new Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O) for several years from 1869 to 1872, returning to Petersburg, where they lived the rest of their lives. Their former home on South Sycamore Street in Petersburg became part of the Petersburg Public Library. In 1874, they acquired and enlarged a house on South Market Street which was their home thereafter. Postwar In a meeting near Appomattox Court House about the time of the surrender, defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee urged his generals to go home and start rebuilding. In the post-war period, William Mahone redirected his attention back to his pre-war occupation, railroading, quickly rebuilding the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad. He became president of the South Side Railroad in late 1865, and was instrumental in combining the N&P and South Side Railroad with the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad to form the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad in 1870. Otelia and William moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, headquarters of the A,M & O, whose initials were said to stand for "All Mine and Otelia's". After the Financial Panic of 1873, the A,M & O fell behind on its bonds, and went into receivership. Mahone lost control in 1881 to northern financial interests who renamed it the Norfolk and Western Railway. William Mahone was also active in Virginia politics for almost 30 years. He was elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 1864 while still serving in the Confederate Army. After he failed in a bid to become governor in 1877, he organized Readjuster Party the following year. His chosen candidate William E. Cameron was elected as governor, serving from 1882 to 1886. Mahone himself served in the United States Congress as one of Virginia's two senators from 1881 to 1887. Heritage William Mahone died in 1895 in Washington, D.C. Otelia lived for 15 more years, and died in Petersburg, Virginia on February 11, 1911, at the age of 75 years and 6 months. They are buried in Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg. A large portion of U.S. Highway 460 between Petersburg and Suffolk parallels the 52-mile tangent line of the railroad William engineered. As the road passes through the towns he and Otelia are thought to have named, it is locally-known as General Mahone Boulevard and General Mahone Highway. References Books Blake, Nelson (1935) William Mahone of Virginia: Soldier and Political Insurgent Richmond, VA: Garrett and Massie Striplin, E. F. Pat. (1981) The Norfolk