USA > West Virginia > History of West Virginia > Part 22
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Resolved, That it be and is hereby recommended to the people in each and all of the counties composing
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Northwestern Virginia, to appoint delegates, not less than five in number, of their wisest, best and discreetest men, to meet in convention at Wheeling, on the 13th day of May next, to consult and determine upon such action as the people of Northwestern Virginia should take in the fearful emergency.
Resolved, That Hon. John S. Carlisle, W. P. Goff, Hon. Charles S. Lewis, John J. Davis, Thomas L. Moore, S. S. Flemming, Lot Bowen, Dr. William Dun- kin, William E. Lyon, Felix Sturm and James Lynch, be and are hereby appointed delegates to represent this County in said Convention.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE FIRST WHEELING CONVENTION.
Virginia's Military Force placed under the Direction of the President of the Confed- erate States .- Meeting of Citizens in Berkeley County .- Convention convened in Washington Hall, Wheeling .- The Men composing it .- Organization of the Body .- Committees Appointed .- The Members divided on the Question of the Formation of a New State .- Work of the Convention .- Adjournment.
THE same day on which the Richmond Convention passed the Ordinance of Secession, that body adopted and ratified the Constitution of the Provisional Gov- ernment of the Confederate States of America, the same to cease to have legal effect in Virginia, should her people reject the Ordinance of Secession. On the 25th of April, an article of agreement was entered into between Alexander H. Stephens, Commissioner for the Confederate States, and John Tyler, William B. Preston, Samuel McD. Moore, James P. Holcombe, James C. Bruce and Lewis E. Harvie, on the part of Virginia, stipulating that " Virginia, until she become a member of the Confederacy, should place her military force under the direction of the President of the Con- federate States, and also turn over to the authorities of the same, all her public property, naval stores, and muni- tions of war." This latter action secured to the Con- federate army many men who otherwise would not have entered its ranks. But they belonged to com- panies which had been organized immediately after the Harper's Ferry Insurrection, and were regularly en-
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listed in the State service, at the command of whose authorities they marched to the field.
In compliance with recommendations of the Clarks- burgh Convention to the several counties composing Northwestern Virginia, to appoint not less than five delegates of "their wisest, best and discreetest men" to meet in Convention at Wheeling, a number of the counties held mass meetings and made the necessary appointments. Days seemed weeks, but at last the time arrived and the morning of the 13th day of May, 1861, witnessed a gathering in the city of Wheeling of the most determined men that ever assembled on the banks of the Ohio. They were men characterized by motives similar to those which actuated the determined spirits of the Revolution-men determined to save Western Virginia to the Federal Union, to keep it sheltered beneath the folds of the flag of this Western Republic. They were men accustomed to the peace- ful avocations of life, but now aroused by a spirit of patriotism to one of righteous revolution.
At eleven o'clock, A. M., what is known as the First Wheeling Convention assembled in Washington Hall, and the report of the Committee on Credentials showed the following to be entitled to seats, together with the counties represented by them :-
Hancock County .- George McC. Porter, W. L. Craw- ford, Louis R. Smith, J. C. Crawford, B. J. Smith, Thomas Anderson, Willian B. Freeman, WV. C. Murray, J. L. Freeman, John Gardner, George Johnston, J. S. Porter, James Stevenson, J. S. Pomeroy, R. Brene- man, David Donahoo, D. S. Nicholson, Thayer Mel- vin, Ewing Turner, James H. Pugh, H. Farnsworth, James G. Marshall, Samuel Freeman, John Mahan,
----- A
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David Jenkins, William Hewitt, William Brown, A. Moore, D. C. Pugh, Jonathan Allison, John H. Atkin- son, Joseph W. Allison.
Brooke County .- Adam Kuhn, David Hervey, Camp- bell Tarr, Nathaniel Wells, J. R. Burgoine, James Archer, Jesse Edgington, R. L. Jones, James A. Camp- bell, Robert Nichols, Joseph Gist, John G. Jacob, Eli Green, J. D. Nichols, Bazael Wells, M. Walker.
Ohio County .- L. S. Delaplain, J. R. Stifel, G. L. Cranmer, Alfred Caldwell, John McLure, Jr., Andrew Wilson, George Forbes, A. J. Woods, T. H. Logan, James S. Wheat, George W. Norton, N. H. Garrison, E. Buchanan, John Pierson, T. Witham, E. McCaslin, A. B. Caldwell, J. R. Hubbard, A. F. Ross, W. B. Cur- tis, John Stiner, Daniel Lamb, C. D. Hubbard, S. H. Woodward, J. W. Paxton, A. Handlan, S. Waterhouse, J. Hornbrook, L. D. Waitt, John K. Botsford, George Bowers, Robert Crangle J. M. Bickel, James Paull, John C. Hoffman, Jacob Berger, A. Bedillion, Sr., J. C. Orr.
Marshall County .- John H. Dickey, John Parkinson, Thomas Morris, W. Alexander, John Laughlin, W. T. Head, J. S. Parriott, WV. J. Purdy, H. C. Kemple, Joseph Turner, Hiram McMechen, E. H. Caldwell, James Garvin, L. Gardner, H. A. Francis, Thomas Dowler, John R. Morrow, William Wasson, Nat. Wil- son, Thomas Morgan, S. Dorsey, Jr., R. B. Hunter, J. W. McCarriher, J. B. Morris, R. C. Holliday, Wil- liam Collins, W. R. Kimmons, G. W. Evans, William McFarland, J. Hornbrook, John Reynolds, R. Swan, J. B. Hornbrook, James Campbell, F. Clement, J. Win- ders, William Baird, Dr. Marshman, William Luke, J. Garvin, S. Ingram, William Phillips, A. Francis,
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Thomas Wilson, Lot Enix, G. Hubbs, John Wilson, John Ritchie, J. W. Boner, J. Alley, S. B. Stidger, Asa Browning, Samuel Wilson,. J. McCondell, A. Bonar, D. Price, G. W. Evans, D. Roberts, Thomas Dowler, R. Alexander, E. Conner, Charles Snediker, John Winters, Nathan Fish, V. P. Gorby, Alfred Gaines, J. S. Riggs, Alexander Kemple, Joseph McCombs.
Wetzel County .- T. E. Williams, Joseph Murphy, Elijah Morgan, William Burrows, B. T. Bowers, J. R. Brown, J. M. Bell, Jacob Young, Reuben Martin, R. Reed, Sr., Richard Cook, A. McEldowney, B. Vancamp, John McClaskey, S. Stephens, R. W. Lauck, John Alley, Thomas McQuown, George W. Bier, William D. Welker, R. S. Sayres.
Tyler County .- D. D. Johnson, Daniel Sweeney, V. Smith, W. B. Kerr, J. C. Parker, James M. Smith, J. H. Johnson, Isaac Davis, S. H. Hawkins, D. King, William Pritchard.
Harrison County .- John S. Carlisle, Thomas L. Moore, John J. Davis, S. S. Fleming, Felix S. Sturm, James Lynch, William E. Lyon, Lot Bowen, Dr. Dun- can, W. P. Goff, B. F. Shuttleworth.
Pleasants County .- Friend Cochran, Robert Parker, R. A. Cramer, James Williamson.
Wood County .- S. L. A. Burche, J. J. Jackson, J. D. Ingram, A. Laughlin, W. Vroman, J. C. Rathbone, G. E. Smith, D. K. Baylor, M. Woods, Andrew Als, Joseph Dagg, Jr., N. W. Warlow, Peter Riddle, John Paugh, T. E. McPherson, Thompson Leach, S. S. Spencer, E. Deem, N. H. Colston, A. Hinckley, Bennett Cook, George W. Henderson, George Loomis, J. L. Padgett, S. D. Compton, S. M. Peterson, G. H. Ralston, V. A. Dunbar, A. R. Dye, W. H. Baker, William Johnston,
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Jr., Jesse Burche, S. Ogden, Sardis Cole, P. Reed, John Mckibben, W. Athey, C. Hunter, R. H. Burke, W. P. Davis, George Compton, C. M. Cole, Roger Tiffins, Edward Hoit, W. B. Caswell, Peter Dils, W. F. Henry, A. C. Mckinsey, Rufus Kinnard, J. J. Jackson, Jr., J. J. Neal, T. Hunter, M. P. Amiss, J. Barnett, T. S. Conley, C. J. Neal, J. G. Blackford, Henry Cole, W. E. Stevenson, Jesse Murdock, J. Burche, J. Morrison, A. H. Hatcher, A. Mather, C. B. Smith, Arthur Drake, H. Rider, B. H. Bukey, John W. Moss, R. B. Smith.
Monongalia County .- Waitman T. Willey, James Evans, Leroy Kramer, W. E. Hanaway, William La- zier, Elisha Coombs, George McNeeley, H. Deer- ing, Dr. H. N. Mackey, Evans D. Fogle, J. T. M. Laskey, J. T. Hess, Charles H. Burgess, John Bly, William Price, Dr. A. Brown, Dr. J. R. Boughner, E. P. Fitch, E. B. Taggart, A. Garrison, Dr. John McCarl, J. A. Wiley, Joseph Snyder, J. Bowlsby, Amos S. Bowlsby, A. Derranet, N. C. Vandervort, Daniel White, Dr. D. B. Dorsey, Jacob Miller, Dr. Isaac Scott, Marshall M. Dent, Rev. P. T. Laishley, E. P. St. Clair, W. B. Shaw, P. L. Rice, Joseph Jolliff, William Ander- son.
Preston County .- H. C. Hagans, R. C. Crooks, W. H. King, James W. Brown, Charles Hooten, Summers McCrum, W. B. Linn, W. J. Brown, Reuben Morris, D. A. Letzinger, John Howard, G. H. Kidd, James A. Brown, William P. Fortney.
Jackson County .- A. Flesher, D. Woodruff, C. M. Rice, George Leonard, J. F. Scott, G. L. Kennedy, J. V. Rowley.
Marion County .- R. R. Brown, J. C. Beeson, J. Hol- man, Thomas H. Bains, Hiram Haymond, H. Merry-
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field, Joshua Carter, G. W. Joliff, John Chisler, Thomas Hough, William Beatty, James C. Beatty, Aaron Hawkins, Jacob Streams, Francis H. Pierpont, Jesse Shaw.
Mason County .- Joseph S. Machir, Lemuel Harpold, William E. Wetzel, John Godley, Wyatt Willis, Wil- liam W. Harper, William Harpold, Daniel Polsley, Samuel Davies, J. N. Jones, Samuel Yeager, R. C. M. Lovell, B. J. Rollins, D. C. Sayre, Charles H. Bum- gardner, John O. Butler, Timothy Russell, John Hall, A. A. Rogers, William Hopkins, Eugene B. Davis, David Rossin, Asa Brigham, Charles B. Waggener, John M. Phelps, Stephen Comstock, W. C. Starr, John Greer, Apollo Stevens, Major Brown.
Upshur County .- W. H. Williams, C. P. Rohrbaugh.
Wirt County .- Henry Newman, E. T. Graham, B. Ball.
Ritchie County .- N. Rexroad, D. Rexroad, J. P. Harris, A. S. Cole.
Hampshire County .- O. D. Downey, George W. Broski, Dr. B. B. Shaw, George W. Sheetz, George W. Rizer.
Barbour County .- E. H. Menafee, Spencer Dayton, J. H. Shuttleworth.
Doddridge County .- J. Cheveront, S. S. Kinney, J. Smith, J. A. Foley, J. P. F. Randolph.
Berkeley County .- A. R. McQuilkin, J. W. Dailey, J. S. Bowers.
Roane County .- Irwin C. Stump.
Lewis County .- T. M. Chalfant, A. S. Withers, J. W. Hudson, P. M. Hale, J. Woofter, W. L. Grant, J. A. J. Lightburn.
Taylor County .- J. Means, J. M. Wilson, J. Kennedy,
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T. Cather, John S. Burdett, J. J. Allen, B. Bailey, G. R. Latham, T. T. Monroe, J. J. Warren.
Wayne County .- W. W. Brumfield, C. Spurlock, F. Moore, W. H. Copley, Walter Queen.
The body was called to order by Chester D. Hub- bard, on whose motion William B. Zinn, of Preston County, was made temporary President; George R. Latham, of Taylor County, was appointed temporary Secretary. Then, before beginning the business for which they had assembled, an aged minister, Rev. Peter T. Laishley, himself a delegate from Monongalia County, addressed the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, pleading for divine guidance in the deliberations of the Convention. A Committee on Permanent Organi- zation was then appointed, which, at the opening of the afternoon session, reported as follows : For Presi- dent, John W. Moss, of Wood county ; for Secretaries, Charles B. Waggener, of Mason ; Marshall M. Dent, of Monongalia, and J. Chandler, of Ohio county. The President was escorted to the chair and addressed the Convention. He urged careful and calm delibera- tion upon the momentous questions to be answered by the people of Northwestern Virginia, whose sentiments he voiced by declaring undying fidelity to the Federal Union, and a determination, if need be, to divide the State rather than to follow the eastern section into the gulf of secession and consequent ruin.
The following committee, consisting of one from each county, was then appointed on State and Federal Relations: Waitman T. Willey, of Monongalia county ; Campbell Tarr, of Brooke; John S. Carlisle, of Har- rison ; J. J. Jackson, of Wood; Charles Hooten, of Preston ; Daniel Lamb, of Ohio; George McC. Por-
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ter, of Hancock ; Joseph S. Machir, of Mason ; D. D. Johnson, of Tyler ; James Scott, of Jackson ; G. W. Bier, of Wetzel ; R. C. Holliday, of Marshall ; A. S. Withers, of Lewis; E. T. Graham, of Wirt; F. H. Pierpont, of Marion; S. Dayton, of Barbour; G. S. Senseny, of Frederick; John S. Burdett, of Taylor ; A. R. McQuilkin, of Berkeley ; S. Cochran, of Pleas- ants; Irwin C. Stump, of Roane; S. Martin, of Gilmer; Asbury B. Rohrbaugh, of Upshur ; O. D. Downey, of Hampshire; Mr. Foley, of Ritchie.
The second day was spent in a heated debate as to the best plan of immediate action, and it was found that the body was nearly equally divided upon this subject. One party, headed by John S. Carlisle, of Harrison, favored such action as would result in im- mediate division of the State, and some of them bore banners upon which was inscribed, "New Virginia, Now or Never." They were determined to at once adopt a Constitution, form a government for the coun- ties represented and fill the offices by temporary ap- pointment. This plan, revolutionary in character as it was, became popular with the majority of the Conven- tion, and those who dared to oppose it were charged with being disloyal to the interests of the people they were representing. Still, there were brave men there -men of high resolve and unquenchable zeal and patriotism-who dared to espouse the cause of the minority and point out the difference between spas- modic disruption and legalized resistance. Among them were Adam Kuhn, Campbell Tarr, Nathaniel Wells, J. D. Nichols and Joseph Gist, of Brooke county ; Waitman T. Willey, of Monongalia ; and John Hall and Daniel Polsley, of Mason. Throughout the
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HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
third day these men maintained the fight, declaring that while the present State officers, by their adherence to the Secession Ordinance, had forfeited their powers, and that inasmuch as the Constitution contained no provision applicable to the condition, that the only course to pursue was to appeal to the People, the only source of power known to the Constitution, and ask them to send delegates to a Convention with power to fill the vacant offices, rendered so by the participation of the incumbents in rebellion. Further, they argued that inasmuch as the people had not yet ratified the Ordinance of Secession, Virginia still had a govern- ment recognized by the Constitution of the United States, and that the Federal Government would not recognize a State thus formed in direct violation of the National Constitution. Acrimonious debate continued until late at night, when it was interrupted by the Committee on Resolutions begging permission to re- port through its chairman, Campbell Tarr. The report was a skilled blending of all opinions. The preamble reviewed the recent action of the Richmond Conven- tion and declared unqualified opposition to the same, and that in event of the ratification of the Ordinance of Secession by the people, the counties here repre- sented and all others disposed to do likewise, were recommended to elect delegates on the 4th of June ensuing, to a general convention to meet on the 11th of the same month, the business of which should be to devise such measures as the safety and welfare of the people should demand. Each county was authorized to appoint a number of delegates equal to twice the number of its representatives in the next General As- sembly, and the senators and representatives elected
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA. - 355
on the fourth Thursday of May at the general election as members of the General Assembly of Virginia, should be entitled to seats in the Convention. Then it was set forth as a political axiom, that government is insti- tuted for the purpose of securing the greatest amount of good to the greatest number of those governed, and that, if the State inaugurated a policy so utterly subversive and destructive of the interests of North- western Virginia, then would the people appeal to the legally constituted authorities of Virginia, to let them separate from the eastern part of the State and form a government for themselves that should be more sub- servient to their interests.
The report elicited but little discussion and was adopted with but two dissentient voices. A central committee was appointed as follows : John S. Carlisle, James S. Wheat, Chester D. Hubbard, Francis H. Pierpont, Campbell Tarr, George R. Latham, Andrew Wilson, S H. Woodward and James W. Paxton. Then a single voice was heard amid the silent multitude; it was that of earnest prayer besceching the blessing of Heaven upon the work performed. A thousand voices united in singing the Star-Spangled Banner and the Convention adjourned.
On the same day on which the Convention assembled in Wheeling, a large number of the citizens of Berke- ley county met in mass meeting at Martinsburg, and, in a series of resolutions which were unanimously adopted, warned their brethren of the State, that if they persisted in the work of secession, a division of Virginia would be inevitable ; that the only allegiance they owed was to a union of free States, and that they would vote against the Ordinance of Secession.
22
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE SECOND WHEELING CONVENTION .- THE REORGANIZED GOVERNMENT.
The Vote on the Ordinance of Secession-Election of Delegates-Members of the General Assembly admitted to Seats-Meeting of the Body-Roll of Members-Organization-The Committee on Order of Business-It Reports "A Declaration of the People of Virginia"-An Ordinance for the Reorgan- ization of the State Government-State Officers chosen-Adjournment-Meet- ing of the General Assembly under the Restored Government.
FROM the time of the adjournment of the first Wheeling Convention until the 23d day of May, that on which the vote upon the Ordinance of Secession was taken, the entire State was wild with excitement. Never before had the two sections of any American commonwealth been arrayed against each other in such determined opposition. Throughout the eastern portion of the State the feeling was almost unanimous in favor of secession, whilst in the western counties that against it amounted to almost an absolute passion. But, notwithstanding the excited condition of the peo- ple, the election took place without serious breaches of the peace. In the counties now composing West Virginia 44,000 votes were cast, of which 40,000 were against the Ordinance. In some of the Ohio river counties the vote was as twenty-two against it to one in favor of it. The result disclosed the unanimity of the people, and all opposition to the prevailing senti- ment ceased. Again the subject of a new State be-
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came the absorbing topic, and the greatest interest was manifested in the election to take place on the 4th of June, at which time the delegates to the Second Wheeling Convention were chosen. There was a full vote in nearly all of the western counties and full del- egations were returned. The members of the General Assembly, who were entitled to seats in the conven- tion, had been elected at the general election in May.
At length the time arrived, and what is known as the "Second Wheeling Convention " convened in Washington Hall in that city, June 11, 1861, and on the next day the Committee on Credentials reported through their chairman "that they have examined the credentials of members, so far as they have been pro- duced before the Committee, and that the following named gentlemen are entitled to seats in this body, as members thereof, whether as members of the Gen- eral Assembly, elected on the 23d of May, 1861, or as delegates appointed to this convention only, that is to say, from-
Barbour County -- N. H. Taft, member of Assembly, and John H. Shuttleworth and Spencer Dayton, dele- gates to the Convention.
Brooke-Joseph Gist, senator, H. W. Crothers, member of Assembly, and John D. Nicholls and Camp- bell Tarr, delegates.
Cabell-Albert Laidley, member of Assembly.
Monongalia-Leroy Kramer and Joseph Snyder, members of Assembly, and Ralph L. Berkshire, Wil- liam Price, James Evans and D. B. Dorsey, delegates.
Ohio-Thomas H. Logan and Andrew Wilson, mem- bers of Assembly, and Daniel Lamb, James W. Paxton, George Harrison and Chester D. Hubbard, delegates.
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Pleasants and Ritchic-James W. Williamson, mem- ber of Assembly, and C. W. Smith and William Doug- las, delegates.
Preston-Charles Hooten and William Zinn, mem- bers of Assembly, and William B. Crane, John How- ard, Harrison Hagans and John J. Brown, delegates.
Randolph and Tucker-Solomon Parsons and Samuel Crane, delegates.
Roane-T. A. Roberts, delegate.
Taylor-Lemuel E. Davidson, member of Assembly, and John S. Burdette and Samuel B. Todd, delegates.
Upshur-D. D. T. Farnsworth, member of Assembly, and John L. Smith and John Love, delegates.
Wayne-William Radcliffe, member of Assembly, and W. W. Brumfield and William Copley, delegates.
Wetzel-James G. West, member of Assembly, and Reuben Martin and James P. Ferrell, delegates.
Wirt -- James A. Williamson, member of Assembly, and Henry Newman and E. T. Graham, delegates.
Wood-John W. Moss, member of Assembly, and Arthur I. Boreman and Peter G. Van Winkle, dele- gates.
Alexandria-Henry S. Martin and James T. Close, delegates.
Fairfax-John Hawxhurst and Eben E. Mason, del- egates.
Hardy-John Michael, delegate.
Hampshire-James Carskadon, senator, and Owen D. Downey, George W. Broski, James H. Trout and James J. Barracks, delegates.
Doddridge and Tyler-William I. Boreman, member of Assembly, and Daniel D. Johnson and James A. Foley, delegates.
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Gilmer-Henry H. Withers, delegate.
Hancock-George McC. Porter, member of Assem- bly; John H. Atkinson, William L. Crawford, delegates.
Harrison-Chapman J. Stewart, senator, and John J. Davis and John C. Vance, members of Assembly, and John S. Carlisle, Solomon S. Fleming, Lot Bowen and Benjamin F. Shuttleworth, delegates.
Jackson-Daniel Frost, member of Assembly, and James F. Scott and Andrew Flesher, delegates.
Kanawha-Lewis Ruffner, member of Assembly, and Greenbury Slack, delegate.
Lewis-P. M. Hale and J. A. J. Lightburn, delegates.
Marion-Richard Fast and Fontain Smith, members of Assembly, and Francis H. Pierpont, John S. Barnes, A. F. Ritchie and James O. Watson, delegates.
Marshall-Remembrance Swan, member of Assem- bly, and C. H. Caldwell, and Robert Morris, delegates.
Mason-Lewis Wetzel, member of Assembly, and Charles B. Waggener and Daniel Polsley, delegates.
A permanent organization was effected. Arthur I. Boreman, of Wood county, was chosen president and G. L. Cranmer became secretary. Through the kind- ness of the latter, the rolls of the two Wheeling conven- tions, above given, have been supplied for this work. The president appointed the following-named a Com- mittee on Order of Business : Copley, of Wayne, Farnsworth, of Upshur, Porter, of Hancock, Frost, of Jackson, Caldwell of Marshall, Polsley, of Mason, Berkshire, of Monongalia, Van Winkle, of Wood, Hagans, of Preston, Pierpont, of Marion, Lamb, of Ohio, Carlisle, of Harrison. The president was added.
Two days later this Committee reported the follow- ing, which was unanimously adopted three days later :
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"A DECLARATION OF THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINIA REPRE- SENTED IN CONVENTION AT THE CITY OF WHEELING, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1861.
The true purpose of all government is to promote the welfare and provide for the protection and security of the governed, and when any form or organization of government proves inadequate for or subversive of this purpose, it is the right, it is the duty of the latter to abolish it. The Bill of Rights of Virginia, framed in 1776, reaffirmed in 1830, and again in 1851, expressly reserves this right to a majority of her peo- ple. The act of the General Assembly calling the convention which assembled in Richmond in February last, without the previously expressed consent of such majority, was therefore a usurpation ; and the conven- tion thus called has not only abused the powers nom- inally intrusted to it, but, with the connivance and active aid of the executive, has usurped and exercised other powers, to the manifest injury of the people, which, if permitted, will inevitably subject them to a military despotism.
The convention, by its pretended ordinances, has required the people of Virginia to separate from and wage war against the government of the United States, with whom they have heretofore maintained friendly, social and business relations.
It has attempted to subvert the Union founded by Washington and his co-patriots in the purer days of the Republic, which has conferred unexampled pros- perity upon every class of citizens and upon every section of the country.
It has attempted to transfer the allegiance of the
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people to an illegal confederacy of rebellious States, and required their submission to its pretended edicts and decrees.
It has attempted to place the whole military force and military operations of the Commonwealth under the control and direction of such confederacy, for offensive as well as defensive purposes.
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