Portal:Virginia

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Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. It borders Kentucky to the west, Tennessee to the south-west, North Carolina to the south, West Virginia to the north-west, and Maryland to the north. The state's capital is Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach. With a population of 8.8 million, it is the 12th-most populous and 15th-most densely populated state. More than one-third of Virginia's population lives in Northern Virginia, which includes the most populous jurisdiction in the state, Fairfax County.

Eastern Virginia is part of the Atlantic Plain, and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Central Virginia lies predominantly in the Piedmont, the foothill region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's most productive agricultural counties, while the economy in Northern Virginia is driven by technology companies and U.S. federal government agencies. Hampton Roads is also the site of the region's main seaport and Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base. (Full article...)

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Chromolithograph of the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia facing off

The Battle of Hampton Roads was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of naval technology. It was fought over two days, March 8–9, 1862, in Hampton Roads. The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia's largest cities from international trade.

On the first day, the Confederate ironclad ram CSS Virginia (built from the remnants of the USS Merrimack), opposed only by conventional, wooden-hulled ships, destroyed two ships and damaged a third. During the night, the USS Monitor arrived. The two ironclads fought for about three hours, with neither being able to inflict significant damage on the other. The duel ended indecisively, the ships did not fight again, and the blockade remained in place.

The major significance of the battle is that it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships. It received worldwide attention; Great Britain and France halted further construction of wooden-hulled ships, and others followed suit. The use of a small number of very heavy guns, mounted so that they could fire in all directions, was first demonstrated by Monitor, and soon became standard in warships of all types.

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First Lieutenant Charles Bare Gatewood (April 5, 1853 – May 20, 1896) was an American soldier born in Woodstock, Virginia. He served in the United States Army in the 6th Cavalry after graduating from West Point. Upon assignment to the American Southwest, Gatewood led platoons of Apache and Navajo scouts against renegades during the Apache Wars. In 1886 he played a key role in ending the Geronimo Campaign by persuading Geronimo to surrender to the army.

Beset with health problems due to exposure in the Southwest and Dakotas, Gatewood was critically injured in the Johnson County War and retired from the Army in 1895, dying a year later from stomach cancer. Before his retirement he was nominated for the Medal of Honor, but was denied the award. He was portrayed by Jason Patric in the 1993 film Geronimo: An American Legend.

This month in Virginia history

portrait of a man in a white periwig — Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood

August 3, 1807: The treason trial of Aaron Burr begins in Richmond, presided over by Chief Justice John Marshall.
August 6, 1993: There is a tornado outbreak across eastern Virginia; one tornado strikes Downtown Petersburg causing over $50 million in damage.
August 21–22, 1831: Nat Turner's slave rebellion
August 29, 1716: The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition, led by Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood (pictured), departs Germanna to cross the Blue Ridge and explore the Shenandoah Valley.
August 30, 1800: Gabriel's Rebellion is suppressed before it could begin.

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Terminal at Dulles International Airport in Loudon County, Virginia, designed by architect Eero Saarinen

Did you know -

... that bricks laid in Flemish bond were a sign of wealth in colonial Virginia?
... that a blizzard across the United States caused a major water crisis in Richmond, Virginia?
... that some mill workers in a historic district in Virginia gave their ages as fourteen despite appearing much younger?
... that John F. Kennedy's pollster found many West Virginia voters concerned that a Pope in the White House would arrive by transatlantic tunnel?
... that a keeper's cottage in Virginia housed two generations of park caretakers for more than 60 years?
... that when Edgewood was built in Stanleytown, Virginia, its Greek Revival style was unknown to most people in the area?