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RICHMOND, Jan. 25 -- It may not actually mention Virginia or even be about Virginia, but "Shenandoah" may soon become the commonwealth's official state song. A Senate panel has voted to designate the melodious folk tune as the state's "interim official state song" -- temporary, that is, in case something better comes along. The commonwealth has gone without a theme since 1997, when lawmakers retired "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" because its lyrics were deemed offensive to black citizens. Lawmakers labeled the anthem, with its references to "darkies" and "massas," the state's "emeritus song" and appointed a 12-member committee...

This Day In History | Civil War July 24 1864 Battle of Kernstown, Virginia Confederate General Jubal Early defeats Union troops under General George Crook to keep the Shenandoah Valley clear of Yankees. On June 13, 1864, General Robert E. Lee sent Early north from Petersburg to clear the Shenandoah of Union troops and relieve pressure on his own beleaguered force. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had been pinned in Petersburg after a bloody six-week campaign with General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac. The campaign mimicked that of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's in 1862, when the Confederates...

>>>Book Review<<<<Recent headlines have proved a vindication of sorts for frustrated historians who cringe at the question, "Why should I care about something that happened ages ago?" Suddenly, "Deep Throat" is on the nation's lips almost as breathlessly as it was 35 years ago. So why should we care about "The Last Shot," Lynn Schooler's entry into the Civil War canon? "It is incompatible with virtue that the South should ever be reconciled to the North," said Capt. James Waddell, skipper of the Confederate vessel that would fire the last shot of the Civil War. Substitute "red state" or "blue...

Washington -- Last Saturday, after awakening at 5:00 a.m. in Virginia's Shenandoah Mountains to hunt wild turkey, I showered and dressed in black tie for one of my favorite Washington evenings, the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. If I did not see any turkeys during the matutinal hunt, I was guaranteed to see them in abundance during the vespertine melee that this distinguished gathering has become. In all of New York there is nothing quite like it, though you can find an approximation of it on the Virginia countryside. I have in mind the county fair, at least the county...