Raymond Byrd was pulled from the Wytheville jail and killed by a mob in August 1926. His murder was one of the last lynchings in the state.
Randy Walker
Randy Walker is a musician and freelance writer in Roanoke. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was formerly a staff writer on (as it was then called) the Roanoke Times & World-News. He can be reached at randywalker7983@gmail.com.
Posted inCardinal News 250
The Declaration of Independence was signed on Aug. 2, 1776, amid ‘pensive and awful silence’
Seven Virginians signed the document. Some are famous, others not so much. Here’s who they were.
Posted inCardinal News 250
Who inspired Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence? Shakespeare.
The rhythms of Shakespeare helped shape the Declaration of Independence, says a Jefferson interpreter. In an age when many were illiterate, the Declaration, like Shakespeare’s work, was written to be heard, not just read.
Posted inCardinal News 250
Col. Lynch had Loyalists tied to a tree and whipped until they cried ‘Liberty Forever!’ That’s where the term ‘Lynch law’ comes from.
The name of the Altavista judge and militia colonel has gone into history for something he didn’t do. He never executed anyone.
Posted inCardinal News 250
Floyd tavern-keeper follows in footsteps of Revolutionary ancestor
Williams Ordinary in Prince William County supposedly was frequented by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, according to a local history.
Posted inCardinal News 250
Who declared for independence first — North Carolina, or this Virginia county?
Cumberland County claims the honor by one day over Charlotte County, and says its resolution was more definitive than an earlier one from North Carolina.
Posted inCulture
Parkway foundation sees bright future for dark sky tourism
The nonprofit Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, headquartered in Winston-Salem, is partnering with universities to conduct a comprehensive light pollution survey from the parkway’s northern gate at Rockfish Gap to its southern terminus near Cherokee, N.C.
Posted inCardinal News 250
Angus McDonald, the man who turned down George Washington
The Winchester merchant and land speculator was an experienced military leader from two wars. George Washington begged him to serve in the Revolution, but McDonald refused. Why?
Posted inCardinal News 250
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but George Wythe was ‘the man behind the man’
Wythe has been called “Jefferson’s godfather” for training Jefferson in the law — and more. He became the first university-affiliated law professor in the country, then he was poisoned by a relative.
Posted inCardinal News 250
Norfolk was burned, the only American city destroyed during the revolution; 250 years later, controversy remains over who ordered its destruction
The conflagration was a decisive propaganda victory for the Patriots, but there’s evidence, suppressed at the time, that they actually ordered the burning.
