Set in the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War, Arwen Bicknell’s new book, Justice and Vengeance: Scandal, Honor, and Murder in 1872 Virginia, reveals the turbulent events that led to the murder of James Clark, the former commonwealth attorney of Prince William County. Charged with allegedly seducing and running off with the daughter of the wealthiest family in town, Clark was murdered in his jail cell by the woman’s brother, Lucien Fewell.
Bicknell’s interest in Clark’s story began with a visit to the Brentsville Historic District in Bristow. There, the author learned the murder trial, a largely unknown piece of American and Virginia history, was deeply entangled
in the 1872 presidential election. With Justice and Vengeance, Bicknell illuminates that history in a riveting book that documents life in 19th-century Virginia and the country’s muddled political and justice systems. We spoke with the author ahead of her talk at the Manassas Museum on Dec. 4.
Why did this murder trial convince you to write a book and share the story with others?
We went to tour the Brentsville historic site. As we were walking to our car, the site manager told us: “There’s the jail. Interestingly the commonwealth attorney in 1872 ran off with the daughter of the richest guy in town, and when he came back, he was sitting in his cell, and her brother came in and shot him.” We went online and [thought] there has to be a book about it somewhere. There wasn’t, so I wrote it.
How did you research this topic?
There’s a local historian named Ron Turner who has a great website with court documents and genealogy that he transcribed. That’s where I got started. Another really great resource was a local historian named Morgan Breeden. He had done a lot of research, but the primary place I ended up getting most of my information was from the Alexandria Gazette in the RELIC Room at the Bull Run Research library. A lot of what I did was pull from court records and the newspaper accounts at the time.
Are there any locations or sites referenced in the book readers should visit?
The setting is almost entirely Prince William County. There are a few places in Fredericksburg that also get mentioned. One of the places [is] now The Winery at La Grange in Haymarket and the Antioch Church, which is [near] the winery. Manassas as a town plays a pretty big role, but Manassas as a town didn’t really exist yet.
Any plans for a new book?
I am working on one right now. The story is about the Willard Hotel during the Civil War era. The owner of the Willard Hotel was a major for the Union. He escorted a woman accused of being a Confederate spy to prison and fell in love with her along the way. They ended up getting married and became a microcosm of the country’s reunification after the war.
Arwen Bicknell will discuss her new book Justice and Vengeance at a free book talk on Sunday, Dec. 4 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Manassas Museum.
