Early Years and Civil War
Bolling was born on February 28, 1835, in Lunenburg County, the son of John Stith Bolling and Mary Thomas Irby Bolling. He grew up on his father’s farm and was educated at Mount Lebanon Academy before moving to Richmond at age nineteen to become a clerk in a store. The following year he and two brothers founded a wholesale grocery and commission business, which they operated until the summer of 1861. On May 9, 1860, Bolling married Cornelia Scott Forrest, of Lunenburg County. They had three daughters and one son.
On June 7, 1861, Bolling enlisted as a sergeant in the Lunenburg Light Dragoons, which became Company G of the 9th Virginia Cavalry Regiment. He was commissioned a lieutenant on April 28, 1862, and promoted to captain on January 17, 1863. Later that year he was detailed to Brigadier General William Henry Fitzhugh Lee‘s staff as acting assistant adjutant general, and in 1864 he was detached to brigade headquarters. At one time Bolling led the l
Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, who was using McLeanâs house as his headquarters, wrote:
â⦠of this artillery fight was the destruction of the dinner of myself and staff by a federal shell that fell into the fire-place of my headquarters at the McLean House.â
The Confederates won the First Battle of Bull Run due in large part to General âStonewallâ Jackson holding his ground like a âstonewall,â resulting in his nickname.
With momentum on their side, Confederate troops could have pursued the fleeing and exhausted Union army 20 miles into Washington and promptly won the war.
Instead, a heavy downpour of rain turned roads into mud pits and the pursuit was called off.
Beale, R L T (1819–1893) – Encyclopedia Virginia encyclopediavirginia.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from encyclopediavirginia.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.