"No Matter What Befalls Me"

[zburkett]

The Orange County (Virginia) Historical Society has just published "No Matter what Befalls Me" which I picked up the day of its introduction. I'm about one third of the way through it and I find it fascinating. It is a simple clear presentation of documented facts about the families living in the area of the Fredericksburg, Chancelorsville, Wilderness, Spotsylvania battles. The book contains detail of the slave members of the families and what became of them during and after the war. Journals of a trip to sell slaves, letters from home to soldiers, letters from soldiers back to the home, accounts of freed slaves who remained with their white families into the twentieth century, an account of a couple murdered by their slaves for ordering whippings. All passed on without judgment. If you are interested in the simple details of the lives of families during the War Between the States. It is worth the $25. Orange County Historical Society, 130 Caroline Street, Orange, Virginia 22960. www.orangecovahist.org