We Once Met by Chance: Four Life Stories During the American Civil War follows four peoples lives during the American Civil WarJohn S. Mosby, Charles Russell Lowell, Laura Ratcliffe, and James Robinson. Col. John S. Mosby was a Confederate officer from Virginia, assigned to lead guerrilla activities outside the city of Washington. His mission was to keep the Union soldiers stationed there rather than fighting in the field against the army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee. Charles Russell Lowell of Massachusetts was a Harvard graduate from a prominent abolitionist family. He joined the Union army, eventually becoming the colonel of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry. He was sent to Virginia to capture or kill Mosby. Laura Ratcliffe was a young Southern lady living in Northern Virginia. She supported her home state of Virginia during the war in any way she could, including spying for Colonel Mosby. James Robinson was an African-American man living with his family in Manassas, Virginia. The land that he owned and lived on would become the central part of the battleground for two of the major battles during the war. We Once Met by Chance is the story of the Civil War from the perspective of these four individuals. Readers learn about their lives, their families, and their aspirations during these tumultuous four years in American history.

"From a battered old trunk in the basement, to the crumpled scrapbook in the bookcase, to an aging envelope in an unused jewelry box, they marched to the pages of this book to join the chorus to remember. Telegrams, letters, taped interviews and voices from decades ago joined in to provide a chilling description of World War II. "Red" was a Red Cross lady, her brother lost in the confusion of war. Some were courageous soldiers, others became prominent heroes. The author weaves common lives and historic events into an emotional explanation of what war was like for everyday Americans." By Colonel Ronald Losee, US Marines (Ret.) Retired Marine Colonel Ron Losee is a graduate of the University of Illinois, School of Journalism. His 31-year career took him to the Far East, from Korea to South Vietnam and many places in between. Later, as a Marine Reservist, when on vacation found him as a newspaper city editor. "I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! This is a story about typical American families and their neighborhood friends during WWII. It brings a different perspective of not only the war front, but stateside life during the war." By Colonel Tony Baggiano, USAF (Ret.) He served 20 years in the United States Air Force and his last Air Force assignment was the Commander of the San Antonio Data Services. He was awarded numerous medals which included Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars. The best way to teach history is to tell a story and that's what this book does. This is not your normal war book as it tells a story about friends and neighbors fighting in WWII and their families at home. It tells a different story about the "War to End all Wars". By Lieutenant Colonel James O'Donnell, USA (Ret.) Infantry combat commander from Company to Battalion and to Army level and a Distinguished member of the 16th Infantry Regiment. This memoir is a collection of WWII narratives about five heroic people whose wartime stories are connected. From Richmond, Virginia are Harriet Vaden, her brother Pfc. Herbert "Herbie" Vaden Jr., 1st Lt. Jimmie Monteith, and 1st Lt. Richard "Dick" Williams; and from Emmons, Minnesota, TSgt. Donald Singlestad. Herbie and Donald end up in the 5th Army fighting in Italy during the invasion of Salerno and many battles afterwards. Donald Singlestad later became the most decorated soldier of the 34th Infantry Division. Harriet joins the Red Cross after her younger brother Herbie enlisted, and she is assigned to the 454th Bomb Group in San Giovanni and Cerignola, Italy. When Herbie becomes MIA and severely wounded, Harriet travels across war-torn Italy to find him. Meanwhile, Richard Williams, a friend of the Vadens, was a bombardier with the 454th Bomb Group and becomes a prisoner of war in Romania. Included are the stories of Jimmy Monteith, a neighbor of the Vadens in Richmond, who is assigned to the 16th Infantry of the 7th Army and earns the Medal of Honor during the Normandy invasion. Family photographs, V-mails, and other memorabilia help tell the story of these incredible heroes as they face the perils of war. The wartime experiences affected each of them in many ways, both good and bad. As they survived each experience, their reasons for serving changed in many ways; and when they returned home, they had to re-build their lives physically and emotionally if they were to achieve happy lives again. Their stories mostly in their own words are long overdue.

"The modern political landscape of Virginia bears little resemblance to the past. The commonwealth is a nationally influential swing state alongside stalwarts like Florida or Ohio. But with increased power comes greater scrutiny--and corruption. Governor Bob McDonnell received a jail sentence on federal corruption charges, later vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Corporate influence on the state legislature and other leaders resulted in numerous ethics violations. Scandal erupted at the prestigious University of Virginia when the school ousted its president amid political drama and intrigue. Author Jeff Thomas reveals the intersection of money, power and politics and the corrosive effect on government in a new era."--Page [4] of cover.

The fascinating life of Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the Gray Ghost, before, during, and after the Civil War. The most famous Civil War name in Northern Virginia—other than General Lee—belongs to Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the Gray Ghost. His early life characterized by abuse of childhood bullies, a less-than-outstanding academic career, and even a brief incarceration, Mosby stands out among nearly one thousand generals who served in the war. Even though Mosby was opposed to secession, he joined the Confederate army as a private in Virginia, and quickly rose through the ranks. He became celebrated for his raids that captured Union general Edwin Stoughton in Fairfax and Colonel Daniel French Dulany in Rose Hill. By 1864, he was a feared partisan guerrilla in the North and a nightmare for Union troops protecting Washington City. After the war, his support for presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant forced Mosby to leave his native Virginia for Hong Kong as U.S. consul. A mentor to young George S. Patton, Mosby’s military legacy extended far beyond the War Between the States and into World War II. William S. Connery brings alive the many dimensions of this American hero.

In the fall of 1862 Julia Wilbur left her family’s farm near Rochester, New York, and boarded a train to Washington, DC. As an ardent abolitionist, the forty-seven-year-old Wilbur left a sad but stable life, headed toward the chaos of the Civil War, and spent the next several years in Alexandria, Virginia, devising ways to aid recently escaped slaves and hospitalized Union soldiers. A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time shapes Wilbur’s diaries and other primary sources into a historical narrative of a woman who was alternately brave, self-pitying, foresighted, and myopic. Paula Tarnapol Whitacre describes Wilbur’s experiences against the backdrop of Alexandria, a southern town held by the Union from 1861 to 1865; of Washington, DC, where Wilbur became active in the women’s suffrage movement; and of Rochester, New York, where she began a lifelong association with Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents of a Slave Girl, became Wilbur’s friend and ally. Together, the two women, black and white, fought social convention to improve the lives of African Americans escaping slavery by coming across Union lines. In doing so, they faced the challenge to achieve racial and gender equality that continues today. A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time is the captivating story of a woman who remade herself at midlife during a period of massive social upheaval.