I'll cast my vote for William Mahone. Not to the manor born, Mahone was a scholarship student at VMI, a fairly successful railroad engineer in the Antebellum era, brigade and division commander during the Civil War (the "Hero of the Crater") and possibly Robert E. Lee's choice to succeed him in command of the Army of Northern Virginia in case Lee miscarried. Mahone is most important as a post-War figure: prominent leader and financier of the Conservatives during Reconstruction and an extremely wealthy railway magnate: Mahone went on to create the most massive interracial political alliance in 19th century America. His imperious charisma broke the "solid South" for a period, promising a democratic revolution to white yeomen, freedpeople, manufacturers, and their workers organized within the Knights of Labor. Mahone generated a large white following by propelling former Confederates into the leadership of the liberal movement, which called Readjusters, merged with the Republican Party in 1885. Black people rallied to the movement because it promised and produced a series of legal and institutional reforms that made Virginia modern. (Having read deeply in Mahone's personal letters received at Duke University, I can assert with certainty that even in the privacy of intimate communication, these former veterans of the CSA almost never uttered the "N" word in discussing politics with Mahone.) Mahone's vision of a dynamic capitalist and democratic Virginia in the Gilded Age was (and may still not be) to everyone's taste but there was certainly no other figure in the South, 1865-1895, to match Mahone for vision, political boldness, or effectiveness. Harold S. Forsythe Visiting Fellow (2005-2006) Program in Agrarian Studies Yale University ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brent Tarter" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 8:02 AM Subject: Great/Important Virginians, 19th Century Last week we had some interesting suggestions and comments about greatest or most important 20th century Virginians. This week, let's hear from folks about greatest or most important 19th century Virginians. NB: One of my colleagues suggested that I should phrase that, "greatest or most important 19th century Virginians not named Robert E. Lee." Brent Tarter The Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] Visit the Library of Virginia's web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html