USA > West Virginia > Barbour County > The history of Barbour County, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time > Part 14
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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 Martins- burg. A desultory fire was kept up during the day, in which several per- sons were killed. An assault on one of the buildings 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 subsequently 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 subse- quently 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, 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
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JOHN BROWN'S RAID,
morning, October 18, Stuart was sent to demand an unconditional surren- der, promising only that Brown and his men should be protected from immediate violence, and should have a trial under the laws of the country. Brown refused to accept 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 offier. 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 overpowered, The first man who entered, named Quinn, was killed. Brown was stabbed twice with bayonets and then cut down by a sabre stroke. All of 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 cap- tured,
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 captured October 18, and on October 26 his case was called for trial in the county court at Charlestown, in Jefferson County. Brown's attorney 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 pro- ceeded. Brown reclined on a cot, being unable to sit. The trial was extremely short, considering the importance 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 convicted 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. Perhaps Brown contributed more to the emancipation of slaves by his death than by his life.
CHAPTER XII,
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THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION.
Although West Virginia at the time was a part of Virginia, it refused to go with the majority 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 Kentucky became one seized the opportunity of severing the political ties which had long bound it to the Old Dominion. After the war Virginia in- vited the new State to reunite with it, but a polite reply was sent that West Virginia preferred to retain its statehood. The sentiment in favor of sep- aration 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 com. mittee in Congress. But many years before that time a movement for a new State west of the Alleghanies had been inaugurated by George Wash- ington, Benjamin Franklin and others, some of whom were interested in land on the Kanawha and elsewhere. The new State was to be named Van- dalia, and the capital was to be at the mouth of the Great Kanawha. The movement for a new State really began there, and never afterwards 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 Confederates had not yet opened their batteries on Fort Sumpter, but the South had plainly spoken its defiance. The Southern Confederacy 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 people 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 be- lieve, that there would be no war; that the South would not be invaded; 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
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THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION.
no man saw what four years would bring forth. Thus Virginia hesitated long before she cast her fortunes with the States already organized to op- pose the government. When she took the fatal step; when she fought as only the brave can fight; when she was crushed by weight rather than van- quished, she accepted the result and emerged from the smoke of battle still great; and like Carthage of old, her splendor seemed only the more con- spicuous by the desolation which war had brought.
The Virginia Legislature called a convention to meet at Richmond Feb- ruary 13, 1861. The time was short, but the crisis was at hand. The flame was kindling. Meetings were being held in all the eastern part of the State, and the people were nearly unanimous in their demand that the State join the Confederacy. At least few opposed this demand, but at that time it is probable that one-half of the people of the State opposed secession. The eastern part was in favor of it. West of the Alleghany Mountains the case was different. The mass of the people did not at once grasp the situation. They knew the signs of the times were strange; that currents were drifting to a center; but that war was at hand of gigantic magnitude, and that the State of Virginia was "choosing that day whom she would serve," were not clearly understood at the outset. But, as the great truth dawned and as its lurid light became brighter, West Virginia was not slow in choosing whom she would serve. The people assembled in their towns and a num- ber of meetings were held even before the convening of the special session of the Legislature, and there was but one sentiment expressed and that was loyalty to the government. Preston county held the first meeting, Novem- ber 12, 1860; Harrison County followed the twenty-sixth of the same month; two days later the people of Monongalia assembled to discuss and take measures; a similar gathering took place in Taylor County, December 4, and another in Wheeling ten days later; and on the seventh of the January fol- lowing there was a meeting in Mason County.
On January 21 the Virginia Legislature declared by resolution that, unless the differences between the two sections of the country could be reconciled, it was Virginia's duty to join the Confederacy. That resolution went side by side with the call for an election of delegates to the Richmond Convention, which was to "take measures." The election was held Febru- ary 4, 1861, and nine days later the memorable convention assembled. Lit- tle time had been given for a campaign. Western Virginia sent men who were the peers of any from the eastern part of the State. The following - delegates were chosen from the territory now forming West Virginia: Bar- bour County, Samuel Woods; Braxton and Nicholas, B. W. Byrne; Berke- ley, Edmund Pendleton and Allen C. Hammond; Brooke, Campbell Tarr; Cabell, William McComas; Doddridge and Tyler, Chapman J. Stuart; Fay- ette and Raleigh, Henry L. Gillespie; Greenbrier, Samuel Price; Gilmer and Wirt, C. B. Conrad; Hampshire, David Pugh and Edmund M. Armstrong; Hancock, George M. Porter; Harrison, John S. Carlile and Benjamin Wil- son; Hardy, Thomas Maslin; Jackson and Roane, Franklin P. Turner; Jef- ferson, Alfred M. Barbour and Logan Osburn; Kanawha, Spicer Patrick and George W. Summers; Lewis, Caleb Boggess; Logan, Boone and Wyom- ing, James Lawson; Marion, Ephraim B. Hall and Alpheus S. Haymond; Marshall, James Burley; Mason, James H. Crouch; Mercer, Napoleon B. French; Monongalia, Waitman T. Willey and Marshall M. Dent; Monroe, John Echols and Allen T. Caperton; Morgan, Johnson Orrick; Ohio, Ches- ter D. Hubbard and Sherard Clemens; Pocahontas, Paul McNeil; Preston,
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THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION.
vWilliam G. Brown and James C. McGrew; Putnam, James W. Hoge; Ritchie, Cyrus Hall; Randolph and Tucker, J. N. Hughes; Taylor, John S. Burdette; Upshur, George W. Berlin; Wetzel, L. S. Hall; Wood, General John J. Jack- son; Wayne, Burwell Spurlock.
When the convention met it was doubtful if a majority were in favor of Secession. At any rate the leaders in that movement, who had caused the convention to be called for that express purpose, appeared afraid to push the question to a vote, and from that day began the work which ultimately succeeded in winning over enough delegates, who at first were opposed to Secession, to carry the State into the Confederacy.
There were forty-six delegates from the counties now forming West Virginia. Nine of these voted for the Ordinance of Secession, seven were absent, one was excused, and twenty-nine voted against it. The principal leaders among the West Virginia delegates who opposed Secession were J. C. McGrew, of Preston County; George W. Summers, of Kanawha County; General John J. Jackson, of Wood County; Chester D. Hubbard, of Ohio County, and Waitman T. Willey, of Monongalia County. Willey was the leader of the leaders. He employed all the eloquence of which he was mas- ter, and all the reason and logic he could command to check the rush into what he clearly saw was disaster. No man of feeble courage could have taken the stand which he took in that convention. The agents from the States which had already seceded were in Richmond urging the people to Secession. The convention held out for a month against the clamor, and so fierce became the populace that delegates who opposed Secession were threatened with personal assault and were in danger of assassination. The peril and the pressure induced many delegates to go over to the Confeder- acy. But the majority held out against Secession. In the front was Gen- eral John J. Jackson, one of West Virginia's most venerable citizens. He was of the material which never turns aside from danger. A cousin of Stonewall Jackson, he had seen active service in the field before Stonewall was born. He had fought the Seminoles in Florida, and had been a mem- ber of General Andrew Jackson's staff. He had been intrusted by the Gov- ernment with important and dangerous duties before he was old enough to vote. He had traversed the wilderness on horseback and alone between Florida and Kentucky, performing in this manner a circuitous journey of three thousand miles, much of it among the camps and over the hunting grounds of treacherous Indians. Innured to dangers and accustomed to peril, he was not the man to flinch or give ground. He stood up for the Union; spoke for it; urged the convention to pause on the brink of the abyss before taking the leap. Another determined worker in the famous conven- tion was Judge G. W. Summers, of Charleston. He was in the city of Wash- ington attending a "Peace Conference" when he received news that the people of Kanawha County had elected him a delegate to the Richmond Convention. He hurried to Richmond and opposed with all his powers the Ordinance of Secession. A speech which he delivered against that measure has been pronounced the most powerful heard in the convention.
On March 2 Mr. Willey made a remarkable speech in the convention. He announced that his purpose was not to reply to the arguments of the disunionists, but to defend the right of free speech which Richmond, out of the halls of the convention and in, was trying to stifle by threats and deri- sion. He warned the people that when free speech is silenced liberty is no longer a realty, but a mere mockery. He then took up the Secession ques-
112
THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION.
tion, although he had not intended to do so when he began speaking, and he presented in so forcible a manner the arguments against Secession that he made a profound impression upon the convention. During the whole of that month the Secessionists were unable to carry their measure through. But when Fort Sumpter was fired on, and when the President of the United States called for 75,000 volunteers, the Ordinance of Secession passed, April 17,1861.
The next day, April 18, a number of delegates from Western Virginia declared that they would not abide by the action of the convention. Amid the roar of Richmond run mad, they began to consult among themselves what course to pursue. On April 20 several of the West Virginians met in a bed-room of the Powhatan hotel and decided that nothing more could be done by them at Richmond to hinder or defeat the Secession movement. They agreed to return home and urge their constituents to vote against the Ordinance at the election set for May 24. They began to depart for their homes. Some had gotten safely out of Richmond and beyond the reach of the Confederates before it became known that the western delegates were leaving. Others were still in Richmond, and a plan was formed to keep them prisoners in the city-not in jail-but they were required to obtain passes from the Governor before leaving the city. It was correctly sur- mised that the haste shown by these delegates in taking their departure was due to their determination to stir up opposition to the Ordinance of Secession in the western part of the State. But when it was learned that most of the western delegates had already left Richmond it was deemed un- wise to detain the few who yet remained, and they were permitted to depart, which they did without loss of time.
Before the people knew that an Ordinance of Secession had passed, the convention began to levy war upon the United States. Before the seal of secrecy had been removed from the proceedings of that body, large appro- priations for military purposes had been made. Officers were appointed; troops were armed; forts and arsenals belonging to the Government had been seized. The arsenal at Harper's Ferry and that at Norfolk had fallen before attacks of Virginia troops before the people of that State knew that they were no longer regarded as citizens of the United States. The con- vention still in secret session, without the knowledge or consent of the people of Virginia, had annexed that State to the Southern Confederacy. It was all done with the presumption that the people of the State would sustain the Ordinance of Secession when they had learned of its existence and when they were given an opportunity to vote upon it. The election came May 24, 1861; and before that day there were thirty thousand soldiers in the State east of the Alleghanies, and troops had been pushed across the mountains into Western Virginia. The majority of votes cast in the State were in favor of ratifying the Ordinance of Secession; but West Vir- ginia voted against it. Eastern Virginia was carried by storm. The excitement was intense. The cry was for war, if any attempt should be made to hinder Virginia's going into the Southern Confederacy. Many men whose sober judgment was opposed to Secesssion, were swept into it by their surroundings.
1
CHAPTER XIII,
-: 0 :-
THE RE ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT.
The officers and visible government of Virginia abdicated when they joined the Southern Confederacy. The people reclaimed and resumed their sovereignty after it had been abdicated by their regularly constituted authorities. This right belongs to the people and can not be taken from them. A public servant is elected to keep and exercise this sovereignty in trust, but he can do no more. When he ceases doing this the sovereignty returns whence it came-to the people. When Virginia's public officials seceded from the United States and joined the Southern Confederacy they carried with them their individual persons and nothing more. The people of the State were deprived of none of the rights of self-government, but their government was left, for the time being, without officers to execute it and give it form. In brief, the people of Virginia had no government, but had a right to a government, and they proceeded to create one by choosing officers to take the place of those who had abdicated. This is all there was in the re-organization of the Government of Virginia, and it was done by citizens of the United States, proceeding under that clause in the Federal Constitution which declares: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of government."
The Government of Virginia was re-organized; the State of West Vir- ginia was created, and nothing was done in violation of the strictest letter and spirit of the United States Constitution. The steps were as follows, stated briefly here, but more in detail elsewhere in this book. The loyal people of Virginia reclaimed and resumed their sovereignty and re-organized their government. This government, through its Legislature, gave its consent for the creation of West Virginia from a part of Virginia's territory. Delegates elected by the people of the proposed new State prepared a con- stitution. The people of the proposed new State adopted this constitution. Congress admitted the State. The President issued a proclamation declar- ing West Virginia to be one of the United States. This State came into the Union in the same manner and by the same process and on the same terms as all other States. The details of the re-organization of the Virginia State Government will now be set forth more in detail.
When Virginia passed the Ordinance of Secession the territory now forming West Virginia refused to acquiesce in that measure. The vote on the Ordinance in West Virginia was about ten to one against it, or forty thousand against four thousand. In some of the counties there were more than twenty to one against Secession. The sentiment was very strong, and it soon took shape in the form of mass meetings, which were largely atten- ded. When the delegates from West Virginia arrived home from the Rich- 8
114
THE RE-ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT.
mond Convention and laid before their constituents the state of affairs there was an immediate movement having for its object the nullification of the Ordinance. Although the people of Western Virginia had long wanted a new State, and although a very general sentiment favored an immediate movement toward that end, yet a conservative course was pursued. Haste and rashness gave way to mature judgment, and the new State movement took a course strictly constitutional. The Virginia Government was first re-organized. That done, the Constitution of the United States provided a way for creating the new State, for when the re-organized government was recognized by the United States, and when a Legislature had been elected, that Legislature could give its consent to the formation of a new State from a portion of Virginia's territory, and the way was thereby provided for the accomplishment of the object.
On the day in which the Ordinance of Secession was passed, April 17, 1861, and before the people knew what had been done, a mass-meeting was held at Morgantown which adopted resolutions declaring that Western Vir- ginia would remain in the Union. A division of the State was suggested in case the eastern part should vote to join the Confederacy. A meeting in Wetzel County, April 22, voiced the same sentiment, and similar meetings were held in Taylor, Wood, Jackson, Mason and elsewhere. But the move- ment took definite form at a mass-meeting of the citizens of Harrison County, held at Clarksburg, April 22, which was attended by twelve hun- dred men. Not only did this meeting protest against the course which was hurrying Virginia out of the Union, but a line of action was suggested for checking the Secession movement, at least in the western part of the State. A call was sent out for a general meeting, to be held in Wheeling, May 13. The counties of Western Virginia were asked to elect their wisest men to this convention. Its objects were stated in general terms to be the discus- sion of ways and means for providing for the State's best interests in the crisis which had arrived.
Twenty-five counties responded, and the delegates who assembled in Wheeling on May 13 were representatives of the people, men who were de- termined that the portion of Virginia west of the Alleghany Mountains should not take part in a war against the Union without the consent and against the will of the people of the affected territory. Hampshire and Berkeley Counties, east of the Alleghanies, sent delegates. Many of the men who attended the convention were the best known west of the Alle- ghanies, and in the subsequent history of West Virginia their names have become household words. The roll of the convention was as follows:
Barbour County-Spencer Dayton, E. H. Manafee, J. H. Shuttleworth. Berkeley County-J. W. Dailey, A. R. McQuilkin, J. S. Bowers.
Brooke County-M. Walker, Bazael Wells, J. D. Nichols, Eli Green, John G. Jacob, Joseph Gist, Robert Nichols, Adam Kuhn, David Hervey, Campbell Tarr, Nathaniel Wells, J. R. Burgoine, James Archer, Jesse Edg- ington, R. L. Jones, James A. Campbell.
Doddridge County-S. S. Kinney, J. Cheverout, J. Smith, J. P. F. Ran- dolph, J. A. Foley.
Hampshire County-George W. Broski, O. D. Downey, Dr. B. B. Shaw, George W. Sheetz, George W. Rizer.
Hancock County-Thomas Anderson, W. C. Murray, William B. Free- man, George M. Porter, W. L. Crawford, L. R. Smith, J. C. Crawford, B. J. Smith, J. L. Freeman, John Gardner, George Johnston, J. S. Porter,
1
115
THE RE-ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT.
James Stevenson, J. S .. Pomeroy, R. Breneman, David Donahoo, D. S. Nicholson, Thayer Melvin, James H. Pugh, Ewing Turner, H. Farnsworth, James G. Marshall, Samuel Freeman, John Mahan, Joseph D. Allison, John H. Atkinson, Jonathan Allison, D. C. Pugh, A. Moore, William Brown, Wil- liam Hewitt, David Jenkins.
Harrison County-W. P. Goff, B. F. Shuttleworth, William Duncan, L. Bowen, William E. Lyon, James Lynch, John S. Carlile, Thomas L. Moore, John J. Davis, S. S. Fleming, Felix S. Sturm.
Jackson County-G. L. Kennedy, J. V. Rowley, A. Flesher, C. M. Rice, D. Woodruff, George Leonard, J. F. Scott.
Lewis County-A. S. Withers, F. M. Chalfant, J. W. Hudson, P. M. Hale. J. Woofter, J. A. J. Lightburn, W. L. Grant.
Marshall County-Thomas Wilson, Lot Enix, John Wilson, G. Hubbs, John Ritchie, J. W. Boner, J. Alley, S. B. Stidger, Asa Browning, Samuel Wilson, J. McCondell, A. Bonar, D. Price, D. Roberts, G. W. Evans, Thos. Dowler, R. Alexander, E. Conner, John Withers, Charles Snediker, Joseph McCombs, Alexander Kemple, J. S. Riggs, Alfred Gaines, V. P. Gorby, Nathan Fish, A. Francis, William Phillips, S. Ingram, J. Garvin, Dr. Marsh- man, William Luke, William Baird, J. Winders, F. Clement, James Camp- bell, J. B. Hornbrook, John Parkinson, John H. Dickey, Thomas Morrissa, W. Alexander, John Laughlin, W. T. Head, J. S. Parriott, W. J. Purdy, H. C. Kemple, R. Swan, John Reynolds, J. Hornbrook, William McFarland, G. W. Evans, W. R. Kimmons, William Collins, R. C. Holliday, J. B. Mor- ris, J. W. McCarriher, Joseph Turner, Hiram McMechen, E. H. Caldwell, James Garvin, L. Gardner, H. A. Francis, Thomas Dowler, John R. Mor- row, William Wasson, N. Wilson, Thomas Morgan, S. Dorsey, R. B. Hunter.
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