Synopses & Reviews
George Randolph Wood filled several journal books with personalremembrances of life in nineteenth-century Hampton, Virginia; particularly of hisexperiences aboard river and canal boats transporting supplies for Confederatetroops along the James River during the Civil War. Wood wrote about his experiencebecause he thought it might interest his family, but his writing is of interest to amore general audience because of the scarcity of information about those who workedon river boats and supply barges during the war.
In his later life, Wood was a druggist by profession and his writing lacks the sentimentality oftenfound in reminiscences, and his terse, non-flowery style is interspersed with witand honest observations of wartime spent on the James River, its tributaries, andthe canal above Richmond. The Wood family evacuated Hampton and initially foundsanctuary in City Point. They tramped over the corpse-strewn Malvern Hillbattlefield. They lived in Richmond where Wood's oldest brother, Robert, wasimprisoned as a Union sympathizer. And they found accommodations in a crowdedmansion on the bank of the Appomattox River before returning through the lines tothe ruins of Hampton. Wood watched artillery shells descend in his direction;attended scores of theatrical performances in Richmond; visited encampments ofHampton boys; twice saw Robert E. Lee; went hungry, yet sampled caviar; was detainedat Fort Monroe; helped to build a house--and may have even cast a vote for AbrahamLincoln (in a mock presidential election).
Historian Scott Nelsonhas written an illuminating essay on how Wood captures the dilemma of people livingalong the James River trying to survive between the battle lines of Union andConfederate troops, and how this account provides new and valuable information forscholars and students alike.
Published in association with the PortHampton History Foundation for the Library at the Mariners' Museum