On July 4, 1791, the fifteenth anniversary of American Independence, John Crane, a descendant of prominent Virginian families, killed his neighbor's harvest worker. Murder in the Shenandoah traces the story of this early murder case as it entangled powerful Virginians and addressed the question that everyone in the state was heatedly debating: what would it mean to have equality before the law - and a world where 'law is king'? By retelling the story of the case, called Commonwealth v. Crane, through the eyes of its witnesses, families, fighters, victims, judges, and juries, Jessica K. Lowe reveals how revolutionary debates about justice gripped the new nation, transforming ideas about law, punishment, and popular government.

A Free Man of Color and His Hotel weaves the story of a uniquely successful black businessman into the burgeoning post–Civil War political struggle that pitted the federal government against the states’ desire to remain autonomous. Born in Washington, D.C., James Wormley worked as a hacker in his father’s livery stable there and as a steward on Mississippi River steamboats before establishing his own catering and boardinghouse businesses. During a period of limited opportunity for African Americans, he built and operated D.C.’s luxurious Wormley Hotel at a time when most financial and governmental business was conducted in hotels. Not only did a number of notable diplomats and politicians live at the hotel, but because of its location in the city’s commercial and political center, Wormley also hosted Washington’s movers and shakers. Wormley’s rise, however, occurred as three landmark decisions by the Supreme Court effectively dismantled Reconstruction and led to the Plessy v. Ferguson decision that legalized segregation. This cautionary tale illustrates how key Supreme Court decisions hindered other African Americans’ potential successes after Reconstruction. By examining the issue of states’ rights in terms of one man’s against-the-odds success, Carol Gelderman shows how these same issues are still relevant in a postsegregation United States.

A collection of rare archival images and biographical sketches of the dauntless women who served as nurses and caregivers during the Civil War. During the American Civil War, women on both sides of the conflict, radiating patriotic fervor equal to their male counterparts, contributed to the war effort in countless ways: forming charitable societies, becoming nurses, or even marching off to war as vivandières, unofficial attachés to the regiments. In Faces of Civil War Nurses, Ronald S. Coddington turns his attention to the experiences of 77 women of all ages and walks of life who provided care during the war as nurses, aid workers, and vivandières. Their personal narratives are as unique as fingerprints: each provides a distinct entry point into the larger social history of the brutal and bloody conflict. Coddington tells these determined women's stories through letters, diaries, pension files, and newspaper and government reports. Using identified tintypes and cartes de visite of women on both sides of the war, many of them never before published, Coddington uncovers the personal histories of each intrepid individual. Following their postwar stories, he also explains how the bonds they formed continued long after the cessation of hostilities. The fifth volume in Coddington's series on Civil War soldiers, this captivating microhistory will appeal to anyone with an interest in the Civil War, women's studies, social history, nursing, or photography. Praise for Ronald Coddington's Faces Series "An engaging look at a neglected part of the history of the American Civil War."—Booklist "Coddington has hit upon a unique and fascinating niche in the seemingly endless march of Civil War books."—C&RL News "A lavishly produced visual record of southern Civil War soldiers . . . will appeal to serious photography enthusiasts and collectors, as well as those readers captivated by the personal stories of Civil War soldiers."—Civil War Books and Authors "Coddington's prose is as unpretentious as the faces he shares, yet authoritative. It resurrects details that broaden our understanding of those sad times and sheds valuable light on the shape of modern culture."—Atlanta Constitution "Even at a distance of over a hundred years, the faces staring out of these pages create an undeniable emotional connection with the reader. This book is highly recommended."—H-CivWar, H-Net Reviews "A fascinating window into the war's impact on the individual soldier . . . well researched and engagingly written. Any teacher of the Civil War would do well to consult this volume and incorporate some of the captivating tales into lectures and readings."—Journal of Military History

A biography of the American painter Ralph W. Curtis (1854-1922), of the Boston family who bought the Palazzo Barbaro on the Grand Canal in Venice in 1885. After graduating at Harvard, Curtis moved to Paris to study art with Carolus Duran, where he met his distant cousin John S. Sargent, with whom he travelled to Holland to see Franz Hals’s paintings. He exhibited at the Paris salons, at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, at the Venice Biennale in the 1880s. At Palazzo Barbaro he met Robert Browning, Henry James, but also Venetian painters such as Ettore Tito and Antonio Mancini. He travelled widely, even to Japan and India. His works are in American Museums and private collections.

In reproducing sixty-six letters in the Carl H. Pforzheimer Library, plus eight letters or portions of letters previously published, this book offers one of the best sources available for the last fourteen years of Browning's life. Written to a dear friend who was also a "learned lady," the letters deal with Browning's poetry, his social life, and his friendships. They also give some of his views on the nature of poetry, of art, and of religion. The editor's introduction offers the reader a view of Mrs. Fitzgerald and her family, of the social background with which many of the letters are concerned, and of Browning, his sister, and his son. Notes clarify the many allusions that appear in the letters. An appendix by Marcelle Thiébaux includes careful bibliographical descriptions of the manuscripts and a classified list of the writing paper Browning used, information which should enable future editors to assign at least approximate dates to some of the letters Browning himself left undated.