Avoca and the Civil War

The years of the Civil War in America are undoubtedly remembered as some of the most violent and tragic times to ever touch our young nation. The Civil War is America’s bloodiest conflict to the present day, with a whopping 620,000 causalities. The weight of such a war is not soon forgotten in the minds of those who experienced it, and even today reminders of this unforgettable conflict linger all over. Avoca is just one of many places where a story of loss and tragedy hangs in the air from the Civil War, still spoken and remembered over 150 years later. The beautiful Queen-Anne house seen today at the Avoca property would not exist if it weren’t for the wartime death of General James Dearing of the Confederate Army. James Dearing always wanted to be a soldier, a dream which is clearly evident by the little war doodles he left inside the cover of a book as a child. These doodles can be seen displayed at Avoca presently, and they are almost eerie to look upon knowing the later fate of Dearing. Dearing met his end at the Battle of High bridge, mere weeks before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. He lived long enough in a Lynchburg hospital to say his goodbyes and witness the end of the Civil War. Dearing left behind a wife and infant daughter. His wife, Roxana Birchett spent the rest of her life a widow, mourning the loss of a husband she loved to a war that took place on her own native soil. Dearing never got to witness his daughter grow up, and little Mary Lucretia barely knew a father she should have had a lifetime with. The mourning dress belonging to Roxana is displayed at Avoca, in the very same room her husband’s belt, scabbard, and saber stand. A reminder of the true cost of the Civil War. This is only one story where thousands are left forgotten to time. Every one of those 620,000 men called someone mother, father, brother, sister, or wife. Their stories deserved to be remembered.