Page 6 - Civil War Walking tour of Lynchburg

John W. Daniel
3•WaLK uP Court Street 8th Street Stairs
at the Allied Arts Building
This section of street, which is now wisely used for pedestrian stairs, was once a stone track up the hill. As Union forces approached the city in June of 1864 prior to the Battle of Lynchburg, arms and soldiers began to arrive to help defend the city. Lieutenant Carter Berkley, perhaps un- wisely, pressed forward on the advice of his map of Lynchburg and chose what appeared to be a shorter route, up 8th Street, as opposed to the longer but less steep 5th Street. Unfortunately, the steepness of 8th Street proved more than the exhausted horses and men pulling newly arrived guns and caissons up the hill could handle, and they became stalled. Luckily, as more reinforce- ments arrived, Confederate soldiers and fresher cavalry horses from General John Imboden’s command were able to pull the guns forward and ultimately to their use in the battle.
4 Daniel’s Home 720 Court Street
This home was built in 1826 and is the birthplace of John W. Daniel. Wounded and permanently disabled in the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864, Daniel resigned his commission and returned
to Lynchburg. He later served as Congressman and Senator and is known as the Lame Lion of Lynchburg. He is memorialized by a statue on Park Avenue, created by Moses Ezekiel. Ezekiel was the first Jewish cadet to enter Virginia Mil- itary Institute and fought with the cadets at the Battle of New Market in 1864. He later became one of the most famous sculptors of his era with over 200 works in America and Europe.
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