Daniel Bedinger Lucas (March 16, 1836 in

Rion Hall Rion Hall is a late Federal style house near Halltown, West Virginia. Built in 1836, it consists of a three-story brick house with a two-story kitchen wing connected by a wood hyphen. The house was used as a headquarters for General Philip H. ...

near

Charles Town, Virginia Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 census. It is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. ...

– June 24, 1909 in

Charles Town, West Virginia Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 census. It is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. ...

), was a Confederate officer, poet, lawyer and ultimately justice of the

West Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 t ...

. He was the son of

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

William Lucas.

Biography

Daniel Lucas graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and earned his law diploma from

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

and graduated in 1856. He studied under Judge

John W. Brockenbrough John White Brockenbrough (December 23, 1806 – February 20, 1877) was a Virginia attorney, law professor, U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, and Confederate States congressman and distr ...

of Lexington and was admitted to the bar in 1859. He served with General

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil W ...

with the Confederates during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in the Kanawha campaign of 1861. Late in the war he escaped a blockade of Virginia to aid his college friend

John Yates Beall John Yates Beall (January 1, 1835 – February 24, 1865) was a Confederate privateer in the American Civil War who was arrested as a spy in New York and executed at Fort Columbus on Governors Island. Early life and education Beall was born in ...

, who had been arrested as a spy. He left Richmond on January 1, 1865, and crossed the Potomac River through the ice in a small skiff. He was not allowed to assist in the defense of Beall by General

John Adams Dix John Adams Dix (July 24, 1798 – April 21, 1879) was an American politician and military officer who was Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of New York and Union major general during the Civil War. He was notable for arresting the pro-Southern ...

, and resided in Canada some months. Beall was executed on Governor's Island in New York on February 24, 1865. Unable to return to Virginia, Lucas composed his most famous poem "The Land Where We Were Dreaming" shortly after the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox. His work often earned him the epithet "The Poet Laureate of the Lost Cause", a title he shares with several other Southern writers. When he returned to

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

the proscription on ex-Confederates in the practice of law prevented him from resuming his career until 1870, when restrictions were lifted. He returned to his law practice and was elected to the

West Virginia Legislature The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI o ...

from 1884 to 1887. In 1887, he strongly opposed

Johnson N. Camden Johnson Newlon Camden (March 6, 1828 – April 25, 1908) was a prominent oilman, industrialist, banker, railroad tycoon, and politician who was estimated to have $25 million at the time of his unexpected death. Although both of his attempts to b ...

, whom he considered an ally of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

. This led Governor

Emanuel Willis Wilson Emanuel Willis Wilson (August 11, 1844May 28, 1905) was the seventh governor of West Virginia, elected in 1884, and serving from 1885 to 1890. When the West Virginia Legislature disputed the election of 1888, both Governor Wilson and State Se ...

to appoint Daniel Lucas to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. The legislature, however, decided instead to select

Charles J. Faulkner Charles James Faulkner (July 6, 1806 – November 1, 1884) was a politician, planter, and lawyer from Berkeley County, Virginia (since 1863, West Virginia) who served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and as a U.S. Congressman. ...

. Governor Wilson appointed Lucas to the

Supreme Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Virginia is the supreme court, highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and ...

on December 11, 1889. Lucas also served as President of the Court during his service.

Poetry

"The Land Where We Were Dreaming" was first published in the ''Montreal Gazette'' and was reprinted widely in the United States and England. It was dated "Chambly, June 1865". In 1869, he published a collection called ''The Wreath of Eglantine''. The book's first part contains poetry by his sister, Virginia Bedinger Lucas, who had died young (she was born in 1838 and died at age 27) but had published some poems in various Southern journals under the pen name "Eglantine"; this first section is called "The Wreath of Eglantine". The second part of the volume is his own work, in three sections: "Patriotic and National Poems" (poetry inspired by the

Lost Cause The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an American pseudohistorical negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not centered on slavery. First ...

), "Tintographic Melodies" (lyrical and meditative poems, including an elegy on his sister), and "Saint Agnes of Guienne" (a long poem based on the life of

Agnes of Poitou Agnes of Poitou ( – 14 December 1077), was the queen of Germany from 1043 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1046 until 1056 as the wife of Emperor Henry III. From 1056 to 1061, she ruled the Holy Roman Empire as regent during the m ...

). His poems from that book, and his published and unpublished poetry, were edited and republished by

Charles W. Kent Charles William Kent (1860-1917) was an American scholar, who taught at the University of Virginia and the University of Tennessee. He edited a number of collections of poetry, including poetry from the American South, as well as the Old English poe ...

, then of the University of Virginia, in 1913. His work on this theme resulted in frequent requests for memorial poems for dedications, such as the consecration of the Stonewall Cemetery in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

in 1866, and the dedication of the Confederate Monument in

Charlestown, West Virginia Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 census. It is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. ...

in 1871.Lucas, ibid, pgs. 19 & 185 Further works included such poems as ''Jackson's Grave'' and ''A.P.Hill''. * ''The Wreath of Eglantine, and Other Poems'' (Baltimore: Kelly, Piet & Company, 1869) * ''The Maid of Northumberland: A Dramatic Poem'' (New York: G.P. Putman's Sons, 1879) * ''Ballads and Madrigals'' (New York: Pollard & Moss, 1884) * ''The Land Where We Were Dreaming'' (Boston: Roger G. Badger/Gorham Press, 1913)

Prose

* ''Memoir of

: His Life; Trial; Correspondence; Diary; and Private Manuscript Found among His Papers, including his own account of the raid on Lake Erie'' (Montreal: J. Lovell, 1865) * ''Nicaragua: War of the Filibusters'' (Richmond: B. F. Johnson Publishing Co., 1896)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Daniel B. 1836 births 1909 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American poets 20th-century American lawyers American male poets Bedinger family Burials at Zion Episcopal Churchyard (Charles Town, West Virginia) Confederate States Army soldiers Episcopalians from Virginia Episcopalians from West Virginia Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Military personnel from West Virginia People from Charles Town, West Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War People of West Virginia in the American Civil War Poets from Virginia Poets from West Virginia Poets of the Confederacy Robert Lucas family University of Virginia alumni Virginia Democrats Virginia lawyers Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni West Virginia Democrats West Virginia lawyers