USA > West Virginia > Hampshire County > History of Hampshire County, West Virginia : from its earliest settlement to the present > Part 9
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Under the constitution of 1863 the state of West Virginia was governed nine years, and there was general prosperity. But experience demonstrated that many of the provisions of the constitution were not perfect. Amendments and improvements were suggested from time to time, and there gradually grew up a strong sentiment in favor of a new constitution. On February 23, 1871, a call was issued for an election of delegates to a constitutional convention. The election was held in August of that year, and in January, 1872, the delegate met in Charleston and began the work.
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They completed it in a little less than three months.
The following delegates were elected by the various senatorial and assembly districts of the state: Brooke county, Alexander Campbell, William K. Pendleton; Boone, William D. Pate; Braxton, Homer A. Holt; Berke- ley, Andrew W. McCleary, C. J. Faulkner, John Blair Hoge; Barbour, Samuel Woods, J. N. B. Crim; Clay, B. W. Byrne; Calhoun, Lemuel Stump; Cabell, Evermont Ward, Thomas Thornburg; Doddridge, Jeptha F. Ran- dolph; Fayette, Hudson M. Dickinson; Greenbrier, Henry M. Mathews, Samuel Price; Harrison, Benjamin Wilson, Beverly H. Lurty, John Bassel; Hampshire, J. D. Arm- strong, Alexander Monroe; Hardy, Thomas Maslin; Han- cock, John H. Atkinson; Jefferson, William H. Travers, Logan Osburn, William A. Morgan; Jackson, Thomas R. Park; Kanawha, John A. Warth, Edward B. Knight, Nich- olas Fitzhugh; Lewis, Mathew Edmiston, Blackwell Jack- son; Logan, M. A. Staton; Morgan, Lewis Allen; Monon- galia, Waitman T. Willey, Joseph Snider, J. Marshall Hagans; Marion, U. N. Arnett, Alpheus F. Haymond, Fountain Smith; Mason, Charles B. Waggener, Alonzo Cushing; Mercer, Isaiah Bee, James Calfee; Mineral, John A. Robinson, John T. Pearce; Monroe, James M. Byrn- sides, William Haynes; Marshall, James M. Pipes, J. W. Gallaher, Hanson Criswell; Ohio, George O. Davenport, William W. Miller, A. J. Pawnell, James S. Wheat; Putnam, m John J. Thompson; Pendleton, Charles D. Boggs; Poca- hontas, George H. Moffett; Preston, William G. Brown, Charles Kantner; Pleasants, W. G. H. Care; Roane, Thomas Ferrell; Ritchie, Jacob P. Strickler; Randolph, J. F. Hard- ing; Raleigh, William Price, William McCreery; Taylor, A. H. Thayer, Benjamin F. Martin; Tyler, Daniel D. Johnson, David S. Pugh; Upshur, D. D. T. Farnsworth; Wirt, D. A. Roberts, David H. Leonard; Wayne, Charles W. Fer- guson; Wetzel, Septimius Hall; Wood, James M. Jackson, Okey Johnson.
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The new constitution of West Virginia enters much more fully into the ways and means of government than any other constitution Virginia or West Virginia had known. It leaves less for the courts to interpret and decide than any of the former constitutions. The details are elaborately worked out, and the powers and duties of the three departments of state government, the legisla- tive, judicial and executive, are stated in so precise terms that there can be little ground for controversy as to what the constitution means. The terms of the state officers were increased to four years, and the legislature's sessions were changed from yearly to once in two years. A marked change in the tone of the constitution regarding persons who took part in the civil war, against the govern- ment, is noticeable. Not only is the clause in the former constitution disfranchising those who took part in the rebellion, not found in the new constitution, but in its stead is a clause which repudiates. in express terms, the sentiment on this subject in the former constitutions. It is stated that "political tests, requiring persons, as a pre- requsite to the enjoyment of their civil and political rights, to purge themselves, by their own oaths, of past alleged offenses, are repugnant to the principles of free govern- ment, and are cruel and oppressive." The ex-confeder- ates and those who sympathized with and assisted them in their war against the United States, could have been as effectively restored to their rights by a simple clause to that effect, as by the one employed, which passess judg- ment upon a part of the former constitution. The lan- guage on this subject in the new constitution may, there- fore, be taken as the matured judgment, and as an expres- sion of the purer conception of justice by the people of West Virginia when the passions of the war had subsided, and when years had given time for reflection. It is pro- vided, also, that no person who aided or participated in the rebellion shall be liable to any proceedings, civil or
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criminal, for any act done by him in accordance with the rules of civilized warfare. It was provided in the consti- tution of Virginia that ministers and priests should not be eligible to seats in the legislature. West Virginia's new constitution broke down the barrier against a worthy and law-abiding class of citizens. It is provided that "all men shall be free to profess, and, by argument, to maintain their opinions in matters of religion; and the same shall, in no wise, affect, diminish, or enlarge their civil capaci- ties. "
A change was made in the matter of investing the state school fund. The first constitution authorized its invest- ment in United States or West Virginia state securities only. The new constitution provided that it might be in- vested in other solvent securities, provided United States or this state's securities cannot be had. The provision for courts did not meet general approval as left by the constitution, and this dissatisfaction at length led to an amendment which was voted upon October 12, 1889, and was ratified by a vote of 57,941 for to 34,270 against. It provides that the supreme court of appeals shall consist of four judges who shall hold office twelve years; and they and all other judges and justices in the state shall be . elected by the people. There shall be thirteen circuit judges, and they must hold at least three terms of court in every county of the state each year. There tenure of office is eight years. The county court was remodeled. It no longer consists of justices of the peace, nor is its powers as large as formerly. It is composed of three commissioners whose term of office is six years. Four regular terms of court are held yearly. The powers and duties of the justices of the peace are clearly defined. No county shall have fewer than three justices nor more than twenty. Each county is divided into districts, not fewer than three nor more than ten in number. Each district has one justice, and if its population is more than twelve
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hundred, it is entitled to two. They hold office four years.
There is a provision in the constitution that any county may change its county court if a majority of the electors vote to do so, after the forms laid down by law have been complied with. It is left to the people, in such a case, to decide what shall be the nature of the tribunal which takes the place of the court of commmissioners.
The growth of the idea of liberty and civil government in a century, as expressed in the Bill of Rights and the Virginia constitution of 1776, and as embodied in the subsequent constitutions of 1830, 1850, 1863 and 1872, shows that the most sanguine expectations of the states- men of 1776 have been realized and surpassed in the present time. The right of suffrage has been extended beyond anything dreamed of a century ago; and it has been demonstrated that the people are capable of under- standing and enjoying their enlarged liberty. The authors of Virginia's first constitution believed that it was unwise to entrust the masses with the powers of govern- ment. Therefore, the chief part taken by the people in their own government was in the selection of their legisla- ture. All other state, county and district officers were filled by appointments or by elections by the legislature. Limited as was the exercise of suffrage, it was still further restricted by a property qualification which dis- franchised a large portion of the people. Yet this liberty was so great in comparison with that enjoyed while under England's colonial government, that the people were satisfied for a long time. But finally they demanded enlarged rights, and obtained them. When they at length realized that they governed themselves, and were not governed by others, they speedily advanced in the science of government. The property qualification was abolished. The doctrine that wealth was the true source of political power was relegated to the past. From that it was but a
.
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step for the people to exercise a right which they had long suffered others to hold - that of electing all their officers. At first they did not elect their own governor; and as late as 1850 they acquiesed, though somewhat reluctantly, in the doctrine that they could not be trusted to elect their own judges. But they have thrown all this aside now, and their officers are of their own selection; and no man, because he is poor, if capable of self support, is denied an equal voice in government with that exercised by the most wealthy. Men, not wealth, intelligence, not force, are the true sources of our political power.
CHAPTER VIII.
JOHN BROWN'S RAID,
The attempt of John Brown to free the slaves; his siez- ure of the United States armory at Harper's Ferry; his capture, trial and execution, form a page in West Virginia's history in which the whole country, and in a lesser degree the whole civilized world, felt an interest at the time of its occurrence; and that interest will long continue. The siezure of the government property at that place by an ordinary mob would have created a stir; but the incident would have lost its interest in a short time, and at a short distance from the scene of disturbance. But Brown's ac- complices were no ordinary mob; and the purpose 'in view gave his attempt its great importance. In fact, much more importance was attached to the raid than it deserved. Viewed in the light of history, it is plain that Brown could not have freed many slaves, nor could he have caused any wide-spread uprising among them. The military re- sources of the government, or even of the state of Virginia, were sufficient to stamp out in short order any attempted insurrection at that time. There were not enough people willing and ready to assist the attempt, There were too many willing and ready to put it down. Brown achieved about as much success as he could reasonably expect, and his attempt at emancipating slaves ran its logical course. But the extreme sensitiveness of the slave holders and their fears that abolitionists would incite an uprising, caused Brown's bold dash to be given an importance at the time far beyond what it deserved.
John Brown was a man of great courage; not easily ex- 9
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1
cited; cool and calculating; not bloodthirsty, but willing to take the life of any one who stood between him and the ac- complishment of his purpose. He has been very generally regarded as a fanatic, who had followed an idea until he be- came a monomaniac. It is difficult to prove this view of him to be incorrect; yet, without doubt, his fanaticism was of a superior and unusual kind. The dividing line between fanatics and the highest order of reformers. those who live before their time, who can see the light touching the peaks beyond the valleys and shadows in which other men are walking, is not always clearly marked. It is not for us to say to which class of men Brown belonged; and certainly it is not given us to set him among the blind fanatics. If he must be classified, we run less risk of error if we place him with those whose prophetic vision outstrips their physical strength; with the sentinel on the watch tower of Sier, of whom Isaiah speaks.
What he hoped to accomplish, and died in an attempt to accomplish, was brought about in less than five years from his death. If he failed to free the slaves, they were speed- ily freed by that sentiment of which he was an extreme representative. It cannot be said that Brown's efforts were the immediate, nor even the remote, cause which emancipated the black race in the United States; but be- yond doubt the affair at Harper's Ferry had a powerful influence in two directions, either of which worked toward emancipation. The one influence operated in the North upon those who desired emancipation, stimulating them to renewed efforts; the other influence had its effect among the Southern slave owners, kindling their anger and their fear, and urging them to acts by which they hoped to strengthen their grip upon the institution of slavery, but which led them to war against the government, and their hold on slavery was shaken loose forever. John Brown was born in Connecticut, went to Kansas with his family and took part in the civil war in that state which
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raged between the slave faction and those opposed to the spread of slavery. Brown affiliated with the latter, and fought in more than one armed encounter. He was one of the boldest leaders, fearless in fight, stubborn in defense, and relentless in pursuit. He hated slavery with an in- appeasable hatred. He belonged to the party in the North called abolitionists, whose avowed object was to free the slaves. He was perhaps more radical than the majority of that radical party. They hoped to accomplish their purpose by creating a sentiment in its favor. Brown ap- pears to have been impatient at this slow process. He be- lieved in uniting force and argument, and he soon became the leader of that wing of the ultra abolitionists. On May 8, 1858, a secret meeting was held in Chatham, Canada, which was attended by delegates from different states, and from Canada. The object was to devise means of freeing the slaves. It is not known exactly what the proceedings of the meeting were, except that a constitution was out- lined for the United States, or for such states as might be taken possession of. Brown was commander-in-chief; one of his companions named Kagi was secretary of war. Brown issued several military commissions.
Harper's Ferry was selected as the point for the upris- ing. It was to be seized and held as a place of rendezvous for slaves from Maryland and Virginia, and when a suffi- cient number had assembled there they were to march un- der arms across Maryland into Pennsylvania and there disperse. The negroes were to be armed with tomahawks and spears, they not being sufficiently acquainted with firearms to use them. It was believed that the slaves would eagerly grasp the opportunity to gain their freedoni, and that the movement, begun at one point, would spread and grow until slavery was stamped out. Brown no doubt in- correctly estimated the sentiment in the North in favor of emancipation by force of arms. In company with his two sons, Watson and Oliver, Brown rented a farm near Sharps-
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burg, in Maryland, from Dr. Kennedy. This was within a few miles of Harper's Ferry, and was used as a gather- ing point for Brown's followers, and as a place of conceal- ment for arms. Brown represented that his name was Anderson. He never had more than twenty-two men about the farm. From some source in the east, never certainly ascertained, arms were shipped to Brown, under the name of J. Smith & Son. The boxes were double, so that no one could suspect their contents. In this manner he received two hundred and ninety Sharp's rifles, two hundred May- nard revolvers and one thousand spears and tomahawks. Brown expected from two thousand to five thousand men, exclusive of slaves, to rise at his word and come to his as- sistance. In this he was mistaken. He knew that twenty- two men could not hold Harper's Ferry, and without doubt ·
he calculated, and expected even to the last hour before capture, that his forces would rally to his assistance. When he found that they had not done so, he concluded that the blow had been struck too soon.
About ten o'clock on the night of October 16, 1859, with seventeen white men and five negroes, Brown proceeded to Harper's Ferry, overpowered the sentry on the bridge, seized the United States arsenal, in which were stored arms sufficient to equip an army, took several persons prisoner and confined them in the armory; visited during the night some of the farmers in the vicinity, took them prisoner and declared freedom to their slaves; cut the telegraph wires leading from Harper's Ferry; seized an eastbound train on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, but subsequently let it proceed, after announcing that no other train would be permitted to pass through Harper's Ferry.
The people in the town knew nothing of what was tak- ing place until daybreak. At that time a negro porter at the railroad station was shot and killed because he refused to join the insurgents, and an employe at the armory was shot at when he refused to be taken prisoner. A merchant
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witnessed the shooting, and fired from his store at one of Brown's men. He missed, but was shot dead in return. When workmen belonging to the armory appeared at the hour for beginning their daily labors, they were arrested and confined in one of the government buildings as a prison. The village was now alarmed. The mayor of the town, Fontaine Beckham, and Captain George Turner, formerly of the United States army, appeared on the scene, and were fired upon and killed. The wires having been cut, news of the insurrection was slow in reaching the sur- rounding country; but during the forenoon telegrams were sent from the nearest offices. The excitement through- out the south was tremendous. The people there believed that a gigantic uprising of the slaves was at hand. The meagre information concerning the exact state of affairs at Harper's Ferry caused it to be greatly overestimated. At Washington the sensation amounted to a shock. General Robert E. Lee was ordered to the scene at once with one hundred marines.
Military companies began to arrive at Harper's Ferry from neighboring towns. The first upon the scene was Colonel Baylor's company from Charlestown. Shortly afterwards two companies arrived from Martinsburg. A desultory fire was kept up during the day, in which sev- eral persons were killed. An assault on one of the build- ings held by Brown was successfully made by the militia. Four of the insurgents were killed and a fifth was made prisoner. Brown and the remainder of his men took refuge in the engine house at the armory, except four who fled and escaped to Pennsylvania. Two of them were sub- sequently captured. Two of Brown's men came out to hold a parley and were shot and taken prisoner. One was killed in revenge for the death of Mayor Beckham; the other was subsequently tried, convicted and hanged. About three o'clock in the afternoon of October 17, about twenty railroad men made a dash at the engine house,
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broke down the door and killed two of Brown's men. But they were repulsed with seven of their number wounded.
Before sunset there were more than one thousand men in Harper's Ferry under arms, having come in from the surrounding country; but no further assault was made on Brown's position that day for fear of killing the men whom he held prisoner in the building with him. That night R. E. Lee arrived from Washington with one hundred marines and two pieces of artillery. Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart was with him. Early Tuesday morning, October 18, Stuart was sent to demand an unconditional surrender, promising only that Brown and his men should be protected from im- mediate violence, and should have a trial under the laws of the country. Brown refused to accepted these terms, but demanded that he and his men be permitted to march out with their prisoners, cross the Potomac unpursued. They would then free their prisoners and would escape if they could; if not, they would fight. Of course Stuart did not accept this offer. Preparations were made for an attack. The marines brought up a heavy ladder, and using it as a battering ram, broke open the door of the engine house and rushed in. Brown and his men fought till killed or over- powered. The first man who entered, named Quinn, was killed. Brown was stabbed twice with bayonets and then cut down by a sabre stroke. All his men but two were killed or wounded. These were taken prisoner. Of the whole band of twenty-two, ten white men and three negroes were killed; three white men were wounded; two had made their escape; all the others were captured.
It was believed that Brown's injuries would prove fatal in a few hours, but he rallied. Within the next few days - he was indicted for murder, and for treason against the United States. In his case the customary interval did not elapse between his indictment and his trial. He was cap- tured October 18, and on October 26 his case was called for trial in the county court at Charlestown, in Jefferson
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county. Brown's attorneys asked for a continuance on the ground that the defendant was physically unable to stand trial. The motion for a continuance was denied, and the .trial proceeded. Brown reclined on a cot, being unable to sit. The trial was extremely short, considering the im- portance of the case. Within less than three days the jury had brought in a verdict of guilty, and Brown was sen- tenced to be hanged December 16. Executive clemency was sought. Under the law of Virginia at that time the governor was forbidden to grant pardon to any one convic- ted of treason, except with the consent of the assembly. Governor Henry A. Wise notified the assembly of Brown's application for pardon. That body passed a resolution, December 7, by which it refused to interfere in Brown's behalf, and he died on the scaffold at the appointed time. Six of his companions were executed, four on the same day with their leader, and two in the following March.
The remains of Brown were taken to North Elba, New York, where Wendell Phillips pronounced a eulogy. Per- haps Brown contributed more to the emancipation of slaves by his death than by his life.
CHAPTER.IX.
-«O»-
THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION
Although West Virginia at the time was a part of Vir- ginia, it refused to go with the majority of of the people of that state in seceding from the United States and joining the Southern Confederacy. The circumstances attending that refusal constitute an important chapter in the history of West Virginia. Elsewhere in this book, in speaking of the constitution of this and the mother state, reference is made to the differences in sentiment and interests between the people west of the Alleghanies and those east of that range. The ordinance of secession was the rock upon which Virginia was broken in twain. It was the occasion of the west's separating from the east. The territory which ought to have been a separate state at the time Ken- tucky became one, seized the opportunity of severing the political ties which had long bound it, somewhat unwill- ingly, to the Old Dominion. Virginia, after the war, in- vited the new state to reunite with it, but a polite reply was sent, that West Virginia preferred to retain its state- hood. The sentiment in favor of separation did not spring up at once. It had been growing for three quarters of a century. Before the close of the Revolutionary war the subject had attracted such attention that a report on the subject was made by a committee in congress. But many years before that time a movement for a new state west of the Alleghanies had been inaugurated by George Washing- ton, Benjamin Franklin and others, some of whom were interested in land on the Kanawha and elsewhere. The new state was to be named Vandalia, and the capital
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was to be at the mouth of the Great Kanawha. The move- ment for a new state really began there, and never after- wards slept; and finally, in 1863, it was accomplished, after no less than ninety-three years of agitation.
The legislature of Virginia met in extra session January 7, 1861. The struggle had begun. The rebels had not yet opened their batteries on Fort Sumpter. but the South had plainly spoken its defiance. The Southern Confed- eracy was forming. The elements of resistance were get- ting together. The storm of war was about to break upon the country. States further south had seceded or had decided to do so. Virginia had not yet decided. Its peo- ple were divided. The state hesitated. If it joined the confederacy, it would be the battle ground in the most gigantic war the world ever saw. It was the gateway by which the armies of the north would invade the south. Some affected to believe. perhaps some did believe, that there would be no war; that the south would not be in- vaded; that the north would not go beyond argument. But the people of better judgment foresaw the storm, and they knew where it would break, The final result. no man foresaw. Many hoped; many doubted; but at that time no man saw what four years would bring forth. Thus. Virginia hesitated long before she cast her fortunes with the states already in rebellion. When she took the fatal step; when she fought as only the brave can fight; when she was crushed by weight rather than vanquished, she accepted the result. and emerged from the smoke of battle, still great; and like Carthage of old, her splendor seemed only the more conspicuous by the desolation which war had brought.
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