Portal:Virginia

At the Battle of Malvern Hill (July 1, 1862) during the American Civil War, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General Robert E. Lee and the Union Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan clashed near Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital.

Confederate commander-in-chief Joseph E. Johnston had fended off McClellan's repeated attempts to take the city of Richmond as part of McClellan's ambitious Peninsula Campaign. After Johnston was wounded, Lee took command and launched a series of counterattacks, collectively called the Seven Days Battles, culminating in the action on Malvern Hill. The battle involved over fifty thousand soldiers from each side, hundreds of pieces of artillery and three warships. The Union V Corps, under Fitz John Porter, took up positions on the hill on June 30 in preparation for the battle, which began the following day. Confederate preparations were hindered by several mishaps. Nonetheless, the Confederates attacked first, when the artillery on the left flank began firing upon the Union line. The Federal artillery, however, was the story of the day, repulsing attack after attack.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Confederate press heralded Lee as the savior of Richmond. McClellan was criticized harshly for his absence from the battlefield, an issue that would haunt him when he ran for president in 1864. From Malvern Hill, McClellan and his forces withdrew to Harrison's Landing where he would stay until August 16. Lee withdrew to Richmond to prepare for his next operation, as the action on Malvern Hill ended the campaign on the Peninsula.

Grace Sherwood (c. 1660 – c. 1740), known as the "Witch of Pungo", is the last person known to have been convicted of witchcraft in Virginia. A farmer, healer, and midwife, her neighbors accused her of transforming herself into a cat, damaging crops and causing the death of livestock. Sherwood lived in Pungo, Princess Anne County(today part of Virginia Beach).

She was charged with witchcraft several times. Sherwood's first case was in 1697; she was accused of casting a spell on a bull, resulting in its death, but the matter was dismissed by the agreement of both parties. The following year she was accused of witchcraft by two neighbors; she supposedly bewitched the hogs and cotton crop of one of them. Sherwood sued for slander after each accusation but her lawsuits were unsuccessful and her husband had to pay court costs. At her eventual trial in 1706, Sherwood was accused of bewitching Elizabeth Hill, causing Hill to miscarry. The court ordered that Sherwood's guilt or innocence be determined by ducking her in water. If she sank, she was innocent; if she did not, she was guilty. Sherwood floated to the surface, and was convicted.

Freed from prison by 1714, she recovered her property from Princess Anne County, after which she lived on her farm until her death in 1740 at the age of about 80. On July 10, 2006, the 300th anniversary of Sherwood's conviction, Governor Tim Kaine restored her good name, recognizing that her case was a miscarriage of justice.

• June 12, 1776: The Virginia Declaration of Rights is ratified by the Fifth Virginia Convention
• June 23, 1951: The SS United States (pictured), which has held the Blue Riband since 1952, is christened and launched at the Newport News Shipbuilding yard.
• June 25–July 1, 1862: The Seven Days Battles, mere miles from the Confederate capital in Richmond, bring an end to Union efforts to capture it through the Peninsula Campaign; it will not be captured for nearly three more years.

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P-51 Mustang flying above Langley Field in Hampton, which has been in operation as a military airfield since 1916.

• ... that Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area has one of the largest fields of Virginia bluebell flowers in northern Virginia?
• ... that a Virginia radio station built a house to raise money for operations?
• ... that slave owner John Custis petitioned the Governor of Virginia to manumit a slave child whom he had fathered?
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• ... that West Virginia nursing professor Christine Elizabeth Abrahamsen wrote science-fiction and Gothic novels under the pseudonyms Christabel and Kathleen Westcott?
• ... that the Jefferson Scholarship gives scholars more than $293,000 to attend the University of Virginia?

• 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

State symbols:

• Flower:Dogwood
• Motto:Sic semper tyrannis (Thus always to tyrants)
• Slogan:Virginia is for Lovers
• Nicknames:"Old Dominion", "Mother of Presidents", "Mother of States"
• Dance:Square dance
• Bird:Cardinal
• Fish:Brook trout
• Domestic Mammal:American Foxhound
• Fossil:Chesapecten jeffersonius

Government

• Governor: Glenn Youngkin (R)
• Lieutenant Governor: Winsome Sears (R)
• Attorney General: Jason Miyares (R)
• Senators: Tim Kaine (D), Mark Warner (D)
• Representatives: Rob Wittman (R-1st), Elaine Luria (D-2nd), Bobby Scott (D-3rd), Donald McEachin (D-4th), Bob Good (R-5th), Ben Cline (R-6th), Abigail Spanberger (D-7th), Don Beyer (D-8th), Morgan Griffith (R-9th), Jennifer Wexton (D-10th), Gerry Connolly (D-11th)