USA > West Virginia > Lewis County > A history of Lewis County, West Virginia > Part 23
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The federal occupation of Weston was not a hard- ship to the people, and after the novelty of the situa- tion wore off, they would hardly have known they were living in a military post. The proclamation of General McCicllan had stated that the Union troops were "ene - mies to none but armed rebels and those voluntarily giv- ing them aid," and troops which came to Weston usually refrained from molesting the persons and property of those who were known to be in sympathy with the South- ern states. The troops were raw levies, however, the
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officers were as new as the troops, and there was unfor- tunately some pilfering at first. Within a few days the offenders were stopped by the heroic measures taken by the commanding officers of the Union forces. Captain Shuman, of the First Virginia cavalry punished several of his men by fastening nose bags over their heads and then tying them to the pillars of the Bland hotel, both as an example to other evildoers and to show the residents that thieves were to be punished. Drunkenness was punished by bucking and gagging a man in public.
Some of the soldiers stationed in Weston performed distinct public services, like the publishers of the Ohio Seventh. Practically all the soldiers were young men, who behaved themselves as gentlemen and gave little cause for complaint. They mingled freely with the fam- ilies of the Union sympathizers, and after the war sev- eral of them located permanently in Weston.
The citizens of the town were subjected to some of the restrictions imposed upon the residents of every town occupied as a military post. Strong guards were placed on all the principal approaches to the town, including the two bridges across Stone Coal, the narrows above Shadybrook, the Polk creek bridge, and the narrows above the electric light plant. At the Bendale bridge there was a picket, consisting of from two squads to a company, depending upon the danger from the Confed- erates. All through the months of July and August, 1861, the Bendale bridge was the southernmost post in the Union lines; beyond it was Confederate territory. One of the commanders of the picket at Bendale bridge at a later date was William Mckinley, afterwards Pres- ident.
By the end of July the Confederates had been driven from the Monongahela valley, and all that region saved for the Union. The war department wished similarly to gain possession of the Kanawha valley. A double movement was planned. General J. D. Cox crossed the Ohio river near Point Pleasant and advanced up the val-
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ley against Generals Wise and Floyd, who had been placed in command by the Confederate government. A flanking movement was also planned over the Weston and Gauley Bridge turnpike from the north.
In the latter part of August, 1861, Colonel Tyler left Weston with the Seventh Ohio and took up his line of March to Gauley Bridge, one hundred eleven miles dis- tant. The campaign was without incident until after the troops had passed the bounds of the county into Braxton. A man by the name of Clinebell had swept through Gil- mer and Braxton counties, like another Paul Revere, spreading the warning that the Yankees were coming. The Northern sympathizers in the county made their way out to the Ohio Seventh by devious paths. Every blacksnake rifle in the county was pressed into service and some of the natives even armed themselves with butcher-knives. Trouble was experienced at Powell's mountain in Nicholas county, where bushwhackers were put to flight and one of them killed. Beyond the moun- tain at Cross Lanes the Union troops met General Floyd with a large body of Confederates, and fought a drawn battle. Tyler retreated to Summersville. General Rose- crans having come up with reinforcements, the Confed- erates withdrew to Carnifax Ferry on the Gauley. There they were severely defeated. In November the final battle of the campaign was fought at Gauley Bridge, and the Kanawha valley was cleared of Confederates.
Immediately upon the commencement of the expe- dition under Rosecrans it became necessary to establish a military courier line to keep up communications. The couriers were subjected to dangers from the bush- whackers who infested the road practically all the way from Weston to Gauley Bridge. James Flesher, of Polk creek, was killed by them while on the perilous service. The stretch of the turnpike along Carrion run is said to have been one of the most dangerous places on the whole route.
Bushwhackers in Lewis County were far too nu-
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merous. As a class they were worthless, taking up arms not so much because of their love for a cause as to gratify their revenge on their neighbors and to secure plunder. They would not enlist in the regular forces, but con- tented themselves with remaining at home and creating a reign of terror in their communities. Captain Leib, of the quartermaster department, in his book, "The Chances for Making a Million," says: "The bushwhackers are composed of a class of men who are noted for their ig .. norance, indolence, duplicity and dishonesty; whose vices and passions peculiarly fit them for the warfare in which they are engaged, and upon which the civilized world looks with horror. Imagine a stolid, vicious-look- ing countenance, an ungainly figure and an awkward, if not ungraceful, spinal curve in the dorsal region, ac- quired by laziness and indifference to maintaining an erect posture ; a garb of the coarsest texture of home-spun kubeb, or 'linsey woolsey' tattered and torn, and so cov- ered with dirt as not to enable one to guess its original color ; a dilapidated, rimless hat, or cap of some wild animal's skin covering his head, the hair on which has not been combed for months; his feet covered with moc- casins, and a rifle by his side, a powder-horn and shot- pouch slung around his neck and you have the beau ideal of the West Virginia bushwhackers.
"Thus equipped he sallies forth with the stealth of a panther, and lies in wait for the straggling soldier, courier, or loyal citizen, to whom the only warning given of his presence is the sharp click of his deadly rifle. He kills for the sake of killing and plunders for the sake of gain. Parties of these ferocious beasts, under cover of darkness, frequently steal into a neighborhood, burn the residences of loyal citizens, rob stores, tanyards and farm- houses of everything they can put to use, especially arms, ammunition, leather, clothing, bedding and salt."
In Lewis County, Ben Haymond and Perry Hays are said to have been notorious as leaders of partisan bands on the Southern side, and there were several others
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who infested the county. Two Connelly brothers living in the county, who took opposite sides in the war, each raised a band of partisans. At different times their ad- herents had fierce encounters, until finally the bands met near Sutton. The conflict soon became hand to hand. The two brothers finally confronted each other, and after a sharp struggle the leader of the Union band killed his brother. One night a band of guerillas took a young man named Mulvey from his bed and shot him in cold blood for no other reason than that he was an avowed Union man.
Not all the bushwhackers were Southern, however. One of the most notorious of all was William G. Pier- son, who espoused the cause of the Union very early in the war, though two of his sons honorably took sides with the South by joining its armies. Pierson lived out the Gauley Bridge turnpike about two miles south of Jacksonville. At the very beginning of the war in west- ern Virginia he gathered a few kindred spirits about him in an organization called Pierson's Rangers. From head- quarters at Hogsett's tavern at Jacksonville they caused a reign of terror throughout Collins Settlement. Pierson was feared and hated by men of both parties. Porter M. Arnold, justice of the peace and prominent citizen of the county, asked the regular forces of the Confederates to break up his band. "If you will kill Bill Pierson," he once is reported to have said to Captain Imboden, "I'll give you two hundred acres of land." "If I see Pierson," was the reply, "I'll kill him, and you don't need to give me any land for it."
Late in October, 1861, Pierson entered Jacksonville in the night and compelled Arnold, William Brake, Wil- liam Francis and a man named Blair to get out of their beds and accompany him. When the party had gone about a mile up the river with the captives a short dis- tance in front of the party the rangers opened fire with- out warning. At the first volley Francis fell feigning death, and Arnold, Brake and Blair were killed or mor-
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tally wounded. The rangers proceeded on their way without further ado, and Francis ran to Weston to se- cure medical attention and aid. The act so incensed the people of the community, both those of Union and those of Confederate sympathies, and so increased the public detestation' which his previous acts had evoked that Pierson was compelled to leave the community and go into hiding. Later in the course of the war he scouted for the Federals from his home in Jane Lew. In the autumn of 1864 he was shot by an unknown hand while standing on the porch of his home.
In order to put a stop to the outrages committed by both Confederate and Union bushwhackers and partisan leaders, as well as to render aid to the regular forces in case of invasion by armed troops, Governor Pierpont early in his administration directed the formation of home guards all over the state. J. C. Wilkinson, of Weston, was commissioned to raise a company in Lewis County. He succeeded in securing the enlistment of about forty men, and with them he did excellent work in restoring order, and scouting in the face of the Con- federate raiders, though the force was too weak to op- pose a large force.
The Union forces were not long left in peaceful pos- session of Western Virginia. For the Confederates to have sat supinely by and allowed the Federals free hand west of the Alleghanies would have been to disregard a magnificent strategic opportunity. The conquest of the territory would have been impracticable for the Confed- erates at any time after the defeat of Garnett and Lee, because the movements of the Federals around Washing .- ton and in the Mississippi valley kept the Confederates busy, and no large forces could be spared. With very small bodies of men, however, it was possible to do im- mense damage to the Union forces and to gain advan- tages greatly out of proportion to the number of troops employed. They could sometimes reach the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and, by burning bridges
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and tearing up tracks, interrupt communications and de- lay the arrival of reinforcements and supplies for the Fed- erals. In order to guard against the attack of a thousand men or less the Federals were compelled to keep several thousand on duty guarding the road and scouting in various parts of northwestern Virginia. Another advan- tage was that the raiders also secured important addi- tions to their diminishing supplies when horses and cat- tle were driven over the mountains to be used as mounts for the cavalry in the one case or food for the people in the other.
Another object of their earlier raids was to secure recruits. By some strange fatuity the officials at Rich- mond seemed to think that once the way was open for men to get through the Federal lines, thousands of vol- unteers would flock to their standards from northwest- ern Virginia.
Most of the raids were directed toward the stretch of railroad between Piedmont and Harper's Ferry; but several parties crossed the Alleghanies, and at least three reached Weston. The first raider to reach Weston was General A. G. Jenkins, who, on August 12, 1862, left Lewisburg in Greenbrier County with 550 men, leisurely proceeded up the Greenbrier river, crossed Valley moun- tain intending to attack Beverly but, finding the place strongly garrisoned, passed to the left of the town, and on the evening of August 30th entered Buckhannon after a short skirmish with the Federal garrison and home guards. The company garrisoning Weston fell back on Clarksburg the same day, taking with them all the stores that could be moved, and destroying others. Jenkins' presence west of the mountains was now known to the Federals, and troops were being concentrated to inter- cept him. It was imperative that he move rapidly. Early on the morning following the Buckhannon skirm- ish Jenkins entered Weston firing promiscuously to spread terror among the inhabitants. He was unop- posed. A force of home guards which Judge Robert
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Irvine had collected to prevent disorder after the retreat of the Federal troops to Clarksburg, and which was sta- tioned on the west side of the river, dispersed upon the entry of the Confederate troops into the town.
Promptly the Confederates proceeded to the execu- tion of the purpose for which they came. All the citi- zens who were on the streets were lined up as prisoners of war and compelled to take the parole not to fight against the Confederate States. Small parties were de- tached in different directions to clear the town of Union soldiers, if any remained. On the west side of the river a single Federal was found who refused to obey the com- mand to halt and was shot in the leg. Small parties proceeded to the nearby country districts to round up horses. Others broke into the principal stores of the town, including that of A. A. Lewis, a Confederate sym- pathizer, and forced the merchants to accept payment for goods in Confederate money. They did not secure any funds from the Exchange bank because Cashier Mc- Candlish had taken all the money from the vaults and left with the Federal troops the preceding day. After destroying such stores as could be found Jenkins left late in the evening, picking up small parties of his men who had been in the country districts at different points on the Staunton and Parkersburg turnpike west of the town. After proceeding through enemy territory for more than 500 miles, destroying thousands of dollars worth of stores, securing much property and doing great damage, the command got safely back.
The lessons of the raid were not lost to the Confed -- erates, and they planned the next spring a more exten. sive raid with the double object of putting the Baltimore and Ohio railroad out of commission and gaining re- cruits and supplies. The railroad, according to the declaration of Governor Letcher, had been "a nuisance to the state of Virginia ever since its construction," and the next raid was an ambitious attempt to abate the nuisance. A double invasion was planned. General
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Jones was to destroy the bridges and viaducts on the difficult crossing of the Alleghanies, thence go to Mor- gantown and Fairmont, at which place he was to destroy the bridge across the Monongahela and from there take up his march to Clarksburg. General John D. Imboden was to come from the Shenandoah Valley via Beverly and Philippi to the rendezvous at Clarksburg.
The Federal forces in northwestern Virginia, con- sisting of a brigade, were under the command of Briga- dier General B. S. Roberts, with headquarters at Clarks- burg. At the time of the coming of the Confederates his forces were distributed in several places, one regiment being at Beverly. When Imboden attacked that post, Roberts set jout for its relief and 'had gone as far as Buckhannon when he learned that the garrison at Bev- erly had been forced to retreat toward Philippi. He fran- tically called upon Washington for reinforcements and ordered all his troops on the Weston and Gauley Bridge turnpike to concentrate at Clarksburg. Learning that Jones' cavalry was approaching Grafton, that Imboden was pursuing the Beverly garrison toward Philippi, and that in the general panic the stores at Weston had been destroyed contrary to his orders, he began to race with the two bodies of Confederates for the possession of Clarksburg. By forced marches Roberts arrived at Clarksburg first and put his troops in position to defend the town.
His cavalry under Captain Bowen fell upon a part of Jones' force below Clarksburg and drove them in a panic to the main body which had moved toward Buck- hannon to join Imboden. The Confederates moved around Clarksburg and concentrated at Weston where the advance guard arrived about April 28th.
Cavalry scouts sent out by Jones reported no imme- diate danger of an attack from the Federals at Clarks- burg who now outnumbered the combined Confederate commands, and it was determined to continue the raid. Jons with his more mobile force was to destroy the
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Northwestern railroad between Salem and Parkersburg, and Imboden was to proceed south over the Weston and Gauley Bridge turnpike to raid the valley of the Great Kanawha. Jones moved out first toward West Union, but was prevented from entering that town by the pres- nice of Federals in force, and he proceeded to destroy bridges east and west of the town, and to set fire to one of the tunnels. He went down the little Kanawha val- ley as far as the oil wells at Burning Springs in Wirt County where he set fire to 150,000 barrels of oil and practically ruined the oil industry of the place until the close of the war. He then returned to Glenville and pro- ceeded to Summersville over the Weston and Charleston turnpike.
Imboden remained at Weston a few days after the departure of Jones in order to threaten the flank and rear of the Federals if they attempted to fall upon Jones. He improved his time in trying to secure recruits and in col- lecting provisions. Detachments were sent out into the Freeman's creek and Hacker's creek sections to scout, to invite enlistments and to 'trade' horses with the farm- ers, but they were disappointed. Most of the people were Union in sentiment, and most of the horses had been driven to the woods. In Weston he took measures to prevent looting and offenses against those of Union sympathies who had not escaped with the Federal gar- rison. Guards were stationed at all the stores. No sol- diers were allowed to take any goods without paying for them; but as the payments were made in depreciated Confederate currency, the losses of the merchants were considerable. Attempts of the soldiers to secure a United States flag which had been hidden in the home of Post- master George V. Strickler were frustrated by the prompt action of General Imboden in stationing sentries around the house. The Confederate soldiers under Im- boden were under strict discipline and generally de- ported themselves as gentlemen. They gave the people to understand that they were friends returned to a
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friendly district, and they invited the co-operation of the civilian population.
The residents of Weston whose sympathies were with the South received Imboden's men with open arms. Many of them were Lewis County boys; Imboden himself was a son of a resident of Skin creek. The women of the town made a Confederate flag and pre- sented it to the soldiers. Seeing the condition of the clothing of some of the men, they busied themselves with their needles and made shirts and other wearing apparel for them. Cautious business men whose sympathies with the Confederate cause had been carefully disguised dur- ing the Union occupation openly tendered them aid in various ways.
Meanwhile Roberts remained in Clarksburg and al- lowed Jones time to cut the railroad and Imboden time to recuperate, only sending one regiment against the former, and reconnoitering parties against the latter. On May 5th, however, he sent a strong party under Cap- tain Bowen to reconnoiter in force in the vicinity of Jane Lew. They almost succeeded in surrounding and capturing Captain John Sprigg who held Jane Lew and inflicted considerable losses upon him. He fled to Wes- ton. Imboden, thinking the scouting party to be the ad- vance guard of Roberts' command hastily formed part of his men for a delaying action below Weston while the wagon trains were prepared for a hasty retreat south- ward. The Federal party did not pursue Sprigg, and the Confederates, still under the impression that it was the advance guard of Roberts' army, retreated in all haste, taking routes to the left of the Weston and Gauley Bridge turnpike which had been badly cut up by the wagon trains of the Federals retreating from Bulltown and points south. They were able to travel only a few miles a day. One of their encampments was at Walkersville, whence they went over the Buckhannon and Little Kanawha turnpike to the Braxton-Lewis line.
Shortly after the Confederates left, Roberts entered
STONEWALL JACKSON
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Weston. He did not attempt to pursue Imboden, merely advising the War Department that troops should be sent to Staunton to cut off the retreat of the column. He him- self confined his attention to the Confederates in Weston. He made wholesale arrests of the leading citizens of the town. Sixty-three women and children, the wives and children and mothers and sisters of soldiers in the South- ern army were sent through the lines, where they would help to consume the rapidly diminishing food supply of the Confederate states. About an equal number of prom- inent citizens was sent to Camp Chase to be interned until the close of the war. The inefficient Roberts was soon relieved by General Averill, an able commander who reorganized the forces under him as cavalry and not only repulsed many of the Confederate raids, but even led an important raid against the railroad in south- western Virginia.
Weston was not again visited by Confederate troops until the fall of 1864 when a party of cavalry under Colonel V. A. Witcher, who had been with General Jones on his western raid, suddenly appeared from the direc- tion of Bulltown. There was no force sufficient to op- pose him, and he took possession. The stores were rifled and some good horses were taken from the farms in ex- change for sorry mounts, but the greatest damage done was to rob the Exchange bank of all its funds, amounting to $5,287.85. A receipt for this amount, signed by Brig- adier-General John Echols, is still in possession of the bank. Jane Lew was occupied by a small party of cav- alry, but the threatened pursuit of Averill's cavalry caused Witcher to curtail his visit. After appropriat- ing the blankets in use by the patients in the newly opened hospital for the insane, he retreated with all speed to the Shenandoah valley.
The damage done by raiders in western Virginia is not to be compared to that done by the partisan bands, as witness the condition of Braxton and Fayette counties at the end of the war, with their county seats practically
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destroyed and many of the residences abandoned. The Braxton County records were early in the war removed for safe keeping to Weston. Lewis County was fortu- nate in having comparatively few partisan bands and an active and efficient company of home guards.
In general there was little confusion in the county compared with most of the surrounding counties. Peo- ple of opposite views got along with each other by re- fraining from the discussion of politics. Farmers went about their duties as usual. Business was not wholly de- stroyed. Work on the hospital for the insane was con- tinued throughout most of the war, and the institution was actually opened for patients in 1864.
There was a great undercurrent of feeling all during the war. When F. J. Alfred returned to Weston in 1862 to resume his journalistic operations under the title of "The Stars and Stripes," the Unionists remembered his former advocacy of "Southern Rights and Southern Independence," and he was soon forced to suspend pub- lication for want of patronage.
The public business of the county suffered as a re- sult of the military operations and the political confusion of the period. There was considerable difficulty in se- curing a quorum of the justices in the early days of the war; and only the public business of immediate import- ance was given attention. Few bridge orders, road or- ders and notations as to the granting of poor claims are found in the record books of the period. One of the officials of the county refused to recognize the existence of the new state of West Virginia and paid to the Vir- ginia government at Richmond the sum of $3,575.30, be- ing the judgments of commissioners of delinquent taxes and forfeited lands.
The Restored government infused new strength into the county court, and it seemed for a time to regain all its old time vigor as an administrative body. It could not, however, repair the roads as fast as the troops cut them to pieces. The business of being a sheriff in the
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early days of the war was not the safest or most pleas- ant occupation in the world. There were the usual taxes to collect and the accounts to be kept; and in addition the duties of the sheriff as a peace officer were vastly aug- mented. At one time early in the war it was impossible to find a man so foolhardy as to accept the office. The presence of Union troops made the position much sater.
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