Patricia Miller

Managing Editor at Encyclopedia Virginia

Author & public historian: BRINGING DOWN THE COLONEL; Managing Editor @encyclopediaVA. Repped by Writers House. Would rather be with my dog. Opinions my own.

Articles

History Under Our Feet

1 month ago | encyclopediavirginia.org | Patricia Miller

Sometimes history is right under our feet and we don’t even realize it. When I lived in Old Town Alexandria, I frequented the quaint brick Kate Waller Barrett branch of the Alexandria Library. Not only was it around the corner from my house, but it contains the city’s local history and special collections reading room, where I spent many hours poring through old newspapers and documents as I worked on various projects.
Silence of the Nuns - Oscar Darling ‘Conclave’ Contains Subtle Indictment of Catholic Church’s Views on Women

2 months ago | religiondispatches.org | Patricia Miller

There are many pleasures for students of the Catholic Church in Conclave—which recently received eight Oscar nominations—from the glimpses behind the doors of the uber-secretive papal conclave itself to the spot-on portrayal of the lush-austere pageantry of an institution that is some eight centuries older than the British monarchy.
Jefferson the Weatherman

Jan 17, 2025 | encyclopediavirginia.org | Patricia Miller

Whether it’s ferocious Santa Ana winds howling through Los Angeles or a polar vortex holding much of the country in its icy grip, it’s impossible to ignore the weather or how it affects everyday life. Human civilizations have long sought to make sense of the weather, to seek patterns that make it more predictable. But it was only with the invention of instruments like the thermometer and barometer in the seventeenth century that studying the weather became a scientific discipline.
How Deadly Was the Civil War in Virginia?

Dec 11, 2024 | encyclopediavirginia.org | Patricia Miller

No one disputes that the American Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in American history. But for decades historians and demographers have had difficulty pinpointing the exact number of casualties, especially on the Confederate side, due to poor record-keeping and records that were destroyed when Richmond fell at the end of the war. The long-standing consensus figure of 618,222 dead was reached by applying the percentage of Union soldiers lost to Confederate forces.
"Liberty to Slaves" - Encyclopedia Virginia

Nov 20, 2024 | encyclopediavirginia.org | Patricia Miller

This November marks the 249th anniversary of Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, the effort by Virginia’s last royal governor John Murray, fourth earl of Dunmore, to arm enslaved Black people to fight the mounting Patriot rebellion. The idea of enlisting enslaved men to fight for the Crown had been brewing for some time, partly to play on fears of slave rebellion that regularly coursed through a colony where just over 40 percent of the population was held in bondage.
How Dunmore Won a War but Lost the Fight

Oct 16, 2024 | encyclopediavirginia.org | Patricia Miller

This week we’re marking the anniversary of an obscure treaty that ended an equally obscure war that proved to be one of the most consequential conflicts in early American history. It’s not surprising, as Dunmore’s War, which our contributor Glenn Williams calls the last conflict of the colonial era, was fought in the shadow of the American Revolution.
Decades of Destruction: Urban Renewal in Virginia

Oct 1, 2024 | encyclopediavirginia.org | Patricia Miller

Encyclopedia Virginia has been working for more than a year on a special section on the impact of urban renewal across the Commonwealth. Last week we debuted the entire package at an EntryPoint event dedicated to the history of urban renewal in Virginia and the devastating effects of “redevelopment” on Black communities in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Northern Virginia, and Charlottesville.
Back to School with Encyclopedia Virginia

Sep 3, 2024 | encyclopediavirginia.org | Patricia Miller

It’s that time of year, as students and teachers head back to the classroom. Autumn has a “back to school” feel for us at Encyclopedia Virginia, too, as our traditionally slow summer web traffic comes surging back with the cooling temperatures and new assignments to pursue. To mark the start of the school year, we’d love to hear from educators about how you use EV in the classroom.
Women are (Still) Fleeing the Church - And the Cause is (Still) Pretty Clear

Jul 12, 2024 | religiondispatches.org | Patricia Miller

Eight years ago here at RD I noted that women were fleeing organized religion—as measured by attendance at religious services—faster than men, a trend that showed no sign of letting up. Historically, women have been a good deal more likely to go to church than men, but by 2012 the gender gap had narrowed to just six points, its lowest level ever, with 28% of women and 22% of men saying they attended services at least weekly, according to the Pew Research Center.
Hannah Lee Corbin: Forgotten Feminist Foremother

Jul 8, 2024 | encyclopediavirginia.org | Patricia Miller

A forgotten feminist foremother hides amid the members of the Virginia gentry who helped to shape the ideals of the American Revolution. When pioneering women’s suffrage leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton spoke at the “First Foremothers’ Celebration” in New York City in 1892, she reached back to the Virginia Tidewater of the Revolutionary era to place Hannah Lee Corbin alongside of Abigail Smith Adams and Mercy Otis Warren as among the earliest advocates for women’s rights in the new nation.