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The Old Dominion's Civil WarA New Look at Virginia This anthology features contributions from eight current or recent graduate students at the University of Virginia.All look at the Old Dominion between 1860 and the early 1870s.Rather than revisit the oft-trod terrain of military encounters, however, the authors search for broader context and meaning.They trace the impact of secession, war, and emancipation upon many different Virginiansùprivileged and ordinary, white and black, male and female.Virginia was by far the most populous and important state in the Confederacy.Her peoples suddenly found themselves on an often-terrifying roller coaster ride that reshaped their lives forever.I shall summarize some of the key points made in the eight essays and then offer a few reflections.Andrew J. Torget, a co-editor of the volume, focuses on three counties in the Valley of Virginia that overwhelmingly rejected secession in February 1861, but then reversed course just two months later to embrace the new Confederate nation.When forced to choose sides in a war that appeared to be an assault on the South and the slave system, the white residents of Rockingham, Augusta, and Rockbridge counties flocked to the southern side.Torget reinforces the message of his mentor's fine book (Edward L. Ayers, In the Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859-1863); these Virginians acted as they did to protect their investment in slavery.Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh examines decisions made in 1861 by Virginia-born West Pointers.Because the army was a powerful nationalizing influence, substantial numbers of Virginia officers sided with the Union.Of those Virginians who graduated from West Point before 1830, more stayed loyal to the Union rather than follow the famed example of Robert E. Lee.The latter's
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