At the time the Civil War began, Virginia was well established as a prosperous agricultural state, with millions of dollars invested in livestock, crops, and land. Tobacco was the state’s chief cash crop.
During the war, the General Assembly asked Virginians to plant corn instead of tobacco in order to feed the soldiers. Some people complied but in other areas farmers ignored the General Assembly and planted tobacco anyway.
Farms in Virginia during the war lacked labor, as most of the men had gone off with the army. Many farms struggled as women and children could not complete all the work on their own.
Sub-Chapter 1: Free to Work
A large free black population lived in Virginia, more than every other state except Maryland.
Urban areas had a higher percentage of free blacks than rural areas due to employment and social opportunities.
Although free from the bonds of slavery, free blacks still faced economic, cultural and social discrimination. Many Southerners did not trust free blacks and feared they were spies for the North.
Sub-Chapter 2: Virginia’s Industrial Might
Virginia was the heart of industry and manufacturing in the South. The area between Richmond and Fredericksburg represented the industrial heart of the state.
Many industries used slave laborers.
The state’s advanced transportation network helped ensure the goods produced in Virginia’s factories reach Confederate troops. The James River Canal, which ran from Richmond to Lynchburg; the Valley Turnpike
(the state’s only hard paved road); and state’s railroads all played an important role.
Sub-Chapter 3: Surviving the Struggle
Virginia’s economy depended on manufacturing and state’s transportation network. Virginians faced increasing shortages of goods as soldiers took everything that was available for wartime purposes.
Inflation rates soared as high as 6000%. Moreover, a 65% drop in household buying power meant Virginians could no longer afford those goods that did make it to the stores.
However, even with the war, literacy rates still soared and the people of Virginia had time for entertainment such as books and plays.
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Sub-Chapter 4: Staying Informed
Virginians were among the best-read citizens in the Confederacy.
Newspaper offices printed other sources besides newspapers—such as books, pamphlets, and music—and many addressed the subject of war.
Education struggled in the South but went on, with new books on spelling and grammar containing references to the Confederacy.
There were almost 1,000 newspapers in the South when the war began and four daily newspapers in Richmond alone. The Richmond papers in particular were deemed more important than other Southern newspapers since Richmond was the capital.
Telegraphs also served to convey news to people. Because the telegraph lines could get close to the front, they became a fast and convenient way of communicating news of the war.
However, newspapers and telegraphs faced obstacles and a shortage of supplies, and by1865, most communication had been shut down.
Sub-Chapter 5: The Politics of War
The war took a toll on government and politics. Only men had the right to vote and many men rushed to enlist, so Virginia did not have enough men to run for political office.
Virginia state government was a target for the Union army. The capitol itself was frequently within earshot of the fighting in 1862.
Ironically, Virginia left the Union in part because of its opposition to a strong, centralized national government, yet by 1865, state government had become the most centralized in the state’s history.
Sub-Chapter 6: The Devastated Old Dominion
By 1865, Virginia’s fields, crops, livestock, railroads, banks, newspaper offices, and factories had been ruined or were in Northern hands.
Each Virginia county became the object of Union raids. One raid in Loudoun County in 1864 resulted in the burning of 1,200 barns, the destruction of 10,000 head of livestock and 80 mills.
Everything was empty—fields, streets, and houses—as more than 202,500 Virginians who had gone off to war would never return home.
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