USA > West Virginia > Myers' history of West Virginia (1915) Volume II > Part 29
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"Burr and Blennerhassett were both arrested, taken to Richmond and confined to the penitentiary. Burr was ac- quitted, and the latter never brought to trial. Blennerhassett and his family afterward went to Europe, where he died on the Isle of Guernsey, at the age of 63 years. The widow after- ward returned to the United States and died in great poverty in New York, in 1842."
The pictures herein given are from a drawing by Emil Korb, and reproduced in the Parkersburg State Journal In- dustrial Edition.
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THE BLENNERHASSETT MANSION
MRS. BLENNERHASSETT
MR BLENNERHASSETT
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History of West Virginia Grafton National Cemetery.
(By Nelson D. Adams, in Wheeling Intelligencer.)
Along the clear valley so silently flowing, Its crystal-bright waters 'mid beauty aglow. Upon its green bank there are cypresses growing And patriots fallen are slumbering low. The Stars and the Stripes still above them are flying As proudly as o'er them they waved in the fray, While softly around them the willows are sighing And gently the breezes in symphony play.
They're silently sleeping! nor ever to glory Shall bugle tones call them from this their last rest ; Their conflicts are over ; on battle fields gory They fell for that banner so dear to each breast. The lightnings may flash and the thunder may rattle, They heed them not-resting so free from all pain ; The cannon may roar in the storm of the battle, But never can wake them to glory again !
And over the graves of the silently sleeping, While winter and summer incessantly fly ; The grave-stones of marble a vigil are keeping And marking each spot where the patriots lic. There often around them do silently wander Those blooming with youth and those drooping with age, While thoughtfully over the sleepers they ponder, Recalling some thought upon memory's page.
The deeds of some brave are by monuments spoken- The battles they fought and the victories won, Their titles and ranks and their triumphs unbroken And bravery shown 'mid the charge of the gun. These monuments crumble, but lasting forever Are those that are built by the slumbering brave- While cycles are gliding no conflict can sever The deeds of those dying their country to save.
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Of others are epitaphs only revealing The names of the warriors now silent and cokl. Their homes and their regiments in memory sealing ; Their names from the North and the South were en- rolled.
Though laurels of glory may never have crowned them, Yet garlands are woven more lasting and bright By those that were clinging so tenderly round them When bidding farewell as they passed from their sight.
But many are resting with marble above them That tells of no name nor the deeds that were done; No record is shown of the dear ones that loved them, But humbly is written the silent "unknown." Their names are forgotten! yet loved ones at parting So tenderly clung in their final embrace, While tears in their sorrow and sadness were starting- What changes of time can such parting efface !
All lonely they're sleeping ! but glad was the waking Of bondmen from chains and from slavery's night, When brightly the morning of Freedom was breaking Resplendent with Liberty's glorious light. And long shall the freedmen, relating the story, In thankfulness tell of these patriot dead, And long shall they cherish the honor and glory That hallow the laurels encircling each head.
Their battles are over! their country in gladness Beholds yet the banner in splendor unfurled, Unsullied by conflicts, disaster and sadness And beaming with radiance over the world. They died for that banner! and long shall the Nation Enshrine them as victors for truth and for right, And long shall she rev'rence the sacred relation She bears her preservers of honor and might.
Then sleep on, ye warriors, so free from all sorrow : Your battles are ended, you've entered your rest ;
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Your country shall live through each fleeting tomorrow Enjoying the peace which your dying has blest. May light from the heavens in beauty descending Make hallowed your tombs while the ages shall flee, And Liberty's rays like the sunlight still blending Illumine cach heart in this land of the free.
Then scatter your flowers o'er the graves of the sleeping And tears to these heroes in thankfulness shed ; Remember the pledges they gave to your keeping And cherish the freedom for which they have bled. Blow onward, ye breezes ; as years are advancing Play softly through willows that droop o'er their graves And sweetly, ye birds, with your notes so entrancing Keep warbling your songs o'er the slumbering braves.
Continue, loved banner, in grandeur still flying, While breezes thy folds shall unceasingly wave, To honor the warrior in cheerfulness dying Thy stars and thy stripes so unsullied to save. Flow onward, bright river, your clear waters laving. Long murmur so gladly your clear crystal stream ; And over, ye forests, in majesty waving, Make gentle your music while sweetly they dream.
(Mr. Adams was born April 9, 1859, near the old Pleasant Valley Church, on Cheat River, in Preston County, W. Va. In his boyhood days he attended the public schools in winter and worked on the farm during the summer. In 1877, at the age of 18, he successfully passed the examination at St. George and taught his first school at Limestone Church, in Tucker County, and continued teaching until 1881, when he was ap- pointed a cadet in the West Virginia University, at which institution he remained one year. During the next two years he alternately taught school, worked on the farm and can- vassed for a book firm, and in 1884 returned to the University at Morgantown. Of his subsequent life we are not advised).
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In the year 1858, George D. Prentiss, the noted poet. visited the home of Alexander Campbell, the founder, or rather the resurrector, of the Christian (Campbellite) Church. On Mr. Prentiss' departure, the host, with his little daughter. Decima, then 14 years old, by his side, was bidding him good- bye, when the poet, being impressed with the rare beauty of the child, suddenly exclaimed, "If you will give me a kiss, 1 will write you a pretty poem." Glancing quickly at her father, and seeing approval in his smile, she vouchsafed the guest the asked for kiss. Shortly afterward, young Miss Campbell (now Mrs. Decima Campbell Barclay, who still re- sides in sight of Bethany College) received the following poem :
To Miss Decima C.
1 know a fair young girl With a spirit wild and free As the birds that flit o'er the dimpled lake, Then away to the wildwood flec. And she moves in her fairy grace Through the shades of the summer bowers With a step too floatingly light to break The sleep of the dreaming flowers.
Her eyes are bright and clear As the depths of a shaded spring, And Beauty,s seal on her brow is set On her cheek it's signet ring; And her tones are like the gush Of a fount 'mid the twilight leaves, Or a Peri's voice from a moonlight cloud. Through the dew of the summer eves.
The blue veins o'er her brow With a softened beauty flow, Half seen, half hid, in their winding course. Like streams o'er a field of snow : And a beautiful tint of rose
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On her young check seems to burn, Like a lovely radiance shining soft Through an alabaster urn.
I saw her only once, And we parted very soon. But her sweet lips, ere they said farewell, Vouchsafed me a gentle boon. That boon-ah, 'twas lightly given, And she will remember it never, Yet 'twill linger and thrill like a thing of joy On my lip and heart forever. -G. D. P.
Betty Zane, the Heroine of Fort Henry.
Women are timid, cower and shrink At show of danger, some folks think; Tho' men there are who for their lives Dare not so far asperse their wives; We'll let that pass; one thing is clear, Tho' little dangers women fear, When greater perils men environ Then women show a front of iron, And in a gentle manner, they Do bold things in a quiet way, And thus our wondering praise obtain, As on a time did Betty Zane.
A century since out in the West A rude hut was by Girty pressed, Girty, the renegade, the dread Of all that border, fiercely led Five hundred Wyandots to gain Plunder and scalp-locks from the slain ; And in this hold, Fort Henry then, But Wheeling now, twelve boys and men Guarded with watchful ward and care, Women and prattling children there,
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- Against their rude and savage foes, And Betty Zane was one of those.
There had been forty-two at first, When Girty on the border burst, But most of those who meant to stay And keep the Wyandots at bay, Outside by savage wiles were lured, And ball and tomahawk endured, Till few were left the place to hold, And some were young and some were old; But all could use the rifle well, And vainly from the Indians fell On puncheon roof and timber wall, The fitful shower of leaden ball.
Now Betty's brothers and her sire Were with her in this ring of fire, And she was ready in her way To aid their efforts day by day, In all a gentle maiden might ; To mould the bullets for the fight, And quick to note and so report. Watch every act outside the fort : Or peeping from the loop-holes see Each act of savage strategy : These were her tasks, and thus the maid The toil-worn garrison could aid.
But wearily the fight went on Until a week was nearly gone. And then 'twas told, a whisper first. And then in loud alarm it burst, Their powder scarce was growing; they Knew where a keg unopened lay Outside the fort at Zane's. What now? Their leader stood with anxious brow. It must be gained at any cost, Or toil and fort and lives were lost.
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Some one must do that work of fear. What man of men would volunteer ?
Two offered, and so earnest they, Neither his purpose would give way, And Shepard, who commanded, dare Not pick or choose between the pair, But ere they settled on the one By whom the errand should be done, Young Betty interposed and said : "Let me essay the task instead, Small matter 'twere if Betty Zane, A useless woman, should be slain, But death if dealt on one of those, Gives too much 'vantage to our foes."
Her father smiled with pleasure grim, Her pluck gave painful pride to him ; And while her brothers clamored, "No," He uttered. "Boys, let Betty go; She'll do it at less risk than you ; But keep her steady in your view, And be your rifles shield for her ; Should yonder foe make step or stir, Pick off each man who draws a bead, And thus you'll serve her in her need, Now I recover from surprise, I think our Betty's purpose wise."
The gate was opened ; on she sped, The foe astonished, gazed, 'tis said, And wondered at her purpose, till She reached the log hut by the hill. And when, in apron wrapped, the cask She backward bore to close her task. The foemen saw her aim at last. And poured their fire upon her fast ; Bullet on bullet round her fell, While rang the Indians' angry yell,
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But safely through that whirring rain, Powder in arms, came Betty Zane.
They filled their horns, both boys and men, And then began the fight again, Girty, who there so long had stayed, By this new feat of feats dismayed, Fired houses round, and cattle slew, And moved away-the fight was through ; And when the story round was told, How they maintained the leagured hold, While 'twas agreed that fame was due To all within the fight were true, The greatest meed of praise, 'twas plain, Fell to the share of Betty Zane.
A hundred years have passed since then. The savage never came again, Girty is dust. Alike are dead Those who assailed, and those bestead. Upon those half-cleared rolling lands, A crowded city proudly stands, But of the many who reside By green Ohio's rushing tide. There is no prouder lineage than. Be he rich or poor, the man Who boasts that in his spotless strain Mingles the blood of Betty Zane.
-- Anonymous.
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WEST VIRGINIA'S NEW SONG.
(Copyright applied for.)
West Virginia. (By S. E. Kiser.)
There are lands of milk and honey, There are lands with ruins gray, There are lands where only money May command the right of way ; But beside a winding river There's a land where beauty reigns, And where manhood shall forever Have more worth than golden gains.
REFRAIN
Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Each may seem a fairyland to the people dwelling there ; But no country holds a candle To the state that has the handle- * \V-E-S-TV-I-R-G- You can guess the rest, and so, all together, sing it, Oh, You grand old West Virginia.
There is one place of all places That upon the map are shown Where the girls claim all the graces And all glory as their own ; Where at night time or in day time Honor wins a ringing cheer, Where the whole year is a playtime And where valor still is dear.
REFRAIN Colorado, Minnesota, Maine, New York, Connecticut, Arkansas and North Dakota, all are very splendid-but There's no state that holds a candle
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To the state that has the handle-
* W-E-S-T V-I-K-G- You can guess the rest, and so, all together, sing it, Oh. You grand old West Virginia.
Oh, the Yankee, lean and lanky, May excel in many ways, And the plowboys and the cowboys Of the west may merit praise ; I've a very high opinion Of the Dixie lass and lad, But the lucky West Virginian Has good reasons to be glad.
REFRAIN
California, Indiana, Texas, Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Montana, cach a splendid state may be, But no other holds a candle To the state that has a handle- * W-E-S-T V-I-R-G- You can guess the rest, and so, all together, sing it, Oh, You grand old West Virginia.
*To be sung like college yell.
Editor. Herald-Dispatch :
Dear Sir-I see by your editorial that you do not seem to like the new state song. I am sending you a decomposition, which is not the same, but "just as good." You might try this on your linotype, and if you like the sound of it, we will sing this one instead of Kiser's at the semi-centennial. Of course. most of the value of a song is in the music, which you will please furnish. I have tried it on a typewriter and it sounds very well .- O. U. M.
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Oh, You West Virginia Song. (Copyright not needed)
Words by O. U. Mutt.
Sung by N. O. Body.
There are songs of milk and honey, There are bales of straw and hay, As I really need the money I must make it rhyme some way. Now about that winding river I'll have something more to say.
Bacon's very good with liver, And there's not much more to pay.
REFRAIN-From swearing.
State of Maine, Augusta, on the
Kennebec River ; Delaware; Pennsylvania Lines west of Pittsburg ; Okt Virginia Cheroots; Kalamazoo direct to you ! But I cannot hold the candle,
For it hasn't any handle ! R-O-T-T-E-You can guess the rest. Oh, you brand new ragtime song.
It is said there are some places On the map that are not shown, Where the women's pretty faces, And complexion are their own. Now, if every day were play-day, Just you let me ask you here When would come that welcome pay-day Don't forget that grub is dear.
REFRAIN-Your feelings. Colorado; North Dakota ; South Dakota ; Connecticut ; Philippine Islands in geography no guessin !
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All you kids should know your lesson ! I would like to light the candle, But I haven't any matches. R-O-T-T-E-You can guess the N. Oh, you brand new ragtime song !
Oh, you Yankee, lean and lanky, If you don't behave I'll spank you ! Oh, you Wheeling check, I'll bank you. Pass the cream and sugar? Thank you. I would like to go to Dixie, 1 might meet a Dixie lass. I would go to West Virginia If I only had a pass.
REMAIN-For the concert.
Rhode Island; Kentucky ; Panama
Canal Zone: Republic of Mexico: West Second Street, West Huntington, West Virginia. My gas bill I could not handle, So I have to use a candle.
G-A-S B-1-L-L-S never give me any rest Oh! you bum new West Virginia song. Huntington Herald-Dispatch
Members of the Constitutional Convention 1872.
On January 16, 1872, a convention met in Charleston to draft a new constitution for the state. The delegates were elected by senatorial districts, delegate districts, and by coun- ties. The members who were returned by senatorial districts were as follows:
First-William K. Pendleton, A. J. Pannell. Second-Joseph W. Gallaher, Alpheus F. Haymond. Third-Waitman T. Willey. . \. H. Thayer. Fourth-Benjamin Wilson, Daniel D. Johnson. Fifth-Okey Johnson, David 11. Leonard. Sixth-Blackwell Jackson, Samuel Woods. Seventh-Nicholas Fitzhugh, Alonzo Cushing.
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Eighth-Evermont Ward, Isaiah Bee.
Ninth-Samuel Price, William McCreery.
Tenth-James D. Armstrong, John T. Pierce.
Eleventh-Charles J. Faulkner, William H. Travers.
The members of the convention who were elected by the nine delegate districts of the state were :
Clay-Nicholas District-Benjamin Wilson Byrne.
Cabell-Lincoln District-Thomas Thornburg.
Gilmer-Calhoun District-Lemuel Stump.
Greenbrier-Monroe-Summers District-Henry M. Math- ews, James M. Byrnside, William Haynes.
Hardy-Grant District-Thomas Maslin.
Pocahontas-Webster District-George H. Moffett.
Raleigh-Wyoming-McDowell District-William Prince.
Randolph-Tucker District -- J. F. Harding.
Wood-Pleasant District-James M. Jackson, W. G. H. Core.
The delegates who were elected by counties as a basis of representation were:
Barbour, Joseph N. B. Crim; Berkeley, Joseph M. Hoge and Andrew McCleary; Boone, William D. Pate; Braxton, Homer A. Holt; Brooke, Alexander Campbell; Doddridge, Jephtha F. Randolph ; Fayette, Hudson M. Dickinson ; Hamp- shire, Alexander Monroe; Hancock, John H. Atkinson ; Har- rison, John Bassel and Beverly HI. Lurty; Jackson, Thomas R. Park; Jefferson, Logan Osburn and William M. Morgan; Kanawha, John A. Warth and Edward B. Knight; Logan, M. A. Staton ; Marion, Fountain Smith and Ulysses N. Arnett ; Marshall, Hanson Criswell and James M. Pipes; Mason, Charles B. Wagener; Mercer, James Calfee; Mineral, John A. Robinson ; Monongalia, John Marshall Hagans and Joseph Snyder; Morgan, Lewis Allen; Ohio, James S. Wheat and George O. Davenport and W. W. Miller; Pendleton, Charles D. Boggs; Preston, William G. Brown and Charles Kantner ; Putnam, Jolın T. Thompson; Ritchie, John P. Strickler; Roane, Thomas Ferrell; Taylor, Benjamin F. Martin ; Tyler, David F. Pugh; Upshur, Daniel D. T. Farnsworth; Wayne, Charles W. Ferguson ; Wetzel, Septimius Hall; Wirt, D. A. Roberts.
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Samuel Price, of Greenbrier, president ; Gibson J. Butcher, of Lewis County, secretary ; Barney J. Gilligan, of Ohio Coun- ty, first assistant secretary : John II. Woods, of Barbour Coun- ty, enrolling clerk; Jacob B. Cunningham, of Hardy County, sergeant-at-arms. No record of debates.
A Letter from General Washington to His Wife.
(From the files of the Virginia Free Press of 1829.)
Philadelphia, June 18th, 1775.
My Dearest :
I am now set down to write to you on a subject which fills me with inexpressible concern, and this concern is greatly aggravated and increased when I reflect upon the uneasiness I know it will give you. It has been determined in Congress that the whole army raised for the defense of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take up the command of it. You may believe me, my dear Patsy, when I assure you in the most solemn manner, that, so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity, and that I should enjoy more real happiness in one month with you at home, than I have the most distant prospect of finding abroad, if my stay was to be seven times seven years. But as it has been a kind of destiny that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking of it is designed to answer some good purpose. You might, and I suppose did perceive, from the tenor of my letters that I was apprehensive I could not avoid this appointment, as I did not pretend to intimate when I should return. That was the case. It was utterly out of my power to refuse this appointment without exposing my character to such censure as would have reflected dishonor upon myself and given pain to my friends. This, I am sure, could not, and ought not, to be pleasing to you, and must have lessened me considerably in my own esteem. I shall rely, therefore, confident in that
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Providence who has heretofore preserved and been boun- toful to me, not doubting but that I shall return safe to you in the fall. I shall feel no pain from the toil or the danger of the campaign; my unhappiness will flow from the uneasiness I know you will feel from being left alone. J therefore beg that you will summon your whole fortitude, and pass your time as agrecably as possible. Nothing will give me so much sincere satisfaction as to hear this, and hear it from your own pen. My earnest and ardent desire is, that you would pursue any plan that is most likely to produce con- tent, and a tolerable degree of tranquillity ; as it must add greatly to my uneasy feelings, to hear that you are dissatisfied or complaining at what I really could not avoid.
As life is always uncertain, and common prudence dic- tates to every man the necessity of settling his temporal con- cerns while in his power, and while the mind is calm and un- disturbed, I have, since I came to this place (for I had not time to do it before I left home), got Colonel Pendleton to draft a will for me by the directions which I gave him, which will I now disclose. The provision made for you in case of my death will, I hope, be agreeable. I shall add nothing more, as I have several letters to write, but to desire you to remem- ber me to your friends, and to assure you that I am, with the most unfeigned regard, my dear Patsy,
Yours affectionately,
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
Sandy Creek
DIVIDING PIAGE
Great Yough River
Portuga- - --
<
Gladaf: of Great Yough
NORTH BRANCH
Road To
Little Hough Are
Story
Grada CeTades 1
-
Savage Hiver George Creek
-
Abrams Creek
creek
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Patterson Creek
Cumber- land
COPY OF ONE OF WASHINGTON'S MAPS.
-
Difficult Creed
Mc Cull ......
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
BATTLES FOUGHT IN WEST VIRGINIA.
Following is a list of battles fought or skirmishes had on West Virginia soil, from 1756 to 1865, inclusive, as compiled by Archivist Lewis. (See Appendix V, Report Archives and History) :
In the French and Indian War.
1. Battle of Great Cacapon River, fought April 18, 1756, between a detachment of one hundred men of Colonel Washington's regiment, under Captain John Mercer, on one side, and a body of French and Indians on the other, in what is now Bloomery District, Hampshire County.
2. Battle of Lost River, in spring of 1756, between Virginia frontiersmen, under Captain Jeremiah Smith, and a body of fifty Indians, commanded by a French officer. Scene, now in Lost River District, Hardy County.
3. Battle of the Trough, in 1756, between a body of seventy Indians, and the Garrison from Fort Pleasant. Scene, now in Moorefield District, Hardy County.
4. Attack of and massacre at Fort Seybert, in 1758. Fort defended by pioneer . settlers. Attacked by Shawnce Indians under Chief Killbuck, twelve miles northeast of Franklin, now in Bethel District, Pendleton County, on the South Fork of South Branch of the Potomac.
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In Pontiac's War.
I. Attack and massacre at Muddy Creek, in 1763, by Shawnee Indians, commanded by Cornstalk. White settlements entirely cut off. Scene, Valley of Muddy Creek, now in Blue Sulphur District, Greenbrier County.
In Lord Dunmore's War.
1. Battle of Point Pleasant, fought October 10, 1774, between a Virginia army, commanded by General Andrew Lewis, and the warriors of the Confederated Indian nations, under Cornstalk, the celebrated Shawnee chief. Scene, the town of Point Pleasant, Mason County.
In the Revolutionary War.
1. First siege and attack at Fort Henry, August 31, 1777. Defended by a frontier garrison, commanded by David Sheppard, County Lieutenant of Ohio County; attacked by 350 Shawnee, Mingo and Wyandot warriors. Scene, present city of Wheeling.
2. Defeat of Captain William Foreman, September 27, 1777. A company of Hampshire County troops from Fort Henry attacked and many killed by Indians, at the "Narrows", on the Ohio, near dividing line between Marshall and Ohio Counties.
3. Engagement at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, now Point Pleasant, late in the fall of 1777. between a detach- ment from the garrison at Fort Randolph, under Lieuten- ant Moore, and a body of Shawnee Indians.
4. Siege and attack at Fort Randolph, in May, 1778. Fort defended by a State garrison, commanded by Captain William McKee; attacked by a large body of Shawnee Indians. Scene, the town of Point Pleasant. now in Mason County.
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