USA > Virginia > Virginia and Virginians; eminent Virginians, executives of the colony of Virginia, Vol. I > Part 36
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THE FIRST WHEELING CONVENTION.
In compliance with the foregoing, the delegates were chosen by the various counties, and the 13th day of May saw a swarming and excited multitude thronging the streets of Wheeling. The delegates convened at Washington Hall at 11 A. M., and the meeting was called to order by Chester D. Hubbard, of Ohio county, on whose motion William B. Zinn, of Preston county, was chosen temporary chairman, and George R. Latham, of Taylor county, was appointed temporary secretary. Rev. Peter T. Laishley, of Monongalia county, himself a delegate, then in- voked Divine guidance in the deliberations of the convention. A com- mittee on permanent organization, and also one on credentials, was ap- pointed, after which the body adjourned to meet at 2 P. M.
Upon reassembling, the committee on permanent organization reported John W. Moss, of Wood county, for permanent president, and Colonel Charles B. Waggoner, of Mason, Marshall M. Dent, of Monongalia, and J. G. Chandler, of Ohio county, secretaries. Two door-keepers and a sergeant-at-arms were then appointed. The committee on credentials reported accredited delegates from twenty-six counties, as follows : Han- cock, Brooke, Ohio, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Wood, Lewis, Ritchie. Harrison, Upshur, Giher, Wirt, Jackson, Mason, Wetzel, Pleasants, Barbour, Hampshire, Berkeley, Doddridge, Tyler, Taylor, Roane, Fred- erick, and Marshall.
A committee on State and Federal relations was appointed, consisting of the following named gentlemen : Campbell Tarr, Brooke county; W. T. Willey, Monongalia: John S. Carlisle, Harrison; J. J. Jackson, Wood; Charles Hooton, Preston ; Daniel Lamb, Ohio : George MeC. Porter, Hancock; Joseph 1. Machir, Mason; D. D. Johnson. Tyler; James Scott, Jackson; G. W. Bier, Wetzel; R. C. Holliday, Marshall;
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A. S. Withers, Lewis ; E. T. Trayhorn, Wirt; F. H. Pierpont, Marion ; S. Dayton, Barbour; G. S. Senseney. Frederick ; J. S. Burdett, Taylor; A. R. McQuilkin, Berkeley: S. Cochran, Pleasants; . J. E. Stump, Roane; S. Martin, Gilmer ; A. B. Rohrbough, Upshur ; O. D. Downey, Hampshire; Mr. Foley, Ritchie.
Everything was now in complete working order. The fact that the convention was divided upon the subject of immediate action very soon became apparent from the spirited discussion which characterized the early days of the session. One party, led by the Hon. John S. Carlisle, was in favor of an immediate division of the State, and the formation of a government for the counties represented, all offices to be filled by ten- porary appointment. Another party, headed by Hon. W. T. Willey, declared that this was but an informal meeting of the people, no action of which could be made binding upon them ; that no vote had yet been taken upon the ordinance of secession, therefore the State of Virginia still had a government recognized by the Constitution of the United States ; hence any action tending in the direction of a new government could not be other than revolutionary in its nature. An acrimonious debate continued throughout the second and third days, and it seemed that an adjournment would take place before the objects for which the body had met could be accomplished; but late at night the discussion was interrupted by the committee on State and Federal relations begging leave to report. Campbell Tarr, the chairman of said committee, read the report. It was a skillful production, a blending of all opinions, a happy mean between spasmodic disruption and authorized resistance. The first part was a review of the secession movement from its incipiency to that time. Then followed declarations of loyalty to the Union, which should continue on the part of the people here represented, despite all efforts of the east to drag them out of the Union. A recommen- dation was made to the people of the various counties, that, in the event of the ratification of the ordinance of secession, they appoint delegates on the 4th day of June to meet in a general convention on the 11th of the same month, at some place to be hereafter designated. A last sug- gestion was that a central committee, consisting of nine members, be ap- pointed, with power to carry into effect the objects of the convention.
The report, after a short discussion, was almost unanimously adopted, but two votes being recorded against it. The central committee was then appointed, consisting of John S. Carlisle, James S. Wheat, Chester D. Hubbard, Francis H. Pierpont, Campbell Tarr, George R. Latham, Andrew Wilson, L. H. Woodward, and James H. Paxton. Prayer was then offered, imploring blessings upon the work performed. A thousand voices united in singing the "Star Spangled Banner," and the conven- tion adjourned sine die.
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THE SECOND WHEELING CONVENTION -THE RESTORED GOVERNMENT.
On the 23d day of May, 1861, the vote was taken on the ordinance of secession. The result showed the sentiment of the people west of the Alleghanies. Out of about 44,000 votes polled in the counties now comprising West Virginia, 40,000 were recorded against secession. Delegates were elected on the 4th of June, and what is known as the second Wheeling convention met on the 11th of the same month at Washington Hall, in that city. Seventy-seven delegates, representing thirtyfive counties, were present. The committee on permanent organ- ization reported the names of Arthur J. Boreman, of Wood county, for president, and G. L. Cranmer, of Ohio county, for secretary. A committee consisting of thirteen members was appointed, to report busi- ness to the convention. The members of that committee, the report of which became the foundation for the new State, were as follows : Car- lisle, of Harrison; Lamb, of Ohio; Pierpont, of Marion; Hagans, of Preston; Van Winkle, of Wood ; Berkshire, of Monongalia ; Polsley, of Mason ; Boreman, of Wood ; Caldwell, of Marshall; Frost, of Jack- son ; Porter, of Hancock ; Farnsworth, of Upshur; and Copley, of Wayne.
On the third day they submitted a report entitled "A Declaration of the People of Virginia, represented in convention at the city of Wheeling, Thursday, June 13, 1861." Among many other things set forth, it was declared that " the preservation of the dearest rights and liberties, and security in person and property, imperatively demand the reorganization of the government of the commonwealth." * * "And that the X offices of all who adhere to the said convention [that of Richmond], whether legislative, executive or judicial, are vacated."
The report was adopted on the 17th, and the convention at once pro- ceeded to reorganize the government of Virginia.
On the 19th, an ordinance for the reorganization of the State govern- ment was passed, as follows:
"The people of the State of Virginia, by their delegates assembled in convention at Wheeling, do ordain as follows :
"1. A governor, lieutenant-governor and attorney-general for the State of Virginia, shall be appointed by this convention to discharge the duties and exercise the powers which pertain to their respective offices by the existing laws of the State, and to continue in office for six months, or until their successors be elected and qualified; and the general assem- bly is required to provide by law for an election of governor and lieu- tenant-governor by the people as soon as in their judgment such an elec- tion can be properly held." * * *
The following oath was prescribed to be taken by the various officers elected by the convention before entering upon the discharge of the duties of their respective offices :
" I solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of
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the United States, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, as the su- preme law of the land, anything in the constitution and laws of the State of Virginia, or in the ordinances of the convention which assembled at Richmond on the 13th of February, 1861, to the contrary notwithstand- ing; and that I will uphold and defend the government of Virginia as vindicated and restored by the convention which assembled at Wheeling on the 11th of June, 1861."
In compliance with the first clause of the ordinance, the convention, on the 20th of June, proceeded to the election of officers. Francis H. Pier- pont, of Marion, was chosen governor of Virginia, and Daniel Polsley. of Mason, lieutenant-governor. On the 24th, James S. Wheat, of Ohio county, was chosen attorney-general.
The convention, having thus restored the government, elected a chief executive and provided for the election of all other officers pertaining to the State government, adjourned to meet again: on the first Tuesday in August ensuing.
MEETING OF THE PROVISIONAL LEGISLATURE.
The third clause of the ordinance passed June the 19th, provided for the meeting of the General Assembly on the 1st day of July, the mem- bers of which had been duly chosen at the general election on the 23d day of May, and in pursuance of the ordinance that body convened at Wheeling on the day appointed. The session was held in the cus- tom-house, in which the offices of the governor and other State officers had been located. Upon calling the roll, it was ascertained that there were thirty-one members present. A speaker and clerk were chosen, after which the governor's message was received. In it he reviewed, at considerable length, the action of the Richmond convention, the history of the movements which led to the reorganization of the State governments and his own election. He informed the house that he had entered into a correspondence with the President of the United States, and informed him of the circumstances surrounding the loyal gov- ernment of Virginia, and had received from him, through the secre- tary of war, assurances that all constitutional aid would be promptly rendered.
Accompanying the message were copies of communications received from the Secretary of the Interior certifying to the apportionment of representation to which Virginia was entitled in the Thirty-eighth Con- gress, according to the census of 1860. The attention of the Assembly was called to the fact that the President, in a proclamation issued on the 4th inst., had declared vacant the seats of all representatives from Vir- ginia in the Congress of the United States by reason of their active participation in the effort to overthrow the Federal government, and he recommended that the house proceed at once to fill such vacancies by
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TOMB OF MARY, MOTHER OF WASHINGTON, At Fredericksburg, Virginia.
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the election of members who should at once apply for seats in the national Congress as representatives of Virginia under the restored government.
The General Assembly, on the 9th of July, went into an election, and on joint ballot elected L. A. Hagans, of Preston county, secretary of the commonwealth; Samuel Crane, of Randolph, auditor of public accounts, and Campbell Tarr, of Brooke, treasurer. They then pro- ceeded to ballot for United States Senators, which resulted in the election of John S. Carlisle, of Harrison, and W. T. Willey, of Monon- galia. They, together with the representatives from the three congres- sional districts west of the mountains, who had been elected at the same time the members of the General Assembly were chosen, at once proceeded to Washington, where "they were admitted to seats in the respective houses as senators and representatives from Virginia." On the 24th of July, the Assembly, having finished the business before it, adjourned.
Thus the machinery of the restored government was in complete work- ing order; but this did not satisfy the people, many of whom had for years entertained the fond hope that at some time their relations with the east should be severed, and a new State, independent of Virginia, should rise west of the Alleghanies. All felt that the auspicious moment had now come, and it was impressed upon the
THIRD WHEELING CONVENTION,
Which convened on the 6th of August, 1861, that there was but one duty to perform, and that was to perfect the organization of a new State.
At this meeting a number of delegates from the Kanawha Valley counties, who had not attended the second convention, were present. and took an active part in the labor now to be performed, which was none other than the partition of the old State and the formation of a new one.
On the 20th an ordinance was passed, with the following preamble:
"Whereas, it is represented to be the desire of the people inhabiting the counties hereinafter mentioned, to be separated from this common- wealth, and to be erected into a separate State, and admitted into the Union of States, and become a member of the government of the United States."
The new State was to be called "Kanawha." the boundaries of which were to include the following counties, viz: Logan, Wyoming, Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Webster, Randolph, Tucker, Preston, Monongalia, Marion, Taylor, Barbour, Upshur, Harrison, Lewis, Braxton, Clay, Kanawha, Boone, Wayne, Cabell, Putnam, Mason, Jackson, Roane,
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Calhoun, Wirt, Gilmer, Ritchie, Wood, Pleasants, Tyler, Doddridge, Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio, Brooke and Hancock.
It was also provided that the boundaries might be so changed as to include within the boundaries of the proposed State the counties of Greenbrier, Pocahontas, Hampshire, Hardy, Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson, or either of them, or any other contiguous counties, in ease a majority of the votes cast at an election to be held for the purpose, should declare their wish to become a part of the new State; and at the same time elect delegates to the proposed constitutional convention, which was to meet at Wheeling on the 26th of November, should a majority of the votes cast at an election to be held on the fourth Thurs- day in October be in favor of the formation of the new State. The con- vention, after submitting the question of the organization of the State to the people, adjourned on the 21st of August.
THIE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.
The October election was held in nearly every county of the proposed State; 19,189 votes were polled, of which 18,408 were in favor of the new State, and 781 against it.
Delegates to the constitutional convention were chosen at the same time, and on the 26th of November, 1861, that body convened in the Federal court room at Wheeling, all the counties then within the limits of the proposed State being represented except Jefferson, Berkeley, Webster and Monroe. The session continued eighty-two days, during which time a constitution was framed and submitted to the people, to be voted upon on the 3d day of April, 1862. The convention adjourned on the 18th of February.
. The constitution thus submitted was voted upon, on the day appointed, and resulted in its adoption by a vote of 18,862 for it, and 514 against it. By the census of 1860 it will be seen that the counties voting had a population of 334,921 whites, and 12,771 colored. The reader will have noticed the decrease in the number of votes polled at the above election, from that polled at the time of the vote polled upon the ordi- nance of secession, which was more than 54,000; but we must remem- ber that up to this time 10,000 men from Western Virginia were en- rolled in the Federal army, and several thousand had gone South, and were fighting the battles of the Confederacy. Hence the difference in the number of votes polled at the two elections.
THE NEW CONSTITUTION-THE WORK COMPLETED.
The General Assembly of the reorganized government convened on the 6th of May, 1862, and gave its formal assent to the formation of the new State of West Virginia within the territory of the State of Vir-
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ginia, according to the provisions of the constitution, recently ratified by the people. A memorial, together with the bill granting assent to the erection of the State, and a copy of the donstitution, was trans- mitted to Congress, praying for the admission of West Virginia into the Union. Senators Carlisle and Willey presented the bill in the United States Senate on the 27th of May, 1862. No action was taken until December 31st, following, when it was again taken up and passed by both houses with the understanding that " West Virginia was and should be one of the members of the Federal Union" whenever she struck out from her constitution the seventh section, known as the Battelle pro- vision for the gradual extinction of slavery within the State. On the 12th day of February, 1863, the convention reassembled and amended the constitution according to the requirements of Congress; submitted it to a vote of the people, who a second time ratified it by a majority of about 17,000. The result was certified to President Lincoln, and on the 19th of April he issued his proclamation to the effect that after sixty days " West Virginia should be one of the United States of America ; admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever."
The convention, before adjourning in February, provided that in case the revised constitution should be ratified, an election should be held on the fourth Thursday of May following, for the purpose of electing mem- bers of both houses of the Legislature, a Governor, and other State offi- cers, Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals, etc.
The election was held at the appointed time. Hon. Arthur I. Bore- man, of Wood county, was chosen Governor, and thus became the first chief executive of West Virginia ; Samnel Crane, of Randolph was elected Auditor; Campbell Tarr, of Brooke, Treasurer ; J. Edgar Boyers, of Tyler, Secretary of State, and A. Bolton Caldwell, of Ohio, Attorney- General. Hons. Ralph L. Berkshire, of Monongalia, William A. Harri- son, of Harrison, and James H. Brown, of Kanawha, were elected Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
When, therefore, the sixty days after the President's proclamation had elapsed, on the 20th of June, 1863, West Virginia, "the daughter of the rebellion," born amid the throes of civil war, entered upon her career as one of the members of the Sisterhood of States.
THE RECORD OF WAR AGAIN.
We have seen West Virginia-the daughter, become "the adopted child of the Republic," and we must now return to Virginia, the mother, whom we left at the close of the year 1861, amid all the horrors of a sanguinary war.
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1862.
During the carly months of this year but few military movements occurred in Virginia. The first action of the year occurred at Hunts- ville, in Nicholas county, January 3d, whither General Milroy had sent Major Webster, with a force of seven hundred and thirty-eight men, to destroy a quantity of Confederate stores known to be deposited at that place. The work was successfully performed, six buildings filled with provisions being burned.
On the 4th, General Jackson, stationed at Winchester, in the Shenan- doah Valley, made a dash toward the Potomac for the purpose of tearing up the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. The Federals were driven north of the river, and Jackson, after destroying several miles of the road, fell back toward the valley.
An engagement took place on the 7th between a portion of General Kelly's forces lying at Romney, in Hampshire county, and a body of Confederates at Blues Gap. Colonel Dunning, with the 5th Ohio, won the day. The loss on either side was slight.
THE CAPITAL OF VIRGINIA BECOMES THE CAPITAL OF THE CONFEDERACY.
In the meantime the seat of government of the Confederacy had been transferred from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond ; and here, on the 22d day of February -- Washington's birthday-Jefferson Davis, of Mis- sissippi, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, having been unani- mously chosen President and Vice-President, respectively, by the votes of the convention of every Southern State, were duly inaugurated for the term of six years. The oath of office was administered to the President by the Hon. J. D. Halyburton, chief Confederate Judge, and to Alex- ander H. Stephens by the President of the Confederate Senate. On the next day President Davis sent to the Senate for confirmation, a list of cabinet appointments, as follows : Secretary of State, Judah P. Ben- jamin, of Louisiana; Secretary of War, George W. Randolph, of Vir- ginia ; Secretary of the Navy, S. R. Mallory ; Secretary of the Treasury, C. G. Memminger, of South Carolina ; Postmaster-General, Mr. Henry, of Kentucky; Attorney-General, Herschel V. Johnson, of Georgia; all of which were speedily confirmed. Thus, on the soil of Virginia, was located the capital of the then existing Southern Republic. The city thus occupied had been the seat of government of Virginia for a period of eighty-five years, the State troops, arms and ammunition, and public records having been removed from Williamsburg to that place in 1777, to prevent their falling into the possession of the British army, then ravaging Virginia, In May, 1779, the Assembly passed an aet making it the permanent capital of the State. It was called Richmond
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because of the fancied resemblance of its location to that of Richmond- on-the-Thames, in England.
Six days after the inauguration ceremonies, on the 1st of March, the right wing of the army of the Potomac, commanded by General Banks, crossed the river, advanced into Virginia, and occupied Bolivar, Charles- town and Martinsburg. This was the first movement of a scries in which the Federal armies were intended to approach Richmond and attack its defenses. Banks continued his march in the direction of Winchester, where Stonewall Jackson was posted with a considerable force.
On the 11th of March the Confederates evacuated Manassas and fell . back beyond the Rappahannock, and the Federals at once took posses- sion of the abandoned position. It was expected that Banks would drive Jackson toward Richmond, and that the army at Manassas would cut off' his retreat, and thus capture his entire force; but instead the wily Jackson retreated up the Valley, closely pursued by Banks. At Strasburg he halted and took a strong position at New Market, within supporting distance of Johnston.
BATTLE OF WINCHESTER.
Banks now fell back to Winchester, and was in turn pursued by Jackson. Here, on the 22d of March, was fought one of the most fiercely contested battles of the war. Both armies exhibited the most determined bravery. The 5th Ohio had five color-bearers killed. The battle waged until nightfall, when the Confederates withdrew, leaving the field in possession of their enemies. The loss on both sides has been varionsly estimated at from 900 to 1300, of which the greater part was that of the Confederates.
During the night Jackson received a reinforcement of five regiments of infantry and two batteries of artillery. With his forces thus aug- mented, he determined to risk another battle, and accordingly formed his lines near the village of Kernstown. Early on the morning of the 23d, Banks sent forward General Tyler's brigade to open the action. He was supported by two other brigades of Ohio and Michigan troops. all of which soon became engaged. Here again were re-enacted the scenes of the previous day. The result was similar. The Federals were again victorious, completely routing the forces of Jackson, who now re- treated rapidly towards Staunton.
OPERATIONS ON THE PENINSULA.
After the evacuation of Manassas by the Confederates, they took position near Yorktown on the peninsula, and erected the strongest fortifications yet built in the New World. The early part of April saw
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the Federal army, 100,000 strong, anchored off Fortress Monroe, and McClellan found that the fortifications extended entirely across the peninsula, from the York to the James river, and he at once concluded that one of two things was certain: here the Confederates could be cooped up on the peninsula, and be compelled to surrender, or they must evacuate the stronghold, and take refuge behind their batteries at Richmond. The forces were landed, and after an examination of the works, Mcclellan was confident that with his artillery-a thousand pieces-he should be able to level these works. He had seen the tell- ing effects of artillery upon similar ones at Sebastopol during the Crimean war. General Robert E. Lee, of Virginia, the ablest leader of the Southern armies, knew the same, and at once recommended to the government the evacuation of the peninsula. Accordingly on the 3d of May the whole Confederate army, numbering 70,000 men, marched out on the road to Richmond, and left these works, as they had left those of Manassas, in possession of their enemies. A rapid pursuit was at once begun, and, on the 4th, General Stoneman's command came up with the rear of the retreating army at Williamsburg, about fifty-eight miles from Richmond. Here the Confederates made a stand, and, with the pertinacity of veterans, disputed the Federal advance. It was the 6th of May, at seven o'clock in the morning, when the battle began, and it raged until late in the evening, when Lee's forces were again compelled to continue their march toward their capital, leaving 700 dead on the field. The loss of the Federals was 1100.
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