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As part of the American South, Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the University of Virginia were all affected by the Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy. The area largely survived the war unscathed, and was was spared from destruction in 1865 when city leaders surrendered to General George Custer.
As part of the American South, [[Charlottesville]], [[Albemarle County]] and the [[University of Virginia]] were all affected by the Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy. The area largely survived the war unscathed, and was was spared from destruction in [[1865]] when city leaders surrendered to General George Custer.


Citizens of the area were likely to join the 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment, which fought as part of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Citizens of the area were likely to join the 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment, which fought as part of the Army of Northern Virginia.


Charlottesville threw itself into the war effort. In the city and surrounding areas, soldiers were recruited, Confederate uniforms were made, and food and supplies were produced and shipped out by the nearby railroad. Some buildings in Scottsville were used as Confederate hospitals[2]. Charlottesville General Hospital treated thousands of Confederate soldiers.
Charlottesville threw itself into the war effort. In the city and surrounding areas, soldiers were recruited, Confederate uniforms were made, and food and supplies were produced and shipped out by the nearby railroad. Some buildings in Scottsville were used as Confederate hospitals. Charlottesville General Hospital treated tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers.


African Americans composed a majority of the town and county’s population. Both enslaved and free African Americans alike were the subject of heightened white fears of violence. African Americans were also impressed into Confederate service. As a result, racial violence and rules against African Americans were at a high. For most of the war, white Charlottesville enforced a curfew for Black Charlottesvillians.  
African Americans composed the majority of the town and county’s population. Both enslaved and free African Americans alike were the subject of heightened white fears of violence. African Americans were also impressed into Confederate service. As a result, racial violence and rules against African Americans were at a high. For most of the war, white Charlottesville enforced a curfew for Black Charlottesvillians.  


== Key Sites ==
== Key Sites ==
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Union troops approached Charlottesville in early 1865, arriving on the morning of March 3. Many white Charlottesvillians were convinced that the troops would burn the University of Virginia, which was treating Confederate soldiers in their hospital for battlefield wounds and illnesses. During the course of the Civil War, about 22,500 wounded Confederate soldiers and a few captured Union soldiers were tended to at the University-run 500-bed Charlottesville General Hospital. The superintendent was professor and doctor J.L. Cabell.
Union troops approached Charlottesville in early 1865, arriving on the morning of March 3. Many white Charlottesvillians were convinced that the troops would burn the University of Virginia, which was treating Confederate soldiers in their hospital for battlefield wounds and illnesses. During the course of the Civil War, about 22,500 wounded Confederate soldiers and a few captured Union soldiers were tended to at the University-run 500-bed Charlottesville General Hospital. The superintendent was professor and doctor J.L. Cabell.


The University also had produced over one thousand Confederate soldiers for the pro-slavery effort, second only to the Virginia Military Institute, which had been ransacked and burned by Custer’s troops en route to Charlottesville. Charlottesville Mayor Christoper L. Fowler decided to surrender. The University of Virginia, represented by law professor John Barbee Minor, chairman of the faculty Socrates Maupin, and rector Thomas L. Preston, surrendered to the Union. They argued that the University had been founded by President Jefferson and would be a benefit to the entire nation, not just the Confederacy.
The University also had produced over one thousand Confederate soldiers for the pro-slavery effort, second only to the [[Virginia Military Institute]], which had been ransacked and burned by Custer’s troops en route to Charlottesville. Charlottesville Mayor [[Christoper L. Fowler]] decided to surrender. The University of Virginia, represented by law professor [[John Barbee Minor]], chairman of the faculty [[Socrates Maupin]], and rector [[Thomas L. Preston]], surrendered to the Union. They argued that the University had been founded by President Jefferson and would be a benefit to the entire nation, not just the Confederacy.


The major target was the iron railroad bridge that carried the Virginia Central Railroad over the Rivanna River, was destroyed. About a dozen warehouses storing foodstuff and military supplies were burned, along with Woolen Mills. A mill owned by the Marchant family, which had been producing Confederate uniforms, was destroyed. Some homes in Charlottesville were ransacked, but not torched. Houses outside the city limits were generally fared worse. Monticello, a tourist destination for Union troops during occupation, was unharmed.
The major target was the iron railroad bridge that carried the Virginia Central Railroad over the Rivanna River, was destroyed. About a dozen warehouses storing foodstuff and military supplies were burned, along with Woolen Mills. A mill owned by the Marchant family, which had been producing Confederate uniforms, was destroyed. Some homes in Charlottesville were ransacked, but not torched. Houses outside the city limits were generally fared worse. Monticello, a tourist destination for Union troops during occupation, was unharmed.


Over half of Albemarle County was liberated from slavery that day as the Union line reached them, including the hundreds of people held in captivity by the university's professors, students, and the school itself. Most chose to seek safety with the Union troops and followed them as the army moved east toward Richmond. The continuing Union occupation of Virginia meant that these self-emancipators did not need to leave the state, even after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox in 1865. March 3 is celebrated as [[Liberation and Freedom Day]] in Charlottesville.
Over half of Albemarle County was liberated from slavery that day as the Union line reached them, including the hundreds of people held in captivity by the university's professors, students, and the school itself. Most chose to seek safety with the Union troops and followed them as the army moved east toward Richmond. The continuing Union occupation of Virginia meant that these self-emancipators did not need to leave the state, even after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox in 1865. March 3 is celebrated as [[Liberation and Freedom Day]] in Charlottesville.

Revision as of 10:51, 7 July 2021

As part of the American South, Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the University of Virginia were all affected by the Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy. The area largely survived the war unscathed, and was was spared from destruction in 1865 when city leaders surrendered to General George Custer.

Citizens of the area were likely to join the 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment, which fought as part of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Charlottesville threw itself into the war effort. In the city and surrounding areas, soldiers were recruited, Confederate uniforms were made, and food and supplies were produced and shipped out by the nearby railroad. Some buildings in Scottsville were used as Confederate hospitals. Charlottesville General Hospital treated tens of thousands of Confederate soldiers.

African Americans composed the majority of the town and county’s population. Both enslaved and free African Americans alike were the subject of heightened white fears of violence. African Americans were also impressed into Confederate service. As a result, racial violence and rules against African Americans were at a high. For most of the war, white Charlottesville enforced a curfew for Black Charlottesvillians.

Key Sites

Rio Hill

Waynesboro

Scottsville

Route 250

Woolen Mills

The University of Virginia

Charlottesville General Hospital

Timeline

April 1861: Four infantry companies—two each of town and university men—organize into the Charlottesville and University Battalion.

May 1861: The 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment is formed mostly out of Charlottesville and Albemarle County recruits, with University of Virginia and West Point graduate Philip St. George Cocke as its colonel.

July 1861: Charlottesville General Hospital, a sprawling Confederate military medical facility, opens in Charlottesville and takes over various public and private buildings throughout the town, including hotels, churches, and facilities belonging to the University of Virginia. Its first patients are Confederate soldiers wounded at Manassas.

November 1861: Dr. Orianna Moon, Charlottesville General Hospital's superintendent of nurses, relocates to Richmond, having married her hospital colleague Dr. John Summerfield Andrews.

1862—1864: Approximately 940 enslaved African Americans are impressed into labor by Confederate authorities in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

1862: The 19th Virginia Infantry's regimental band, formerly the Charlottesville Silver Cornet Band, dissolves.

September 17, 1862: The 19th Virginia Infantry, composed mostly of men from Charlottesville and Albemarle County, suffers more than a 47 percent casualty rate at the Battle of Antietam.

1863: An African American man named Jackson who had been living on University of Virginia property is removed on the grounds that he is married to a white woman.

1863: Four enslaved African Americans in Charlottesville murder a Confederate officer attempting to impress their labor for the war effort.

April 20, 1863: The March 16 petition by black congregants of Charlottesville's First Baptist Church to establish the Charlottesville African Church is accepted by white church leaders.

July 3, 1863: The 19th Virginia Infantry, comprised mostly of men from Charlottesville and Albemarle County, suffers a 60 percent casualty rate and loses its flag during Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.

1864: John A. Marchant sells the Charlottesville Manufacturing Company, which operates a cotton and woolen mills, to his son, Henry Clay Marchant. The factory is burned by occupying Union forces the following year.

February 29, 1864: Union general George A. Custer menaces Charlottesville and Albemarle County as part of the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid on Richmond. He is repulsed by local militia in a short skirmish on Rio Hill.

April 18, 1864: In an essay, Basil L. Gildersleeve, a University of Virginia professor of Greek and Hebrew, speaks out against miscegenation, claiming that to prevent it is to guarantee white supremacy.

March 2, 1865: The Third Battle of Waynesboro, in which General Sheridan encountered the last remnant of Confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s Valley army. More than 1,500 Confederates surrendered. Early and a few of his staff evaded capture.

March 3, 1865: Charlottesville and University of Virginia officials surrender the town to Union generals Philip H. Sheridan and George A. Custer. Union forces burn the Charlottesville Manufacturing Company.

April 6, 1865: The 19th Virginia Infantry, comprised mostly of men from Charlottesville and Albemarle County, surrenders its thirty remaining men to Union forces following the Battle of Sailor's Creek.

The Confederacy forced African Americans into labor for the war effort. Free blacks between the ages of fifteen and fifty were required to report to the courthouse, where they were examined by a doctor from the Charlottesville General Hospital who determined how and where they should work. If they did not report, they were taken by gunpoint. Against the protestations of their owners, slaves were taken, too. Between 1862 and 1864, about 940 slaves were impressed. It is unknown how many free Black people were impressed. Isabella Gibbons was forced to treat Confederate soldiers as a nurse in Charlottesville General Hospital.

Liberation of Charlottesville

Union troops approached Charlottesville in early 1865, arriving on the morning of March 3. Many white Charlottesvillians were convinced that the troops would burn the University of Virginia, which was treating Confederate soldiers in their hospital for battlefield wounds and illnesses. During the course of the Civil War, about 22,500 wounded Confederate soldiers and a few captured Union soldiers were tended to at the University-run 500-bed Charlottesville General Hospital. The superintendent was professor and doctor J.L. Cabell.

The University also had produced over one thousand Confederate soldiers for the pro-slavery effort, second only to the Virginia Military Institute, which had been ransacked and burned by Custer’s troops en route to Charlottesville. Charlottesville Mayor Christoper L. Fowler decided to surrender. The University of Virginia, represented by law professor John Barbee Minor, chairman of the faculty Socrates Maupin, and rector Thomas L. Preston, surrendered to the Union. They argued that the University had been founded by President Jefferson and would be a benefit to the entire nation, not just the Confederacy.

The major target was the iron railroad bridge that carried the Virginia Central Railroad over the Rivanna River, was destroyed. About a dozen warehouses storing foodstuff and military supplies were burned, along with Woolen Mills. A mill owned by the Marchant family, which had been producing Confederate uniforms, was destroyed. Some homes in Charlottesville were ransacked, but not torched. Houses outside the city limits were generally fared worse. Monticello, a tourist destination for Union troops during occupation, was unharmed.

Over half of Albemarle County was liberated from slavery that day as the Union line reached them, including the hundreds of people held in captivity by the university's professors, students, and the school itself. Most chose to seek safety with the Union troops and followed them as the army moved east toward Richmond. The continuing Union occupation of Virginia meant that these self-emancipators did not need to leave the state, even after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox in 1865. March 3 is celebrated as Liberation and Freedom Day in Charlottesville.