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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, though 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, including the U.S. Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency. 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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John Floyd (April 24, 1783 – August 17, 1837) was a Virginia politician and soldier. He represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 25th Governor of Virginia. During his career in the House of Representatives, Floyd was an advocate of settling the Oregon Territory, unsuccessfully arguing on its behalf from 1820 until he left Congress in 1829; the area did not become a territory of the United States until 1848.

In 1832, Floyd received votes for the Presidency of the United States, running in the Nullifier Party. He carried South Carolina and its 11 electoral votes. While governor of Virginia, the Nat Turner slave rebellion occurred and Floyd initially supported emancipation of slavery, but eventually went with the majority. His term as governor saw economic prosperity for the state. He is the namesake of Floyd County, Virginia.

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This month in Virginia history

painting of men along a line of artillery — Artillery at the Battle of First Manassas

July 18, 1774: The Fairfax Resolves are adopted in the lead up to the American Revolution.
July 21, 1861: The Battle of First Manassas (pictured), is fought in Northern Virginia, becoming the first major land battle of the American Civil War.
July 30, 1619: The Virginia House of Burgesses (predecessor of the Virginia General Assembly) first meets in Jamestown, marking the beginning of representative government in the future United States.
July 30, 1864: The Battle of the Crater results from an attempt to break the Confederate trenches near Petersburg using an explosives-filled tunnel.

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Credit: justin.critzer

The Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, Virginia

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... that there is a Loch Ness Monster in Williamsburg, Virginia?
... that Tyrone Davis set a school record with 28 career touchdown receptions while playing wide receiver for the Virginia Cavaliers?
... that Flat Top Mountain's agriculture is mainly devoted to livestock and Christmas tree farming?
... that the Vulcan Bridge, a bridge in Vulcan, West Virginia, was constructed after the mayor requested financial aid from the Soviet Union?
... that five peregrine falcon chicks were released from the roof of an office building in Virginia in an unsuccessful attempt to combat an overpopulation of pigeons?
... that a Virginia radio station built a house to raise money for operations?