Existing comment:
Loss:
"We are a ruined people."
-- JW Waller, October 18, 1865
Virginia wagered its young men, its treasure, and its very existence on the promise of a new nation. After losing that gamble, the Commonwealth faced decades of struggle and recovery. A slave labor system was abolished with profound economic and social implications for all Virginians.
The war left many of Virginia's residents impoverished and bitter. Huge sections of the Commonwealth lay ravaged -- the landscapes destroyed by vast army camps, farms and woodlots scarred by miles of trenches dug by soldiers. |