Harrison Holt Riddleberger, Readjuster

The study of Harrison Holt Riddleberger, Readjuster, brings forward a man who in his day was a gifted, spectacular and controversial figure in the late nineteenth century political history of Virginia. Little attention has been given to this man who entered Virginia politics unobtrusively and subsequently worked his way upwards until, for a short period, he was one of the most widely recognized party leaders in the state. He is somewhat vaguely remembered by most students of Virginia history as a lieutenant of an unscrupulous leader, General William Mahone, and as the originator of a bill designed to settle the state's financial problems in the extremely difficult post-Civil War period.