William Douglas Wallach: Culpeper Unionist

Who was the most influential anti-secessionist in Culpeper County- Who owned the Washington Evening Star during the war- Which Culpeper taxpayer was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln- Who had a younger brother that served as Washington's mayor during the war- Who furnished intelligence to Yankee spies regarding Culpeper's citizens- Who loaned his Culpeper home to a Northern general, only to see that home destroyed by the war- Who died in Culpeper in 1871, loathed by most of his neighbors-

Although one of the more fascinating figures in Culpeper County's history, William Douglas Wallach is today mostly forgotten. And, who knows- Perhaps it was inevitable Wallach became "Culpeper's forgotten man." After all, as one citizen put it, "He was never one of us to begin with."

Born at Washington, D.C., in 1812 and educated as a civil engineer, Doug Wallach moved west where he surveyed rail lines, canals and the Colorado River. Interested in journalism, Wallach also purchased a small newspaper in Colorado. Moving back east in the late 1840s, he acquired the Washington Evening Star as sole owner in 1855 and relocated The Star on Pennsylvania Avenue, midway between the Capitol and the "President's House." Bolstering the newspaperman's influence, Wallach's brother, Richard, became Washington's mayor in 1860.

Doug Wallach and his wife Margaret (Newton) enjoyed homes in Washington, and at "Montrose," a 300-acre Culpeper farm. After the railroad arrived in Culpeper in 1854, the Wallachs spent their leisure time at Montrose. Their pretty frame home was situated atop an abrupt hillock on the northeastern edge of Culpeper, just south of the railroad tracks, and east of Nalle's Mill Road (667).

Upon South Carolina's secession in December 1860, Culpeper citizens debated Virginia's future political course. During a speech at the Court House, Doug Wallach vehemently argued against secession and was "hissed down." Subsequently, Culpeper voters overwhelmingly approved Virginia's Ordinance of Secession.

Virginia was now at war, and Wallach suddenly found himself on opposite sides from his neighbors. Did he prefer it that way- Certainly not, but we do know from this point on, Wallach poured his heart, soul and editorial pen into advancing the Union war effort. Query: Did Wallach also retain a "business reason" for supporting the North- You bet he did…

Prior to the first Federal incursion into Culpeper in July 1862, Doug Wallach met in secrecy with invasion commander Gen. John Pope. Wallach also introduced Pope to the top Union spy in Culpeper, George Sullivan Smith (subject of a prior column). Utilizing sensitive data conveyed by Wallach and Smith, Pope amassed everything about Culpeper's citizens that any commander would want to know before setting out to conquer and destroy. One can speculate that the harsh measures Pope implemented when destroying select properties-like secessionist Richard Cunningham's "Elkwood Farm"-were outlined at Wallach's briefings.

As the violent war continued unabated, Wallach shifted his family in September 1863 from Culpeper back to Washington, and at that point, turned his home over to army commander, Gen. George Meade. Meade stayed in the home for a month and departed in October. The ravages of war and neglect soon leveled Montrose to the ground. Back in Washington, The Star made huge sums of money as Wallach's reporting and editorializing proved to be "must reads" throughout the North.
With the war finally over, Doug Wallach's newspaper trumpeted the Northern victory with an article detailing the decoration of Washington in celebration of Lee's surrender. On April 14, 1865, Wallach ran an advertisement for a play, "The American Cousin," to be held that night at "Ford's New Theatre." Wallach's good friend attended the play, that night, and soon the nation mourned along with Doug Wallach.

Selling The Star in 1867, the wealthy Wallach audaciously returned to war-ravaged Culpeper and rebuilt Montrose in 1868. The old newspaperman's health soon declined, however, and he died in 1871. His house stayed in the family until 1904, and the second Montrose burned down in 1946. Today, the Gyory family owns the former Wallach house site.

So how are we to recall Wallach's Culpeper legacy- Here is a fair assessment: Doug Wallach made a difference, and that "difference" was not in wartime Culpeper's best interests.

Clark "Bud" Hall is the leading authority on Culpeper's role in the
Civil War. E-mail .