Originally aired on June 20, 1997 - In part 147 of our Civil War series, Virginia Tech history professor James Robertson profiles Major General William (Billy) Mahone, the diminutive man yet tough fighter show founded the Norfolk and Western Railway.
#147 – General “Billy” Mahone
Somebody should write a new biography of “Billy” Mahone. Construction engineer, Confederate general, railroad maker, political leader, his big achievements stand in stark contrast to his small size.
Born in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1826, Mahone was the son of a tavern-keeper. As such, and at an early age, he became familiar with drinking, gambling, and swearing. Following graduation from VMI, the sickly looking Mahone helped in the development of a number of Virginia railroads. He was president of the Norfolk and Petersburg line when civil war beckoned.
Mahone became colonel of the 6th Virginia, a regiment composed of the elite of Petersburg and Norfolk. Dependable service brought him in November, 1861, a brigadier’s rank. Mahone was a brigade commander for two and a half years – longer than usual simply because opportunities for advancement did not come his way.
After gallantry at the July 30, 1864, Battle of the Crater, he was promoted to major general. It took but a few months for Mahone to prove himself an able division commander in Lee’s army. He seems to have been one of those men who never rise to full potential until fully challenged to do so.
William Mahone hardly looked the part of a fighting general. Barely five feet, seven inches tall, he weighed no more than 110 pounds. (He was so thin that when his wife heard that he had received a flesh wound, she moaned: “Now I know it is serious, for William has no flesh whatsoever.”) Deep-set eyes peered out from heavy brows; drooping mustache and long beard concealed much of his face; his feet were so long and thin that they resembled bed slats.
As for uniform, a friend described Mahone this way: “He wore a large sombrero hat…cocked on one side…he had a hunting shirt of gray with rolling collar, plaited about the waist, and tucked into his trousers, which were also plaited about the waist-band, swelled at the hips, and tapering to the ankle.” With a voice that was a falsetto tenor, the aired continued, Mahone “altogether was the oddest and daintiest little specimen of humanity I had ever seen.”
Then there was his dyspepsia. Because only dairy products seemed to ease his digestive pains, Mahone always kept a half-dozen chickens and a milk cow at his headquarters. When he moved, they moved.
Still, Mahone was distinguished for cool promptness and dash, plus high organization and keen military perception. He was a bruising fighter who never hesitated to attack. On the other hand, an associate noted, “whilst obedient to the commands of his superiors, (Mahone) exercised a most liberal right of private judgment when he was sure of his facts”.
At Appomattox, his command was in better fighting trim, and surrendered more muskets, than any other division in Lee’s army. That is testimonial to Mahone’s leadership in the field.
After the war, Mahone returned to the railroad business. He soon created what became the Norfolk and Western Railway. The ex-general and his wife named the railroad depots along the route. When they once fell into dispute over what to call one station, they acknowledged the impasse and called the place “Disputana”. It still goes by that name.
Mahone also built a strong political machine in Virginia and in 1880 won a U. W. Senate seat. He died in Washington in 1895. By his own choice, he was buried in Petersburg’s Blandford Cemetery.
While he is remembered more for railroad-building and state politics, Billy Mahone succeeded in both fields because of his sterling Civil war conduct. A fellow officer summed up the general’s fighting prowess by observing: “Whenever Mahone moves out, somebody is apt to get hurt”.
And at Appomattox, a Union commander looked at Mahone in wonder and said: “Not much man, but a big general”.