Virginia Virginia, a Southern State of the United

Virginia

Virginia, a Southern State of the United States, was the site of some of the most important events in American history. The first permanent English settlement in America was made at Jamestown in 1607. In 1619, the Jamestown colonists established the first representative legislature in America. Some of the greatest battles of the Revolutionary War in America and the Civil War were fought in Virginia. American independence from Great Britain was assured when George Washington forced Lord Cornwallis to surrender at Yorktown in 1781. The Civil War ended when Confederate forces surrendered at Appomattox in 1865.

Virginia was named for Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the Virgin Queen. Historians think the English adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh suggested the name about 1584. That year, Elizabeth gave Raleigh permission to colonize the Virginia region. Virginia is also known as the Old Dominion. King Charles II gave it this name because it remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War of the mid-1600's. Virginia is one of four states officially called commonwealths. The others are Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

State flag and State seal

Virginia has the nickname Mother of Presidents because eight U.S. Presidents were born there. They include four of the first five Presidents--George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Other Presidents born in Virginia were William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.

Rappahannock River

Rivers and lakes. Several rivers flow from the western mountains and the Piedmont into Chesapeake Bay. These rivers include the Rappahannock, James, and York. They divide the Tidewater area into a series of peninsulas. The Potomac River forms Virginia's northeastern border. It is an important transportation route between Alexandria and Chesapeake Bay. The Shenandoah River flows northward through the Great Valley and empties into the Potomac.

Virginia snakeroot grows in the Eastern United States. It reaches a height of up to 3 feet (91 centimeters) and has brownish-purple flowers. People once chewed its roots and then applied them to wounds. Texas snakeroot, also called Red River snakeroot and serpentary, is found in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. It has bright-green oval leaves and dark-brown flowers. Texas snakeroot was used to make a tonic taken as a stimulant and painkiller. Button snakeroot grows in the Eastern and Central United States. American Indians used it for rattlesnake bites. Button snakeroot has long narrow leaves and purple flowers.

Shipyard in Newport News

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