Curiosities of the Confederate Capital: Untold Richmond Stories of the Spectacular, Tragic and Bizarre

by Brian Burns

Overview

In the early days of the Civil War, Richmond was declared the capital of the Confederacy, and until now, countless stories from its tenure as the Southern headquarters have remained buried. Mary E. Walker, a Union doctor and feminist, was once held captive in the city for refusing to wear proper women's clothing. A coffee substitute factory exploded under intriguing circumstances. Many Confederate soldiers, when in the trenches of battle, thumbed through the pages of Hugo's "Les Miserables." Author Brian Burns reveals these and many more curious tales of Civil War Richmond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609499549
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	04/16/2013
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Brian Burns started his career in the 1980s as an advertising art director in North Carolina. In 1987, he moved to Richmond, where he enjoys a simpler life in writing and horticulture. His home is in the Bellevue district, one of the neighborhoods that Lewis Ginter and John Pope pioneered.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

1 Disaster on Brown's Island: Explosion Devastates Female Workforce 9

2 Police Raid at Midnight: Mayor Mayo Declares War on Gambling Saloons 13

3 Eye in the Sky: The Confederate Balloon Gazelle 18

4 "The Lion": James Lyons, Fire-Eater and Master of "Laburnum" 22

5 Bloody Caravan from Seven Pines: Richmond Becomes One Vast Hospital 35

6 Violet's War: Tragedy and Mayhem in the Countryside 44

7 Cheers at the Richmond Theatre: Culture Amid the Chaos 47

8 Camp Lee: Richmond's Chief Camp of Instruction 54

9 The Mordecai Ladies: Emotions Run High at "Rosewood" 65

10 Coping Without Coffee: Coffee Substitute Factory Meets Violent End 76

11 Born Fighter, Mary Edwards Walker: Union Doctor Imprisoned at the Castle 79

12 Moonlight Counterfeiters: Facing the Wrath of the Confederate Court 84

13 The Brook Church Fight: Forgotten Battle Claims Colonel James Byron Gordon 87

14 Foreign Assistance: French Novel Eases Confederate Miseries 92

15 Richmond's Queen of Hospitality: The Making of the City's Virtual Salon 94

16 The Dreaded Whipping Post: Punishment Ordered in Mayor Mayo's Court 102

17 Fanfare at Rocketts Wharf: Arrival of Confederate Prisoners of War 106

18 Beckman's Saloon Down on Main: A Snapshot of the City's Underbelly 109

19 George Arents and the Lincoln Conspiracy: Rumors Fly About Local Merchant 111

20 Avenging the "Traitoress": Rush to Judgment for Mary Caroline Allan 115

21 Miracle in the Trenches: Hungry Soldiers Offered a Bountiful Spread 123

22 Chester's Campaign: Black War Correspondent Trumpets the End of Slavery 125

Notes 135

Bibliography 145

Index 157

About the Author 159