Stage 1: A State of Virginia Historic Marker.
R. E. Withers graduated from the medical department at the
University of Virginia in 1841 and practiced medicine in Campbell
County and in Danville, Virginia until 1861, when he and his family
moved to Wythe County. During the Civil War, Dr. Withers was
commander of the 18th Virginia Volunteer Infantry, Confederate
States Army. He fought in the Battle of Manassas, the Battle of
Williamsburg, and the Battle for Richmond. He was wounded five
times, the last time so severely that he was unable to continue
service in the field. He then served as Post Commander at Danville,
Virginia.
He served as Virginia's lieutenant governor from 1874 to 1875.
From there he went to the U. S. Senate from 1875 to 1881. During
President Cleveland's administration he was
U. S. Consul to Hong Kong (1885 - 1889).
Stage 2: Ingleside.
He retired to Ingleside, his home in Wytheville, where he remained
until his death.
According to Dr. Withers' autobiography and the National
Register of Historic Places survey, the home was built by Joseph
Caldwell between the years of 1869 and 1874. The Withers family
purchased the home and property in 1889 and gave it the name of
Ingleside. They made extensive renovations to the home, adding a
kitchen and a guest house to accommodate their 12 children and
numerous grandchildren.
Stage 3: The Cemetery.
His grave with some of his family. We both search out genealogy and
are fascinated with old cemeteries. When you arrive at his grave,
note the tombstone of his daughter Virginia Secessia. She was born
eight hours before he left for service in the Confederate Army and
was named to commemorate Virginia's secession from the Union.
Your search, if successful, will yield answers to the following
questions, which you should e-mail to us:
1. What was his middle name?
2. What year was he born?
3. What is the saying at the bottom of his grave marker?
Step 1 - Begin at the coordinates listed above. Upon arriving at
this point, you will note a Department of Historic Resources sign,
which gives some highlights of his career. Note the year of his
birth:
___ ___ ___ ___
.A....B....C....D.
And the year of his death:
___ ___ ___ ___
.E....F....G....H.
Using the formulas given here, you can obtain the coordinates
for a sign marking the location of his home, Ingleside.
J = H - C
K = A + C
L = H - D
M = A + C + D
O = F - E
P = F - M
N**KL**JH.GGE*********W**GOA**GM.PEC
Step 2 - At this place, note the number of the street address on
the Wytheville Historic District sign and use it with the previous
numbers and a few more calculations to find the coordinates of the
third and last stop on your tour.
Address ___ ___ ___
...........Q....R....S.
T = Q - S
N**KQ**SH.KLJ**********W**GOT**GR.PFD
Step 3 - Find his grave and read the saying at the bottom of his
gravestone.