Harrison Holt Riddleberger (October 4, 1843January 24, 1890) was a Virginia lawyer, newspaper editor and politician from Shenandoah County. A Confederate States Army officer who at various times aligned with the Conservative Party of Virginia, the Readjuster Party and the Democratic Party, Riddleberger served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, which elected him for one term as U.S. Senator (from 1883 to 1889). Early life Riddleberger was born in Edinburg, Virginia in Shenandoah County to the former Susan Shyrock, whose father owned considerable land in Edinburgh. His father, Madison Riddleberger was a gunsmith and stagecoach driver who had moved from Botetourt County and joined the local militia as a private by 1835. The family included an elder sister Louisa C. Riddleberger Grandstaff (1832–1908) as well as a younger brother William Riddleberger (1847-1920). Another boy, Henry W Riddleberger died when Harrison was an infant. Harrison Riddleberger received enough schooling at the local private academies to begin working as a clerk in a local store when he was 15 (in 1858). Two years later, he organized a local cavalry company in Harrisonburg. His father owned two slaves in the 1830 and 1840 federal censuses, and in the latter census the Riddleberger household also included a free black woman. American Civil War During the spring of 1862 as American Civil War continued, Edinburgh became a base for Confederate Captain Turner Ashby during General Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign. Riddleberger volunteered for the Confederate Army and was commissioned a first lieutenant in the 10th Virginia Infantry on April 22, 1862, helping to lead Company C. He participated in the Second Battle of Bull Run, then was on sick leave in September and October 1862 and was accidentally shot in the foot on October 22, 1862. In January 1863, Riddleberger was sent as a recruiting officer to his native Shenandoah Valley. and also acted as a scout for Union troop movements. Riddleberger re-enlisted on November 21, 1863, bought a Confederate saddle and equipment, and rose to become Captain of company G of the 23rd Virginia Cavalry. However, on May 14, 1864, Union forces captured Capt. Riddleberger at Edinburg and sent him as a prisoner of war to Wheeling's Atheneum Prison. He spent most of the rest of the war as a P.O.W., being transferred to Camp Chase in Ohio, then Point Lookout, Maryland and historic Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland before being transferred back