James McCray's Co., Mountain Rangers, Co. No. 592-593. These units were often called "Moccasin Rangers" in the North, but were designated "Partisan Rangers" or "Confederate States Rangers". Two companies of the 119th Regiment of Taylor County responded, and later became part of the 31st Virginia Infantry and the 25th Virginia Infantry. Then he and his cronies can rob the crowds as they please. Like the rest of the Confederate states we are in fact a colony. 5, Va. State Rangers, formed from the 199th Regt. West Virginia voters hold state elections and elect Arthur I. Boreman of Wood County as the first governor of the state of West Virginia. Little people. Since the first pioneers had pushed across the mountains and settled the western lands of Virginia, grievances had existed between them and the tidewater aristocrats to the east who governed the huge commonwealth. of Virginia in 1864, and as such was president of the senate. In addition, there were about 3.5 million enslaved people and 130,000 free Black people. A number of delegates entered Confederate service; Samuel Woods, John Echols, Franklin P. Turner, Napoleon B. French, Johnson Orrick, Alpheus F. Haymond, Currence B. Conrad, and Benjamin W. Byrne, among others. In 1860 the mountainous counties of northwestern Virginia cared little about slavery. Western Virginia was crucial to the Union during the Civil War. western Virginia as a part of Virginia which had seceded from the United States and become a part of the Confederate States. Thats what finally cleared passage of bills in the U.S. Congress. Va. Western Virginia was an important source of minerals the Confederates needed for the production of arms and ammunition. Boreman asked Gen. David Hunter to exert his forces in the southwestern counties- "The counties between the Great Kanawha and Big Sandy Rivers, in the southern part of the State, have been infested with large bodies of guerrillas from the beginning of the rebellion"[58], After the capture of Union General Scammon and his men an Ohio newspaper was prompted to write on Feb, 18, 1864-, "With the commanding General of the Department and his Quarter Master, in Libby prison, captured by rebels within 35 miles of Gallipolis- a government steamer burned at the same time, it might seem to an unpracticed eye, that the State of West Virginia was not so intensely loyal as some persons wish it to be considered. Their serfs meanwhile wave Confederate flags in protest. Militia (Webster), Capt. William "Rebel Bill" Smith's Co., elements of 167th Regt. Also represented Buchanan and Tazewell Counties, Virginia. West Virginia would later be split from the Department of the Ohio and be formed into a new Department of Western Virginia. This new "nation" now demanded that Lincoln abandon all U. S. military posts in the new Confederacy. The birth of the state of West Virginia occurred in meeting halls and conventions, not on the battlefields of the American Civil War. He had expressed concern at the start of the war that little effort was being made by Richmond to defend western Virginia. The West Virginia Monument and Memorial Protection Act of 2021 seeks to prevent city councils, county commissions, boards of education, universities and any other public entity from removing. He continued in his role as a Virginia senator after the creation of West Virginia in 1863, but in 1864 he was arrested for treason on the direct order of President Lincoln. Mallinson, David "Confused First Fight." Confederate West Virginia - Abbeville Institute Our history is about as sad as that of the Congo or Puerto Rico, other formerly wealthy colonies. Admitted to the union as the 35th state in 1863, it is a relatively small state. The date of admission listed for Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky was the official date set by an act of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States. Gray Building 500 South Bronough Street Tallahasse, FL 32399-0250 Telephone: 850-245-6600 In 1885 Florida began granting pensions to Confederate veterans. The following table shows voting results, some only partial, for the Confederate congressional elections on May 28, 1863. "[40], In May 1862 Major Darr was preparing to arrest the Catholic bishop of Wheeling, Bishop Whelan, but was prevented from doing so by Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, who instructed Darr-"The President being informed that you intend or threaten to arrest Bishop Whelan, the Catholic Bishop of your city, he directs that you take no action against the Bishop without the President's order."[41]. Our schools told us that we seceded from Virginia. Riding with the 3rd and 8th West Virginia Regiments as well as the 14th Pennsylvania, Averell skirmished with the far-right flank of Joness line and drove the Confederates back across Cheat Mountain. Following the secession vote in Richmond, John Carlile, a Unionist leader from northwest Virginia, led a meeting at Clarksburg which called for a convention to meet at Wheeling the next month for determining what steps "the people of Northwest Virginia should take in the present emergency. Large numbers of West Virginia recruits were under the command of John Imboden of Augusta County, Va., which operated in West Virginia and was also part of Lee's Gettysburg campaign; the 18th Virginia Cavalry, the 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry, four companies of the 25th Virginia Infantry and McLanahan's Battery, with McNeill's Rangers attached to his command. Its still hard to convince others who grew up pledging allegiance to another flag every morning. Big mess. The Statehood of West Virginia, a story - African American Registry Philip James Thurmond's Co., Thurmond's Rangers (Monroe, Greenbrier, Fayette, Raleigh, Kanawha), Capt. On December 31, 1862, President Lincoln approved an enabling act admitting West Virginia into the Union. An estimated 32,000 West Virginians fought for the Union, with between 12,000 to 15,000 signing up for the Confederacy according to some historians. Boeche, Thomas L. "McClellan's First Campaign." His son Henry was a major in the Confederate army, and later a governor of West Virginia. Gen. Henry Heth, who had recently been placed in command of the area, was charged with enforcing the law, though it lasted for only a short time. The Real Reason West Virginia Broke Away From Virginia The convention selected new officials as well as a new governor, Francis Pierpoint. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and unassigned companies. A so-called Restored Government was formed to represent these westerns, and it was given recognition by Washington. He opposed a centralized government and fought for greater local control. Gen. John Imboden informed Jefferson Davis, and protest was formally made to Maj. Gen. Halleck, who sent word that "Milroy had no authority to issue these orders, which are deemed in violation of the laws of war." America's Civil War, September 1994. The western Virginia campaign, also known as operations in western Virginia or the Rich Mountain campaign, occurred from May to December 1861 during the American Civil War. Sandstone Falls, West Virginia. During Brig. Also represented Giles, Tazewell, Bland and Buchanan, Va. Greenbrier, Fayette, Raleigh, Nicholas, Braxton, Pocahontas, Clay, Webster, Lewis, Barbour, Upshur, Gilmer, Randolph, Tucker, Webster. When Gov. In the end, our freedom could only be guaranteed by the restoration of an updated Confederate Constitution. 195-208, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Washington, DC, 1898, Series II, Vol. West Virginia in the Civil War FamilySearch John L. Sprigg's Co., Braxton Co. Rangers, Co. No. In Congress Boteler supported efforts to strengthen the central government, particularly in efforts to regain military control of his district which became part of the new state. Case closed, no studies of economy, finance, law or geography needed (or desired). Gen. John McCausland with saving the city and presented him with a gold sword. The number of post offices has been estimated at a minimum of fifty, which included the towns of Shepherdstown, Martinsburg, Charles Town, Rippon, Moorefield, Franklin, Romney, Travellers Repose (now Bartow), Huntersville, White Sulphur Springs, Frankford, Lewisburg, Red Sulphur Springs, Salt Sulphur Springs, Union and Peterstown. Virginians were allowed to vote outside of their original resident counties but had to vote at the county courthouse and not at local polling stations. Zimring writes that the crucial battle for statehood took place not in Virginia but in the halls of Congress and the White House.Statehood supporters told President Lincoln and Congress that slavery in the state would be ended via gradual emancipation (written into the states constitution). Neither was it annexed with any real popular support. ITHAKA. Running to within 100 miles of the Canadian border, they nearly cut the Union in two. The Federal soldiers were repulsed.[13]. II, Section 1, pgs. It remained loyal to the Union, however, the people of West Virginia were split. William T. Meador's Co., Co. No. [60][61] Each district was entitled to choose one representative in the Congress of the Confederate States. In Switzerland, this form of government fosters a leveling of social classes. Really? JSTOR, the JSTOR logo, and ITHAKA are registered trademarks of ITHAKA. This is an obvious crowd-pleaser. Allen T. Caperton of Monroe County became a Confederate senator for Virginia and remained in that position to the end of the war. District 11 includes Pendleton and Pocahontas. West Virginia declared its independence from the secessionist state of Virginia in the middle of the Civil War and became the 35th state. Sandy beaches and luxury hotels seem to define this Caribbean nation, but its the music and architecture that truly speak to its complicated history. History of West Virginia - Wikipedia ENTRY The Virginia Debt Controversy SUMMARY The Virginia debt controversy involved disagreements about how to pay almost $34 million in state debt accrued between 1822 and 1861. Albert G. Jenkins resigned his military commission to accept a seat in the Confederate congress, but resigned that post in April 1862 to resume his military activities. Militia (Gilmer), Capt. The capital and largest city is . West Virginia became the 35th state admitted to the Union on June 20th, 1863, just weeks before the Battle of Gettysburg. Brigadier General Joseph J. Reynolds commanded the Union garrison on Cheat Mountain that was supposed to protect the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike. [text_ad use_post=455]. A bright fellow riding through Monroe County was intrigued by the Confederate monument in a field near Union. We must inaugurate a system of Union guerrillas to put down the rebel guerrillas.. The counties of Monroe, Greenbrier and Mercer also began to issue low value scrip.[37]. America's Civil War, January 1992. 160; pgs. This was done on behalf of a Unionist government in Wheeling, Virginia, approved by Congress and President Lincoln, though it was done with a low participation of the citizens within the new state. Changed to Union in 1862 by Restored Govt of VA), 190th Regiment Virginia Militia (Wyoming), 1st VSL, Capt. Occasionally Confederate mail would be slipped into the Federal mail system by sympathetic postmasters in Wood County for delivery further north, though suspicious mail was sometimes opened by Federal authorities, resulting in a jail term for the recipient. Approximately 9,000 West Virginians chose to fight for the Confederate States of America and generally joined the confederate regiments of Virginia. Jack Tuning's Co. (Braxton, Webster), This page was last edited on 27 May 2022, at 14:34. Senator. (Rev.) Keeping a major Union presence in western Virginia was almost as important. Moorefield, West Virginia: Confederate Bastion in the Union State [17], https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_Virginia_campaign&oldid=1150924855. An unfair tax structure that benefited the slave-owning eastern counties, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of the states roads and railroads were constructed in the east, contributed to the desire for the creation of a separate state. North of this line the locals worked with the US Congress to create a small pro-Union territory. Duncan McLaughlin's Co., Webster Dare Devils, formed from the 199th Regt. "[57] The ease with which the Jones-Imboden Raid was conducted in 1863 frustrated Maj. Gen. Halleck. The adoption of the new constitution uniting Virginia with the Confederate States of America was approved only by the delegates to the Secession Convention. Lincoln had to keep a hold on Marylandit was unthinkable to have the nations capital surrounded by Rebel territory. To the so-called Radical Republicans this was a real civil war. [4] While the Union army held much of the territory of the new state, large sections remained in the hands of guerrillas and bushwhackers. You might would think the Union was eager to sign up a new state, but Washington would not accept another slave state. 2, From the following article "General Orders No. In retaliation Gov. 437-438; pgs. Averell pushed his men hard the next day to avoid capture. Even in the southern counties McDowell had 10% slaves, Mercer 150 of a total population of 4500. Lee attempted to drive this force off the mountain with a complicated plan involving several columns which would converge on and surround the garrison. As Union infantry commander Robert H. Milroy wrote, We have now over 40,000 men in the service of the U.S. in Western Va. [but] our large armies are useless here. The area that comprises West Virginia was originally part of the British Virginia Colony (1607-1776) and the western part of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia (1776-1788), and state of Virginia (1788-1863). They cannot catch guerrillas in the mountains any more than a cow can catch fleas. Va. However, there was much opposition to this action from the western counties of the state, which were tied closer to western Pennsylvania and Ohio than to eastern Virginia. JSTOR Daily readers can access the original research behind our articles for free on JSTOR. They operated as such from 1861 to 1862, and were later recruited into the Virginia State Line in the latter half of 1862, and then into the regular Confederate Army in March 1863. The Swiss have carved a country for themselves where they enjoy the freedoms we can only dream of: a cultural legacy in such things as monuments and art; freedom of speech; meaningful education, respectful of the history of the country; desire to protect the environment, etc. Riding 80 miles in three days, the troopers learned they had missed Lees column by less than 24 hours. Like Hamlet, Southerners serving in the Union Army would be pitted against their own kith and kin. The Confederates appointed several commanders to organize troops in western Virginia: Colonel George A. Porterfield in northwestern Virginia, and Brigadier Generals John B. Floyd and Henry A. John Letcher wrote to President Lincoln and reminded him that the men held military commissions from the Virginia government. Like India as a British colony, our people are seen as second-class citizens, if that. 10 Va. State Rangers (Marion), Capt. [11], Union Brigadier General Reynolds attacked the camps of Henry R. Jackson's brigade but was repulsed. These seven states are presented in the order in which each ratified the permanent Constitution, thus joining the permanent government. In antebellum America, the voyages and adventures of Sinbad and Aladdin in the. The mountainous terrain was populated by yeoman farmers and few slaves. 9 Va. State Rangers (Mercer, Summers, Wyoming), Capt. [7] Some delegates, such as George Berlin of Upshur County, became refugees and settled in the Shenandoah Valley and other areas of Virginia beyond Union lines. Va. West Virginia Republicans seek to criminalize removal of Confederate And both sides fought at famed battles such as Antietam and Gettysburg. Virginia in the American Civil War. Money had totally bought out the law. Some 50,000 West Virginians are believed to have participated in the American Civil War, including 32,000 for then Union and 18,000 for the Confederacy. We would have to create our own party, perhaps from the existing Mountain Party. West Virginia History, New Series, Vol. The Union army remained in West Virginia until 1869, and dealt with civil unrest through 1868.[5]. He was arrested on May 30, 1862, for refusing the oath and sent to Camp Chase and was released a few months later by prisoner exchange without taking the Wheeling oath. Once you know an ancestor was in a military unit raised by either (a) the Confederate government, or (b) a particular state, plus the name of his military unit, and the name by which he was identified during the war, you are prepared to look up his service records. Confederate West Virginia has always been an enigma. In 1861 the 50 counties contained a population of 355,544 whites, 2,782 freemen, 18,371 slaves, 79,515 voters and 67,721 men of military age (16-40 years old). West Virginia was created out of three regions of Virginia; the Northwest, the Shenandoah Valley, and the Southwest. This was an argument the independent people of the western counties could agree with, and they supported the Southern independence movement as a result. A railroad corporate lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, president, swore to defeat the Democratic states even in the North, i.e., New York State, Ohio and the so-called Copperhead states in the West. The secession of the slave states wasnt the only case of secession in 1860s America. . Nearly half of our black men are in prison. The 21st Ohio Infantry Regiment charged with bayonets but were pushed back with casualties. Daniel Elkins Co, Co. B (Boone), 1st VSL. "[48] Prisoners were often killed in the field. Sherrard Clemens actively campaigned against the new state and faced threats of violence and arrest. West Virginia became the 35th state on June 20, 1863 and Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864. Dempsey's Co., Co. E (Logan), 1st VSL, Capt. The Constitution that he had sworn to uphold requires the consent of the mother state, now located in a foreign country kept beyond his reach by hostile armies. Five of the delegates who didn't sign the ordinance eventually ran afoul of the Union government in Wheeling. And we are blamed for a system we did not create. April 17, 1861 The Virginia Ordinance of Secession, dated April 17, 1861, declares that the bond between Virginia and the United States of America, under the U.S. Constitution, is dissolved.. Was Northern Virginia a Confederate? Vote for it, get paid and go home. Confederate Pension Records | National Archives So the deed had to be done hastily. Shakespeare devoted his play Hamlet to the old problem of lying to cover up killing and stealing. In April 1861 a Virginia state convention voted to secede and join the Confederacy. 266, The Confederate Postal Service in West Virginia, By Boyd B. Stutler, The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series II, Vol. Also represented Rockingham, Va. Kanawha, Boone, Logan, Putnam, Wyoming, Roane, Calhoun, Robinson, Israel; succeeded by William B. Colston, Lurty, George W., resigned; succeeded by Andrew Radcliff, Delegate. [12][13] George W. Summers, who resigned from the convention at the end of the first session in May, addressed the militia in Charleston on June 8, 1861, and urged that they unite as one "to defend old Virginia until every invader is driven from her soil."[14]. West Virginia became the 35th state admitted to the Union on June 20th, 1863, just weeks before the Battle of Gettysburg. Furthermore, like the rest of the new Confederates, western Virginians were horrified by the hijacking of the federal government by Northern industrialists and bankers in 1860. On April 26, 1861, former governor Joseph Johnson chaired such a meeting in Clarksburg. The Creation of West Virginia - Encyclopedia Virginia The situation was dire. Wise's Kanawha campaign of late 1861 a brigade of militia under the command of Brig. So, without slavery, why were these counties secessionist? John W. "Big John" Amick's Co., Amick's Rangers (Nicholas), Capt. When Robert E. Lee advanced into Pennsylvania in July, he ordered troops under General Samuel Joness Department of Western Virginia to demonstrate toward West Virginia and then block any Federal thrust into the Shenandoah that might threaten Lees left flank as he moved north. events, and resources. Its all in our hands. Many residents served the Confederate cause, a majority of them joining the Virginia forces mobilized by Gov. Its only thanks to another once-wealthy Confederate state, Mississippi, that we are not first in poverty, lack of education and health care. The Army of Northern Virginia was the most successful Confederate army during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Confederate authorities also arrested civilians for suspected disloyalty or collaboration. One of the functions of the Confederate government was intervention with the U.S. government for prisoner exchange. [1] There remained a large number of counties and citizens who still considered themselves as part of Virginia and the Confederacy which, in turn, considered the new state as part of Virginia and the Confederacy. He gathered several regiments raised in Ohio, Indiana, and western Virginia and moved into Virginia in early May, moving along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Kanawha River. After a few editsLincoln insisted they insert a provision gradually abolishing slaveryWest Virginia was granted statehood in 1863. It is simplistic enough to be easily remembered. From that moment on the statehood movement was on and on June 20, 1863, West Virginia became the 35th state in the Union. 2 (FALL 2009), pp. Why is there a West Virginia? - Virginia Museum of History & Culture By March 1861 they had formed the Confederate States of America with Jefferson Davis as president. Why? They had immense wealth, principally in timber, oil and coal. The actual story, as usual, is messier and more complex. Daniel Dusky's Co., formerly Co. C, 186th Regt. Militia (Calhoun, Roane, Wirt, & Jackson), Capt. 4, Va. State Rangers (Marion, Harrison, Taylor), Capt. 51, Part 2, pg. Robert Johnston, congressman from the 15th District, the counties of north-central West Virginia, was supportive of a strong central government and supported Jefferson Davis' authority in reorganizing the army, and believed the suspension of habeas corpus by Davis was justifiable. Labor unions that once attempted to protect the workers from wage slavery and peonage were defeated, notably at Blair Mountain, by state militias and federal troops. We actual citizens have never enjoyed true political control of our state. After the admittance of West Virginia as a state in 1863, those Union units from western Virginia changed their designation to "West Virginia", while the Confederate units remained "Virginia". Confederate currency was mostly used in the eastern and southern counties, somewhat less in the central counties. It was admitted as the 35th state on June 20, 1863. By early November 1861, General William S. Rosecrans secured much of western Virginia when he forced Confederate General John B. Floyd to withdraw all Rebel forces from the region. Three of these officers were in command of Virginia militia; Alfred Beckley, James Boggs, and Augustus A. Chapman. Geo. Robert Lawson's Co., Co. K (Logan), 1st VSL, Capt. Its obvious that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are interested in helping. In his thoughtful book, The Spine of the Virginias (2010, Pocahontas Press; Blacksburg, Virginia) he lets these experts tell a harrowing tale of why West Virginia will probably always fly Confederate flags. Under the Confederate Constitution, the people and the states are left free, like in Switzerland. General Lee (today called a traitor in the national media) had to resign his commission in the US Army so as not to help subject his native Virginia to the rule of Northern bankers.
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was west virginia a confederate state
