03 June 2009

A Little Bit of Nature ... A Little Bit of History from Jordan's Point - Lexington, Virginia

A bit of history about Jordan's Point area in Lexington, Virginia:

On June 5, 1864 Union General David Hunter defeated Maj. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones at the Battle of Piedmont. He moved up the Valley (southward) to Lexington, Virginia where he burned the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on June 11th and his troops freely looted civilian property of all kinds along the way. Henrietta Lee, a relative of Robert E. Lee whose house was burned by the Union troops, wrote a letter addressing Hunter, promising that the "curses of thousands, the scorn of the manly and upright and the hatred of the true and honorable, will follow you and yours through all time, and brand your name infamy." Lexington was particularly hard hit. In addition to the burning of VMI, Hunter's men plundered a number of private homes and the library of Washington College(now Washington and Lee). Hunter ordered the home of former Governor John Letcher burned, reporting afterwards that it was in retaliation for its absent owner's having issued "a violent and inflammatory proclamation ... inciting the population of the country to rise and wage guerrilla warfare on my troops." (excerpt from Wikipedia article)

Hunter was the author of Report of the Military Services of Gen. David Hunter, U.S.A., during the War of the Rebellion, published in 1873.

I will be posting about VMI and Washington and Lee University in upcoming posts.

7 comments:

Daryl said...

I am an American history lover and the Civil War is almost as fascinating to me as the Revolutionary War ... loved this post and the great pix!

JC said...

I just found your blog

Great ... I'll be back

DeniseinVA said...

Such a beautiful photo, and love the history also. Great post Erin, as are the others.

Beth at Aunties said...

I love to see photos of the state of our children's adopted state and hated to leave just two weeks ago today.
Your picture is beautiful and I enjoyed the history of Jordan's Point.
The history is so immense and I can't seem to get enough.
We enjoyed all we see each time we visit! Have a wonderful summer:)

Beth

We will visit again in the fall!

Margo said...

I couldn't resist your blog's name and icon over at Daryl's. I'm a displaced Virginian currently living in SC. I'm very familiar with the Lexington area. And I always like a short history lesson! What a nice blog you have!

CountryDew said...

Nice history lesson!

MedaM said...

This post is interesting and your photo is really beautiful.