Virginia at War, 1864 is the fourth in a planned five-volume series on the Civil War in Virginia. As are the previous three volumes, this is a collection of essays by historians on various topics covering mostly a single year – in this case, 1864.
Several previous years are necessarily involved in this volume too, in order to tell its story better. Topics covered include military activity, politics, the press, patriotism in connection with July 4th, transportation, agriculture, higher education, literature, emancipation of slaves, and the fourth installment of Judith Brockenbrough McGuire’s diary, which gives a firsthand account from a woman’s point of view about what was happening around her. This book covers some interesting areas of lesser-known history of life in Virginia during the Civil War. People tried to carry on with their lives even though things were falling apart around them; food, clothing, paper, ink, and men of military age were scarce or expensive.
Editor William C. Davis is the director of the programs at the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and author of over fifty books. Co-editor James I. Robertson, Jr., is a history professor at Virginia Tech and the author of more than a dozen books. He was also the chief consultant for the movie Gods and Generals. This book is highly recommended to those interested in various aspects of life in Virginia during the Civil War.