William Mahone | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Mathew Brady c. 1865–1880 | |
| United States Senator from Virginia | |
| In office March 4, 1881 – March 4, 1887 | |
| Preceded by | Robert E. Withers |
| Succeeded by | John W. Daniel |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the Norfolk City district | |
| In office March 1, 1864 – April 9, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | William N. McKenney |
| Succeeded by | Edmund Robinson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 1, 1826 Southampton County, Virginia |
| Died | October 8, 1895 (aged 68) Washington, D.C. |
| Resting place | Blandford Cemetery, Petersburg, Virginia |
| Political party | Democratic (before 1877) Readjuster (1877–1889) Republican (after 1889) |
| Alma mater | Virginia Military Institute |
| Nickname | "Little Billy" |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War (1861-1865) |
William Mahone (December 1, 1826 – October 8, 1895) was a Confederate States Army general, civil engineer, railroad executive, prominent Virginia Readjuster and ardent supporter of former slaves.[1]
As a young man, Mahone was prominent in building Virginia's roads and railroads. As chief engineer of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, he built log-foundations under the routes in the Great Dismal Swamp in southeast tidewater Virginia that are still intact today. According to local tradition, several new railroad towns were named after the novels of Sir Walter Scott, a favorite British/Scottish author of Mahone's wife, Otelia.
In the American Civil War, Mahone was pro-secession and served as a general in the Confederate States Army. He was best known for regaining the initiative at the late war siege of Petersburg, Virginia, while Confederate troops were in shock after a huge mine/load of black powder kegs was exploded beneath them by tunnel-digging former coal miner Union Army troops resulting in the Battle of the Crater in July 1864; his counter-attack turned the engagement into a disastrous Union defeat.
After the war, he returned to railroad building, merging three lines to form the important Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O), headquartered in Lynchburg. He also led the Readjuster Party, a state political party with a coalition of freemen blacks, Republicans, and populist Democrats. The Virginia General Assembly elected Mahone to the U.S. Senate in 1881.
- ^ (2011, January 1). Readjuster Party political party, United States. Britannica. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Readjuster-Party