Note: Danville has been our adopted home town since late 2003.
Danville, Virginia, is situated on the banks of the Dan River just three miles from the North Carolina border. With a population of about 3,500 in 1860, Danville was the center of the leaf tobacco business for southern Virginia and much of North Carolina. Though it was comparatively remote, the tobacco industry made Danville a wealthy city.
While slavery was common in Danville and the surrounding area, many residents opposed secession because it would threaten the prosperous tobacco industry. However, public sentiment changed when the north began raising and army to quell the rebellion. Danville’s mayor, William T. Sutherlin, was elected to the Virginia Secession Convention, and Virginia joined the other southern states in 1861.
Mayor Sutherlin was the city’s wealthiest citizen. He owned the largest tobacco factory in Danville, the second largest in Virginia. In 1859, he completed an Italianate mansion on four acres of ground near the city’s western boundary. The mansion is shown below in 1900, much unchanged from the war years.
During the war, Sutherlin’s tobacco factory was converted to a prison for Union troops. He served the Confederacy as Quartermaster for Danville, supplying food, clothing, and equipment to the army, and rising to the rank of Major.
Danville raised two companies, the Danville Blues and the Danville Grays for Virginia’s 18th Infantry. Less than half the men in these units returned home.
In support of the war effort, tobacco factories were converted to other uses such as hospitals, factories, and prisons. Sutherlin’s 1855 factory (shown today at right) became Confederate Prison No. 6. Over 7,000 Union prisoners of war were housed in Danville. Over half died from cold, dysentery, and smallpox.
Because of their relative prosperity, Danville's residents extended charitable assistance to the families of soldiers and other needy individuals. While Union prisoners complained of the food and conditions, they fared little worse than Confederate troops in the field.
Danville played its major role from April 3 to 10, 1865, as the last capital of the Confederacy. After the fall of Petersburg, and with Richmond in grave danger, the Confederate government evacuated on the last operating railroad, the Richmond and Danville. President Jefferson Davis took up residence in Major Sutherlin’s mansion, and the final meetings of the Confederate government intact occurred in the house. Davis’ last proclamation was signed there. After Lee’s surrender at Appomattox on April 9, Palm Sunday, Danville was deemed unsafe, and Davis with what remained of his government traveled further south.
Danville’s remoteness spared it some the hardships experienced by other southern cities. It was not occupied by Union forces until after the war. However, the economic and psychological damage was severe. Families struggled when their soldiers did not return, and their Confederate scrip was valueless. Operating even a small tobacco farm without slave labor was difficult, and property values fell by 80 percent.
The city’s recovery began in earnest in the early 1880s with the addition of cotton mills to its tobacco factories. Danville’s wealthiest period extended until 1920 and saw the construction of many large and impressive homes. The mile-long stretch from Ridge Street west to the Sutherlin mansion became known as “Millionaires’ Row.” Sadly, perhaps half of these homes have been lost in the years since to redevelopment. A walking tour, The Secrets Inside, is available through the Danville Historical Society.
Today, Marjory and I are fortunate to own one of the surviving large homes known as the Patton House, pictured at right. The Patton family served as bankers to the wealthy tobacco and textile barons, and lived quite well as a result. Completed in 1890, the 7,500 square foot home is unique in Danville because of its townhouse style and Richardsonian Revival architecture.
While sitting on the porch of the Patton House, we can clearly see the Sutherlin Mansion including the small balcony where Jefferson Davis review his troops and delivered his last public address. The third and final flag of the Confederacy flies before the mansion today, but this was not always the case. Major Sutherlin’s home also served as a public school and the city’s library before its present incarnation as the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History. Tours of the mansion are available and are highly recommended.
We also “see” the presence of Confederate soldiers, some serving as sentries. They are most often in evidence when the Danville Grays re-enactors are encamped. The aroma of the re-enactors campfires and the firing of rifles and cannon make for some uncanny flashbacks to Danville’s time as the Last Capital.
Additional Reading:
Danville, Virginia, by Clara Garrett Fountain
“Last Capitol of the Confederacy” at ExploreSouthernHistory.com
“Confederate Prison No. 6” at ExploreSouthernHistory.com
“Danville During the Civil War” at EncyclopediaVirginia.org
Danville, Virginia, is situated on the banks of the Dan River just three miles from the North Carolina border. With a population of about 3,500 in 1860, Danville was the center of the leaf tobacco business for southern Virginia and much of North Carolina. Though it was comparatively remote, the tobacco industry made Danville a wealthy city.
While slavery was common in Danville and the surrounding area, many residents opposed secession because it would threaten the prosperous tobacco industry. However, public sentiment changed when the north began raising and army to quell the rebellion. Danville’s mayor, William T. Sutherlin, was elected to the Virginia Secession Convention, and Virginia joined the other southern states in 1861.
Mayor Sutherlin was the city’s wealthiest citizen. He owned the largest tobacco factory in Danville, the second largest in Virginia. In 1859, he completed an Italianate mansion on four acres of ground near the city’s western boundary. The mansion is shown below in 1900, much unchanged from the war years.
During the war, Sutherlin’s tobacco factory was converted to a prison for Union troops. He served the Confederacy as Quartermaster for Danville, supplying food, clothing, and equipment to the army, and rising to the rank of Major.
Danville raised two companies, the Danville Blues and the Danville Grays for Virginia’s 18th Infantry. Less than half the men in these units returned home.
In support of the war effort, tobacco factories were converted to other uses such as hospitals, factories, and prisons. Sutherlin’s 1855 factory (shown today at right) became Confederate Prison No. 6. Over 7,000 Union prisoners of war were housed in Danville. Over half died from cold, dysentery, and smallpox.Because of their relative prosperity, Danville's residents extended charitable assistance to the families of soldiers and other needy individuals. While Union prisoners complained of the food and conditions, they fared little worse than Confederate troops in the field.
Danville played its major role from April 3 to 10, 1865, as the last capital of the Confederacy. After the fall of Petersburg, and with Richmond in grave danger, the Confederate government evacuated on the last operating railroad, the Richmond and Danville. President Jefferson Davis took up residence in Major Sutherlin’s mansion, and the final meetings of the Confederate government intact occurred in the house. Davis’ last proclamation was signed there. After Lee’s surrender at Appomattox on April 9, Palm Sunday, Danville was deemed unsafe, and Davis with what remained of his government traveled further south.
Danville’s remoteness spared it some the hardships experienced by other southern cities. It was not occupied by Union forces until after the war. However, the economic and psychological damage was severe. Families struggled when their soldiers did not return, and their Confederate scrip was valueless. Operating even a small tobacco farm without slave labor was difficult, and property values fell by 80 percent.
The city’s recovery began in earnest in the early 1880s with the addition of cotton mills to its tobacco factories. Danville’s wealthiest period extended until 1920 and saw the construction of many large and impressive homes. The mile-long stretch from Ridge Street west to the Sutherlin mansion became known as “Millionaires’ Row.” Sadly, perhaps half of these homes have been lost in the years since to redevelopment. A walking tour, The Secrets Inside, is available through the Danville Historical Society.
Today, Marjory and I are fortunate to own one of the surviving large homes known as the Patton House, pictured at right. The Patton family served as bankers to the wealthy tobacco and textile barons, and lived quite well as a result. Completed in 1890, the 7,500 square foot home is unique in Danville because of its townhouse style and Richardsonian Revival architecture.
While sitting on the porch of the Patton House, we can clearly see the Sutherlin Mansion including the small balcony where Jefferson Davis review his troops and delivered his last public address. The third and final flag of the Confederacy flies before the mansion today, but this was not always the case. Major Sutherlin’s home also served as a public school and the city’s library before its present incarnation as the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History. Tours of the mansion are available and are highly recommended.We also “see” the presence of Confederate soldiers, some serving as sentries. They are most often in evidence when the Danville Grays re-enactors are encamped. The aroma of the re-enactors campfires and the firing of rifles and cannon make for some uncanny flashbacks to Danville’s time as the Last Capital.
Additional Reading:
Danville, Virginia, by Clara Garrett Fountain
“Last Capitol of the Confederacy” at ExploreSouthernHistory.com
“Confederate Prison No. 6” at ExploreSouthernHistory.com
“Danville During the Civil War” at EncyclopediaVirginia.org
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