A murky legacy: Confederate generals who helped Black locals
LISA VERNON SPARKS, The Virginian-Pilot
March 7, 2021
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Not much is written in Virginia’s history books about William Mahone, a general who fought with the Confederate states during the Civil War.
He led an attack against the Union Army in 1864 during the Battle of the Crater. Thousands of troops died, and hundreds of Black soldiers were massacred.
But there is another story about Mahone that is rarely told, historians say.
Post-Civil War, Mahone entered politics and led the Readjuster Party in Virginia. The group advocated for readjusting Virginia’s debt and built a biracial coalition on the might of Black voters following the Reconstruction. In 1879, the party controlled the legislature during a time when many Blacks held state office. Mahone gained a seat in the U.S. Senate. The party’s mission was to reduce Virginia’s bulging debt and reestablish public education, rebuild the infrastructure and create jobs.