USA > West Virginia > History and government of West Virginia > Part 11
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*James S. Wheat discharged the duties of Adjutant-General for a month, when Henry J. Samuels, of Cabell county, was appointed to that position, and occupied the same until the formation of the new State.
tDaniel Polsley, who was elected Lieutenant-Governor, was
184 HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA.
Governor's Council. Another ordinance was adopted requiring the General Assembly, as soon as con- venient, to elect an Auditor of Public accounts, a Treasurer and Secretary of the Commonwealth. When the convention had completed its work it adjourned to meet on the first Tuesday in August, following.
12. Meeting of the General Assembly .- Pursuant to the Ordinance of the Convention, pending for the reorganization of the State government, the General Assembly met on July Ist, 1861, in the custom house at Wheeling, in which the offices of the Governor and other State officials had been established. There were thirty-one members present. On July 9th, the body, by 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 county, Treasurer.
13. Representation in Congress .- At the general election, May 23d, 1861, three members of Congress were chosen as representatives of the region now com- posing West Virginia. Those were William G. Brown, Jacob B. Blair, and Kellian V. Whaley. The Assem-
born at Palatine, Marion county, now West Virginia, November 3d, 1803. He studied law, and attended the law lectures of Judge Tucker at Winchester. Later he removed to Wellsburg, where he edited the " Western Transcript." In 1845, he removed to Mason county, and engaged in agriculture. He was a member of the first Wheeling Convention. He served two years as Lieutenant- Governor, and was then elected Judge of the Circuit Court. In 1866 he was chosen a member of Congress, and served one term. He died at Point Pleasant, October 14th, 1877.
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JURISDICTION OVER THE OHIO.
bly, on July 9th, elected Waitman T. Willey, of Monon- galia county, and John S. Carlile, of Harrison county, to be United States Senators, and they, with the Congress- men aforesaid, proceeded to Washington, where they were admitted to seats in the re- spective Houses as Senators and Representatives from Virginia.
14. Two Rival Govern- WAITMAN T. WILLEY .* ments .- It was the first time in history that two rival gov- ernments existed on the soil of Virginia. One of these was the old State Government, the seat of which was at Richmond. The other was what was called the Reorganized Government, the seat of which was at Wheeling. Both governments collected taxes, and exercised authority in their respective jurisdictions.
*Waitman T. Willey was born in Monongalia county, now West Virginia, October 11th, 1811. He entered Madison College at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1831. He studied law and was admitted to the bar at Morgantown, 1833. For several years he was Clerk of the County Court and of the Circuit Superior Court, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850. He was a candidate for Lieutenant-Governor on the Whig ticket in 1850, a member of the Richmond Conven- tion of 1861, and of both of the Wheeling Conventions., He was a United States Senator under the Reorganized Government, and also one of the first Senators from West Virginia. He was an able writer, his most important literary production being "The Life of Philip Doddridge," published in 1875. He died May 2, 1900.
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CHAPTER XVII.
THE NEW STATE.
From August, 1861, to June, 1863.
1. Reassembling of the Convention .- The Con- vention reassembled at Wheeling on the date fixed at the time of adjournment, and fourteen days later passed an "Ordinance to Provide for the Formation of a New State out of a Portion of the Territory of this State." This Ordinance provided that the pro- posed State should be called "Kanawha"; the bound- aries of the same were defined, and the action of the Convention was submitted to the people. The election was held on the fourth Thursday in October, 1861, and the returns showed that 18,408 votes were cast in favor of the new State and 781 against it.
2. The Constitutional Convention .- The Ordi- nance providing for an election to determine the ques- tion of a new State, required a vote to be taken at the time for members of a Constitutional Convention, if the majority of the votes cast should be in favor of the new State. These delegates were chosen, and the Convention, to prepare a constitution for the proposed State, met at Wheeling on November 26th, 1861. Ail of the counties then existing, and now included in West Virginia, were represented, except Monroe, Webster, Berkeley, Jefferson, Greenbrier, Pocahon- tas, and Calhoun. The permanent organization re- sulted in the election of John Hall, of Mason county,
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THE NEW STATE.
as President, and Ellery R. Hall, of Taylor county, Secretary.
3. The Name of the New State .- The Constitu- tional Convention assembled to prepare a constitution for a State to be called Kanawha, but on December 3d that name was stricken out of the first section of the first article. Motions were made to fill the blank with "West Virginia," "Kanawha," "Western Virginia," "Alleghany," and "Augusta." When the vote was counted, it was found that "West Vir- ginia" had received thirty votes; "Kanawha," nine votes; "Western Virginia," two votes; "Alleghany," two votes, and "Augusta," one vote. So the blank was filled by inserting "West Virginia." The Con- vention finished its work and adjourned on February 18th, 1862.
4. Efforts to Secure the Admission of the State. -The election occurred at the specified time, and showed that the Constitution had been rati- fied by a large majority. Gov- ernor Pierpont now issued a proclamation announcing the result, and at the same time convening the General Assein- bly in extra session. That body met in the city of Wheeling, FRANCIS H. PIERPONT. May 6th, 1862, and on the 12th of the same month, passed an act giving its con-
*Francis H. Pierpont was born in Monongalia county, now West Virginia, in 1814, and graduated from Allegheny College,
188 HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA.
sent to the formation and erection of a new State within the jurisdiction of Virginia.
5. At Washington City .- The commissioners ap- pointed to bring the question of the admission of the State before Congress, supplied with copies of the ratified Con- stitution, and the act of Assem- bly granting permission to create the State, hastened away to Washington City, where they arrived May 22d, 1862. Three days later, Senator Willey presented the matter in JOHN S. CARLILE .* the United States Senate, and it was referred to the Committee on Territories, of which John S. Carlile, the other Senator from Vir- ginia, was a member. The bill to admit the State was reported June 23d, 1862. It was known as "Senate Bill No. 365."
Pennsylvania, in 1840. Taught school in Mississippi, and was later admitted to the bar at Fairmont, this State, where he has con- tinued to practice ever since. After serving the time for which the convention appointed him, he was elected Governor under the ' Reorganized Government, for the full terin of four years. When West Virginia became a State, he removed the seat of government to Alexandria, where it remained until after the evacuation of Richmond, when he removed the seat of Government to that city. By his liberal administration, he greatly aided the people of Virginia. He died at Pittsburg, Pa., March 24, 1899.
*John S. Carlile, who, with Waitman T. Willey, represented Virginia under the Reorganized Government in the United States Senate, was born at Winchester, Virginia, December 16th, 1817. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, and began to practice his pro- fession at Beverly, Randolph county. He was elected a member
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THE NEW STATE. 189
6. The Passage of the Bill .- The vote in the Senate on the final passage of the Bill, was twenty- three yeas and seventeen nays. In the House of Representatives the vote was ninety-six yeas and fifty- five nays. President Lincoln signed the Bill on December 31st, 1862, with the reservation that the clause in the Constitution of the State, should be changed, as required by the Act of Congress. Presi- dent Hall again convened the Convention at Wheeling, on February 12th, 1863, and here made the required change, submitted it to the people, who a second time ratified the Constitution. The result was certified to the President, who issued his proclamation on April 20th, 1863. When, therefore, the sixty days expired- June 20th, 1863-West Virginia began her existence as a sovereign State of the Union.
of the State Senate in 1847; was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850, and elected to a seat in Congress in 1855. He represented Harrison county in the Convention of 1861, which adopted the Ordinance of Secession. He sat in the first Wheeling Convention, and was elected to Congress in 1861, where he occu- pied a seat until elected to the United States Senate. At the close of his term, he retired to private life, and died at Clarks- burg in 1878.
CHAPTER XVIII.
WEST VIRGINIA UNDER THE FIRST CONSTITUTION.
From June, 1863, to May, 1865.
1. Election of New State Officials .- On May 9th, preceding the expiration of the sixty days specified in the President's proclamation, a convention assembled at Parkersburg for the purpose of nominating officers for the new Commonwealth, and the following were named: For Governor, Arthur I. Boreman, of Wood county; for Auditor, Samuel Crane, of Randolph; for Treasurer, Campbell Tarr, of Brooke; for Secretary of State, J. Edgar Boyers, of Tyler; for Attorney-General, A. Bolten Caldwell, of Ohio county. All of these were elected without opposition on the fourth Thursday of the same month. Circuit Judges and county officials were elected on the same day.
2. Beginning of the New State Government .-- The sixty days following the President's proclama- tion terminated on June 20th, 1863, and on that day the complete governmental organization was put into operation. There had arisen a New Dominion within the limits of the Old Dominion, and the two-the mother and daughter-were to reside upon the ancient estate.
3. The Removal of the Capital of the Reor- ganized Government .- On the fourth Thursday in
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WEST VIRGINIA UNDER THE FIRST CONSTITUTION. 191
May-the day on which the new State officials were elected-Governor Pierpont, who had held his position previously by election by the second Wheeling Con- vention, was chosen Governor of Virginia for the term of four years, and thus he remained at the head of the Reorganized Government. Its authority had . ceased in all the territory embraced in the new State of West Virginia, and the Governor removed the archives to Alexandria on the Potomac, where it con- tinued to exercise authority. Thus there were three organized governments in Virginia, as it existed at the beginning of the war. At length the struggle ended, and on May 25th, 1865, the Reorganized Govern- ment was removed from Alexandria to Richmond and became the recognized authority throughout Virginia.
4. How Berkeley and Jefferson Counties became a part of West Virginia .- Berkeley and Jefferson counties were not included in West Virginia at the time of its admission into the Union. On January 31st, 1863, the Assembly, under the Reorganized Gov- ernment, passed on an act for Berkeley, and on the ensuing 4th of March for Jefferson, providing that elections be held in each and, if a majority of the votes cast be in favor of becoming a part of West Virginia, then the chief executive of the Reorganized Government should certify the result to the Governor of West Virginia. This was done, and August 5th, 1863, the Legislature of West Virginia passed an act admitting Berkeley county, and by a similar enactment on November 2d following, Jefferson county was made a part of the new State.
192 HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA.
5. Virginia's Suit for the Recovery of these Counties .- On December 8th, 1865, the Virginia Assembly, sitting at Richmond, repealed the act of 1863, by which the counties in question were trans- ferred to West Virginia. Then the authorities of that State appealed to the 39th Congress, and March , 2d, 1866, that body passed an act declaring these counties to be subject to the jurisdiction of the new State the same as if they had been a part of it at the time of its formation. Virginia then brought suit against West Virginia in the Supreme Court of the United States for the recovery of the counties. The case was argued at the December term of that tribunal in 1866, but no decision was reached, and it was not again called until December, 1870, when it was heard a second time and a decision rendered in favor of the defendant-West Virginia-three of the judges of the court dissenting. Thus was determined the area and boundaries of the new State as they have since existed.
6. The Constitution of the New State .- The Con- stitution of the New State, while similar to that of Virginia in some respects, differed widely from it in many of its provisions. The Governor was elected for a term of two years, as were the other State of- ficers; the office of Secretary of State was an elective one. State Senators were elected for two years, while members of the House of Delegates were chosen for one; the legislative branch of the Government was denominated the Legislature instead of the Gen- eral Assembly, as in Virginia, and the enacting clause was changed to comply therewith.
WEST VIRGINIA UNDER THE FIRST CONSTITUTION. 193
7. Meeting of the First Legislature .- The first ses- sion of the New State Legislature convened in the Linsly Institute in Wheeling, on the birthday of the State-June 20th, 1863-its members having been elected at the general election on the 23d day of May preceding. The Senate as then existing was com- posed of twenty-two members, only twenty of whom were present, there being no representatives from the district composed of Berkeley and Jefferson. In the House of Delegates there were fifty-one members present. John M. Phelps, of Mason county, was chosen President of the Senate, and Spicer Patrick, of Kanawha county, Speaker of the House. August 4th the Legislature proceeded to elect two United States Senators-the first to represent the State in that capacity. These were Waitman T. Willey, of Mo- nongalia county and Peter G. Van Winkle, of Wood county.
8. The State Seals .- On the third day of the session a joint committee was appointed to devise and report suitable devices and inscriptions for the seals of the State. It consisted of Daniel D. T. Farns- worth, Edwin Maxwell and Greenbury Slack on the part of the Senate; and Peter G. Van Winkle, L. E. Davidson and William L. Crawford on the part of the House. On the 26thi of September it made the fol- lowing report, which was adopted:
The Great Seal .- The disc of the Great Seal to be two and one half inches in diameter. The obverse to bear the legend, "State of West Virginia," the Con- stitutional designation of our Republic, which, with
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194 HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA.
the motto "Montani semper liberi"-"Mountaineers always free"-is to be inserted in the circumference. In the center a rock with ivy, emblematic of stability and continuance, and on the face of the rock the in- scription, "June 20th, 1863," the date of our founda- tion, as if graved with a pen of iron in the rock for- ever. On the right of the rock a farmer clothed in the traditional hunting shirt, peculiar to this region, his right arm resting on the plow handles, and his left supporting a woodman's axe, indicating that while our territory is partly cultivated, it is still in process of being cleared of the original forest. At his right hand a sheaf of wheat and a cornstalk; on the left of the rock, a miner, indicated by a pick-axe on his shoulder, with barrels and lumps of mineral at his feet: On his left an anvil, partly seen, on which rests a sledge hammer, typical of the mechanic arts, the whole indicating the principal pursuits and re- sources of the State. In front of the rock and the hunter, as if just laid down by the latter and ready to be resumed at a moment's notice, two hunters' rifles, crossed and surmounted at the place of contact by the Phrygian cap, or cap of liberty, indicating that our freedom and liberty were won and will be main- tained by the force of arıns.
The Less Seal .- The above to be also the legend, motto and device of the less seal, the disc of which should have a diameter of an inch and a half.
The Reverse Side of the Great Seal .- The Reverse of the Great Seal to be encircled by a wreath com- posed of laurel and oak leaves, emblematical of valor
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WEST VIRGINIA UNDER THE FIRST CONSTITUTION. 195
and strength, with fruits and cereals, productions of our State. For device a landscape. In the distance, on the left of the disc, a wooded mountain, and on the right a cultivated slope with the log farm house pecu- liar to this region. On the side of the mountain a representation of the viaduct on the line of the Balti- more & Ohio railroad in Preston county, one of the great engineering triumphs of the age, with a train of cars about to pass over it. Near the center a fac- tory, in front of which is a river with boats, on the bank and to the right of it nearer the foreground, a derrick and a shed, appertaining to the production of salt and petroleum. In the foreground a meadow with cattle and sheep feeding and reposing, the whole indicating the leading characteristics, productions and pursuits of the State at this time. Above the moun- tain, etc., the sun merging from the clouds, indicat- ing that former obstacles to our prosperity are now disappearing. In the rays of the sun the motto "Libertas et Fidelitate"-Freedom and Loyalty-in- dicating that our liberty and independence are the result of faithfulness to the Declaration of Independ- ence and the National Constitution.
* The Great and Less Seals are both kept in the Secretary of State's office to be used by him. The Great Seal is two and one- half inches in diameter, and is used on Proclamations of the Gov- ernor; requisitions on Governors of other states; and warrants of arrest of persons thereunder; on certificates of incorporation of all abstracts and copies of records in the office of the Governor. The Less Seal is one and one-half inches in diameter, and is used on all commissions-civil and military-emanating from the Gov- ernor's office.
196 HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA.
9. The Supreme Court of Appeals .- On the fourth Thursday in May, 1863, the same day on which the New State officials were elected the Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals-three in number as re- quired by the Constitution-were chosen by a vote of the people. They were Ralph L. Berkshire, of Monongalia county; William A. Harrison, of Har- rison county and James H. Brown, of Kanawha county. They met in Wheeling on the 9th day of July, 1863, and organized the highest tribunal of the State. Judge Harrison was chosen temporary president; lots were then cast and Berkshire drew the short term of four years; Brown that of eight years and Harrison that of twelve years. Judge Berkshire was then made permanent president and Sylvanus W. Hall was elected Clerk of the Court. This was the last branch of the Government and with its organization the whole-Executive, Legislative and Judicial- was complete.
10. West Virginia in the Civil War .- Owing to the geographical position and divided condition of her people, some of the stern realities of war were witnessed in West Virginia. Here was presented a condition of affairs only existing in the border states. It was that of thousands of brave and determined men hastening to the recruiting offices and enlisting in the ranks of the respective armies under the flag, emblem of the cause they believed to be just. From the territory now embraced within the State, thousands entered the Federal army and did valiant service on almost every battlefield of the war, while other thousands hastened
WEST VIRGINIA UNDER THE FIRST CONSTITUTION. 197
over the Blue Ridge, and added luster to the annals of the Confederate arms.
11. Military Operations within the State .- West Virginia was during the years of the Civil War, the scene of battle's stern array, and within the State were marshaled the contending hosts, and there was war all the way from the banks of the Shenandoah to those of the Ohio, and the sound of battle echoed and re-echoed among the hills and mountains. There were conflicts of arms in more than half the counties of the State, and with them, are connected the names of some of the great military chieftains of the war.
12. West Virginians as Military Officials .- West Virginians maintained in the Civil War the reputa- tion for bravery and heroism which they had inherited from an ancestry famous in the Rev. olution and in the Border Wars. In the year 1860, the census showed that there was a popu- lation of 376,688 in the present limits of the State, from which more than thirty thousand men entered the armies of their THOMAS J. JACKSON .* choice and many won a high rank. Among West Virginians reaching the rank of General in the Federal service, .
*Thomas Jonathan Jackson-familiarly known as Stonewall Jackson-was a native of Harrison County-now West Virginia- born at Clarksburg, January 21st, 1824. His father died in 1827, and his mother in 1-31; thus he was an orphan at the age of seven years. He went to reside with an uncle on a farm, distant eigh-
198 HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA.
were Jesse Lee Reno,* (p. 199) B. F. Kelly, Nathan Goff, Isaac H. Duval, J. A. J. Lightburn, T. M. Harris and David H. Strother. While of those attaining the same rank in the service of the Confederacy were Thomas J. Jackson, John Echols, Albert G. Jenkins and Jolın McCausland.
13. The Province of National History .- The his- tory of the Civil War is a part of the history of the Nation, and as such it must be studied by the students who would know of it. The movements within the State were but part of the plans which were to cul- minate elsewhere, or but details of great campaigns and they cannot be discussed here. But they may be studied in the records of the mighty struggle, for who now can recall the scenes being enacted within the confines of the State ? A new generation has appeared, one that never witnessed the smoke of battle as it arose over this our now fair and peaceful domain.
teen miles from Clarksburg, where he attended the schools of the vicinity. In 1844, he entered the Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated four years later, with the rank of second lieutenant. The Mexican War was in progress, and he hastened away to that field of action. In the conquered city of Mexico, he received the rank of Major. Returning home he re- mained in the army until 1851, when he became Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy in the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, where he was thus engaged at the begin- ning of the Civil War. He entered the Confederate service with the rank of Brigadier-General, and at once entered upon a most remarkable career, such a one as has rarely or never been sur- passed. In less than two years he had risen to the highest rank-that of Lieutenant-General. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, and died ten days later, May 10th, 1863. His last words were: "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."
WEST VIRGINIA UNDER THE FIRST CONSTITUTION. 199
Where these marshaled hosts struggled for the mastery, now are seen and heard the hurry and bustle of an industrial activity, cultivating the soil, navi- gating the rivers, constructing railroads, building churches and school houses and digging wealth from the mountains. May white-winged peace long re- main.
*West Virginia's most distin - guished son who fought for the Uil- ion in the War between the States, was Jesse Lee Reno. He was born in Wheeling, Ohio county - now West Virginia - June 20, 1823 ; en- tered the Military Academy at West Point in 1842 and was graduated therefrom in 1846 with the brevet rank of Lieutenant of Ordnance. He accompanied the American army to Mexico in 1847, and participated in JESSE L. RENO. every battle from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, among these being Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco and Chapultepec, and for gal- lantry at the latter place, where he was wounded, he was brevet captain. From the battlefields of Mexico he went to West Point as Professor of Mathematics ; then on the Coast Survey, and Chief of Ordnance in General Albert Sydney Johnston's Utah Expedition in 1857-9. At the beginning of the War between the States he was commissioned a Brigadier-General and was with General Burnside at all the battles of Tide-Water Virginia in 1861-2. In the latter year he was with General Pope at Manassas and Chan- tilly ; was made a Major-General, July 18, 1862. At four o'clock on the evening of September 14th, of the same year, he fell mor- tally wounded while leading the Ninth Army Corps, in the desper- ate battle of South Mountain, Maryland, and died while cheering his men on to victory. No braver man fell in that war than Jesse Lee Reno of West Virginia.
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