Hon. Frank R. Wolf of Virginia in the House of Representatives shared a tribute to Mr. Hugh D. McCormick, a distinguished lawyer, author, Civil War historian, and World War II veteran. Mr. McCormick passed away at the age of 95 on September 15, 1998. The congressman extended condolences to Mr. McCormick’s family and highlighted his contributions, including his book “Confederate Son,” which detailed his family’s involvement in the Civil War. The Northern Virginia Daily also covered the legal farewell held in McCormick’s honor, emphasizing his accomplishments, zest for life, and philanthropic activities. The resolution presented in the Circuit Court of Warren County, Virginia, on September 21, 1998, further recognized McCormick’s impact on the legal community, his service in various organizations, and his dedication to preserving Confederate history. The resolution and memorial acknowledged McCormick’s significant contributions to the community and encouraged remembrance of his legacy.
HON. FRANK R. WOLF
OF VIRGINIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, September 23, 1998
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, | want to bring to the attention of our colleagues the following story from the September 22 Northern Virginia Daily honoring the life of Mr. Hugh D. McCormick, a noted lawyer, author and Civil War historian who was also a World War Il veteran. Mr. McCormick passed away on Tuesday, September 15, 1998, in Front Royal, Virginia, which is in my district. He was 95 years old.
In his book, Confederate Son, Mr. McCormick describes how his father and uncle participated in Pickett’s Charge in the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War.
We send our condolences to Mr. McCormick’s widow Virginia H. McCormick and their family.
Also included for the RECORD is a resolution honoring Mr. McCormick which was offered in a special session of the Circuit Court of Warren County, Virginia on September 21, 1998.
[From the Northern Virginia Daily, Sept. 22, 1998]
“CONFEDERATE SON” MCCORMICK GIVEN LEGAL FAREWELL
(By Donna Dunn)
Hugh D. McCormick, called a “true son of the Confederacy,” was honored Monday by the lawyers and judges he influenced in a career that spanned a half-century.
During a special session of Warren County Circuit Court, members of the local Bar Association introduced a resolution praising McCormick, a lawyer who died last Tuesday in Front Royal at age 95.
McCormick, who practiced into his 90s and was a Civil War historian, author, World War II veteran and former Town Council member, was remembered for his zest for life.
Retired General District Judge John F. Ewell read the association’s resolution ‘‘to perpetuate the memory of their departed friend.”
“We gather to pay our respects to a self-sufficient, goal-oriented man,” he read.
McCormick, born Jan. 14, 1903, in Pittsylvania County, received a bachelor’s degree in 1927 and a law degree in 1947 from the University of Virginia. Between college and law school, he worked for McCormick & Co. of Baltimore and served in the Marines in World War II. He practiced law in Front Royal from 1967 to 1995 and served as commonwealth’s attorney and town attorney. He also served eight years on the council.
McCormick’s wife, Virginia McCormick, and son, Hugh D. McCormick Jr., attended the ceremony.
The younger McCormick said his father’s accomplishments are impressive, but he would have wanted to be remembered for something more.
“He would want to be remembered as honest, hard-working, for his optimism and his enthusiasm for history,” he said. “He always tried to show that optimism.”
McCormick remained in good health until just a few months before his death.
Mrs. McCormick said she was “lucky.”
“How can you grieve for a man who lived 95 years and enjoyed life,” she said.
A past president of the Samuels Public Library, Bar Association and Front Royal Rotary Club, McCormick also organized the First Federal Savings and Loan Association and Peoples Bank of Front Royal.
Circuit Judge John E. Wetsel Jr. remembered McCormick “for his energy and intelligence.”
“He was literally a son of the South in the best sense,” he said.
McCormick funded a teaching chair for the Civil War Institute at Shenandoah University. He was an active member of John S. Mosby Camp 1237 of Sons of Confederate Veterans and served as its commander from 1962 to 1965. McCormick’s father, William Logan McCormick, served in the 38th Virginia Infantry and charged the Union lines with Gen. George E. Pickett at Gettysburg.
Circuit Judge Dennis L. Hupp said he met McCormick early in his legal career and found a friend in the older man.
“Hugh McCormick was a real son of the Confederacy and my mother was a true daughter of the Confederacy. When I told him this, he took a liking to me,” Hupp said.
McCormick published his memoirs, “Confederate Son,” in 1993 and gave the proceeds to the Civil War Institute.
The 176-page book recounts McCormick’s family heritage and his own life, including his youth in rural Virginia and success as a professional.
Former Front Royal Mayor Robert Traister recalled in the preface of “Confederate Son” his first meeting with McCormick.
The elderly lawyer’s office was at the top of a steep set of stairs. But Traister noticed that a motorized chair was positioned at the bottom—for McCormick, he assumed.
After climbing to the top-floor suite, Traister was greeted by McCormick with a firm handshake and a rapid-fire explanation of the lift.
“You should’ve called on the intercom and I’d of motored you up to the top. . . I keep it there for my elderly clients . . . don’t use it myself… the walk up here every day is good for my back good for my golf game,” McCormick told him.
Hugh McCormick Jr. said his father left the memoirs as his legacy.
“He said he wanted to leave it so his family would understand his life,’ he said. “And it’s an interesting part of Americana.”
Delivered into this world by a midwife who was a former slave, McCormick respected all people, his son said.
“He liked people and met them wherever they were,”’ he said.
In the epilogue to “Confederate Son,” McCormick shared his philosophy on life:
“Do not fear the future. Whenever a challenge presents itself, pursue it with all of the intelligence and energy at your command. To do so guarantees success in any of its myriad forms. To do less is not only abhorrently wasteful of the human spirit, it is undignified.”
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Virginia: In the circuit court of Warren County
Re Special session of court in honor and memory of Hugh D. McCormick, Esquire
ORDER
There will be a special session of the Circuit Court of Warren County on September 21, 1998, at 4:00 p.m. in honor and memory of Hugh D. McCormick, Esquire.
A committee consisting of the following named persons shall present a memorial resolution to the Court at that time, to-wit: Edward F. Greco, Esquire, Chairman; The Honorable John F. Ewell, Judge, Retired; and John G. Cadden, Esquire.
The Clerk of this Court shall forward copies of this Order to the named committee members, post a copy of this Order in his office and forward copies of this Order to the Clerks of all Circuit Court in the TwentySixth Judicial Circuit who shall post these in their respective offices. The Clerks shall further notify members of their respective Bars in the manner they deem most expeditious and may also further disseminate copies of this Order as they deem appropriate.
Entered this 18 day of September, 1998.
PREAMBLES AND RESOLUTIONS
Whereas, on the 16th day of September, 1998, Hugh D. McCormick, Esquire, a former member of the Bar of this Court departed this life; and,
Whereas, Warren County has suffered the loss of an able and distinguished lawyer, sportsman and citizen, and, members of the Bar of Virginia who knew him, grieve the loss of a true and loyal friend; and,
Whereas, a brief Memorial of his life history is hereto attached; and,
Whereas, it is the desire of the members of the local Bar of this Court to perpetuate the memory of their departed friend and brother as a part of the records of this Court, and to place in these records an expression of their love and affection for him as a man, and of the admiration, respect and esteem in which they hold his memory as an outstanding person.
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the members of the Warren County Bar do hereby express their profound grief and their sense of the irreparable loss they have suffered in the death of their friend and brother, Hugh D. McCormick, Esquire; and,
Be it further resolved, that for the purpose of perpetuating his memory, this Resolution, with the attached Memorial, be submitted to the Circuit Court of Warren County, Virginia, accompanied by a Motion that they be made a part of the permanent records of this Court and to have a copy thereof sent to his widow, Virginia H. McCormick, and to the local press.
Presented by a Committee of the Warren County Bar on behalf of the Warren County Bar Association.
MEMORIAL
Hugh DeWitt McCormick, Esquire, was born January 14, 1903 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The youngest of thirteen children, he was the son of William Logan McCormick, a Confederate veteran in Pickett’s Division, and Louise Taylor Farmer McCormick. Beginning his education in a one room schoolhouse, he was a 1923 graduate of Chatham Training School, now Hargrave Military Academy, and received a B.S. degree in 1927 and went on to receive a L.L.B. degree in 1947 from the University of Virginia. Between college and law school he worked for McCormick & Co., Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland. He was a WW II veteran serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He was appointed Commanding Officer of Service Squadron-34, Marine Air Group 34, Third Marine Wing, Oak Grove, North Carolina. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring.
Mr. McCormick practiced law in Front Royal from 1947 to 1995. He served as Commonwealth’s Attorney and Town Attorney and served eight years on the Front Royal Town Council. He was past President of the Samuel’s Public Library, was an organizer of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association and the Peoples Bank of Front Royal. He was past president of the Warren County Bar Association and the Front Royal Rotary Club, a member of the Unity Lodge 146 AF & AM, a Shriner, and active in many other fraternal and civic organizations. He funded scholarships at the University of Virginia School of Law and at Campbell Theological Seminary in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He also funded a chair for the Civil War Institute at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.
Mr. McCormick took a great interest in athletics and was an accomplished athlete and a strong supporter of the University of Virginia Alumni Association and the Athletic Association. He played on the University of Virginia football team and was a lifelong devotee of the game of golf which he played until he was ninety-two years old.
One of the last real Confederate sons, he had a great interest in the history of the Confederacy. He was an active member of John S. Mosby Camp 1237, Sons of Confederate Veterans and served as its Commander from 1962-1965. He published his memoirs “Confederate Son” in 1993 with proceeds going to the Civil War Institute of Shenandoah University in Winchester.
The community, and particularly the Bar, wish to express our deepest regret and sympathy to his family as we gather to pay our respects to a self-sufficient, goal oriented man, a colleague and a friend. All of us will do well to remember his admonition in his Epilogue of “Confederate Son”: “Do not fear the future. Whenever a challenge presents itself, pursue it with all of the intelligence and energy at your command. To do so guarantees success in any of its myriad forms. To do less is not only abhorrently wasteful of the human spirit, it is undignified.” Hugh DeWitt McCormick epitomized this worthy sentiment.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Bar and citizens of Warren County.
| Book | United States Congressional Record Proceedings and Debates of the 105th Congress Second Session |
| Published | September 22-26, 1998 |
| Publisher | United States Government Printing Office, Washington |
| Date | September 23, 1998 |
| Volume | 144 |
| Part | 15 |
| Pages | 21,738 – 21,739 |
| Retrieved | February 4, 2024 |
| Repository | Internet Archive |
Unity Lodge No. 146 
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