The History Press

Author Nelson Harris delves into the annals of history to uncover these marvelous and mostly unknown stories of the Star City of the South.

How did a Roanoke neighbor's secret upend North Carolina politics and why did a weeding scandal in Big Lick make front-page headlines in New York? These questions and many more are answered in this exciting volume of hidden stories and forgotten tales from the Star City. Discover why a Roanoker was found frozen in the North Atlantic and what Mother's Day crime and trial shocked the city in 1949. Meet the Black Cardinals, a semi-pro African American baseball team that played in the 1930s and '40s, and find out how a fistfight at Shenandoah Life helped save the company.

The lesser-known tales of the personalities who shaped the capital's past are unearthed from the archives by Richmond Guide writer Walter S. Griggs Jr.

The course of Richmond's history as it emerged from the Civil War as a bustling economic powerhouse is well recorded. Yet there are some stories that have all but vanished from recollection. From the hushed whispers of an entire congregation as Robert E. Lee prayed with a slave at communion to the donation of over two hundred pigeons by fellow Richmonders to serve the war effort, these are lost vignettes of Richmond. Travel with Griggs to the bygone days of the twentieth century to test-drive the first successful automobile manufactured in Richmond, the Kline Kar, or witness the first airplane to fly over Richmond, the Gold Bug soaring over the Diamond. Hidden History of Richmond is a fascinating collection that reveals the city's forgotten but most remarkable histories.

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.

Author Brian Burns traces the history of the River City as it marched toward a new century.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Richmond entered the Gilded Age seeking bright prospects while struggling with its own past. It was an era marked by great technological change and ideological strife. During a labor convention in conservative Richmond, white supremacists prepared to enforce segregation at gunpoint. Progressives attempted to gain political power by unveiling a wondrous new marvel: Richmond's first electric streetcar. And handsome lawyer Thomas J. Cluverius was accused of murdering a pregnant woman and dumping her body in the city reservoir, sparking Richmond's trial of the century.

Roanoke, VIrginia is a town with a hidden haunted history and many unique and chilling tales are revealed here.

Roanoke, in the heart of southwestern Virginia, is one of the most haunted cities in the commonwealth. The Star City is brimming with eerie and unexplainable stories, such as the legendary ""Woman in Black,"" who appeared several times in 1902 but only to married men on their way home at night. There are also macabre stories in many of Roanoke's famous landmarks, such as the majestic Grandin Theatre, where a homeless family is said to have lived and the cries of their deceased children can still be heard. Travel beyond the realm of reality with author L.B. Taylor Jr. as he traces the history of Roanoke's most unique and chilling tales.

Replete with the bizarre behavior of elevators, the numerous deaths of inhabitants and paranormal sightings by a writer in residence.

""Mayflower Apartments,"" represents just one of the extraordinary tales that Al Chewning documents in his latest book. By delving into the creepy, unexplored avenues of Virginia Beach's past, Chewning entrances the reader with the spectral details of Blackbeard's buried treasure, a deadly stretch of road inexplicably responsible for eighty-nine fatalities in the past thirty years and the untimely death of a military wife, devilishly titled ""Don't Make Mom Mad""--just to name a few.

In a collection of forty stories gleaned from newspapers and personal interviews, Chewning sheds an eerie light on the prosperous tourist hot spot that is welcoming by day, otherworldly by night. A long-time resident of the Virginia Beach area and the owner of Ghost Tours of Virginia Beach, the author tells not only of reported sightings but also of his own spectral encounters.

From a ""wailing woman"" in the old Coast Guard Station to supernatural activity provoked by the association of two friends, Chewning offers up spine-tingling apparitional tales that will shock and delight visitors and locals alike.

Join author and Waynesboro native Richard G. Williams Jr. as he expertly traces the harrowing narrative of a prelude to the surrender at Appomattox.

In 1865, Waynesboro played host to the last gasp of the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley. Although the Battle of Waynesboro isn't among the most recognizable clashes, such as Gettysburg or Antietam, it still holds a special place in American history. The Union forces, led by General Philip Sheridan, included a young brigadier general named George Armstrong Custer. The battle was also the last major conflict for famed Confederate general Jubal Early, whose defeat during the fight spelled the end of his Civil War service.

Nestled between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia's Shenandoah Valley enjoyed tremendous prosperity before the Civil War.

This valuable stretch of land--called the Breadbasket of the Confederacy due to its rich soil and ample harvests--became the source of many conflicts between the Confederate and Union armies. Of the thirteen major battles fought here, none was more influential than the Battle of Cedar Creek. On October 19, 1864, General Philip Sheridan's Union troops finally gained control of the valley, which eliminated the Shenandoah as a supply source for Confederate forces in Virginia, ended the valley's role as a diversionary theater of war and stopped its use as an avenue of invasion into the North.

Civil War historian, preservationist, and author Jonathan A. Noyalas explains the battle and how it aided Abraham Lincoln's reelection campaign and defined Sheridan's enduring legacy.

A fascinating documentation of the Battle of Fisher's Hill, explaining this pivotal Civil War battle and its implications for nearby civilians.

The Battle of Fisher's Hill created a greater opportunity to destroy harvests from the Breadbasket of the Confederacy than any other Union victory in the hotly contested Shenandoah Valley. Union major general Philip Sheridan's men forced Confederate lieutenant general Jubal A. Early's smaller force to retreat, leading to the burning of barns and mills across the region. In this first-ever book focused on this engagement, Civil War historian Jonathan A. Noyalas explains the battle, its effect on area civilians and its meaning to both sides, as well as the battlefield's important role in postwar reunion and reconciliation.

Following this historic battle, the United States Colored Troops (USCT) had proven their valor and taken their rightful place amongst heroes in America's history.

In the predawn darkness of September 29, 1864, black Union soldiers attacked a heavily fortified position on the outskirts of the Confederate capital of Richmond.

In a few hours of desperate fighting, these African-American soldiers struck a blow against Robert E. Lee's vaunted Army of Northern Virginiaand proved to detractors that they could fight for freedom and citizenship for themselves and their enslaved brethren. For fourteen of the black soldiers who stormed New Market Heightsthat day, their bravery would be awarded with the nation's highest honor: The Congressional Medal of Honor.

With vivid firsthand accounts and meticulous tactical detail, James S. Price brings the Battle of New Market Heightsinto brilliant focus with maps by master cartographer Steven Stanley.

Fort Harrison and the Battle of Chaffin's Farm features gripping firsthand accounts of the terrors of war.

Early in the morning of September 29, 1864, two Union corps under the command of General Benjamin Butler crossed the James with the goal of overwhelming Robert E. Lee's army and capturing Richmond. The Confederate defenders were vastly outnumbered; many were inexperienced and initially without trusted leadership. Fort Harrison and the other works at Chaffin's Farm held the key to the Confederate defenses. The drama that ensued was a battle between the Confederates' resiliency and the Union's ability to capitalize on one of its greatest opportunities. Join historian Doug Crenshaw as he chronicles the events of an often-forgotten episode of Civil War history. Through gripping firsthand accounts, Crenshaw follows the action through the eyes of the men who fought at Fort Harrison and the Battle of Chaffin's Farm. Experience the terror and heroism displayed on both sides of the battle line in this harrowing tale of war.

Just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, Frederick, Maryland, was poised at the crossroads of the Civil War.

Here, Confederate troops passed west to the Battles of Antietam and South Monocacy, while Union troops marched north to Gettysburg and south to raid the resources of the Shenandoah Valley. Both heroes and villains were made in the spired city, such as Dame Barbara Fritchie, who is said to defied General Jackson; General Jubal Early, who threatened to put the town to the torch; and the local doctors and nurses who cared for thousands of wounded soldiers. Join local historian John Schildt as he recounts the fascinating history of Frederick in the Civil War.

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.

A fascinating history of Virginia wines, documenting the wine industry's very foundation in this state.

Go beyond the bottle and step inside the minds, and vines, of Virginia's burgeoning wine industry in this groundbreaking volume. Join grape grower and industry insider Walker Elliott Rowe as he guides you through some of the top vineyards and wineries in the Old Dominion. Rowe explores the minds of pioneering winemakers and vineyard owners, stitches together an account of the wine industry's foundation in Virginia, from Jamestown to Jefferson to Barboursville, and uncovers the fascinating missing chapter in Virginia wine history. As the Philip Carter Winery motto explains, ""Before there was Jefferson, there was Carter. "" Rowe goes behind the scenes to interview migrant workers who toil daily in the vineyards, makes the rounds in Richmond with an industry lobbyist and talks shop with winemakers on the science and techniques that have helped put the Virginia wine industry on the map. Also included are twenty-four stunning color photographs from professional photographer Jonathan Timmes and a foreword by noted wine journalist Richard Leahy.

Join author and historian Amy Waters Yarsinske as she takes one final stroll through a Virginia Beach lost to time.

The Oceanfront's Cottage Line, the music halls of Seaside Park and dunes so large they dwarfed the old Cape Henry lighthouse are a memory. Gone, too, are many of the city's iconic landmarks and open spaces, lost to storm, fire and the relentless onslaught of post-World War II development. With a deft hand and rare vintage images, historian Amy Waters Yarsinske recalls a time when the likes of Chuck Berry and Ray Charles played beneath the sizzling lights of the Dome and locals shagged the night away at the Peppermint Beach Club.

Through a fascinating narrative and stunning vintage photographs, readers will discover the struggles and triumphs of the African Americans of Hampton Roads.

It was in Hampton Roads, Virginia, that hundreds gained their freedom. The teeming wharves were once a major station on the Underground Railroad, and during the Civil War, escaped slaves such as Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker and James Townsend fled to Fort Monroe to become contrabands under the protection of General Benjamin Butler. Upon arrival in the region, many took up arms for the Union, and the valiant deeds of some placed them among the first African American Medal of Honor recipients. Join Professor Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander as she charts the history of this remarkable African American community from the Civil War to Reconstruction.

Explore the facts and mysteries surrounding the history and collapse of Richmond, Virginia's Church Hill Tunnel. A must for fans of railroad and Richmond history.

Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, was in shambles after the Civil War. The bulk of Reconstructionbecame dependent on the railways, and one of the most important links in the system was the Church Hill Tunnel.

The tunnel was eventually rendered obsolete by an alternative path over a viaduct, and it was closed for regular operation in 1902. However, the city still used it infrequently to transport supplies, and it was maintained with regular safety inspections. The city decided to reopen the tunnel in 1925 due to overcrowding on the viaduct, but the tunnel needed to be strengthened and enlarged. On October 2, 1925, 190 ft. of the tunnel unexpectedly caved in, trapping construction workers and an entire locomotive inside.

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the tunnel and the mystery surrounding its collapse. There were cave-ins and sink holes above the surface for decades after the tunnel was sealed up, and in 1998, a reporter from the Richmond Times-Dispatchdid an investigation, trying to determine the current condition of the tunnel. In 2006, the Virginia Historical Societyannounced its efforts to try and excavate the locomotive and remaining bodies.

Nestled in the beautiful rolling hills of Virginia's Piedmont, Orange County has a storied cultural heritage. Local writer Patricia LaLand presents a collection of tales that recounts the fascinating history of this beloved county. Relive the days when the Virginia Central Railway ran through Gordonsville and brought travelers to the Exchange Hotel, a time when hard work in Orange's silk mill supported entire communities and when a humble one-room schoolhouse in Rapidan educated local children. From James Madison's Montpelier home to the remains of statesman John Barbour's residence and all points in between, this one-of-a-kind collection covers the historic reaches of Orange County and paints a vivid portrait of the county's past.

The most famous Civil War name in Northern Virginia, other than General Lee, belongs to Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the Gray Ghost.

The most famous Civil War name in Northern Virginia, other than General Lee, belongs to Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the Gray Ghost. His early life characterized by abuse of childhood bullies, a less-than-outstanding academic career, and even a brief incarceration, Mosby stands out among nearly one thousand generals who served in the war. Even though Mosby was opposed to secession, he joined the Confederate army as a private in Virginia, he quickly rose through the ranks and became celebrated for his raids that captured Union general Edwin Stoughton in Fairfax and Colonel Daniel French Dulany in Rose Hill. By 1864, he was a feared partisan guerrilla in the North and a nightmare for Union troops protecting Washington City. After the war, his support for presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant forced Mosby to leave his native Virginia for Hong Kong as U.S. consul. A mentor to young George S. Patton, Mosby's military legacy extended far beyond the War Between the States and into World War II. William S. Connery brings alive the many dimensions of this American hero.

The history of the house and its grounds offers a glimpse into the private dilemmas and public struggles that mark the development of democracy and reflect the creation of the United States as a nation. Newly renovated and restored to the era President Madison lived and entertained there, the home stands as a testament to its great proprietor's interests and tastes, and as a witness to American history.