Biography of General William Mahone
General William Mahone, born December 1, 1826, near Courtland, Virginia, was a Confederate general, railroad builder, and politician. He attended Virginia Military Institute and began his engineering career with the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Mahone’s notable engineering feat was constructing the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad through the Dismal Swamp, completed in 1858. During the Civil War, he rose to major general after leading a key counterattack at the Battle of the Crater. Post-war, Mahone led the consolidation and rebuilding of Virginia’s railroads, forming the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad. He served as a U.S. Senator from 1879 to 1885 and died on October 8, 1895.