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Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's capital is Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach. Its most populous subdivision is Fairfax County, part of Northern Virginia, where slightly over a third of Virginia's population of 8.7 million live.

Eastern Virginia is part of the Atlantic Plain, and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Central Virginia lies predominantly in the Piedmont, the foothill region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's most productive agricultural counties, while the economy in Northern Virginia is driven by technology companies and U.S. federal government agencies. Hampton Roads is also the site of the region's main seaport and Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base. (Full article...)

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The Battle of Hampton Roads was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of naval technology. It was fought over two days, March 8–9, 1862, in Hampton Roads. The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia's largest cities from international trade.

On the first day, the Confederate ironclad ram CSS Virginia (built from the remnants of the USS Merrimack), opposed only by conventional, wooden-hulled ships, destroyed two ships and damaged a third. During the night, the USS Monitor arrived. The two ironclads fought for about three hours, with neither being able to inflict significant damage on the other. The duel ended indecisively, the ships did not fight again, and the blockade remained in place.

The major significance of the battle is that it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships. It received worldwide attention; Great Britain and France halted further construction of wooden-hulled ships, and others followed suit. The use of a small number of very heavy guns, mounted so that they could fire in all directions, was first demonstrated by Monitor, and soon became standard in warships of all types.

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George Washington (1732 –1799) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as Commander-in-chief rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism. He also presided over the convention that drafted the Constitution, which replaced the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution established the position of President of the United States, which Washington was the first to hold, serving two terms in office.

At his death, Washington was hailed as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen". As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history, Washington became an international icon for liberation and nationalism. He is consistently ranked among the top three presidents of the United States, according to polls of both scholars and the general public.

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This month in Virginia history

November 7, 1775: Lord Dunmore's Proclamation (pictured) declares martial law throughout the Colony of Virginia.
November 19, 1718: On the orders of Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood, a fleet commanded by Robert Maynard departs Hampton in search of notorious pirate Blackbeard; on the 22nd they engage and kill him in coastal North Carolina.

November 27, 1926: Restoration and reconstruction begins on Colonial Williamsburg
November 27–December 2, 1863: The Battle of Mine Run was the last combat of the year for the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War .

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Credit: James F. Gibson (1862)

Union Army battery of 10-inch Seacoast mortars at Yorktown for the Siege of Yorktown

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... that a neighborhood in Virginia lost its public park because its city government did not build a fence?
... that in the span of three days, a Florida man was approved by bankruptcy courts to buy TV stations in Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia, and then arrested on charges of laundering millions in drug money?
... that Tyrone Davis set a school record with 28 career touchdown receptions while playing wide receiver for the Virginia Cavaliers?
... that the California Golden Bears men's basketball team won the 1959 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game by a single point over West Virginia?
... that a Virginia TV station had to take out title loans to pay its staff?
... that Orion Anderson, who was murdered by a lynch mob in Virginia in 1889, was recently found to have been only 14 years old at the time of his death?