John Letcher

1813–1884 (age 71)

Governor, Politician

Biography

John Letcher, born in 1813, served Virginia as a lawyer and statesman before becoming governor at the start of the Civil War. Though the era brought immense challenges, he strove to balance competing loyalties and to shepherd the commonwealth through a time of upheaval with as much prudence and care as he could muster.

His leadership is remembered for its sense of responsibility to the people he served, and his final resting place in Oak Grove Cemetery offers a quiet space to honor a leader who sought to preserve the state he loved.