigration from Germany. Thalhimer purchased a farm, Hyde Farmlands, in Burkeville, Virginia to give the students a home in Virginia.