The Men of Randolph-Macon College and the Civil War

In 1861, talk of secession transformed into armed conflict. Many of the men educated at Randolph-Macon College in the preceding 29 years immediately responded to the calls of their state militias to serve, while others later enlisted or were conscripted into the Confederate or Union armies. Others served in public office, or were ultimately drawn into the conflict in the last days in reserve units in local defense. These are their stories.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

John Davidson Blackwell, class of 1859 (A.B.) and 1862 (A.M.)

JOHN DAVIDSON BLACKWELL, class of 1859, enlisted in the 20th VA Infantry as 1st Lieutenant, serving from 1861 through Oct. 18, 1862, when the unit was mustered out; on March 29, 1863 he enlisted in the 57th VA Infantry, Co A. He was captured at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, imprisoned at Fort McHenry, MD, and Fort Delaware, DE, and exchanged on July 15, 1863. He surrendered at Appomattox Court House, VA on April 9, 1865. Blackwell was the son of John Chapman Blackwell, R-MC's first graduate in 1835, as well as the nephew of John Letcher, governor of VA 1860-1864, who had also briefly attended the college. Blackwell was awarded an A.M. degree by R-MC in 1862, and after the war practiced law, serving as Commonwealth’s Attorney for Danville, VA in 1873.