Slave Labor on Virginia's Blue Ridge Railroad

Slave Labor on Virginia's Blue Ridge Railroad

Author: Mary E. Lyons

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1467144908

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Between 1849 and 1859, Virginia raced to pierce the Blue Ridge Mountains by rail and reach the Ohio River. At least 300 enslaved people labored involuntarily toward that goal, along with 1,500 Irish immigrants. The state leased the labor of enslaved Virginians from local slaveholders, including four connected with nearby University of Virginia. Blue Ridge Tunnel and Blue Ridge Railroad historian Mary E. Lyons explored hundreds of primary documents to write the first nonfiction book about slave labor on a specific antebellum railroad. She shares hundreds of enslaved people's names, traces where they toiled along the line and describes their backbreaking--and sometimes fatal--tasks.


Book Synopsis Slave Labor on Virginia's Blue Ridge Railroad by : Mary E. Lyons

Download or read book Slave Labor on Virginia's Blue Ridge Railroad written by Mary E. Lyons and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2020 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1849 and 1859, Virginia raced to pierce the Blue Ridge Mountains by rail and reach the Ohio River. At least 300 enslaved people labored involuntarily toward that goal, along with 1,500 Irish immigrants. The state leased the labor of enslaved Virginians from local slaveholders, including four connected with nearby University of Virginia. Blue Ridge Tunnel and Blue Ridge Railroad historian Mary E. Lyons explored hundreds of primary documents to write the first nonfiction book about slave labor on a specific antebellum railroad. She shares hundreds of enslaved people's names, traces where they toiled along the line and describes their backbreaking--and sometimes fatal--tasks.


Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad, The

Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad, The

Author: Mary E. Lyons

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1467118931

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In 1849, Virginia began a bold railroad expansion toward the Ohio River and its lucrative trade connections. The project's plan covered 423 miles and called for piercing two mountain chains with three railroads. The Blue Ridge Railroad was the shortest of these but crossed the most mountainous terrain. At times, hired slaves, who prepared the tracks, and Irish immigrants, who blasted the tunnels, faced challenges that seemed almost insurmountable. Many were killed by explosions and falling rock. Those deaths often resulted in labor strikes. The unrest slowed progress and haunted chief engineer Claudius Crozet for seven years. In this first full-length history of the Blue Ridge Railroad, award-winning author Mary E. Lyons uses a wealth of historical documents to describe construction on what Crozet called "dangerous ground."


Book Synopsis Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad, The by : Mary E. Lyons

Download or read book Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad, The written by Mary E. Lyons and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1849, Virginia began a bold railroad expansion toward the Ohio River and its lucrative trade connections. The project's plan covered 423 miles and called for piercing two mountain chains with three railroads. The Blue Ridge Railroad was the shortest of these but crossed the most mountainous terrain. At times, hired slaves, who prepared the tracks, and Irish immigrants, who blasted the tunnels, faced challenges that seemed almost insurmountable. Many were killed by explosions and falling rock. Those deaths often resulted in labor strikes. The unrest slowed progress and haunted chief engineer Claudius Crozet for seven years. In this first full-length history of the Blue Ridge Railroad, award-winning author Mary E. Lyons uses a wealth of historical documents to describe construction on what Crozet called "dangerous ground."


The Blue Ridge Tunnel

The Blue Ridge Tunnel

Author: Mary E. Lyons

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2014-02-25

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1625849524

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The true story of the construction of the historic Crozet railroad tunnel—as seen through the eyes of three Irish immigrant families who helped build it. In one of the greatest engineering feats of the time, Claudius Crozet led the completion of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Tunnel in 1858. More than a century and a half later, the tunnel stands as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, but the stories and lives of those who built it are the true lasting triumph. Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Hunger poured into America resolved to find something to call their own. They would persevere through life in overcrowded shanties and years of blasting through rock to see the tunnel to completion. In this intriguing history, Mary E. Lyons follows three Irish families in their struggle to build Crozet’s famed tunnel—and their American dream. Includes photos and illustrations


Book Synopsis The Blue Ridge Tunnel by : Mary E. Lyons

Download or read book The Blue Ridge Tunnel written by Mary E. Lyons and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014-02-25 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of the construction of the historic Crozet railroad tunnel—as seen through the eyes of three Irish immigrant families who helped build it. In one of the greatest engineering feats of the time, Claudius Crozet led the completion of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Tunnel in 1858. More than a century and a half later, the tunnel stands as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, but the stories and lives of those who built it are the true lasting triumph. Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Hunger poured into America resolved to find something to call their own. They would persevere through life in overcrowded shanties and years of blasting through rock to see the tunnel to completion. In this intriguing history, Mary E. Lyons follows three Irish families in their struggle to build Crozet’s famed tunnel—and their American dream. Includes photos and illustrations


The Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad

The Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad

Author: Mary E. Lyons

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015-10-19

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 162585630X

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In 1849, Virginia began a bold railroad expansion toward the Ohio River and its lucrative trade connections. The project's plan covered 423 miles and called for piercing two mountain chains with three railroads. The Blue Ridge Railroad was the shortest of these but crossed the most mountainous terrain. At times, hired slaves, who prepared the tracks, and Irish immigrants, who blasted the tunnels, faced challenges that seemed almost insurmountable. Many were killed by explosions and falling rock. Those deaths often resulted in labor strikes. The unrest slowed progress and haunted chief engineer Claudius Crozet for seven years. In this first full-length history of the Blue Ridge Railroad, award-winning author Mary E. Lyons uses a wealth of historical documents to describe construction on what Crozet called "dangerous ground."


Book Synopsis The Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad by : Mary E. Lyons

Download or read book The Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad written by Mary E. Lyons and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1849, Virginia began a bold railroad expansion toward the Ohio River and its lucrative trade connections. The project's plan covered 423 miles and called for piercing two mountain chains with three railroads. The Blue Ridge Railroad was the shortest of these but crossed the most mountainous terrain. At times, hired slaves, who prepared the tracks, and Irish immigrants, who blasted the tunnels, faced challenges that seemed almost insurmountable. Many were killed by explosions and falling rock. Those deaths often resulted in labor strikes. The unrest slowed progress and haunted chief engineer Claudius Crozet for seven years. In this first full-length history of the Blue Ridge Railroad, award-winning author Mary E. Lyons uses a wealth of historical documents to describe construction on what Crozet called "dangerous ground."


Slaves for Hire

Slaves for Hire

Author: John J. Zaborney

Publisher: LSU Press

Published: 2012-10-12

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0807145122

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In Slaves for Hire, John J. Zaborney overturns long-standing beliefs about slave labor in the antebellum South. Previously, scholars viewed slave hiring as an aberration -- a modified form of slavery, involving primarily urban male slaves, that worked to the laborer's advantage and weakened slavery's institutional integrity. In the first in-depth examination of slave hiring in Virginia, Zaborney suggests that this endemic practice bolstered the institution of slavery in the decades leading up to the Civil War, all but assuring Virginia's secession from the Union to protect slavery. Moving beyond previous analyses, Zaborney examines slave hiring in rural and agricultural settings, along with the renting of women, children, and elderly slaves. His research reveals that, like non-hired-out slaves, these other workers' experiences varied in accordance with sex, location, occupation, economic climate, and crop prices, as well as owners' and renters' convictions and financial circumstances. Hired slaves in Virginia faced a full range of oppression from nearly full autonomy to harsh exploitation. Whites of all economic, occupational, gender, ethnic, and age groups, including slave owners and non-slave-owners, rented slaves regularly. Additionally, male owners and hirers often transported slaves to those who worked them, and acted as agents for white women who wished to hire out their slaves. Ultimately, widespread white mastery of hired slaves allowed owners with superfluous slaves to offer them for rent locally rather than selling them to the Lower South, establishing the practice as an integral feature of Virginia slavery.


Book Synopsis Slaves for Hire by : John J. Zaborney

Download or read book Slaves for Hire written by John J. Zaborney and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2012-10-12 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Slaves for Hire, John J. Zaborney overturns long-standing beliefs about slave labor in the antebellum South. Previously, scholars viewed slave hiring as an aberration -- a modified form of slavery, involving primarily urban male slaves, that worked to the laborer's advantage and weakened slavery's institutional integrity. In the first in-depth examination of slave hiring in Virginia, Zaborney suggests that this endemic practice bolstered the institution of slavery in the decades leading up to the Civil War, all but assuring Virginia's secession from the Union to protect slavery. Moving beyond previous analyses, Zaborney examines slave hiring in rural and agricultural settings, along with the renting of women, children, and elderly slaves. His research reveals that, like non-hired-out slaves, these other workers' experiences varied in accordance with sex, location, occupation, economic climate, and crop prices, as well as owners' and renters' convictions and financial circumstances. Hired slaves in Virginia faced a full range of oppression from nearly full autonomy to harsh exploitation. Whites of all economic, occupational, gender, ethnic, and age groups, including slave owners and non-slave-owners, rented slaves regularly. Additionally, male owners and hirers often transported slaves to those who worked them, and acted as agents for white women who wished to hire out their slaves. Ultimately, widespread white mastery of hired slaves allowed owners with superfluous slaves to offer them for rent locally rather than selling them to the Lower South, establishing the practice as an integral feature of Virginia slavery.


Coal, Iron, and Slaves

Coal, Iron, and Slaves

Author: Ronald Lewis

Publisher: Praeger

Published: 1979-05-10

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13:

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Studies slave labor in Virginia coal fields and ironworks around Baltimore and Richmond. Finds that slaveowners in these areas did not exercise absolute authority, but rather pragmatically yielded to slave demands within certain limit in order to maintain production and profit.


Book Synopsis Coal, Iron, and Slaves by : Ronald Lewis

Download or read book Coal, Iron, and Slaves written by Ronald Lewis and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1979-05-10 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Studies slave labor in Virginia coal fields and ironworks around Baltimore and Richmond. Finds that slaveowners in these areas did not exercise absolute authority, but rather pragmatically yielded to slave demands within certain limit in order to maintain production and profit.


Southwest Virginia's Railroad

Southwest Virginia's Railroad

Author: Kenneth W. Noe

Publisher: University of Alabama Press

Published: 2003-09-02

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0817350640

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A close study of one region of Appalachia that experienced economic vitality and strong sectionalism before the Civil War This book examines the construction of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad through southwest Virginia in the 1850s, before the Civil War began. The building and operation of the railroad reoriented the economy of the region toward staple crops and slave labor. Thus, during the secession crisis, southwest Virginia broke with northwestern Virginia and embraced the Confederacy. Ironically, however, it was the railroad that brought waves of Union raiders to the area during the war


Book Synopsis Southwest Virginia's Railroad by : Kenneth W. Noe

Download or read book Southwest Virginia's Railroad written by Kenneth W. Noe and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A close study of one region of Appalachia that experienced economic vitality and strong sectionalism before the Civil War This book examines the construction of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad through southwest Virginia in the 1850s, before the Civil War began. The building and operation of the railroad reoriented the economy of the region toward staple crops and slave labor. Thus, during the secession crisis, southwest Virginia broke with northwestern Virginia and embraced the Confederacy. Ironically, however, it was the railroad that brought waves of Union raiders to the area during the war


Slavery in the American Mountain South

Slavery in the American Mountain South

Author: Wilma A. Dunaway

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 9780521012157

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Table of contents


Book Synopsis Slavery in the American Mountain South by : Wilma A. Dunaway

Download or read book Slavery in the American Mountain South written by Wilma A. Dunaway and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Table of contents


The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad

Author: Michael Burgan

Publisher: Infobase Publishing

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 1438106548

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Describes the system by which black slaves escaped captivity in the southern United States.


Book Synopsis The Underground Railroad by : Michael Burgan

Download or read book The Underground Railroad written by Michael Burgan and published by Infobase Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the system by which black slaves escaped captivity in the southern United States.


West Virginia Blue Book

West Virginia Blue Book

Author: West Virginia

Publisher:

Published: 1927

Total Pages: 788

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis West Virginia Blue Book by : West Virginia

Download or read book West Virginia Blue Book written by West Virginia and published by . This book was released on 1927 with total page 788 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: