Portal:Virginia

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Virginia (/vərˈɪnjəˌ -ni.ə/ vər-JIN-yə, -⁠nee-ə), officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's capital is Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach, though its most populous subdivision is Fairfax County, part of Northern Virginia, where slightly over a third of Virginia's population of 8.72 million live .

The Blue Ridge Mountains cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The state's central region lies predominantly in the Piedmont. Eastern Virginia is part of the Atlantic Plain, and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's most productive agricultural counties, while the economy in Northern Virginia is driven by technology companies and U.S. federal government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency. Hampton Roads is also the site of the region's main seaport and Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base. (Full article...)

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Chromolithograph of the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia facing off
The Battle of Hampton Roads was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of naval technology. It was fought over two days, March 8–9, 1862, in Hampton Roads. The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia's largest cities from international trade.

On the first day, the Confederate ironclad ram CSS Virginia (built from the remnants of the USS Merrimack), opposed only by conventional, wooden-hulled ships, destroyed two ships and damaged a third. During the night, the USS Monitor arrived. The two ironclads fought for about three hours, with neither being able to inflict significant damage on the other. The duel ended indecisively, the ships did not fight again, and the blockade remained in place.

The major significance of the battle is that it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships. It received worldwide attention; Great Britain and France halted further construction of wooden-hulled ships, and others followed suit. The use of a small number of very heavy guns, mounted so that they could fire in all directions, was first demonstrated by Monitor, and soon became standard in warships of all types.

Selected biography

Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th President of the United States (1849–1850) and an American military leader. His 40-year military career ended with far-reaching victories in the Mexican–American War. His status as a national hero won him election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was preserving the Union, but he died 16 months into his term, before making any progress on the status of slavery, which had been inflaming tensions in Congress.

Taylor was born to a prominent family of planters who migrated westward from Virginia to Kentucky in his youth. He was commissioned as a U.S. Army officer in 1808. His success in the Second Seminole War attracted national attention and earned him the nickname "Old Rough and Ready". The Mexican–American War broke out in May 1846, and Taylor led American troops to victory in a series of battles culminating in the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Monterrey. He became a national hero, and political clubs sprung up to draw him into the upcoming 1848 presidential election. The Whig Party convinced the reluctant Taylor to lead their ticket, despite his unclear platform and lack of interest in politics.

As president, Taylor kept his distance from Congress and his cabinet, even as partisan tensions threatened to divide the Union. Taylor died suddenly of a stomach-related illness in July 1850, ensuring he would have little impact on the sectional divide that led to civil war a decade later.

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Lithograph depicting the Battle of Hampton Roads
Lithograph depicting the Battle of Hampton Roads

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Map of Virginia's counties and cities
Map of Virginia's counties and cities

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Downtown Roanoke at night, as viewed from the Mill Mountain overlook

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Fact sheet

  • Capital: Richmond, Virginia
  • Total area: 110,862 sq.mi
  • Highest elevation: 5,729 ft (Mount Rogers)
  • Population (2010 census) 8,001,024
  • Date Virginia joined the United States: June 25, 1788

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