Fall 2014

Sketches from the Fort Delaware Prison

Lynchburg native Peter Johnston Otey was a soldier, banker, and railroad president who embarked on a late-life career in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1894 to 1902. Now, in a series of never-before-seen sketches, the Ward family reveals that their prominent ancestor was also a promising cartoonist.

The Battle of Lynchburg: A Sesquicentennial Look Back

by Darrell Laurant.
“Half a century from now,” says Laurant, “when the nation pauses to commemorate and contemplate the 200th anniversary of its civil war, there is a good chance that the Battle of Lynchburg will have risen in historical stature. This three-day clash of Union and Confederate forces in mid-June of 1864 grows more interesting the more it is examined.”

One Man’s Outrage: Samuel Miller and the Day the Yankees Came

by Barry Rudacille.
In the prosperous pre-war city of Lynchburg, the reclusive Samuel Miller “was widely regarded as not only the most affluent citizen in the region but also among the wealthiest persons in the antebellum South.” A combination of careful planning and sheer nerve on Miller’s part ensured there would be a Miller Park and a Miller Home for Girls long after the day the Yankees came to his door.

When Carry Nation, “The Bar Room Smasher,” Came to Lynchburg

by Nate Sullivan.
In 1900, Mrs. Carry Nation walked into a Kansas saloon and began smashing liquor bottles. This incident and similar episodes to follow propelled the reformer into the national spotlight and launched a career that included a stint on the vaudeville circuit. “Her fame garnered her universal attention” writes Sullivan. “When she came to town, people turned out, hoping to witness a spectacle.”

Where Carry Nation Did Not Go: Prohibition in the Blue RidgeMountains
by Tom Burford.
In this charming essay, the author relates stories from his boyhood in the countryside—a place that remained indifferent to the
conflict between “wets” and “drys.” Perhaps the second half of the title should read: Liquor Production and Distribution in the Blue Ridge Mountains During the Era of Prohibition.


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