Charles Minor Blackford | |
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| 7thPresident of the Virginia Bar Association | |
| In office July 12, 1894 – August 8, 1895 | |
| Preceded by | Waller Redd Staples |
| Succeeded by | Robert M. Hughes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Minor Blackford (1833-10-17)October 17, 1833 Fredericksburg,Virginia |
| Died | March 11, 1903(1903-03-11) (aged 69) Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Spouse | Susan Leigh Colston |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States |
| Branch/service | Confederate States Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Charles Minor Blackford (October 17, 1833 – March 10, 1903) was a Virginia lawyer and an author ofAmerican Civil War stories. His wartime correspondence with his wife, since published, remains a valuable resource for facts about life in theConfederate Army. Blackford's war experiences ranged from Manassas to Gettysburg to Appomattox.
"Blackford enlisted in the2nd Virginia Cavalry[1] at the outset of the war and in 1863 was posted toLongstreet's Corps. Most of his service was in northern Virginia around the Rappahannock and the Rapidan Rivers, in the Shenandoah Valley, and with Lee's army at Gettysburg. In 1864 Blackford went west with Longstreet's army to Chattanooga, and he returned withLongstreet for the war's final days."[2]
After the War, Blackford practiced law, and served as president of the People's National Bank of Lynchburg. Blackford was a charter member of TheVirginia Bar Association,[3] and served as its president for 1894–1895.[4] Blackford was a director and counsel for the Virginia Midland Railroad, which became part of theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1881, Blackford wrote a legal history of the Virginia Midland Railroad.[5]
In 1894, Blackford and his wife Susan Leigh Blackford ofLynchburg, Virginia privately published theirMemoirs of Life in and Out of the Army in Virginia During the War Between the States. A seller of reprints of these volumes boasts that "Douglas Southall Freeman called Blackford's account of Appomattox one of the most important in existence."[6]
Beginning in 1947, another, much-abridged version of Blackford's letters was sold publicly, under the name ofLetters from Lee's Army, about which the reviewer inTime magazine wrote: "20th Century readers will be grateful for the sharp little anecdotes and graphic glimpses on almost every page."[7] A new edition of this book became available in 1998.[8]
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