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Myers'
History of
West Virginia
[In Two Jolumes)
VOLUME I.
\qi b
Iriii NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
8S:Z\7l
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R 1919
History of West Virginia
TO THE PUBLIC:
There arc several reasons w hy this book was written.
Firstly — There is no single \olume or set of volumes which contains an up-to-date history of XVest \'irginia. Lewis' History is the nearest approach. It is a good one. and fairly supplies the purpose for which it was intended, namely : a text book for use in the public schools ; but the information it contains is in such abbreviated form and omits so many subjects that are really of such historical impor- tance as to emphasize the need of a book of more extensive detail and covering a wider scope of information for the use of the general reading public.
Secondly — There was need of a book which would re\ ive and help perpetuate the memory of some almost forgotten heroes and heroines who oi)ene(I and made easier the wa}' for the succeeding generations of people.
Thirdly — There was need of a record winch would bring forth to the minds of the present and succeeding generations some general idea of the manners and customs of the early settlers and the hardships endured and dangers encountered by them.
Fourthl}- — There was need of a butjk which should bring to light some unwritten history and a new version of some things already chronicled ; and
Lastly — l^he attainment of these objects at a minimum cost to the reader.
As this book failed to a]i]X'ar within the time announced several months ago, an ex])lanation of the delay is due the public :
About eighteen months ago the author arranged with a certain pubhshing house for the pubUcation of this book, but, owing to a re-organization of the plant's working force and the subsequent delay caused thereby, arrangements were made for the transfer of the work to The Wheeling News Lithograph Company.
It was the original intention to incorporate the contents of the book in a single volume; but, by reason of additional new matter which it was deemed important should be in- cluded in the book, the work grew to such large proportions that it was necessary to make it in two volumes, thereby still further delaying the work and entailing considerable additional expense to the author.
As for literary merit or excellency of diction in the make- up of this work, the author makes no claim.
The book is a compilation of information gleaned from a large number of historical works, old newspaper files, re- sponsible magazines, correspondence and personal interviews, which has required a number of years in preparation.
To all who have in any way contributed to the success of this publication, the writer extends his most sincere thanks.
Trusting that this earnest efifort to contribute something to the public good may not prove in vain, I submit these volumes for your generous and impartial consideration.
Very respectfully yours,
S. MYERS.
New Martinsville, W. Va., August 1st. 1915.
CHAPTER I.
AMERICA ANTERIOR TO COLUMBUS. PRE-HISTORIC RACES.
When man was first created, God said to him : "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it." He spoke in a literal sense ; and, although, perhaps thousands of years elapsed before the seed of Adam found lodgment in what is called the "New World", the Great Creator had planned it in the beginning".
As to the origin and annals of the races which inhabited America previous to the European invasion, we are in the dark. At first it was generally believed that the red men were the aboriginal denizens of this country ; but this idea has since been proven erroneous. The mounds, ruined cities, pottery and other remains since found in all parts of the land, concerning which the Indians were in total ignorance, and which showed a state of civilization far in advance of theirs, were proof that a great people had existed in the remote past, who had flourished and disappeared without leaving any trace whereby they could be accounted for or identified.
Alexander S. Withers, in his book entitled "Chronicles of Border Warfare", says, "It is highly probable that the con- tinent of America was known to the ancient Carthaginians, and that it was the great island Atlantis, of which mention is made by Plato, who represents it as larger than Asia and Africa. The Carthaginians were a maritime people, and it is known that they extended their discoveries beyond the narrow sphere which had hitherto limited the enterprise of the mariner. And although Plato represents Atlantis as having been swallowed up by an earthquake, and all know- ledge of the new continent, if any such ever existed, was entirely lost; still, it is by no means impossible that it had been visited by some of the inhabitants of the old world prior to its discovery by Columbus in 1492."
Scarcely less mysterious are the red-men whom we found
History of West Virginia
here. Having no written language or history, their know- ledge of their own past was confined to vague traditions. Hawthorn says : "They were few in numbers, barbarous in condition, untamable in nature ; they built no cities and prac- ticed no industries; their women planted maize and performed all menial labors; their men hunted and fought. Before we came they fought one another ; our coming did not unite them against a common enemy ; it only gave each of them one enemy the more. After an intercourse of four hundred years, we know as little of them as we did at first ; we have neither educated, absorbed nor exterminated them. The fashion of their faces, and some other indications, seem to point to a northern-Asiatic ancestry ; but they cannot tell us even so much as we can guess. There have been among them, now and again, men of commanding abilities in war and negotia- tion ; but cheir influence upon their people has not lasted be- yond their own lives. Amid the roar and fever of these latter ages, they stand silent, useless, and apathetic. They belong to our history only in so far as their savage and treacherous hostility contributed to harden the fortitude of our earlier settlers, and to weld them into a united people."
Hawthorn's conception of the early Indian tribes may, in the main, be correct; but we know that the conditions of the red man of today Math reference to his relationship with the whites, are entirely different from that which prevailed in earlier times. Much of the warlike proclivity of the Indians was superinduced by some of our so-called civilized white people introducing among them the devilish "fire water", a thing which the better class of Indians themselves detested, and over which they deplored. Of this and other evils intro- duced among the redmen by the whites, we have ample evi- dence as shown by the records in the archives of Pennsyl- vania and other states, notwithstanding the almost unanimous silence of historians on this point. This matter will be more fully discussed in another chapter.
An early writer — a Mr. Adair — seems to have made a very close study of the Indian tribes o'f America. He believes they are descendants of the Hebrews, and in support of his claim, gives the following reasons :
History of West Virginia
"Their worship of Jehovah. By a strict, permanent, divine precept, the Hebrew nation Avas ordered to worship at Jerusalem, Jehovah the true and Hving God, who by the Indians, is styled 'Yohewah', to signify 'Sir, Lord, Master', applying to mere earthly potentates, without the least signifi- cation or relation to that great and awful name, which de- scribes the divine presence.
''2nd — Their notions of a theocracy. Agreeably to the theocracy or divine government of Israel, the Indians think the deity to be the immediate head of the state. All the nations of Indians have a great deal of religious pride, and an inexpressible contempt for the white people.
"In their war orations they used to call us the accursed people, but flatter themselves with the name of beloved people, because their supposed ancestors were, as they affirm, under the immediate government of the Deity, who was present with them in a peculiar manner, and directed them by Prophets, while the rest of the world were aliens to the cove- nant.
"3rd — When the old Archimagus, or an}- of their Magi, is persuading the people at their religious solemnities, to a strict observance of the old beloved or divine speech, he always calls them the beloved or holy people, agreeable to the Hebrew epithet, ammi (my people) during the theocracy of Israel.
"It is this opinion that God has chosen them out of the rest of mankind, as his peculiar people, which inspires the red Americans with that steady hatred against all the world except themselves, and renders them hated and despised by all.
"4th — Their manner of counting time. The Indians count time after the manner of the Hebrews. They divide the year into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. They number their years from any of these four periods, for they have no name for a year, and they sub-divide these and count the year by lunar months, like the Israelites, who counted time by moons as their name sufficiently testifies. The num- ber and regular periods of the religious feasts among the Indians is a good historical proof that they counted by and
History of West Virginia
observed a weekly sabbath, long after their arrival in America. They began the year at the appearance of the first new moon, at the vernal equinox, according to the ecclesiastical year of Moses.
"5th — Till the seventy years' captivity commenced, the Israelites had only numerical names for their months, except Abib, and Ethanim, the former signifying a green ear of corn, the latter robust or valiant. B)^ the first name the Indians, as an explicative, term their passover, which the trading people call the green corn dance.
"6th — Their prophets or high priests. In conformity to, or after the manner of the Jews, the Indians have their prophets, high priests, and others of a religious order. As the Jews have a sanctum sanctorum, so have all the Indian nations. There they deposit their consecrated vessels — ncne of the laity daring to approach that sacred place. The Ind'an tradition says that their forefathers were possessed of an extraordinary divine spirit by which they foretold future events ; and that this was transmitted to their offspring pro- vided they obeyed the sacred laws annexed, to-wit : Ishtoola is the name of all their priestly order and their pontifical office descends by inheritance to the eldest. There are traces of agreement, though chiefly lost, in their pontifical dress.
"Before the Indian Archimagus officiates in making the supposed holy fire for the yearly atonement of sin, the Sagan clothes him with a white ephod, which is a waistcoat without sleeves. In resemblance of the Urim and Thummin the American archimagus wears a breast-plate made of a white conch shell, with two holes in middle of it, through which he pulls ends of an otter skin strap and fastens a buckhorn white button to the outside of each, as if in imitation of the precious stones of the Urim."
In remarking upon this statement of Mr. Adair, Faber, a learned divine of the Church of England, has said that Ishtoola (the name, according to Adair, of the Indian priests) is most probably a corruption of Ish-da-Eloch, a man of God (the term used by the Shunemilish woman in speaking of Elisha), and that Sagan is the very name by which the Hebrews called the deputy of the High Priest who supplied
History of West Virginia
his office and who performed the functions of it in the absence of the high priest, or when any accident had disabled him from officiating in person.
7th — Their festivals, fasts and religious rites. The cere- monies of the Indians in their religious worship are more after the Mosaic institutions than of Pagan imitation. This could not be the fact if a majority of the old nations were of heathenish descent. They are utter strangers to all the ges- tures practiced by the Pagans in their religious rites. They have likewise an appellative, which with them is the mys- terious, essential name of God ; the tetragrammation, which they never use in common speech. They are very particular of the time and place, when and where they mention it, and this is always done in a very solemn manner. It is known that the Jews had so great and sacrad regard for the . , . divine name as scarcely ever to mention it, except when the high priest went into the sanctuary for the expiation of sins.
Mr. Adair likewise says that the American Indians, like the Hebrews, have an ark in which are kept various holy vessels, and which is never suffered to rest on the bare ground. "On hilly ground, where stones are plenty, they always place it on them, but on level land it is made to rest on short pegs. They have also a faith in the power and holiness of their ark, as strong as the Israelites had in theirs. It is too sacred and dangerous to be touched by anyone except the chieftain and his waiter.
"The leader virtually acts the part of a priest of war pro- tempore, in imitation of the Israelites fighting under the divine military banner."
Among their other religious rites the Indians, according to Adair, cut out the sinewy part of the thigh, in commemora- tion, as he says, of the angel wrestling with Jacob.
8th — Their abstinences from unclean things. "Eagles of every kind are esteemed b}^ the Indians to be unclean food ; as also ravens, crows, bats, buzzards, and every species of owl. They believe that swallowing gnats, flies and the like always breeds sickness. To this, that divine sarcasm alludes, 'swal- lowing a camel and straining at a gnat'."
Their purifications for their priests, and for ha\ing
History of West Virginia
touched a dead bod}^ or other unclean things, according to Mr. Adair, are quite Levitical. He acknowledges, however, that they have no traces of circumcision ; but he supposes that they lost this rite in their wanderings, as it ceased among the Hebrews during the forty years in the wilderness.
9th — Their cities of refuge. "The Israelites had cities of refuge for those who killed persons unawares. According to the same particular divine laM^ of mercy, each of the Indian nations has a house or town of refuge, which is a sure asylum to protect a manslayer, or the unfortunate captive, if they can but once enter it."
In almost every nation they have peacable towns, called ancient holy, or white towns. These seem to have been towns of refuge, for it is not in the memory of man that ever human blood was shed in them, although they often force persons from thence and put them to death elsewhere.
10th — ^Their purifications and ceremonies preparatory to going to battle :
"Before the Indians go to war, they have many prepara- tory ceremonies of purification and fasting like what is recorded of the Israelites."
11th — Their raising seed to a deceased brother : "The surviving brother, by the Mosaic law, was to raise seed to a deceased brother, who left a widow childless. The Indian custom looks the very same way, but in this, as in their law of blood, the eldest brother can redeem."
With those and m^any arguments of a like kind, has Mr. Adair endeavored to support the conjecture, that the Ameriqan Indians are lineally descended from, the Israelites, and gravely asks of those who may dissent from his opinion of their origin and descent, to inform him how they came here, and by what means they found the long chain of rites and customs so similar to those of the Hebrews, and dissimilar to the rites and customs of the pagan world.
Many years ago, a provincial officer sojourned some time with the Indians, and visited twelve different nations of them. It was his opinion that they were of Chinese and Tartar ex- traction, judging by their manners and customs ; and he pre- dicted that in some future era, it would be shown to a cer-
History of West Virginia
tainty that in some of the wars between the Chinese and Tartars, a part of the inhabitants of the northern provinces were driven from their country and took refuge in some of the numerous islands and from thence found their way to America at different periods of time.
As bearing on the above subject, it is particularly inter- esting to read the following news item, printed in Wheeling Sunday News, under date of September 8th, 1912:
"An image of an unmistakable Chinaman, moulded in clay, has been found at San Miguel Amantia buried beneath the ruins of three Mexican civilizations.
"This discovery is believed by high archaeological author- ities to prove the interesting theory that the ancient civiliza- tion of Mexico preceding that of the Aztecs was of Chinese or Mongolian origin. This explanation would unravel the mys- tery of the wonderful Maya ruins of Yucatan and other parts of Mexico.
"The clay Chinaman, with oblique eye-slits, padded coat, flowing trousers and slippers — a Chinaman in everything ex- cept the queue, which is lacking.
"The Chinese, it must be remembered, did not adopt the . queue until they had been conquered by the Tartar horde from the north.
"Thirty feet under the ground, at San Miguel Amantia, nineteen miles from the City of Mexico, the image was un- covered in the ruins of a buried tomb by Professor William Niven, of Mexico City.
"It is about seven inches in length, and where the arms are broken the clay of which the image was made shows red and friable in the center.
"Outside, however, this clay has metamorphosed to stone so that it can be chipped with a hammer only with the great- est difficulty. It is about three and one-half inches in width across the chest and one and one-half inches in thickness through the abdomen. In the ears are huge rings, similar to those worn by the Chinese to this day, and on the head is a skull cap with a tiny button in the center, almost exactly like the caps of the Mandarins of the empire which has so lately become a republic.
8 History of West Virginia
"The coat, which is loose and of the type still worn by the Chinese, is shown fastened with a frog and a button, while on the breast is a circular plate or ornament, evidently once covered with a thin layer of beaten gold, but worn bare by contact with the earth for unknown centuries. Each arm is broken off close to the shoulder, and the opening of the entire tomb, or room, nearly thirty feet square, in which the image was found, has failed to discover the missing hands.
"This Chinese image was not made by the Aztecs. It had been buried in the earth before the Aztecs set foot on the plateau. The Aztecs were newcomers in Mexico's history, the bloodthirsty conquerors of the great civilized, organized races of America's Egypt, who ravaged with fire and sword the cities built by the Toltecs, the Olmecs and the Mayas. It is probably true that the Aztecs built little, if anj?^, of the massive palaces and temples whose ruins mark all parts of Mexico. They took them by force of arms from the builders.
"When Herman Cortez asked of Montezuma, his captive, ^Who built that huge temple?' Montezuma replied, 'Las Toltecas,' and Bernal Diaz, historian of the conquest, named . the tribe which had preceded the Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico, the Toltecs. But, in the Nahuati tongue, which was the language of the Aztecs, and which is still spoken in some of the villages' of remote Mexico, 'toltecas' means a builder, a mason, nothing more, and Montezuma knew as little of the race which made the Calendar Stone, which worked out its own system of astronomy and time, and w'hich moved its tem- ples, as did the Spanish invaders — and archaeologists of today knew very little more until Professor Niven uncovered the Chinaman.
"Mr. Niven, who has been delving in the burial tom^bs and temples of Mexico for thirty years, declares that the first people of Mexico came from China, by way of Behring Straits. Ramon Mena, the foremost living archaeologist of Mexico, who has spent twenty years in the ruins of Mexico's dead races, supports him without qualification. There is another school of archaeology, whose members insist that the abo- rigines of Mexico came from the east, by way of a land con-
History of West Virginia
nection across the lower end of the Gulf of Mexico, to what is now the northward-pointing peninsula of Yucatan.
"Now comes the curious Chinaman, buried for at least fifteen hundred years, possibly more, to prove to the world that the Mongol. was known in Mexico when the Wise Men followed the star to Bethlehem. The image is not an idol ; nine-tenths of the figurines which are called idols in Mexico were, indeed, never intended as objects of worship. It is an ornament for the house of some prehistoric noble, probably the same man whose crumbling skull, shell money, jade orna- ments and flower vases were found scattered round the Chinese image.
" 'This image,' says Professor Niven, 'proves with indis- putable evidence that the people who lived in the Valley of Mexico ten or fifteen centuries ago knew and were familiar with the Mongol type. The ruin in which I found it was in the remains of the third civilization in the pit which I had dug at San Miguel Amantia, near Tialnepantla, nineteen miles from the National Palace in Mexico City. The first civiliza- tion, marked by a cement floor and the walls of concrete buildings, I found at a depth of eight feet. Eleven feet below it was the second civilization, of about the same grade of development as the first, and, thirty feet and three inches from the surface of the ground I came on a bedchamber, or a tomb, I do not know which, in a third stratum of ruins, which con- tained the finest artefacts I have ever seen in Mexico.
" T am inclined to think the room, which was thirty feet square, its walls made of concrete and crushed down to within about a foot of their bases, was a tomb. In the centre, on a raised rectangular platform, also of concrete, lay the skull and some of the bones of the skeleton of a man, who could not have been more than five feet in height. His arms were very long, reaching almost to his knees, and his skull was of a decidedly Mongoloid type. Around his neck had been a string of green jade beads, another link which binds Mexico to China, for real jade has never been found in Mexico in a natural state.
" 'Lying beside the body was a string of five hundred and ninety-seven pieces of shell. I say string, but the buckskin thong which had once borne them was long since rotted to
10 History of West Virginia
dust, and the wampum, or money, lay as it had fallen from the string. With this money lay the greatest find of all — • the little Chinaman. It is the first find of the kind ever found in Mexico, though Mongoloid types persist in sufficient num- bers among the Indians of all Mexico to convince any one, it seems to me, that the Indian blood of the country came originally from Asia.
" 'Near the skeleton, but off the platform, lay a flower vase, about fifteen inches in height, undoubtedly filled with xochitl, the yellow sacred flower of practically all the ancient races of this country. Undoubtedly the tomb, or room, is a part of the ruin of a large city, and I have secured the aid of the National Museum, to whom the Chinese image will be presented, to clear away the thirty feet of earth a sufficient distance around the shaft I have dug to show what lies be- neath.
" 'It must be remembered that this was not a god, nor an idol, but an ornament, the image of some person, his por- trait done in clay by some prehistoric sculptor. Thousands of images of men, women and animals, and a very few of chil- dren, are found in all ancient graves in this country. They were made for preservation in houses, and to be buried with the dead, and I believe this was the image of the man whose skeleton lay on the platform in this buried room. How long was he buried? How long is required for the elements to deposit thirty feet of earth on a level surface ! Making a rough guess, without figuring the rates of deposition of the different classes of earth which make up ^this blanket, I should say not less than fifteen centuries, possibly more.
" 'San Miguel Amantia, where I found the three buried cities, is a level plain thirty miles long by ten miles wide. There is no trace of any cataclysm which might have buried the cities deeply and suddenly. Earth was deposited slowly over the first city ; then the second was built on top of that ten or eleven feet of earth. Then came another period of cen- turies of deposition and the third city was built. Above this upper ruin Nature laid another blanket of earth, and on the surface today cattle graze, while miserable brush huts dot the fields above buried palaces of stone and concrete.
History of West Virginia 11
" 'The little stone Chinaman furnishes exactly the link for which we have been searching. He says without speaking that the most ancient tribes of Mexico were off-shoots of the Mongoloid.' "
CHAPTER II.
AMERICA'S DESTINY— HER PAST AND FUTURE.
Regardless of what we know or do not know concerning the origin of the first settlers on American soil, God, in His infinite wisdom and power, appears to be carrying out His purposes by a wonderful system of evolution, wherein the inferior ultimately gives place to the superior, and right pre- vails over wrong, notwithstanding all of Satan's persistent opposition.
Hawthorn says : "The American nation is the embodi- ment and vehicle of a Divine purpose to emancipate and enlighten the human race. Man is entering upon a new career of spiritual freedom; he is to enjoy a hitherto unprecedented condition of political, social and moral liberty — as distin- guished from license, which, in truth, is slavery.
"The stage for this grand evolution was fixed in the Western Continent, and the pioneers who went thither were inspired with the desire to escape from the thralldom of the past, and to nourish their souls with that pure and exquisite freedom which can afford to ignore the ease of the body, and all temporal luxuries, for the sake of that elixir of immor- tality. It is what differentiates Americans from all other ' peoples ; it is Avhat makes Americans out of emigrants ; it is what draws the masses of Europe hither, and makes thein^ rulers fear and hate us.
"Some sort of recognition of the American Idea and of the American destiny, affords the only proper ground for American patriotism. We talk of the size of our country, its wealth and prosperity, of its enlightenment, but if these things be all that we have to be proud of, we have little. They are in truth but outward signs of a far more precious possession within. We are the pioneers of the NEW DAY, or we are nothing worth talking about. We are at the threshold of our career. Our record thus far is full of faults.
History of West Virginia 13
and presents not a few deformities, due to our human frailties and limitations; but our general direction has been onward and tipward."
This thought of Hawthorn's — so beautifully expressed — is well founded. We have evidence of its truth on every hand. Yet, in America, we have not a monopoly of goodness, nor have other nations a monopoly on wickedness. We have some of both.
In human life, these two forces — good and evil — are con- stantly at war with each other. Good represents the warp and woof of our moral fabric. Evil is the moth that is ever striving to consume it. Can we question which will prevail?
Considering th^ countless number of people who have landed on our shores within the last four hundred years, from all parts of the globe, would it not be strange if some of them or their ofif-spring would not prove to be undesirable citizens? And since we have such, we must work persistently and con- sistently to eradicate evil and evil tendencies' by a system of good government and education.
Progress is, in the very nature of things, a result of former failures or something uncompleted. We reckon progress by comparison with previous conditions. If previous conditions have not been improved upon then there has been no improve- ment. This is self-evident.
Then it logically follows that, in order to reach the goal of an enterprise, it is necessary for us to take a retrospective view and see wherein we or others have failed and the cause thereof. Having adopted the good points and rejected the bad ones, we are then armed with a sword of light that will penetrate the darkest places and protect us from the pitfalls that lurk therein to ensnare the unwary traveler.
Therefore, let us go back a way and see if we cannot learn truths we never heard before. We are told of the many good qualities possessed by our ancestors ; their bravery on the battle field ; the heroic mother trying to protect her babe from the savage's tomahawk, and of the man)^ trials and hard- ships endured by the early settlers; but our historians fail to tell us of the real cause of much of the savage cruelty.. Let
14 History of West Virginia
us have the truth. Read the following article, written by George P. Donahoo, in the "Red Man" :
"The Aborigines were, in the main, sedentary in their habits. They were not migratory. The same tribe occupied the same habitat for almost countless generations. They were, as a rule, at peace with each other. War, when it was engaged in, was not particularly destructive of lives. The weapons used in the tactics employed precluded any very great destructiveness of life.
"Then came the white man. The use of gunpowder by the Iroquois gave that aggressive confederation a tremendous power over the weaker tribes of the interior. War became a destructive scourge to a degree absolutely unknown before. As these tribes, driven back by the Iroquois, pressed upon the hunting grounds and the villages of the tribes in the in- terior, they in turn were brought in contact with tribes still more remote. War became common. Not only did the use of gunpowder and European arms cause this condition of unrest and warfare, but, in addition, the Indian trade in furs and peltries became the cause of a condition which had not pre- viously existed.
"The Indian who had previously hunted in order to sup- ply his family with food and clothing, now hunted in order that he might sell the fruits of the hunt to the white man for gunpowder, such trinkets as pleased him, and rum. Thus armed with the gun, which he had bought from the white trader, and with his brain afire with the cheap rum which he had obtained from the same source, the noble red man of the forests and prairies became a fiend incarnate. He quarreled with his brother red man and killed him. He quarreled with the trader who made him drunk in order to cheat him out of his furs and peltries and his lands, and then he went home to his wigwam to brood over his v/rongs, with his brain on fire and his nerves throbbing because of the vile, decoction he had drunken, he took down his gun, went out to hunt the trader who had cheated him, found him and killed him. Then there would be an uprising of the frontiersmen, who went forth to hunt Indians — no matter what Indians. They found 'Indians'
History of West Virginia 15
and killed them, scalped them, burned their villages, and then there would be another so-called 'Indian War'.
"The pathetic picture of what the red man was, and what the white man made of him, as early as 1683, is given in a letter of William Penn. He says: 'The natives are proper and shapely, very swift, their language lofty. They speak little, but fervently and with elegancy, though the Dutch and Swede and English have by brandy and rum almost debaucht them all.' (Arch, of Pa., Vol. 1, p. 69). At the treaty with the Conestoga, in 1717, when the Indians were asked if they had any complaints to make, they replied that they 'had nothing to complain of, but that some bad, straggling people brought too much rum amongst them and debauched their young men.'
First Murder Caused by Rum,
"It is worthy of note that the first murder of a white man by a red man on the waters of La Belle river, near Pittsburg, was caused by a drunken brawl in which an Indian trader was killed.
"In 1738 a petition was sent to the governor from this same region, asking him to see that 'there is no rum or strong liquors brought into our towns' for the space of four years. This document was signed by Peter Chartier and many of the chiefs on the Ohio. They reported that they had spilled 'forty gallons of rum' in the streets of the village. (Ibid, 549). This is perhaps the earliest precedent which Special Officer Johnson has for this method of making use of rum.
Complaints of the Indians.
"One of the chief reasons of the alienation of the Dela- ware and Shawnee at this period was the debauchery of the rum traffic, against which they had objected from the time of the entrance of the Shawnee into the province. As early as 1710, one of their chiefs made complaint against a certain Sylvester Garland, who had taken 150 gallons of rum into the villages on the Susquehanna, and then after having made drunken the Indians, abused them. (Col. Rec. Pa., Vol. II, 39.)
16 History of West Virginia
"Again, in 1704, the Indians at Conestoga made complaint of 'the great quantities of rum, continually brought to their town, insomuch that they were ruined by it, having nothing left, but have laid out all, even their clothes, for rum'. (Ibid, 141.) Again, in 1796, the}'^ complained 'because their hunters, on their return from their hunts, were met by these rum traders, and were made drunk before they got home to their wives, and were so imposed on and cheated by the traders of the fruits of all their labors'. (Ibid, 248.)
Complaint to Governor Gookin.
"In 1710 this same complain was made to Governor Gookin, because the young men of the various villages on the Susquehanna, upon returning from their hunting expeditions, were met by the traders who made them 'drunk with rum, and then cheat them out of their skins, and if some method be not taken to prevent it, they must be forced to remove themselves or starve, their dependence being entirely upon their peltry.' (Ibid, 211.) They made complaint again in 1715 and 1718.
"Then commenced the migration of the Delaware and Shawnee to the Ohio, which was caused chiefly by the wise, old men, who wished to get the young men away from the debauchery of the rum traffic. But it was in vain ; the rum trader followed the Delaware and Shawnee over the ridges of the Alleghanies to the Ohio, where the same scenes of debauch- ery and cheating were enacted. When Conrad Weiser went to Loganstown, on the first official mission of the English speaking race to the Indians beyond the mountains, one of the principal subjects spoken of by the Indian chiefs at the council was the rum traffic. Before Weiser made this difficult journey, Allumapees, the Delaware chief, had complained to the provincial authorities of the great quantities of rum being carried into the villages on the Ohio.
"Shikellamy, the Iroquois deputy at Shamokin, then the chief Indian settlement in the province, had also made com- plaint concerning the sale of rum. When Weiser was at the council with the Cayugas, in June, 1748, the English messen- gers offered the chiefs a cask of rum, which was returned with
History of West Virginia 17
this statement: 'We have drunk too much of your rum already, which has occasioned our destruction ; we will, therefore, for the future, beware of it.' (Col. Rec. Pa., V. 285.)
Braddock's Army Slaughtered by Rum.
"When the army of General Braddock was laboriously cutting its way over the mountain ranges from Fort Cumber- land to Fort Duquesne, in 1775, he was going to face a great body of Delaware and Shawnee warriers, who had been driven from the Susquehanna to their place of refuge on the Ohio, and who had been alienated from the English, chiefly because of the debauchery of the Indian trader.
"Braddock's fearful slaughter on the banks of the Monon- gahela in 1775 was due far more to rum than to any lack of ability on the part of Braddock himself. It may be safely said that had not the debauchery of the rum traffic driven the Delawares and the Shawnees to the Ohio, away from their friends, the English, Braddock would have marched into a deserted Fort Duquesne in 1775, just as Forbes did in 1758.
Horrors of Border Warfare.
"The 'history of rum' in the period following Braddock's defeat is simply a history of the fearful years of blood-shed and suffering which followed.
"After Pontiac's conspiracy, the period of settlement of the western country is simply the history of one act of cruelty after another. The fearful raids, border wars, murders and cruelties of this period are simply a series of crimes having their origin in whiskey bottle. To read the accounts of the conditions under which the Indian trade was conducted on the Susquehanna in 1701, and on the Ohio in 1755, is simply to read the conditions of the Indian trade on the frontiers of English settlement as it moves westward to the Pacific.
"The pathway of Anglo-Saxon civilization on the Ameri- can continent has been a clearly marked trail, strewn with whiskey bottles. It reaches from the Delaware to the utter- most point in Alaska. When the United States bought Alaska from Russia, there at once commenced the debauchery
18 History of West Virginia
of the native tribes by rum, or rather by the vile substitute called 'hootzenoo', which threatened to entirely destroy the native Indians. The use of this decoction of molasses, and the introduction of the loathsome disease of the soldiers, threatened the complete extermination of one of the native Alaskan tribes.
"I. C. Dennis, Deputy Collector of Fort Wrangel, says : 'Soldiers and Indian women were frequently seen having a drunken spree, immorality being the watchword. Then, for a change, Indians have been known to make liquor and sell it to soldiers by the glass at ten cents a drink. I have frequently seen soldiers go to the Indian ranch for their morning drink of 'hootzenoo'. Our Indians here are not a band of cut- throats and pirates that require bayonets and brass guns to keep them in subjection.' (U. S. Report on Alaska, 1879, 154.)
Plea of Toy-ah-att.
"One of the chiefs of these Indians at Fort Wrangel, whose name was Toy-ah-att, said in a speech :
" 'We ask that we be civilized, Christianized and educated. Give us a chance and we will show the world that we can become peaceable citizens and good Christians. An effort has already been made by Christian friends to better our condi- tion, and may God bless them in their work. Many of you have Indian women living with you. I ask you to send them to school, and church, where they may learn to become good women. Don't, my brothers, let them go to the dance houses, for there they will learn to be bad and to drink whiskey. If you will assist us in doing good, and quit selling whiskey, we will soon make Fort Wrangel a quiet place, and the stricken Indians will become a happy people.' (Ibid, 160-161.)
"Such a speech as that from a 'heathen' man should bring the blush of shame to our cheeks. The Delaware welcomed the white man to the shores of his beautiful river, the Stickeen welcomed the white man to Alaska, and the white man showed his appreciation of the red man's hospitality by making him a drunkard and his wife and daughter debauched prostitutes."
The foregoing article certainly points out a very bad state of affairs, but we all know that practically the same con-
History of West Virginia 19
ditions exist today, only on a much larger scale. The saloon- keeper, armed with a license, now supplants the "Indian trader". His place of operation, wherever he can obtain a license ; his customer, any person with the price of a drink and who will spend it for that purpose ; his victims, God only knows how many. The prisons, infirmaries and graveyards are full of them, while untold thousands are but awaiting their turn.
And what is the CAUSE for this? AVARICE— a con- suming greed for gold.
It is said that "money is the root of all evil", but this is not true. The evil comes only when it is improperly obtained, or improperly used. When obtained legitimately and used for a good purpose, it is a blessing; but when it is obtained through unfair means, or spent for an evil purpose, it becomes a curse.
As with people, so with nations. It was avarice that prompted the mother country to burden the colonists with an unjust taxation; it was avarice that introduced slavery in this country, and it was not until thousands of precious lives were sacrificed that these evils were overcome.
But, let it not be understood that the writer means to say that avarice is a characteristic of Americans, not that they are moral perverts, or unpatriotic. Far be it from that. America, like all countries, has a considerable number of bad "inhabit- ants" whom we should not dignify with the name citizen, but these, fortunately, are very much in the minority, and their increase is not keeping pace with the healthy growth of the country.
The average citizen of the United States is a "representa- tive" citizen. He is qualified to represent the people in any honorable capacity, and does truly represent them. This is what makes our country great. He is honest, intelligent, broad and liberal-minded ; kindly disposed ; lovable, and ]H)s- sesses all the qualities that go to make a real, live Christian. He is intensely patriotic ; he loves the stars and stripes, and swears by the Constitution. He is conservative in State and National aflfairs, and is inclined to arbitration rather than to arms ; yet, if "in the course of human events, it becomes neces-
20 History of West Virginia
sary" for him to shoulder the musket to protect his country's flag, he will be found fighting near ''Old Glory". Or, again, "if in the course of human events, it becomes necessary" to even change some clause in the Constitution itself, which, to him may appear to have outlived its usefulness, he will delib- erately but surely exercise his right of franchise and vote out the offending clause and fill up the gap with a nevv' or amended law which shall supply the requirements of a "nation that leads in progress".
America's Destiny is Safe in Hands Like These.
"Man's fate is wrought in the loom of years.
To pattern traced by an unseen hand; The shuttle flies and the weaver sighs.
For the work is slow and tragic and grand. Some shuttles are filled with golden thread.
For the few great souls who march in the van ; But most are filled with the thread used for
The warp and woof of the average man.
"And not till the loom stands, stop'd and still And the busy shuttles no longer fly. Shall God his hidden design reveal.
And explain to us all the reason why The av'rage man is needed as much
In the wonderful world He has planned. As the man in majesty fashioned
- By the shuttles filled with the golden strand.
"For isn't it so in want and in woe,
When fate has left us no hope and no plan ; Then we welcome the counsel and aid
Of the old fashioned average man? Wearing the grime of shop or of mine.
He does his life w^ork as well as he can ; Some da}^ God will bless him and crown him
The honest, true-hearted, AVERAGE man." (By Stuart F. Reed, Sec'y State West Va.)
CHAPTER III.
EXPLORATIONS IN AMERICA BY FRENCH AND ENGLISH — THEIR BASE OF CONTEN- TION FOR OWNERSHIP.
As most of the difficulties experienced by the early settlers of what is now West Virginia grew out of the con- tending claims of England and France for supremacy in this country, it might be well to here give a general outline of the discoveries and settlements made by each of these pov^ers. In doing this, the writer quotes freely from "With- er's Border Warfare", as others have done.
In March, 1496, a commission was granted by Henry VII, king of England, to John Cabot and his three sons, empower- ing them to sail under the English flag in search of "new discoveries, and in the event of their success, to take posses- sion, in the name of the King of England, of the countries thus discovered and not inhabited by Christian people". This expedition was not carried out. "But in May, 1498, Cabot, with his son, Sebastian, embarked on a voyage to attain the desired object, and succeeded in his design so far as to effect a discovery of North America, and, although he sailed along the coast from Labrador to Virginia, yet it does not appear that he made any attempt either at settlement or conquest." It was on the strength of this discovery the English based their claims to that part of America, and they therefore subsequently took possession of it.
In the year 1558, letters patent were issued by Queen Elizabeth empowering Sir Humphrey Gilbert to "discover and take possession of such remote; heathen and barbarous lands as were not actually possessed by any Christian prince or people".
Two expeditions, conducted by this gentleman, ter- minated unfavorably. Nothing was done by him towards the accomplishment of the objects in view, more than the taking
22 History of West Virginia
possession of the island of New Foundland, in the name of the English Queen.
In the month of April, 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh, by authority of a similar patent, dispatched two vessels under command of Amidas and Barlow, "for the purpose of visiting and obtaining such a knowledge of the country which he pro- posed to colonize as would facilitate the attainment of his object". In their vo3''age they approached the North Ameri- can continent towards the Gulf of Florida, and sailing north- wardly, touched at an island situate on the inlet into Pamlico sound, in North Carolina, which island they named Wokocon, and proceeding from thence they reached Roanoke, near the mouth of Albemarle sound. Remaining here a short time and after having obtained from the Indians such information as they could give concerning the country, Amidas and Barlow returned to England.
In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh again fitted out seven ships, the command of which he gave to Richard Greenville. These vessels were provisioned for a settlement. Greenville touched at the islands of Wokocon and Roanoke, which had been previously visited by Barlow and Amidas. After leaving one hundred and eight of his passengers on Roanoke Island, he returned to England.
"These colonists, after having remained about twelve months and explored the adjacent country, became so dis- couraged and exhausted by fatigue and famine that they abandoned the country. Sir Richard Greenville, returning shortly afterwards to America, and not being able to find them, and at a loss to conjecture their fate, left in the island another small party of settlers and again set sail for England."
Queen Elizabeth was so well pleased with the flattering description given of the country by those who had visited it that she gave it the name of Virginia, "as a memorial that it had been discovered in the reign of a virgin Queen".
After several ineffectual attempts to colonize North America, a permanent settlement was finally established at Jamestown, Va., in 1607, by one hundred and five men M^ho left England in December of the previous year on a small
History of West Virginia 23
vessel and two barks under command of Captain Newport. These vessels w^cre driven into Chesapeake bay, and, being unable to land at Cape Henry, "they sailed up the Powhattan (since called the James) river, and on the 13th of May, 1607, debarked on the north side of the river at a place to which they gave the name of Jamestown". The whites occupied the country from this time on, subject to the crown of Great Britain, until the Revolutionary War.
In 1609 a new charter was issued to "the treasurer and company of the adventurers of the City of London for the first colony of Virginia in absolute property, the lands extend- ing from Point Comfort along the sea coast two hundred miles to the northward, and from the same point along the sea coast two hundred miles to the southward, and up into the land throughout from sea to sea, west and northwest, and also all islands lying within one hundred miles of the coast of both seas of the precinct aforesaid". Her boundaries were later reduced to the present limits of Virginia and West Virginia, owing to conflicting charters granted other corpora- tions, and "to the suicidal liberality of Virginia herself", as historian Withers declares.
Admiral Champlain, commanding a French fleet, arrived in the St. Lawrence and founded the City of Quebec in 1608. Notwithstanding a Spanish sailor had previously entered the St. Lawrence and established a port at the mouth of Grand river, and its proximity to the English colonies, neither of those powers seriously contested the right of France to its possession. "Yet it was frequently the theatre of war, and as early as 1629 was subdued by England. By the treaty of St. Germains in 1632, it was restored to France, as was also the then province of Acadie, now known as Nova Scotia. There is no doubt but that this latter province was, by priority of settlement, the property of France, but its principal town having been repeatedly reduced to possession by the English, it was ceded to them by the treaty of LUrecht, in 1713."
France, Spain and England each claimed the country bordering the Mississippi river and its tributary streams. "The claims of England (based on the discovery by the Cabots of the eastern shore of the United States) included all the
24 History o£ West Virginia
country between the parallels of latitude within which the Atlantic shore was explored, extending westwardly to the Pacific Ocean, a zone athwart the continent between the thir- tieth and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude."
"From the facility with which the French gained the good will and friendly alliance of the natives in Canada by inter-marrying with and assimilating themselves to the habits and inclinations of these children of the forest, an intimacy arose which induced the Indians to impart freely to the French their knowledge of the interior country.
"Among other things, information was communicated to them of the fact that farther on there was a river of great size and immense length, which pursued a course opposite to that of the St. Lawrence, and emptied itself into an unknown sea. It was conjectured that it must necessarily flow into the Gulf of Mexico, or the South Sea ; and in 1673 Marquette and Joliet, — French missionaries, — together with five others, com- menced a journey from Quebec to ascertain the fact and examine the country bordering its shores.
"From Lake Michigan they proceeded up the Fox river nearly to its source ; thence to Wisconsin, down it to the Mississippi, in which river the}^ sailed as far as to about the thirty-third degree of north latitude. From this point they returned through the Illinois country to Canada.
"At the period of this discovery, M. de La Salle, a Frenchman of enterprise, courage and talents but without fortune, was commandant of Fort Frontignac. Pleased with the description given by Marquette and Joliet of the country which they had visited, he formed the determination of exam- ining it himself, and for this purpose left Canada in the close of the summer of 1679, in company with Father Luis Henne- pin and some others. On the Illinois he erected Fort Creve- couer, where he remained during the winter, and instructing Father Hennepin, in his absence, to ascend the Mississippi to its sources, returned to Canada. M. de La Salle subsequently visited this country and, establishing the villages of Cahokia and Kaskaskia, left them under the command of M. de Tonti ; and, going back to Canada, proceeded from thence to France
History of West Virginia 25
to procure the co-operation of the ministry in effecting a settlement of the valley of the Mississippi."
M. de La Salle's mission to France was successful. "He succeeded in impressing on the minds of the French ministry the great benefits which would result from its colonization, and was the first to suggest the propriety of connecting the settlements on the Mississippi with those in Canada by a cor- don of forts, a measure which was subsequently attempted to be carried into effect.
"With the aid afforded him by the government of France, he was enabled to prepare an expedition to accomplish his object; and, sailing in 1684 for the mouth of the Mississippi, steered too far westward and landed in the province (now State) of Texas, and on the banks of the River Guadaloupe. Every exertion which a brave and prudent man could make to effect the security of his little colony and conduct them to the settlement in Illinois was fruitlessly made by him. In reward for all his toil and care he was basely assassinated, the remnant of the party whom he was conducting through the wilderness finally reached the Arkansas, where was a settlement of French emigrants from Canada. The colonists left by him at the Bay of St. Bernard were mostly murdered by the natives, the remainder were carried away by the Span- iards in 1689."
For some tiine after this, attempts on the part of the French to colonize the Mississippi near the Gulf of Mexico were fruitless.
That portion of the southern part of the United States of which the present site of New Orleans formed the center of settlements continued in the possession of France until 1763, when, by the treaty of Paris, she ceded to Great Britain, together with Canada, her possessions east of the Mississippi river, excepting the "island of New Orleans". The latter and her territory on the west bank of the Mississippi were trans- ferred to Spain.
It is generally conceded that on the basis of priority of discovery, the title of Spain to the southern part of what is now the United States, including a large part of the Missis- sippi valley, was as good as that of either England or France.
26 History o£ West Virginia
Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spaniard, discovered and gave name to Florida in 1512, five years after the discovery of the Pacific by Balboa. He was killed by the Indians in a second visit to Florida, in 1521.
In 1518, Francisco Gary cruised along the whole Gulf coast, passing the mouth of the Mississippi river, — the "Miche Sepe", or Father of Waters, of the Indians. In 1520, Lucas Vasquez de Allyon sailed from Cuba "in quest of a land called Chicora, north of Florida, said to possess a sacred stream whose waters had the miraculous virtue of those of Fortune of Youth."
In 1528, Pamphilo de Narvaez made an effort to take possession of this land, but met with such vigorous opposition by the Indians that but a mere handful of his six hundred men escaped with him to the coast, from whence they sought to escape in five hurriedly constructed craft, four of which were lost in storms on the Gulf; the survivors landing, sought to cross the continent to the province of Sonora, already colo- nized by Spaniards. Four of the party were captured by the Indians, but later escaped to the Spanish settlement.
Hernando (Ferdinand) De Soto, a Spaniard, then gov- ernor of Cuba, sailed from Havana with a fleet of nine vessels and a force of six or seven hundred men on the 18th of May, 1539, and cast anchor in Tampa Ba\^ on the 30th of the same month. After landing, he and his men at once pro- ceeded through the country. Their mission, judging from their acts, seemed to be one of murder and plunder. After roaming about the country for a time, committing acts of depredation, they finally arrived at a large village called Mavilla, close to the site of the modern Mobile, in Alabama in the autumn of 1540, their numbers greatly reduced. Here the natives were gathered in considerable force, and it soon became evident that an attempt would be made to "exact vengeance for the Jong course of oppression of which the white (Spaniards) intruders had been guilty in their two years' wanderings". Intending to take possession of Mavilla in his usual high-handed manner, De Soto and a few of his men entered the palisades forming its defences. Here a "dis- pute" ensued between a minor chief and one of the Spaniards,
History of West Virginia 27
and the latter struck the chief with his cutlass, and a general fight ensued, in which much property and many lives were lost. After burning the village, De Soto and the remnant of his men proceeded northward, arriving at a small village, be- longing to the Chickasaw Indians, in the State of Mississippi, in the month of December. "In the beginning of Spring the usual arbitrary proceedings were resorted to by De Soto for procuring porters to carry his baggage on his next trip, and this led to a second terrible fight, in which the Spaniards were
worsted and narrowly escaped extermination."
With the few followers that now remained, De Soto pro- ceeded in a northwesterly direction, and, crossing the State of Mississippi, arrived, in May, on the banks of "the mighty river from which it takes its name, in about N. lat. 35°. Here, building barges capable of carrying their horses, the Span- iards crossed the river, and immediately opened hostilities with the Indians on the other side. They proceeded north- ward, constantly harassed by the natives, until they reached the region of the present State of Missouri, whose "inhabit- ants took them for children of the Sun and brought out their blind to be restored to sight. After some missionary labors with these Indians, De Soto proceeded westward, and en- camped for the winter about the site of Little Rock, Arkansas, after having reached the highlands of southwest Missouri, near the White river".
Though worn by continual wanderings and warfare, and deprived by death of his chief helper, Juan Ortiz, De Soto now endeavored to win over the Indians by claiming super- natural powers and declaring himself immortal ; but it was too late to inaugurate a new policy. The spot selected for encampment proved to be unhealthful ; the white men began to succumb to disease ; scouts sent out to explore the neigh- borhood for a more favorable situation brought back reports of howling wildernesses, impenetrable woods, and, worst of all, bands of Indians creeping up from every side to hem in and destroy the little knot of white men. "Thus driven to bay, De Soto, who was now himself either attacked by disease or broken down by all he had undergone, determined at last to die like a man, and, calling the survivors of his once gallant
28 History of West Virginia
company about him, he asked pardon for the evils he had brought upon those who had trusted in him, and named Luis Moscoso de Alvaredo as his successor."
On the following day. May 21, 1542, the unfortunate man died, and his successor, Alvaredo, "fearing an onslaught from the natives should the death of De Soto, who claimed immor- tality, be discovered", had the body wrapped in cloths made heavy by sand, and dropped from a boat in the Mississippi river during the midnight hour. The Indians, missing the "Child of the Sun", made inquiries concerning his where- abouts, and were informed that he had departed for a tem- porary sojourn in Heaven and would return soon. During this expected return, the camp was broken up as quietly as possible, and Alvaredo led his people westward, hoping, as Cabeca had done before him, to reach the Pacific coast. But, after long months of wandering in pathless prairies, they finally retraced their steps to the Mississippi. Remaining here about six months, they constructed a number of boats, in which they entered on the 2d of July, 1543, and after a voyage of seventeen days between banks lined with hostile Indians, "who plied them unceasingly with their poisoned arrows, brought a few haggard, half-naked survivors to the longed- for gulf. Fifty days later, after a weary cruise along the rugged coasts* of what is now Louisiana and Texas, a party, still further reduced, landed at the Spanish settlement of Panuco, in Mexico, where they were received as men risen from the dead".
The foregoing information concerning explorations by the Spaniards was taken principally from "The Great Repub- lic", Vol. I.
The following is taken from Withers's "Border Warfare", concerning the struggle between the whites and Indians for supremacy in America, and is well worth repeating:
"Thus, it is said, were different parts of this continent discovered ; and by virtue of the settlements thus effected by those three great powers of Europe, the greater portion of it was claimed as belonging to them, respectively, in utter disregard of the rights of the Aborigines. And while the historian records the colonization of America as an event
History of West Virginia 29
tending to ameliorate the condition of Europe, and as having extended the blessings of civil and religious liberty, human- ity must drop a tear of regret, that it has likewise forced the natives of the new, and the inhabitants of the old, to drink so deeply from the cup of bitterness.
"The cruelties which have been exercised on the Aboir- gines of America, the wrong and outrage heaped on them from the days of Montezuma and Guatimozin to the present period, while they excite sympathy for their sufferings, should extenuate, if not justify, the bloody deeds which re- venge prompted the untutored savages to commit. Driven as they were from the lands of which they were the rightful proprietors — yielding to encroachments 'til forced to appre- hend their utter annihilation, witnessing the destruction of their villages, the prostration of their towns, and sacking of cities adorned with splendid magnificence — who can feel sur- prised at any attempt which they might make to rid the country of its invaders?
"Who but must applaud the spirit which prompted them, when they beheld their prince a captive, the blood of their nobles staining the earth with its crimson dye, and the gods of their adoration scoffed and derided, to aim at the destruc- tion of their oppressors?
"When Mexico, 'with her tiara of proud towers,' became the theatre in which foreigners were to revel in rapine and in murder, who can be astonished that the valley of Atumba resounded with the cry of 'Victory or Death'? And yet, resistance on their part served as a pretext for a war of exter- mination, waged too with a ferocity from the recollection of which the human mind involuntarily revolts, and with a suc- cess which has forever blotted from the book of national existence once powerful and happy tribes."
CHAPTER IV.
THE FOUNDING OF VIRGINIA.
As a biographical sketch would be incomplete without, at least, a brief reference to the parents of the subject, so would the history of Vv^est Virginia be incomplete without giving at least a brief outline of the history of the Mother State — Virginia.
On the 10th of April, 1606, King James I granted to the "Virginia Company of London", a corporation composed of men of his kingdom, "Letters Patent or License to make habitation, plantation, and to deduce a colony of sundry of our people into that part of America, commonly called Virginia, . . . and do therefore, for us, our heirs, and successors, grant and agree, that Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Richard Hackluyt, and Edward-Maria Wing- field, adventurers of and for our City of London, and all such others as are, or shall be joined unto them of that colony, shall be called the First Colony ; and they may begin their said first plantation and habitation at any place upon said coast of Virginia, or America, where they shall think fit and convenient, between the four and thirty and one and forty degrees of latitude ; and they shall have all lands . . from the said first seat of their plantation and habitation by the space of fifty miles of English statute measure, all along the said coast of Virginia, or America, towards the west and southwest as the coast lyeth, with all the islands within one hundred miles, directly over against the sea coast from the said place of the first plantation and habitation for the space of fifty like English miles, all alongst the said coast of Virginia and America, towards the east and northeast, or towards the north as the coast lyeth, together with all the islands within one hundred miles directly over against the said sea coast . . . from the same, fifty miles every way, on the sea coast, directty into the main land by the
History of West Virginia 31
space of one hundred like English miles; and shall and may inhabit and remain there ; and shall and may also build and fortify within any the same, for the better safeguard and de- fense according to their better discretion".
(Henning's "Statutes at Large, Vol. I., pp. 57, 58.) What is now West Virginia was not included in the above; but this was afterwards done by the sixth section of second Charter granted to the Virginia Company of London, bearing date May 23, 1609, when the boundary of the Virginia Colony was so enlarged as to include "all those lands, coun- tries, and territories situate, lying, and being, in that part of America called Virginia, from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort, all along the sea coast to the northward two hundred miles ; and from the said point of Cape Comfort, all along the sea coast to the southward two hundred miles, and all that space and circuit of land, lying from the sea coast of the precinct aforesaid, up into the land throughout from sea to sea west and northwest", — that was, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. The zone within this grant being four hundred miles wide, of course included the present State of West Virginia.
(Henning's "Statutes at Large" of Virginia, Vol. I, p. 88.)
The Virginia Company of London had as the object of its creation the founding of an English Colony on the Atlantic coast of Virginia. Three small vessels, no one of which would now be thought worthy to attempt the passage of the Atlantic, were secured by the company, and lay at anchor on the Thames, at Blackwell, in Middlesex county, three miles above London. They were the "Susan Constant", of one hundred and twenty tons burden, commanded by Captain Christopher Newport; the "Godspeed", of forty tons. Captain Bartholo- mew Gosnold ; and the "Discovery", a pinnace of twenty tons. The little fleet left Blackwell, December 6th, 1606, having on board colonists to the number of one hundred and seven, who bade adieu to the shores of the Old World, to find a home in the wilds of the New. January 1, 1607, buffeted by con- trary winds, the vessels cast anchor at the "DoAvns". on the south coast of England, where they were detained for six weeks. Then the storms abated, and again the sails were
32 History of West Virginia
spread and the little fleet stood out to sea. On April 26th, the entrance to Chesapeake Bay was reached, and to the points on either side the colonists gave the names of Charles and Henry, in honor of the sons of King James. Further within the bay, upon another projection, they bestowed the name of Point Comfort, because of the comfortable anchorage they found there. Then Captain Newport, the acting admiral of the little fleet, steered the vessels up a majestic river, which they called the James, in honor of their beloved sovereign. The voyage was continued for fifty miles, when a landing was made on the north bank, where, on the 13th day of May, 1607, these Middlesex county men laid the foundation of Jamestown, the OLDEST PERMANENT ENGLISH SET- TLEMENT IN NORTH AMERICA. Hers, on the banks of the James, had landed the men who were destined to light a lamp of liberty which all the tyranny of after ages could not extinguish. It was here that representatives, elected by the people of eleven boroughs, assembled, and on the 30th day of June, 1619, organized the House of Burgesses — the first representative legislative body in the New World. •
From Jamestown, as the population was increased by the arrival of colonists from over-sea, the settlements werg made at other points along the great river ; whence they spread, as the years sped b}^, over the Tide-Water Region, and thence into the Piedmont Region, even to the eastern base of the Blue Ridge. So rapidly did the population in- crease that in 1671 — but sixty-four years after the settlement at Jamestown — there were forty thousand English-speaking people in Virginia. (West Va. Archives and History.)
The instructions for the colony that settled at James- town in 1607 had been placed by. the king in a sealed box, on opening which it was found that seven men were appointed a governing council, among them Gosnold, Newport, and the celebrated Captain John Smith, who was a member of the expedition. Most of the colony were gentlemen who hoped to find gold at once and make their fortune, and no attempt at agriculture was made. A terrible summer followed. The position chosen for security against the Indians proved un- healthful, and more than half the colony was swept away by
History of West Virginia 33
a pestilence. Only the friendly aid of the Indians saved the rest from death by starvation. Meanwhile, Captain Smith was prevented from taking his place in the council by the action of his enemies, and was arrested on false accusations. For several months he lay under a cloud. But, boldly defying the malice of his enemies, he cleared himself of their charges and resumed his place in the council. By the autumn the sole control of the colony fell into the hands of Smith, the presi- dent finding the duty beyond his ability. The behavior of Smith in this capacity is well told in Campbell's "History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion in Virginia", from which we extract some passages, with the caution to the reader that the story of Smith's adventures among the Indians is told by himself, and that his reputation for veracity is not a high one. At the approach of winter the rivers of Virginia abounded with wild fowl, and the English now were well supplied with bread, peas, persimmons, fish, and game. But this plenty did not last long, for what Smith carefully provided the colonists carelessly wasted. The idlers at Jamestown, including some of the council, now began to mutter complaints against Smith for not having discovered the source of the Chickahominy, it being supposed that the South Sea, or Pacific Ocean, lay not far distant, and that a communication with it would be found by some river running from the northwest. The Chicka- hominy flowed in that direction, and hence the solicitude of these Jamestown cosmographers to trace that river to its head. To allay this dissatisfaction of the council, Smith made another voyage up that river, and proceeded until it became necessary, in order to pass, to cut away a large tree which had fallen across the stream. When at last Me barge could advance no farther, he returned eight miles and moored her in a wide bay out of danger, and leaving orders to his men not to venture on shore until his return, accompanied by two of his men and two Indian guides, and leaving seven men in the barge, he went still higher up in a canoe to the distance of twenty miles. In a short time after he had parted from the barge the men left in her went ashore, and one of them, George Cassen, was surprised and killed. Smith, in the mean- time, not suspecting this disaster, reached the marshy ground
34 History of West Virginia
towards the head of the river, "the slashes", and went out with his gun to provide food for the party, and took with him one of the Indians. During his excursion his two men, Robinson and Emry, were slain, and he himself was attacked by a number of Indians, two of whom he killed with a pistol. He protected himself from their arrows by making a shield of his guide, binding him fast by the arm with one of his garters. Many arrows pierced his clothes, and some slightly wounded him. Endeavoring to reach the canoe, and walking backward with his eyes still fixed on his pursuers, he sank to his waist in an oozy creek, and his savage with him. Never- theless, the Indians were afraid to approach until, being now half dead with cold, he threw away his arms, when they drew him forth, and led him to the fire where his two companions were lying dead. Here the Indians chafed his limbs, and, having restored the vital heat. Smith inquired for their chief, and they pointed him to Opechancanough, the great chief of Pamaunkee. Smith presented him a mariner's compass ; the vibrations of the mysterious needle astonished the untutored sons of the forest. In a short time they bound the prisoner to a tree, and were about to slay him, when Opechancanough holding up the compass, they all laid down their bows and arrows. Then marching in Indian file, they led the captive, guarded by fifteen men, about six miles, to Orapakes, a hunt- ing tov/n in the upper part of the Chickahominy swamp, and about twelve miles northeast from the falls of James River (Richmond). At this town, consisting of thirty or forty houses, built like arbors and covered with mats, the Women and children came forth to meet them, staring in amazement at Smith. Opechancanough and his followers performed their military exercises, and joined the war dance. Smith was confined in a long house under a guard, and an enormous quantity of bread and venison was set before him, as if to fatten him for sacrifice, or because they supposed that a superior being required a proportionately larger supply of food. An Indian who had received some toys from Smith at Jamestown now, in turn, brought him a warm garment of fur — a pleasing instance of gratitude, a sentiment often found even in the breast of a savage. Another Indian, whose son
History of West Virginia 35
had been mortally wounded by Smith, made an attempt to kill him in revenge, and was only prevented by the intercep- tion of his guards.
(Smith then sent a written message to Jamestown, and received a reply, the Indians being astonished on perceiving that "paper could talk". The captive was next taken to Pamaunkee, the residence of the chief.)
Finally, the captive was taken to Werowocomoco, proba- bly signifying chief place of council, a favorite seat of Pow- hatan, on the York river, then called the Pamaunkee or Pamunkey. They found the chief in his rude palace, reclining before the fire, on a sort of throne, resembling a bedstead, covered with mats, his head adorned with feathers and his neck with beads, and wearing a long robe of raccoon-skins. At his head sat a young female, and another at his feet; while on each side of the wigwam sat men in rows, on mats, and behind them as many young women, their heads and shoul- ders painted red, some with their heads decorated with the snowy down of birds, and all with strings of white beads falling over their shoulders. On Smith's entrance they all raised a terrific yell. The queen of Appomattock brought him water to wash, and another a bunch of feathers for a towel. After feasting him, a long consultation was held. That ended, two large stones were brought, and the one laid upon the other, before Powhatan ; then as many as could lay hold, seizing Smith, dragged him to the stones, and, laying his head on them, snatched up their war clubs, and, brandishing them in the air, were about to slay him, when Pocahontas, Powhatan's favorite daughter, a girl of only twelve or thirteen years of age, finding all her entreaties unavailing, i\e\v, and, at the hazard of her life, clasped the captive's head in her arms, and laid her own upon his. The stern heart of Powhatan was touched ; he relented, and con- sented that Smith might live. Two days afterwards Smith was permitted by Powhatan to return to Jamestown, on con- dition of sending him two great guns and a grindstone.
Smith now treated his Indian guides kindly, atid, show- ing Rawhunt, a favorite servant of Powhatan, two pieces of
36 History of West Virginia
cannon and a grindstone, gave him leave to carry them home to his master.
At the time of Smith's return to Jamestown, he found the number of the colonists reduced to forty. Of the one hundred original settlers, seventy-eight are classified as fol- lows : fifty-four gentlemen, four carpenters, twelve laborers, a blacksmith, a sailor, a barber, a bricklayer, a mason, a tailor, a drummer, and a "chirurgeon".
Of the "gentlemen", the greater part were indolent, disso- lute reprobates, of good families ; and they found themselves not in a golden El Dorado, as they had fondly anticipated, but in a remote wilderness, encompassed by want, exposure, fatigue, disease, and danger.
The arrival of Newport at this time with stores and a number of additional settlers, being part of the first supply sent out from England by the treasurer and council, was joy- fully welcomed.
Pocahontas, with her tawney train of attendants, fre- quently visited Jamestown with presents of bread and venison and raccoons, sent by Powhatan for Smith and Newport. However, the improvident traffic allowed between Newport's mariners and the natives soon extremely enhanced the price of provisions, and the too protracted detention of his vessel made great inroads upon the public store.
(The events described were followed by a visit to Pow- hatan, and the accidental burning of Jamestown, which took place on their return. Other troubles succeeded.)
The stock of provisions running low, the colonists at Jamestown were reduced to a diet of meal and water, and this, together with their exposure to cold after the loss of their habitations, cut off upwards of one-half of them. Their condition was made still worse by a rage for gold that now seized them. ''There was no talk, no hope, no work, but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold." Smith, not indulging in these empty dreams of imaginary wealth, laughed at their infatuation in loading "such a drunken ship with gilded dust".
Captain Newport, after a delay of three months and a half, being now ready to sail for England, the planters, having
History of West Virginia 37
no use for parliaments, place^, petitions, admirals, recorders, interpreters, chronologers, courts of plea, nor justices of the peace, sent Master Wingfield and Captain- Archer home with him, so that they, who had engrossed all those titles to them- selves, might seek some better place of employment. New- port carried with him twenty turkeys, which had been pre- sented to him by Powhatan, who had demanded and received twenty swords in return for them. This fowl, peculiar to America, had been many years before carried to England by some of the early discoverers of North America.
After Newport's departure, Ratcliffe, the president, lived in ease, peculating on the public store. The spring now approaching. Smith and Scrivener undertook to rebuild Jamestown, repair the palisades, fell trees, prepare the fields, plant, and erect another church. While thus engaged they were joyfully surprised by the arrival of the Phoenix, com- manded by Captain Nelson, who had left England with Newport about the end of the year 1607, and, after coming within sight of Cape Henry, had been driven off to the West Indies. He brought with him the remainder of the first sup- ply, which comprised one hundred and twenty settlers. Having found provisions in the West Indies, and having economically husbanded his own, he imparted them gener- ously to the colony, so that now there was accumulated a store sufficient for half a year.
Pocahontas, in beauty of feature, expression, and form, far surpassed any of the other natives, and in intelligence and spirit "was the nonpareil of her country". Powhatan, hearing that some of his people were kept prisoners at Jamestown, (some of the Indians having been locked up by Smith for some attempted theft), sent her, with Rawhunt (who was as remarkable for his personal deformity, but shrewd and crafty), with presents of a deer and some bread, to sue for their ransom. Smith released the prisoners, and Pocahontas was dismissed with presents. Thus the scheme of Powhatan to destroy the English with their own swords was happily frustrated.
(On the 2nd of June, 1608, vSmith left Jamestown with the purpose of exploring Chesapeake Bay. During this jour-
38 History of West Virginia'
ney he discovered the Potomac and sailed up it to the head of navigation. He continued his explorations, and during the summer, "with a few men, in a small barge, in his several voyages of discovery he traversed a distance of not less than three thousand miles". In September, 1608, he accepted the office of president, which he had formerly declined.)
Smith, the president, now set the colonists to work; some to make glass, others to prepare tar, pitch, and soap-ashes; while he, in person, conducted thirty of them five miles below the fort to cut down trees and saw plank. Two of this lumber party happened to be young gentlemen who had arrived in the last supply. Smith sharing labor and hardship in common with the rest, these woodmen, at first, became apparently reconciled to the novel task, and seemed to listen with pleas- ure to the crashing thunder of the falling trees ; but when the axes began to blister their unaccustomed hands, they grew profane, and their frequent loud oaths echoed in the woods. Smith, taking measures to have the oaths of each one num- bered, in the evening, for each offence, poured a can of water down the offender's sleeve ; and this curious discipline, or water cure, was so effectual that after it was administered an oath would scarcely be heard in a week. Smith found that thirty or forty gentlemen who volunteered to work could do more in a day than one hundred that worked by compulsion ; but, he adds, that twenty good workmen would have been better than the whole of them put together.
(Further troubles with the Indians succeeded, and only the energy of the governor defeated the murderous schemes of Opechancanough.)
At Jamestown the provisions at the public store had been spoiled by exposure to the rain of the previous summer, or eaten by rats and worms. The colonists had been living there in indolence, and a large part of their implements and arms had been trafficked away to the Indians. Smith under- took to remedy these disorders by discipline and labor, re- lieved by pastimes and recreations ; and he established it as a rule that he who would not work should not eat. The whole government of the colony was noAv, in effect, devolved upon him. Captain Wynne being the only other surviving coun-
History of West Virginia 39
cillor, and the president having two votes. Shortly after Smith's return from a hunting trip, he met the chief of Paspahegh near Jamestown, and had a recontre with him. This athletic savage attempting to shoot him, he closed and grappled, when, by main strength, the chief forced him into the river to drown him. They struggled long in the water, until Smith, grasping the savage by the throat, well nigh strangled him, and, drawing his sword, was about to cut off his head, when he begged for his life so piteously that Smith spared him, and led him prisoner to Jamestown, where he put him in chains. He was daily visited by his wives and children, and people who brought presents to ransom him. At last he made his escape. Captain Wynne and Lieutenant Percy were dispatched, with a party of fifty, to recapture him, failing in which they burned the chief's cabin and carried away his canoes. Smith now going out to "try his conclu- sions with the savages", slew some and made some prisoners, burned their cabins, and took their canoes and fishing-weirs. Shortly afterwards the president, passing through Paspahegh on his way to the Chickahominy, was assaulted by the Indians ; but, upon his firing, and their discovering who he was, they threw down their arms and sued for peace. Kaning, a young warrior, who spoke in their behalf, in justi- fying the escape of their chief from imprisonment at James- town, said, "The fishes swim, the fowls fly, and the very beasts strive to escape the snare, and live." Smith's vigorous meas- ures, together with some accidental circumstances, so dis- mayed the savages that from this time to the end of his administration they gave no fvirther trouble.
(In 1609 an addition to the colony of five hundred men and women was sent out, Avith stores and provisions, in a fleet of nine vessels.)
Upon the appearance of this fleet near Jamestown, Smith, not expecting such a supply, took them to be Spaniards, and prepared to encounter them, and the Indians readily offered their assistance. The colony had already, before the arrival of the fleet, been threatened with anarchy, owing to intelli- gence of the premature repeal of the charter, brought out by Captain Argall, and the new settlers had now no sooner
40 History of West Virginia
landed than they gave rise to new confusion and disorder. The factious leaders, although they brought no commissions with them, insisted on the abrogation of the existing charter, rejected the authority of Smith, whom they hated and feared, and undertook to usurp the government. ' Their capricious folly equalled their insolence ; to-day the old commission must rule, to-morrow the new, the next day neither, — thus, by continual change, plunging all things into anarchy.
Smith, filled with disgust, would cheertully have em- barked for England, but, seeing little prospect of the arrival of the new commission (which was in the possession of Gates on the island of Bermuda), he resolved to put an end to the incessant plots and machinations. The ringleaders, Ratcliffe, Archer, and others, he arrested ; to cut off another source of disturbance, he gave permission to Percy, who was in feeble health, to embark for England, of which, however, he did not avail himself. West, with one hundred and twenty picked men, was detached to the falls of James river, and Martin, with nearly the same number, to Nansemond. Smith's presi- dency having expired about this time, he was succeeded by Martin, who, conscious of his incompetency, immediately re- signed it to Smith. Martin, at Nansemond, seized the chief and, capturing the town, occupied it with his detachment ; but, owing to the want of judgment or of vigilance, he suf- fered himself to be surprised by the savages, who slew many of his party, rescued the chief, and carried off their corn. Martin not long after returned to Jamestown, leaving his de- tachment to shift for themselves.
Smith, going up the river to West's settlement at the falls, found the English planted in a place not only subject to the river's inundation, but "surrounded by many intolerable inconveniences". To remedy these, by a messenger he pro- posed to purchase from Powhatan his seat of that name, a little lower down the river. The settlers scornfully rejected the scheme, and became so mutinous that Smith landed among them and arrested the chief malcontents. But, overpowered by numbers, being supported by only five men, he was forced to retire on board of a vessel lying in the river. The Indians daily supplied him with provisions, in requital for which the
History of West Virginia 41
English plundered their corn, robbed their cultivated ground, beat them, broke into their cabins, and made them prisoners. They complained to Captain Smith that the men whom he had sent there as their protectors "were worse than their old enemies, the Monacans". Smith, embarking, had no sooner set sail for Jamestown than many of West's party were slain by the savages.
It so happened that before Smith's vessel had dropped a mile and a half down the river she ran aground, whereupon, making a virtue of necessity, he summoned the mutineers to a parley, and they, now seized with a panic on account of the assault of a mere handful of Indians, submitted themselves to his mercy. He again arrested the ringleaders, and established the rest of the party at Powhatan, in the Indian palisade fort, which was so well fortified by poles and logs as to defy all the savages in Virginia. Dry cabins were found there, and nearly two hundred acres of ground ready to be planted, and it was called Nonsuch, as being at once the strongest and most delightful place in the country. Nonsuch was the name of a royal residence in England.
When Smith was now on the eve of his departure, the arrival of West again threw all things back into confusion. Nonsuch was abandoned, and all hands returned to the Falls, and Smith, finding all his efforts abortive, embarked in a boat for Jamestown. During the voyage he was terribly wounded, while asleep, by the accidental explosion of a bag of gun- powder, and in the paroxysm of pain he leaped into the river, and was nearly drowned before he could be rescued. Arriving at Jamestown in this helpless condition, he was again assailed by faction and mutiny, and one of his enemies even presented a cocked pistol at him in his bed ; but the hand wanted the nerve to execute what the heart was base enough to design.
Ratcliffe, Archer, and their confederates laid plans to usurp the government of the colony, whereupon Smith's faith- ful soldiers, fired with indignation at conduct so infamous, begged for permission to strike off their heads; but this he refused. He refused also to surrender the presidency to Percy. For this wSmith is censured by the historian Stith, although he knew that Pcrcv was in too feeble health to control a mu-
42 History of West Virginia
tinous colony. Anarchy being triumphant, Smith probably deemed it useless to appoint a governor over a mob. He at last, about Michaelmas, 1609, embarked for England, after a stay of a little more than two years in Virginia, to which he never returned. Here, then, closes the career of Captain John Smith in Virginia, "the father of the colony," and a hero, like Bayard, "without fear and without reproach."
Soon after Smith's departure, Sir Thomas Gates arrived, but without supplies, and as the only escape from starvation he took the surviving colonists on his ships and set sail for Newfoundland, Fortunately when they reached the mouth of the river they met Lord Delaware, who had been sent out as governor of the colony, with supplies and emigrants. The colonists were induced to return, and order and contentment were soon regained under the wise management of the new governor. Shortly afterwards seven hundred more men arrived, and the land, which had been held in common, was divided among the colonists, much to the advancement of agriculture. In 1613 occurred the marriage of John Rolfe, a young Englishman, with Pocahontas, the daughter of Pow- hatan, an event which improved the relations between the colonists and the Indians. Pocahontas was taken to England in 1616, and died in 1617, leaving one son, from whom de- scended some of the most respectable families in Virginia. In 1613 Captain Argall sailed from Virginia for the purpose of protecting the English fishermen on the coast of Maine. He broke up a settlement which the French had made on Mt. Desert Island, near the Penobscot, reduced the French settlement at Port Royal, in Acadia, and entered the harbor of New York, where he compelled the Dutch traders to acknowledge the sovereignty of England. The effect of the last two operations, however, continued only till the dis- appearance of his ship. In 1615 the colonists went eagerly into tobacco culture, which soon became a mania; the culture of corn and other grain being so neglected as to threaten renewed scarcity. In 1617 it is said that the yards, the mar- ket square, and the very streets of Jamestown were full of the plants of the new article of commerce, to which the soil and climate of Virginia proved well adapted. In 1617 Captain
History of West Virginia 43
Argall was made governor, and at once established a system of strict military rule which, in time, became almost a reign of terror. He was removed in 1619, and Sir George Yeardly sent out, under whose administration the colony flourished. In 1619 a representative body was organized, antl met in Jamestown, where it adopted a colonial constitution. I'his was the first legislative action in America, and the first stej) towards American liberty.
In the following year (1620) the germ of a civil war was inoculated into the Virginians by a Dutch man-of-war sailing up the James and landing twenty negroes, who were "quickly sold to the colonists". At about the same time "a happier introduction than this of African slavery was eft'ected, in the sending over of ninety young (white) women, who were sold to the colonists — as wives; the price paid for each being one hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco. Sixty others were soon after sent, and the price rose to one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco".
But the Virginians were now to pass through a danger as threatening as that of the "starving time". The death of Powhatan had removed their best friend among the Indians. The rapid increase of the colonists, and the spread of their settlements, alarmed the savages, who, in 1622, formed a con- spiracy to destro}^ the whole colony. The story of this thrill- ing event is taken from Howe's "History of Virginia".
Since the marriage of Pocahontas with John Rolfe, the Indians had preserved the most peaceful relations with the settlers, and hopes were entertained that permanent friendship would be established between them. The dominion of Pow- hatan had descended to his brother Opitchapan, a feeble and decrepit chieftain, who was neither dreaded by the whites nor respected by his own subjects. But there was one mind among the natives which now exercised all the sway of superior genius and courage. Opechancanough has hereto- fore been mentioned. It is doubtful whether he was in any manner related to Powhatan, though he is often spoken of as his brother. Among the Indians and some of the whites pre- vailed a belief that he came from a tribe far in the southwest, perhaps from the interior of Mexico. But in talents and influ-
44 History of West Virginia
ence he was now the ruhng power among the savages. Pro- found in dissimulation, cruel by nature and habit, patient of suffering, skilled in every species of treachery, and possessed of a ready eloquence, always at his command, he soon gained over the minds of his inferiors an ascendency as resistless as it was dangerous.
The English became careless and unsuspecting. Believ- ing the natives to be their friends, they admitted them freely to their houses, sometimes supplied them with arms, employed them in hunting and fishing for their families, and in all respects treated them as faithful allies. As habits of industry and steady labor gained ground, the colonists relaxed their martial discipline. The plough was a more useful implement than the musket, and the' sword had given place to the hoe and pickaxe. Seduced by the present tranquillity, and by the fertile soil found in belts of land upon all the rivers running into the bay, they had extended their settlements until they were now nearly eighty in number and spread m scattered plantations over a space of several hundred miles. They were lulled into complete security by the demeanor of the natives, and those who were most zealous for religion were beginning to hope that the seeds of the truth were taking root in many untutored minds, and would, after a season, produce fruits of joy and peace. Some were not thus sanguine ; and among those who looked with suspicion upon the Indians we mark the name of Jonas Stockam, a minister, who has left on record an open acknowledgment of his distrust. His strong com- mon sense, his knowledge of human nature, and his observa- tions upon the natives around him, all confirmed his belief that they were yet highly dangerous, and that until their priests and "ancients" were destroyed no hope of their con- version need be entertained. But his warnings, and slight proofs of enmity in the savages, were alike disregarded. The colonists remained immersed in unruffled security.
In the meantime Opechancanough was preparing the actors in his infernal drama. Either in person or by his emis- saries, he visited all the tribes composing the confederacy over which Powhatan had held dominion. He roused them to revenge ; represented their wrongs ; wrought their passions
History of West Virginia 45
to intensity by mingled promises of blood and of rapine ; pointed to the defenceless state of the colonists, and estab- lished a complete organization for the work of death. The savages of Virginia were now embodied for their fatal pur- pose, and awaited but the signal from their leader to fall upon the unsuspecting colonists.
On Friday, the 22d day of March, 1622, the tragedy began. So perfect was the confidence of the settlers that they loaned the savages their boats to cross the river for their deadly purpose ; many of them even came in to take the morning meal with the whites, and brought deer, turkeys, fish, and fruits, which they offered for sale in the usual manner. But at mid-day the scene of blood was opened. Instantly, and as if by magic, the savages appeared at every point, and fell upon their victims with the weapons which first presented them- selves. Neither age nor sex was spared. The tender infant was snatched from the mother to be butchered before her eyes ; wives were left weltering in blood in the presence of their husbands ; men, helpless from age, or wholly without defense, were stricken down ere they could see the foe who assailed them. In one morning three hundred and forty-nine settlers were slain upon the several plantations. The mur- derers were lashed into frenzied excitement by their own passions ; and, not content with the work of death, they mutilated the corpses in a manner so revolting that the orig- inal recorders of this massacre shrink from the task of de- scribing them.
It is remarkable that wherever resistance was made to these fiends it was entirely successful. Too cruel to be brave, they fled from the first vigorous onset; and had the colonists received one hour's warning, no life would have been lost that was not dearly atoned for. An old soldier who had served under Smith, although surrounded by Indians and severely wounded, clove the skull of one assailant ^\'ith a single stroke of an axe, and the rest instantly took to flight. A Mr. Baldwin, whose wife was lyinit^ before his eyes profusely bleeding from many wounds, by one well-directed discharge drove a crowd of murderers from his house. Several small parties of settlers obtained a few muskets from a ship that
46 History of West Virginia
happened to be lying in a stream near the plantations, and with these they routed the savages in every direction and dis- persed them in great confusion.
(Jamestown was saved through information given by a young Indian convert. Preparations for defence were hastily made, and the savages did not venture an assault.)
The immediate effects of this blow upon the colony were most disastrous. Horror and consternation pervaded every mind ; nearly one-fourth of their whole number had, in a single hour, been stricken down. The rest weie hastily drawn together around Jamestov/n. Distant plantations were aban- doned, and in a short time eighty settlements were reduced to six. Some few bold spirits (and among them a woman) re- fused to obey the order, and remained in their country seats, among their servants, mounting cannon at weak points, and preparing to meet the treacherous foe with becoming courage. But they were compelled by law to abandon their stronghold and to unite their resources in the common fund. A terrible reaction in the feelings of the colonists immediately took place. A war ensued, in which the fiercest impulses that man can feel were called into being. No truce was ever declared. The Indians were shot down wherever overtaken. When seed time approached, hostilities declined from absolute ne- cessity. The colonists looked upon the Indians as their hereditary foes, and the unhappy natives never spoke of the "long knives" without fear and execration.
(During the immediately succeeding period no events of any marked importance occurred in Virginia. In 1624 the London Company was dissolved, and Virginia became a ROYAL GOVERNMENT. But the rights of trial by jury and of a representative Assembly, M^hich had been granted by the company, were retained, and all succeeding colonies claimed the same, so that from the formation of the colonial Assembly of Virginia we may date the beginning of the EVOLUTION of American liberty. In 1643 another Indian massacre took place, instigated by the same implacable chief.)
The Indians were now inveterate enemies. Peace was never thought of. Successive enactments of the Assembly made it a solemn duty to fall upon the natives at stated
History of West Virginia 47
periods of the year, and heavy penalties were visited upon all who traded with them or in any way provided them with arms and ammunition. The whites were steadily increasing both in moral and physical strength ; the Indians were rapidly wasting away before the breath of civilization. A few incur- sions,— a few convulsive efforts, always attended by heavy loss to themselves, — one final struggle, — these will complete their history in eastern Virginia.
The illegal grants favored by Sir John Hervey had pro- voked the natives into active hostility. They saw their hunting grounds successfully swept away by a power which they were unable to resist, and all the passions of the savage arose to demand revenge. Among the natives there still lived a hero who had proved himself a formidable adversary even when encountered by European skill. Opechancanough had attained the hundredth year of his life; declining years had bowed a form once eminent in stature and manly strength. Incessant toil and watchfulness had wasted his flesh and left him gaunt and withered, like the forest-tree stripped of its foliage by the frosts of winter. His eyes had l^JSt their bright- ness, and so heavily did the hand of age press upon him that his eyelids drooped from weakness and he required the aid of an attendant to raise them that he might see objects around him. Yet within this tottering and wasted body burned a soul which seemed to have lost none of its original energy. A quenchless fire incited him to hostility against the settlers. He yet wielded great influence among the members of the Powhatan confederacy; and by his wisdom, his example, and the veneration felt for his age, he aroused the savages to another effort at general massacre.
The obscurity concerning the best records which remain of this period has rendered doubtful the precise time at which this fatal irruption occurred ; yet the most probable period would sceni to be the close of the year 1643. The Indians were drawn together with great secrecy and skill, and were instructed to fall upon the colonists at the same time, and to spare none who could be safely butchered. Five hundred victims sank beneath their attack. The a5:sault was most violent and fatal upon the upper waters of tlie Pamunkey and
48 History of West Virginia
the York, where the settlers were yet thin in number and but imperfectly armed. But in every place where resistance was possible the savages were routed with loss, and driven back in dismay to their fastnesses in the forest.
Sir William Berkeley instantly placed himself at the head of a chosen body, composed of every twentieth man able to bear arms, and marched to the scene of devastation. Finding the savages dispersed, and all organized resistance at an end, he followed them with a troop of cavalry.'
The aged chief had taken refuge in the neighborhood of his seat at Pamunkey ; his strength was too much enfeebled for vigorous flight ; his limbs refused to bear him, and his dull vision rendered him easy prey. He was overtaken by the pursuers, and carried in triumph back to Jamestown.
Finding the very soul of Indian enmity now within his power, the governor had determined to send him to England as a royal captive, to be detained in honorable custody until death should close his earthly career. But a death of violence awaited him. A brutal wretch, urged on by desire to revenge injuries to the whites which had long been forgotten, advanced with his musket behind the unhappy chieftain and shot him through the back. '
The wound once given was mortal. Opechancanough lin- gered a few days in agony; yet to the last moment of his life he retained his majesty and sternness of demeanor. A crowd of idle beings collected around him to sate their unfeeling curiosity with a view of his person and his conduct. Hearing the noise, the dying 'Indian feebly motioned to his attendants to raise his eyelids, that he might learn the cause of this tumult. A flash of wounded pride and of just indignation, for a moment, revived his waning strength. He sent for the gov- ernor, and addressed to him that keen reproa*-!:! which has so well, merited preservation: "Had I taken Sir William Berke- ley prisoner, I would not have exposed him as a show to my people." In a short time he expired.
After the death of this warrior, the ce]>>ibrated confed- eracy of Powhatan was immediately dissolved. It was with- out a head, and the members fell away and speedily lost all tendency to cohesion. The Indians had learned, by fatal
History of West Virginia 49
experience, that they contended in vain with the whites. They have faded away and gradually disappeared, never more to return. *********
Captain John Smith was born in England in 1579, and was therefore only twenty-eight years of age when he em- barked with Gosnold. Yet he had already fought in the Netherlands, starved in France, and been made a galley- slave by the Moslem. He had been shipwrecked at one time, thrown overboard at another, and robbed at a third. Thrice had he met and slain Turkish champions in the lists; and he had traversed the steppes of Russia with only a handful of grain for food. He was not a man of university education ; the only schooling he had had was in the free schools of Alford and Louth, before his fifteenth year; his father was a tenant farmer in Lincolnshire, and though John was appren- ticed to a trade, he ran away while a mere stripling, and shifted for himself ever after. An adventurer, therefore, in the fullest sense of the word, he was. . . . But there was sterling pith in him, a dauntless and humane soul, and inexhaustible ability and resource. Such a man could not fail to possess imagination, and imagination and self-esteem combined conduce to highly-colored narrative; but that Smith was a liar is an unwarranted assumption, which will not be tolerated here. . . . While Smith never again returned to Jamestown, he in 1614 once more sailed westward with two ships on a trading and exploring enterprise, which was successful. He examined and mapped the northern coast, already seen by Gosnold, and bestowed upon the country the name of New England. ... He took his map and his description of New England and personally canvassed all likely persons with a view to fitting out a new expedition. In 1617, aided perhaps by the interest which Pocahontas had aroused in London, he was promised a fleet of twenty vessels, and the title of Admiral of New England was bestowed upon him. Admiral he remained till his death ; but the fleet he Avas to command never put forth to sea. A ship more famous than any he had captained was to sail for New England in 1620, and land the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. Smith's career
50 History of West Virginia
was over, though he was but thirty-eight years old, and had fifteen years of Ufe still before him. He died in London in 1632.
Pocahontas's life had vicissitudes such as seldom befell an Indian maiden. Some time between the Smith episode of 1607, and the year 1612, she married one of her father's tribu- tary chiefs, and went to live with him on his reservation. There she was in some manner kidnapped by one Samuel Argall, and held for ransom. The ransom was paid, but Pocahontas was not sent back;. and the following year she was married to John Rolfe, a Jamestown colonist, and bap- tised as Rebecca. He took her to London, where she was a nine days' wonder; and they had a son, whose blood still flows in not a few American veins today. If she was ten years old in 1607, she must have been no more than twenty at the time of her death in Gravesend, near London. But her place in American history is secure, as well as in the hearts of all good Americans. She was the heroine of the first American romance; and she is said to have been as beautiful as all heroines should rightly be. (Julian Hawthorne.)
Much more will be said about Virginia in future chapters, but we will bid adieu to many of the characters who have figured so prominently in the early history of our country. Peace be to their ashes, and may their souls be now partaking of the Eternal Happiness that knows neither sorrow, strife nor death.
CHAPTER V.
EXPLORATION AND EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN
WEST VIRGINIA.
As stated elsewhere, West Virginia was embraced in the second charter granted to the Virginia Company of London, May 23rd, 1609. She was, therefore, a part of Virginia from 1609 to 1863 — a period of 254 years; and throughout this length of time they had one common interest in the literature of those States.
We have already recorded a few of the most important matters that occurred in Virginia previous to the events leading up to the French and Indian war. In this and future chapters, covering the period before the birth of West Vir- ginia, we shall consider, so far as her (West Virginia's) interests lie, the following events, in the order named : DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION, and EARLY SETTLE- MENTS in West Virginia; the FRENCH and INDIAN WAR; LORD DUNMORE'S WAR; the REVOLUTION- ARY WAR; the LATER INDIAN WARS; THE WHIS- KEY INSURRECTION, and THE WAR WITH MEXICO.
The first white people to traverse what is now West Virginia were hunters and trappers from the east and an occasional Indian trader from the upper country who came down the Ohio river to trade with the red men on the Ohio side. Our forests abounded with wild game and the streams teemed with fish. It was an ideal country for the sportsman. In traveling over the hills and mountains and up and down the valleys they could not but see the futurf possibilities of the country for farming and other kindred purposes. They also noted the value of the navigable streams for transpor- tation facilities, as well the beautiful sites for future towns and cities ; for these men, though woodsmen, were not blind to all these advantages, as results have long since proven. So when these men returned to civilization, they were not slow
52 History of West Virginia
to extol the wonderful country they had beheld in their travels beyond the mountains; and ere long small parties of the most adventurous persons commenced to wend their way o'er tortuous trails to the new El Dorado ; and in time our Little Mountain State became the home of the English, the German, the Welshman, the Irishman, and the Dutchman, "men representing the old Teutonic and Celtic peoples — men whose ancestors had helped to make history on the battle fields of Europe — some of them on that of Hastings. Trans- planted from the Old World to the New, their descendents — ■ those who became frontiersmen in western Virginia — lost none of the heroism, valor and bravery of their forefathers."
Previous to 1664 hardy pioneers had extended the domain of civilization even to the eastern base of the Blue Ridge ; but of the region beyond that "Rocky Barrier" nothing what- ever was known, for the most daring adventurer had not, as yet, penetrated its vast solitudes. But the exploration and. conquest of the wilderness was the mission of determined spirits, and the time was near at hand when white .men should traverse this hitherto unknown region and return to tell the story of its wonderful resources.
The following brief but comprehensive information rela- tive to the first explorations of western Virginia is taken from the Third Biennial Report State Department Arch, and Hist. W. Va. This will be followed by the names of some of the earliest settlers and their respective places of settle- ment, from the same source of information :
The first West Virginia river discovered by white men was called New River, its upper course having been discov- ered in 1641 by Walter Austin, Rice Hoe, Joseph Johnson, and Walter Chiles. It was a new river, one flowing north- west, in an opposite direction from those east of the moun- tains— hence the name New River. The Ohio river, which forms the western boundary of West Virginia, was discovered by Robert Cavalier La Salle — the most eminent French explorer of the New World. It was in the year 1663 that Europeans first heard of the Ohio river, and this information came from the Indians to Dallier, a French missionary in Canada. It was reported to be almost as large as the St.
History of West Virginia 53
Lawrence. This information inspired the adventurous spirit of La Salle with a desire to behold the great river. Accord- ingly, with Indian guides, he began his journey via Lake Onondagua, now in New York. In October, 1669, he reached the Allegheny river, which he descended to its confluence with the Monongahela, and thence continued down the Ohio as far as the Falls — now Louisville, Kentucky. He was the first European on the Ohio river, and the first that saw the western part of West Virginia.
It is probable that the first white men who saw any pari of the eastern portion of the State of West Virginia were those composing the party under John Lederer, a German explorer in the service of Sir William Berkeley, Colonial Governor of Virginia. In company with Captain Collett, nine Englishmen and five Indians, he, on August 30, 1670, set out from York River and proceeded by way of the Rappahannock, near the present city of Fredericksburg; thence to the mouth of the Rapidan River ; thence along the north side of the Rappahannock to the base of the Blue Ridge ; and thence to the summit of the mountain barrier, from which, at a point south of the present Harper's Ferry, the explorers looked down upon and across the Lower Shenandoah Valley — now included in the counties of Jefferson and Berkeley — a first view of the old part of West Virginia.
The first English-speaking men within the present limits of West Virginia were those composing the exploring expe- dition under Captain Thomas Batts. These, in addition to himself, were Robert Fallam, Thomas Wood, Jack Neasam, and Per-e-cu-te, the latter a great man of Appomattox Indians. The party, acting under authority of a commission granted fourteen years before by the House of Burgesses — the Colo- nial legislative body of Virginia — to Major Abraham Wood : "For ye finding out the ebbing and flowing of ye waters on ye other side the Mountains, in order to ye Discovery of ye South Sea," left Appomattox town, near the site of the pres- ent city of Petersburg, Virginia, on Friday, September 1, 1671, and toiling onward to the westward, crossed the' blue Ridge, thence over what is now known as Peter's Mountain , and thence through the present West Virginia counties of
54 History of West Virginia
Monroe, Summers and Fayette, until the 16th of September, when they "had a sight of a curious river like the Appo- mattox River in Virginia, and the Thames at Chelsea, in England, and broad as that river at Wapping, but it had a fall that made a great noise." The party had reached the Great Falls of the Great Kanawha river, distant ninety-six miles from the Ohio. Here, on the 17th, they took formal possession of the region and proclaimed the King in these words : "Long live King Charles ye 2d, King of England, Scotland, Ireland and Virginia, and all the territory thereunto belonging; Defender of ye Faith, etc." Guns were fired, and, with a pair of marking-irons, they marked trees; 1st, "C. R." (Charles Rex I), for his Sacred Majesty; 2d, "W. B.", for the Governor (Sir Wilham Berkeley) ; 3d, "A. W.", for Major Abraham Wood (promoter of the expedition) ; another for Per-e-cu-te (who said he would turn Englishman) ; and also another tree for each of the company. Then the homeward journey began and all arrived at the Falls of the Appomattox river on the first day of October, except Thomas Wood, who died on the expedieitn.
In 1716 Governor Alexander Spottswood resolved to learn more of the Mountain Region of West Virginia. He accordingly equipped a party of thirty horsemen, and, heading it in person, left Williamsburg, the Colonial Capital, June 20th, that year. Day after day the journey continued until the Blue Ridge was reached and crossed by ^way of Swift Run Gap. Descending to the river, now the Shenandoah, the party bestowed upon it the name "Euphrates". It was crossed and recrossed ; then a night was spent upon its banks; then the return journey began, and from the Blue Ridge the adventurers, looking westward, beheld in the distance the lofty peaks of the Great North Mountain, in what is now Pendleton county. West Virginia. On arriving at Williams- burg, the Governor established the "Trans-Montane Order or Knights of the Golden Horse-shoe," giving to each of those who accompanied him a miniature horse-shoe, some of whkh were set with valuable stones, and all bearing the ; iscription, "Sic juvat transcendere montes — rThus he swears to cross the mountains."
History of West Virginia 55
About the year 1725 John A'an Meter, a representative of an old Knickerbocker family early seated on the Hudson, traversed the valley of the South Branch of the Potomac — the Wap-pa-tom-i-ca of the Indians. He was an Indian trader, making his headquarters with the Delawares, on the Susquehanna. Thence he made journeys far to the south- ward, to trade with the Cherokees and Catawbas. It was he who first told the story of the wonderful fertility of the land in the Lower Shenandoah and South Branch Valleys.
First White Settlers in West Virginia.
The first white man to find a home in West Virginia was Morgan, Ap. Morgan, who in 1726 reared a cabin on the site of the present village of Bunker Hill in Mill Creek District, Berkeley County. The next year a number of Germans from the Valley of the Susquehanna in Pennsyl- vania crossed the Potomac at what has been known for more than a hundred years as the old "Pack-Horse Ford", and about a mile above, on the, southern bank of that river, founded a village which they named New Mecklenberg, in memory of their early home in the Fatherland, and such it continued to be called until changed to Shepherdstown by an Act of the House of Burgesses in 1762. In 1734 Richard Morgan obtained a grant for a tract of land in the vicinity of New Mecklenberg, and there made his home. Among those who came at the same time and settled along the Upper Potomac in what is now the northern part of the West Vir- ginia counties of Berkeley and Jefferson were Robert Harper (at Harper's Ferry), William Stroop, Thomas and William Forester, Israel Friend, Thomas Shepherd, Thomas Swear- inger. Van Swearinger, James Formann, Edward Lucas, Jacob Hite, James Lemon, Richard Mercer, Edward Mercer, Jacob Van Meter, Robert Stockton, Robert Buckles, John Taylor, Samuel Taylor and John Wright. In 1735 the first settlement was made on the South Branch of the Potomac by four families of the names of Coburn, Howard, Walker, and Rutledge. The next year Isaac Van Meter, Peter Casey and numbers of others found homes -in the valley of that
56 History of West Virginia
river in what is now Hampshire and Hardy Counties; and within the next few years, cabin homes dotted the valleys of the Opequon, the Great and Little Cacapon Rivers, and that of Lost River and Back and Patterson Creeks.
Thus far the early West Virginia settlements had been confined to the region drained by the upper tributaries of the Potomac river. Now, we turn to notice the first pioneer of West Virginia in the valley of the Greenbrier river. In 1749 the Greenbrier Land Company was organized. It consisted of twelve members or stockholders, among whom were its President, Hon John Robinson, the Treasurer of the Colony of Virginia, and long the Speaker of the House of Burgesses; Thomas Nelson, for thirty years the Secretary of the Council of State ; and John Lewis, the founder of Staunton, and two of his sons, William and Charles. This company was granted the right by the Governor and the Council to survey and take up a tract of land containing one hundred thousand acres of land, lying and being on Greenbrier river, and now in the West Virginia counties of Pocahontas, Greenbrier and Mon- roe. Four years were allowed to make surveys and pay rights for the same. Andrew Lewis (afterward General Andrew Lewis of the Revolution) was appointed surveyor and agent for the company, and, in execution of his commission, he in 1754 and prior thereto surveyed and sold small parcels of this land to sundry persons, Mdao hastened to settle thereon. Col. John Stuart, the historian of the Greenbrier Valley, sa3^s that "previously to the year 1755 Andrew Lewis had completed surveys for the quantities aggregating more than fifty thou- sand acres. When Andrew Lewis came to the Greenbrier River in 1740, he found Stephen Sewell and Jacob Marlin, both of whom had fixed their abode at the mouth of Knopp's creek on the site of the present town of Marlinton, in Poca- hontas County. (Recorded in Deed Book No. 1, in the County Clerk's Office, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.)
Dr. Thomas Walker with five companions, two of whom were Ambrose Powell and Colby Chew, when returning from a tour of exploration in the Kentucky wilderness, crossed the New River at the mouth of the Greenbrier, June 28th, 1750, and then journeyed up the latter stream. July 6th ensuing
History of West Virginia 57
they were at the mouth of Anthony's Creek, now in Greenbrier County, where Dr. Walker wrote in his journal : "There are some inhabitants on the branches of Greenbrier, but we missed their plantations." Evidently there was a very con- siderable population in the Greenbrier Valley prior to the year 1755.
On February 23, 1756, Captain Teaque sent to the Lords of Trade, London, a "List of Tithables" in Virginia which he had prepared under the direction of the Government. Upon this, as a basis, he estimated the population of Virginia to be 173,316 whites and 120,000 negroes. Taking his esti- mate for Hampshire County, and estimating for that part of West Virginia then included in Frederick ^nd Augusta Coun- ties, we may conclude that in West Virginia at that date there were about 11,000 whites and 400 blacks. If an irregu- lar or broken line be drawn from the Blue Ridge through Harper's Ferry and Charles Town in Jefferson County; Martinsburg, in Berkeley County; Berkeley Springs, in Hardy County; Petersburg, in Grant County; Upper Tract and Franklin, in Pendleton County; Clover Lick, in Pocahontas County ; and thence through Monroe County to Peter's Mountain, it will pass centrally through the region in which resided at that time the pioneer settlers of West Virginia, as shown by contemporary documents.
In Tygart's Valley.
"About 1753 the first cabins on the waters of the Monon- gahela, within West Virginia, were built. The location was in what is now Randolph County. Robert Files built his cabin at the mouth of a creek which now bears his name, and the place is now occupied by the town of Beverly. David Tygart's cabin stood three miles above Beverly, and Tygart's River bears his name. These men brought their families from the South Branch. The Valley of the Monongahela for five years after that time was Avithout an inhabitant south of Pennsylvania. In 1758 a few settlers came with Thomas Decker and located at Morgantown. Decker's Creek still bears his name. The colonj^ was soon destroyed by Indians. Thus ended the second effort to colonize west of the moun-
58 History of West Virginia
tains ; and for the ten succeeding years it is not known that any attempt at settling the country was made.
■ "In 1763 the King of England issued a proclamation forbidding all persons to take possession of lands west of the Alleghanies, in Virginia, until the land should be purchased from the Indians. Why such a proclamation was made is not known, as no Indian tribe owned or occupied any por- tion of West Virginia at that time ; and no part of it was ever bought of the Indians who had any right to sell it, — unless it be conceded they held a prior right to occupancy by virtue of their long use of it as a hunting ground.
"A considerable part of it had already been granted to companies or individuals. Governor Fauqueir, of Virginia, issued three proclamations warning settlers west of the mountains to withdraw from the land, but this was useless, as there probably were no settlers at that time between the Alleghanies and the Ohio River."^ — (Fast and Maxwell.)
In 1761 William Childers, John and Samuel Pringle and Joseph Linsey deserted as soldiers from Fort Pitt, and ascended the Monongahela River as far as the mouth of George's Creek (the site afterwards selected by Albert Gallatin for the town of Geneva). After remaining here for a time, and not liking the place, they crossed over to the head of the Youghioghany, where, encamping in the glades, they remained one year. One day, while out hunting, Samuel Pringle discovered a path which he had reasons to believe led to the inhabited part of Virginia. On his return to camp, he disclosed his discovery to his comrades. Shortly after- wards they ascertained to their sorrow that the path led to a settlement on Loony's Creek, then the most remote west- ern settlement. While stopping here Childers and Linsey were apprehended as deserters, but the Pringles escaped to their camp in the glades, where they remained until some time in 1764.
About this time the Pringles seem to have been employed by a Mr. Simpson, a trapper who had come there in search of furs. Here, owing to the constant intrusion by other hunters, and the growing popularity of the glades as a hunting ground, and fearful of meeting with the fate of their former com-
History ot West Virginia 59
panions, they pursuaded their employer to move farther west. In journeying- through the wilderness, and after having crossed Cheat River, a dispute arose between the Pringles and Simpson, and they separated. Simpson crossed the Valley River near the mouth of Pleasant Creek, and passing on to the head of another water course gave it the name of Simpson's Creek. From there he proceeded westward, finally arriving at a stream which he called Elk. Going on down this stream to its mouth, he erected his camp, at which place he remained for about one year. While there he saw nothing of the Pringles or any other human beings. He then went to the South Branch to dispose of his furs and skins. He returned to his Camp at the mouth of the Elk and remained there until permanent settlements were made in its vicinity.
After separating from Simpson, the Pringles proceeded up the Valley River as far as the mouth of Buckhan#On River. They ascended the latter to the mouth of a stream now called Turkey Run, in what is now Upshur County. Here they took up their abode in a large, hollow sycamore tree, on the farm lately owned by one Webster Dix. Of this historical tree L. V. McWhorter, of Berlin, West Virginia, is quoted as saying in a letter to Reuben Gold Thwaites, late of Madison, Wis, in his commentary on Withers's "Border Warfare": "The aged sycamore now (1894) occupying the site is the third generation — the grandchild — of that which housed the Pringles. It stands on the farm of Webster Dix, who assures me that it shall not be destroyed. According to Withers, the stump of the tree occupied by the Pringles was still standing in 1830.
In 1767 John left his brother to go to a trading post on the Shenandoah for supplies. After many hardships endured by both, John returned, with the information that peace had been declared between the Indians and French. They there- upon decided to temporarily vacate their tree home and pro- ceed to the settlements on South Branch for the purpose of prevailing on a few others to come and settle on Buckhannon River in the vicinity of the place which they had learned to love so well. In this worthy enterprise they seem to have been successful, for it is recorded that in the next year (1768)
60 History of West Virginia
several persons accompanied Samuel Pringle to his old home in the wilderness, and that they liked the country so well that the following spring still others were persuaded to "re- pair thither, with the view of cultivating as much corn as would serve their families the first year after their emigra- tion. And having examined the country, for the purpose of selecting the most desirable situations, some of them pro- ceeded to improve the spots of their choice." John Hacker was one of the first to locate on Turkey Run. He was born near Winchester, Virginia, January 1st, 1743, and died at his home on Hacker's Creek, April 20, 1821. He figured prominently in the Indian wars of his region. He also served in Col. G. R. Clark's Illinois campaign of 1778. John Jackson and his two sons, George and Edward, settled at the mouth of Turkey Run. Alexander and Thomas Sleeth found homes near Jackson's, on what was later known as the Forenash plantation. Others who came about this time, namely, William Hacker, Thomas and Jesse Hughes, John and William Radcliff and John Brown, seem to have devoted their time to hunting. Of course they were useful in this way, as they provided the farmers with plenty of wild meat. On one of their hunting trips they discovered and gave name to Stone Coal Creek. Descending this stream they "came to its confluence with a river, which they then called, and has since been known as the West Fork." Under the guidance of Samuel Pringle, other emigrants arrived, among whom were John and Benjamin Outright, who located on Buckhan- non River, and Henry Rule, who settled just above the mouth of Fink's Run. It seems that the first land deal between indi- viduals in the Buckhannon country occurred between Sam.uel Pringle and John Hacker, wherein it "was agreed that if Prin- gle would clear as much land on a creek which had been recently discovered by the hunters as he had on Buckhannon, -they would exchange places. Complying with this condition, Pringle took possession of the farm on Buckhannon, and Hacker of the land improved by Pringle on the creek, which was hence called Hacker's Creek." About this time John and William Radcliff likewise settled on this stream.
While the pioneers were on a visit to their families on
History of West Virginia 61
the South Branch, at the close of the working season, in 1769, a lot of buffaloes destroyed the crops in the new settlement, which delayed the removal of their families until the follow- ing winter of 1770. Shortly after this event, Capt. James Booth and John Thomas located on what is ncfw Booth's Creek.
In 1768 Jacob Van Meter, John Swan, Thomas Hughes and some others settled on the west side of the ]\Ionongahela, near the mouth of Muddy Creek, where Carmichaeltown now stands. "Both Van Meter and Swan afterwards served under Col. G. R. Clark — at least, in the Kaskaskia campaign ; Swan commanded a company in Clark's Shawnee campaign of 1780, and Van Meter in that of 1782. The latter moved to Ken- tucky and settled in Hardin County in that State in 1798" — (Draper.)
In the same year that the above named persons settled at the mouth of Muddy Creek, the place which had formerly been occupied by Decker and his unfortunate associates, where Morgantown is now situated, was again settled by a party of emigrants, among whom was David Morgan, wlio afterwards became noted as an Indian fighter, some of whose adventures will be recorded in another chapter.
In 1769 Colonel Ebenezer Zane, accompanied by his brothers, Silas and Jonathan, and some other persons, came to the Ohio River from their homes on the South Branch of the Potomac River, and proceeded to locate for themselves new homes. "The Zanes were descendants of a Mr. Zane who accompanied William Penn to his province in Pennsyl- vania Having made himself obnoxious to the
Society of Friends (of which he was a member) by marrying without the pale of that society, he moved to Virginia and settled on the South Branch, at the point where Moorefield, in Hardy County, West Virginia, now stands. One of his sons (Isaac) was taken by the Indians when he was only nine years old and carried into captivity to Mad River, Ohio. He became reconciled to Indian life, married a squaw, became a chief, and lived the remainder of his life with the red men, but never waged war with the whites. It is said his descend- ants still live in Ohio." — (Thwaite's Commentaries.)
62 History of West Virginia
Colonel Zane selected for his future home an eminence above the mouth of Wheeling Creek, nearly in the center of the present City of Wheeling. Silas located on Wheeling Creek, where Col. Moses Shepherd afterwards resided, and Jonathan fived with his brother Ebenezer. Several others who had accompanied the Zanes to their new home likewise remamed with the Colonel, in the capacit/^of laborers. After having prepared places for the reception of their families, they returned to their former homes on the South Branch to prepare for moving to their new settlement on the Ohio. In the ensuing year, accompanied by Col. David Shepherd, John Wetzel and the McCulloughs, the Zanes again repaired to their wilderness homes. Other settlements followed short- ly afterwards, at dififerent points, both above and below Wheeling. George Leflier, John Doddridge, Benjamin Biggs, Daniel Greathouse, Joshua Baker and Andrew Swearingen were the first to locate above Wheeling.
According to Thwaite, John Doddridge settled in Wash- ington County, Pennsylvania, on the Ohio River, a few miles east of the Pennsylvania-West Virginia line, in 1773. Joseph Doddridge, the celebrated antiquarian, and the author of "Notes On the Settlements and Indian Wars," etc., was his son. Greathouse and Baker became unpopular in the com- munity by reason of their connection with the massacre of Chief Logan's family in 1774. Lef!ler and Biggs figured prominently in border warfare.
In 1770 Joseph Tomlinson, from near Fort Cumberland, came to the flats of Grave Creek, accompanied by his brother Samuel. Being pleased with the country, he decided to locate there, and at once erected a cabin, into which he moved his family in the spring of 1773, some delay having been occa- sioned by his apprehension of trouble with the Indians. His cabin was located a short distance north of where the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad station is situated in the City of Moundsville. Mr. Joseph Tomlinson was the great-grand- father of Circuit Judge Charles C. Newman, of Wheeling. He died May 30th, 1825, aged 80 3^ears, and was buried in Moundsville cemetery.
In 1772 the Tygart's Valley region, comprising some
History of West Virginia 63
twenty-five or thirty miles of rich bottom hind, was taken up by a party from Greenbrier, among whom were the names Hadden, Stalnaker, Connelly, Whiteman, Warwick, Nelson, Riffle and Westfall. "The latter of these found and interred the bones of File's family, which had lain bleaching in the sun, after their murder by the Indians in 1754." About the same time (1772) Capt. James Parsons, of the South Branch, located on Horse Shoe Bottom, on Cheat River; and Robert Cunningham, Henry Fink, John Gofif and John Minear set- tled near by. In the same year Robert Butler, William Morgan and some others settled on Dunkard Bottom.
In the same year the following persons settled in and near the present site of Clarksburg: Thomas Nutter, Sotha Hickman, Samuel Beard, Andrew Cottrail, Daniel Davisson, Samuel Cottrail, Obadiah Davisson and John Nutter. About this time emigration to the Buckhannon and Hacker's Creek settlements had increased so heavily that there was almost a famine in those sections, and 1773 was for a long time re- membered as the "starving year". It is said that had it not been for the heroic efforts of William Lowther, the results from the scarcity might have been more serious. But he proved to be the "Joseph in Egypt", and the people were tided over until a more bountiful season. The writer believes that this worthy subject is entitled to more than a passing notice, and takes the liberty to quote the following interesting biographical sketch from Withers's "Chronicles of Border Warfare" :
"William Lowther was the son of Robert, and came with his father to the Hacker's Creek settlement in 1772. He soon became one of the most conspicuous men in that section of the country ; while his private virtues and public actions endeared him to every individual of the community. During the war of 1774 he was the most active and efficient defender of that vicinity against the insidious attacks of the savage foe ; and there were very few, if any, scouting parties proceeding from thence, by which the Indians were killed or otherwise much annoyed, but were commanded by him.
"He was the first justice of the peace in the district of West Augusta — the first sheriff in the county of Harrison
64 History of West Virginia
and Wood, and once a delegate to the General Assembly of the States. His military merits carried him through the sub- ordinate grades to the rank of colonel. Despising the pomp and pageantry of office, he accepted it for the good of the community, and was trul}^ an effective man. Esteemed, be- loved by all, he might have exerted his influence over others to the advancement of his individual interest; but he sought the advancement of the general weal, not a personal or family aggrandizement. His example might teach others that offices were created for the public good, not for private emoluments. If aspirants for office at the present day were to regard its perquisites less, and their fitness for the discharge of its duties more, the country would enjoy a greater portion of happiness and prosperity, and a sure foundation for the permanence of these be laid, in the more disinterested character of her coun- sellors, and their consequently increased devotion to her interests."
These comprise the principal settlements in what is now West Virginia prior to the year 1774. From this time on- ward people from the north, south and east came in by hundreds. Former homes, encircled by the comforts of civilization, were readily exchanged for homes in the virgin forests of a wild and strange land, where wild game and savage men were known to trod. The objects for the attain-' ment of which they voluntarily placed themselves in this situation, and which nerved them to undertake the risks and hardships which they could not but foresee lay in wait for them, were almost as various as their individual characters. As a general thing they were men of poor circumstances, unable to pay for land in the neighborhoods from which they came, and they were not content to longer remain the tenants of others. The new country afforded them an opportunity to acquire homes for. the mere "taking up". Most of them were satisfied with small farms. A few others, however, availed themselves of the right of pre-emption of large tracts, and some of these became rich, — as wealth was then known. The excellent transportation facilities offered by the Ohio River were a great inducement to the more enterprising, far-seeing spirits ; the wide, fertile bottoms along its course and its tribu-
History of West Virginia 65
taries; the beautiful sites for towns and cities — these all appealed to the business sense. The natural result was that the Ohio and its navigable tributaries soon outstripped, with few exceptions, all other settlements in population and im- provements, as well as intellectual and moral qualifications. Segregate human beings from a civilized community and place them in a wild country, isolated from all things tending to perpetuate civilization, and they will naturally partake of the less exacting social reguirements of their surroundings. But, place these same people where the environments tend upward instead of downward in the social scale, and they will soon average up with their neighbors in intelligence and progress. Environment, indeed, has much to do with the con- ditions of people.
Withers says : "The infantile state of all countries exhib- its, in a greater or less degree, a prevalence of barbarism. The planting of colonies, or the formation of establishments in new countries, is ever attended with circumstances unpro- pitious to refinement. The force with which these circum- stances act will be increased or diminished in proportion to the remoteness or proximity of those new establishments to older societies, in which the arts and sciences are cultivated, and to the facility of communication between them. Man is, at all times, the creature of circumstances. Cut off from an intercourse with his fellow men, and divested of the conven- iences of life, he will readily relapse into a state of nature, — placed in contiguity with the barbarous and the vicious, his manners will become rude, his morals perverted, — brought into collision with the sanguinary and revengeful, his own conduct will eventually be distinguished by bloody and vin- dictive deeds.
"Such was really the situation of those who made the first establishments in. North Western Virginia. And when it is considered that they were, mostly, men from the humble walks of life, comparatively illiterate and unrefined, without civil or religious institutions, and with a love of liberty bor- dering on the extreme— their more enlightened descendants can not but feel surprise that their dereliction from propriety had not been greater, their virtue less."
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In almost all the settlements there were individuals who had a greater attachment for hunting" than for farming, and this class sometimes followed their inclinations to the exclu- sion of all other pursuits. Yet nearly all the men in the settle- ments did more or less hunting, especially in the fur season, as furs and skins for a time represented their chief commodity in trade. Then, too, there was something peculiarly attract- ive about life in the forests, in spite of its hardships • and dangers, especially after a season in the clearings or confine- ment in a fort. To make a successful hunter one must have a good eye and a steady nerve ; he must be versed in woodcraft and possess a thorough knowledge of the characteristics of the game he seeks. The knowledge which enabled the hunter to approach, unperceived, the watchful deer in his lair, en- abled him likewise to circumvent the Indian in his ambush.
In each settlement there existed a unison of feeling. Petty strife and ambition for personal preferment were prac- tically unknown. Their interests were mutual. Their en- vironment made them so. This condition made them as brothers. A show of liberality was not made for the sake of remuneration, nor an act of kindness done for the purpose of reaping a reward in return. A favor done was genuine, — it had no "strings to it". No tolls exacted — no interest charged. They were kind for kindness' sake ; and sought no other recompense than the reward of an approving conscience.
So, if our forefathers did not measure up to our standard of morals, they possessed many virtues which we might, with profit, emulate in this enlightened age; and the writer would ask the reader, as he reads of bloody deeds in following chap- ters in which the whites were sometimes compelled, by force of circumstances, to wage a war of retaliation and extermina- tion among the unfortunate Indians, to bear in mind the fact that foreign nations, and a few bad white men in this country, were the instigators of a condition over which the true settler had no control, yet had to bear the brunt of savage ferocity. The Indian, as a rule, regarded all white men alike. If one dirty white man ill-treated one Indian, the whole Indian tribe held all the white people responsible for the act. So, many an innocent person was made to suffer for the faults of others.
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The following is a copy of a very interesting memoran- dum taken from the records in the county clerk's ofhce at Lewisburg, county seat of Greenbrier County. It was written by (Captain) John Stuart, July 15th, 1798:
Memorandum — 1798 — July 15. (By John Stuart.)
"The inhabitants of every county and place are desirous to encjuire after the first founders, and in order to gratify the curious or such who may hereafter incline to be informed of the origin of the settlements made in Greenbrier, I leave this Memorandum for their satisfaction, being the only person at this time alive acquainted with the circumstances of its discovery and manner of settling. — ^Born in Augusta County, and the particulars of this place often related to me by the first adventurers, I can relate with certainty that our river was first discovered about the year 1749 by the white people ; some say Jacob Marlin was the first person who dis- covered it, others that a man of unsound mind, whose name I do not now remember, had wandered from Frederick County through the mountains, and on his return reported he had seen a river running westward,— supposed to be Greenbrier River. However, Jacob Marlin and Stephen Sneil were the first settlers at the mouth of Knapp's Creek, above what is now called the Little Levels on the land still bearing the name of Marlins. These two men lived there in a kind pf hermitage, having no families, but frequently differing in sentiment which ended in rage. Marlin kept possession of the cabin, while Sneil took up his abode in the trunk of a large tree at a small distance, and, thus living more independ- ently, their animosities Avould abate, and sociability ensued. Not long after they had made their settlement on the river, the county was explored by the late Gen. Andrew Lewis, at that time a noted and famous woodsman, on whose report an order of Council was soon obtained granting one hundred thousand acres of lands on Greenbrier to the Hon'l John Robinson (Treasurer of Virginia) to the number of twelve, including old Col. John Lewis and his two sons, William and
68 History of West Virginia
Charles, with condition of setthng the lands with inhabitants, and certain emoluments of three pounds per hundred acres to themselves. But the war breaking out between England and France in the year 1755 and the Indians being excited by the French to make war on the back inhabitants of Vir- ginia, all who were then settled on Greenbrier were obliged to retreat to older settlements for safety, amongst whom was Jacob Marlin, but Sneil fell a sacrifice to the enemy. This was ended in 1762 and then some people returned and settled in Greenbrier again, amongst whom was Archibald Clen- dennen, whose residence was on the lands now claimed by John Savis by virtue of an intermarriage with his daughter, and lying two miles west of Lewisburg. The Indians, break- ing out again in 1763, came up the Kanawha in a large body to the number of sixty, and coming to the house of Frederick Sea, on Muddy Creek, were kindly entertained by him and Felty Yolkcom, who not suspecting their hostile design, were suddenly killed and their families with many others made prisoners ; then proceeding over the mountain to Archibald Clendennen's, who, like Sea and Yolkcom, entertained them until they put him to death, his family with a number of others living with him being all made prisoners or killed, not any one escaping except Conrad Yolkcom, who, doubting the design of the Indians when they came to Clendennen's, took his horse out under the pretense of hobbling him at some distance from the house ; soon after some guns were fired at the house and a loud cry raised by the people, whereupon Yolkcom, taking the alarm, rode off as far as where court house now stands, and there beginning to ruminate whether he might not be mistaken in his apprehension, concluded to return and know the truth, but just as he came to the corner of Clendennen's fence, some Indians placed there presented their guns and attempted to shoot him, but their guns all missing fire (he thinks at least ten), he immediately fled to Jackson's River, alarming the people as he went ; but few were willing to believe him. The Indians pursued after him and all that fell in their way were slain until they went on Carr's Creek, now in Rockbridge County. So much were people in those days intimidated by an attack of the Indians
History of West Virginia 69
that they were suffered to retreat with all their booty, and more prisoners than there were Indians in their party,
"I will here relate a narrative of Archibald- Clendennen's wife being prisoner with her young child as they were passing over Keeney's Knob from Muddy Creek, a part of the Indians being in front with the remainder behind and the prisoners in the center. Mrs. Clendennen handed her child to another woman to carry and she slipped to one side and hid herself in a bush, but the Indians soon missing her, one of them observed he would soon bring the cow to the calf, and taking the child caused it to cry very loud, but the mother not appearing he took the infant and beat its brains out against a tree; then throwing it down in the road, all the people and horses that were in the rear passed over it until it was trod to pieces. Many more cruelties were committed, too hard to be related and too many to be contained in this Memorandum.
"Thus was Greenbrier once more depopulated for six years, but a peace being concluded with Indians in 1765 and the lands on the western waters with certain boundary being purchased at a Treaty at Fort Stanwix by Andrew Lewis and Thomas Walker, commissioners appointed by the Govern- ment, the people again returned to settle in Greenbrier in 1769 and I myself was amongst the first of those last adven- turers, being at that time about nineteen years of age, with W. Robert McClenachan, another very young man. Our de- sign was to secure lands and encourage a settlement in the county, but the Indians breaking out again in 1774, Colonel Lewis was ordered by the Earl of Dunmore (then Governor of Virginia) to march against them with fifteen hundred volunteer militia, which army marched from Camp Union (now Lewisburg) the 11th day of September, 1774, two com- panies of the said army being raised in Greenbrier and com- manded by Capt. Robert McClenachan and myself. We were met by the Indians on the 10th day of October at the mouth of the Kanawha and a very obstinate engagement ensued ; the Indians were defeated, though with the loss of sevent3^-five officers and soldiers; amongst the slain was Col. Charles Lewis, who commanded the Augusta militia, and my friend Capt. Robert McClenachan.
70 History of West Virginia
"Col. Andrew Lewis pursued his victory, crossing the Ohio, until we were in sight of some Indian town on the waters of Scioto, where we were met by the Earl of Dunmore, who commanded an army in person and had made his route by the way of Fort Pitt. The Governor capitulating with the Indians, Colonel Lewis was ordered to retreat, and the next year hostilities commenced between the British and Americans at Boston in New England. And I have since been informed by Colonel Lewis that the Earl of Dun- more (the King's Governor) knew of the attack to be made upon us at the mouth of Kanawha, and hoped our de- struction ; this secret was communicated to him by indis- putable authority.
"Independence being declared by America the 4th day of July, 1776, and the people assuming the reigns of govern- ment, a county was granted to the people of Greenbrier under the Commonwealth in May, 1778, and a court was first held at my house on the 3rd Tuesday in said month.
"Not long after which we were invaded again by the Indians, who had taken part with the British, and on the 28th day of the same month Col. Andrew Donnally's house was attacked about eight miles from Lewisburg by two hundred Indians. These Indians were pursued from the mouth of the Kanawha by two scouts from that garrison, to-wit: Phil Ham- mon and John Prior, and passing the Indians at the Meadows, they gave intelligence to Colonel Donnally of their approach, who instantly collected about twenty men and the next morning sustained the attack of the enemy until he was relieved about two o'clock by sixty men from Lewisburg. I was one of the number and we got into the house unhurt, being favored by a field of rye which grew close to the house, the Indians being all on the opposite side of the house. Four men were killed before we got in and about sixteen Indians. Indians lay dead in the yard before the door; some of these were taken off in the night, but we scalped nine the next morning. This was the last time the Indians invaded Green- brier in any large party.
"Peace with the British followed in 1781 and then the people of this county began to make some iceble efforts to
History of West Virginia 71
regulate their society, and to open roads for wagons through the mountain, which by many had been thought imprac- ticable, no wagon at that time having approached nearer than the Warmsprings. On petition the Assembly granted a law empowering the Court to levy a certain annual sum in com- mutables from the inhabitants for the purpose of opening a road from the Court House to the Warmsprings. A conven- ience so necessary for the importation of salt and other neces- saries of lumber, as well as conveying our hemp and other heavy wares to market, would readily be expected to receive the approbation of every one, but such is the perverse dispo- sition of some men unwilling that any should share advan- tages in preference to themselves that this laudable measure was opposed by Mr. William Hutchison, who had first repre- sented the county in General Assembl}'' — on this occasion, without the privity of the people, went at his own expense to Richmond and by his insinuations to some of the members with unfair representations of the law for two years, but the following year, Col. Thomas Adams, who visited this county, satisfied with the impropriety of Hutchison's representation had the suspension repealed and full powers were allowed to the Court to levy money for the purpose aforesaid ; and bj this means a wagon road was opened from the Court House to the Warmsprings. The paper money emitted for main- taining our war against the British became totally depre- ciated and there was not a sufficient quantity of Specie in circulation to enable the people to pay the revenue tax assessed upon the citizens of this county, wherefore we fell in arrears to the public for four years ; but the Assembly again taking our remote situation under consideration graciously granted the sum of five thousand pounds of our said arrears to be applied to the purpose of opening a road from Lewis- burg to the Kanawha River.
"The people, grateful for such indulgences, willingly embraced the opportunity of such an offer and every person liable for arrears of tax agreed to perform labor equivalent on the road, and the people being formed into districts with each a superintendent, the road was completed in the space of two months in the year 1786, and there was a communica-
72 History o£ West Virginia
tion by wagons to the navigable waters of the Kanawha first effected and which will probably be found the nighest and best conveyance from the Eastern to the Western Country that will ever be known. May I here hazard a conjecture that has often occurred to me since I inhabited this place, that nature has designed this part of the world a peaceable retreat for some of her favorite children, where pure morals will be preserved by separating them from other societies at so respectful a distance by ridges and mountains, and I sincerely wish time may prove my conjecture rational and true. From the springs of salt water discoverable along our river, banks of iron ore, mines pregnant with saltpeter, and forests of sugar trees so amply provided and so easily acquired, I have no doubt but the future inhabitants of this county will surely avail themselves of such singular advantages greatly to their comfort and satisfaction and render them a grateful and happy people.
"It will be remembered that Lewisburg was first settled by Capt. Mathew Arbuckle after the town was laid ofif in the year 1780 and took its name in honor of the family of the Lewises, in consequence of their holding a large claim in the Greenbrier grant. Captain Arbuckle was killed the following year in a storm of wind by the falling of a tree on the branch leading from the turns of the waters of Anthony's Creek to Jackson's River. He was distinguished for his bravery, especially in the battle with the Indians at Point Pleasant.
"JOHN STUART."
?«, *A,
Reoresentatives from Western Virginia on their way to Rich- mond in the early days.
CHAPTER VI.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE EARLY PIONEERS IN WEST VIRGINIA.
The author of the "History of the Pan Handle" quotes the following splendid pen picture of manners and customs of the early settlers of West Virginia by Dr. Doddridge, a writer of considerable note on border history :
"A correct and detailed view of the origin of societies and their progress from one condition ... to another is interesting, even when received through the dusky medium of history, oft times but poorly and partially written. But when this retrospect of things past and gone is drawn from the recollection of experience, the impression which it makes upon the heart must be of the most vivid and lasting kind.
"The following history of the state of society, manners and customs of our forefathers has been drawn from the latter source, and is given to the world with the knowledge that many of my contemporaries are still living, who, as well as myself, have witnessed all the scenes and events herein described, and whose memories will speedily detect and expose any errors it may contain.
"The municipal as well as ecclesiastical institutions of society, whether good or bad, in consequence of their con- tinued use give a corresponding cast to the public character of the society whose conduct they direct, the more so, be- cause, in the lapse of time, the observance of them becomes a matter of conscience.
"These observations apply with full force to that influ- ence of our early land laws, which allow four hundred acres, and no more, to a settlement right. Many of our first settlers seemed to regard this amount of the surface of the earth as the allotment of Divine Providence for one family, and to believe that any attempt to get more would be sinful. Most of them, therefore, contented themselves with that amount, although they might have evaded the law, which allowed
History of West Virginia 75
but one settlement-right to any one individual, by taking out the title papers in the name of others, to be afterwards trans- ferred to them, as if by purchase. Some few indeed pursued this course, but it was held in detestation.
"The people had become so accustomed to the mode of 'getting land for taking it up', that for a long time it was generally believed that the land on the west side of the Ohio would ultimately be disposed of in that way. Hence, almost the whole tract of country between the Ohio and Muskingum was parcelled out in tomahawk improvements, but these were not satisfied with a single four-hundred-acre tract. Many of them owned a great number of tracts of the best land, and thus in imagination were as 'wealthy as a South Sea dream'. Some of these land jobbers did not content themselves with marking trees at the usual height with the initials of their names, but climbed up the large beech trees, and cut the let- ters in their bark, from twenty to forty feet from the ground. To enable them to identify these trees at a future period, they made marks on other trees around as references.
"The settlement of a new country, in the immediate neighborhood of an old one, is not attended with much diffi- culty, because supplies can be readily obtained from the latter; but the settlement of a country very remote from any civilized region is quite a dififerent thing, because at the outset food, raiment, and the implements of husbandry are only obtained in small supplies, and with great difficulty. The task of making new establishments in a remote wilderness in a time of profound peace, is sufficiently difficult; but when, in addition to all the unavoidable hardships attendant on this business, those resulting from an extensive and furious war- fare with savages are superadded, toil, privations and suffer- ings are then carried to the full extent of the capacity to endure them.
"Such was the wretched condition of our forefathers in making their settlements here. To all their difficulties and privations the Indian war was a weighty addition. This destructive warfare they were compelled to sustain almost single-handed, because the Revolutionary contest gave full
76 History of West Virginia
employment for the military streng-th and resources on the east side of the mountains.
"The following history of the poverty, labors, sufferings, manners and customs of our forefathers will appear like a collection of 'tales of olden times', without any garnish of language to spoil the original portraits by giving them shades of coloring which they did not possess.
"I shall follow the order of things as they occurred during the period of time embraced in these narratives, be- ginning with those rude accommodations with which our first adventurers into this country furnished themselves at the commencement of their establishment. It will be a homely narrative, yet valuable on the ground of its being real history. In this chapter it is my design to give a brief account of the house-hold furniture and articles of diet which were used by the first inhabitants of our country ; a description of their cabins and half-faced camps, and their manner of building them will be found elsewhere.
"The furniture of the table, for several years after the settlement of this country, consisted of a few pewter dishes, plates and spoons, but mostly of wooden bowls, trenchers and noggins. If these last were scarce, gourds and hard-shelled squashes made up the deficiency. The iron pots, knives and forks were brought from the east, with the salt and iron, or, pack horses.
"These articles of furniture corresponded very well with the articles of diet. 'Hog and hominy' were proverbial for the dish of which they were the component parts. Johnny-cake and pone were, at the outset of the settlement of the country, the only form of bread in use for breakfast and dinner. At supper, milk and mush was the standard dish. When milk was not plenty, which was often the case owing to the scarcity of cattle, or the want of proper pasture for them, the substantial dish of hominy had to supply the place of them. Mush was frequently eaten with sweetened water, molasses, bear's oil, or the gravy of fried meat.
"In our whole display of furniture, the delft, china and silver were unknown. It did not then, as now, require con- tributions from the four quarters of the globe to furnish the
History of West Virginia 77
breakfast table, viz : the silver from Mexico, the tea from China and the delft and porcelain from Europe or Asia.
"Yet our homely fare and unsightly cabins and furniture produced a hardy race, ^vho planted the first footsteps of civilization in the immense regions of the West. Inured to hardships, bravery and labor, from their early youth, they sustained with manly fortitude the fatigue of the chase, the campaign and scout, and with strong arms 'turned the wilder- ness into fruitful fields', and have left to their descendants the rich inheritance of an immense empire blessed with peace and wealth and prosperity.
"The introduction of delf was considered by many of the back-woods people as a culpable innovation. It was too easily broken, and the plates of that ware dulled their scalping and clasp knives ; tea ware was too small for men — they might do for women and children. Tea and cofifee were only slops which, in the adage of the day, 'did not stick by the ribs'. The idea then prevalent was that they were only designed for people of quality, who did not labor, or for the rich.
"A genuine backwoodsman would have thought himself disgraced by showing a fondness for such 'slops'. Indeed, many of them have to this day very little respect for them.
"But, passing from the furniture, diet, etc., of our ances- tors, we come now to speak of their dress, which will be found singular and interesting enough to many of the present day and generation. Some of our fashionables would scarcely be able to recognize in the picture, so faithfully and graphically drawn by our venerable historian, the persons of their grand- sires and dames.
"On the frontier, and particularly among those who were much in the habit of hunting and going on scouts and cam- paigns, the dress of the men was partly Indian and partly that of civilized nations.
"The hunting shirt was universally worn. This was a kind of loose frock, reaching half-way down the thighs. Avith large sleeves, open before, and so wide as to lap over a foot or more when belted. The cape was large and sometimes fringed with a ravelled piece of cloth of a different color from that of the hunting shirt itself. The bosom of this dress
78 History of West Virginia
served as a wallet to hold bread, cakes, jerk, tow for wiping the barrel of the rifle, or any other necessary for the hunter or warrior. The belt, which was always tied behind, answered several purposes, besides that of holding the dress together. In cold weather, the mittens, and sometimes the bullet-bag, occupied the front part of it. To the right side was supended the tomahawk, and to the left the scalping-knife, in its leath- ern sheath. The hunting shirt was generally made of linsey, sometimes of coarse linen, and a few of dressed deer skins. The last were very cold and uncomfortable in wet weather. The shirt and jacket were of the common fashion. A pair of drawers or breeches and leggins were the dress of the thighs and legs, a pair of moccasins . answered for their feet much better than shoes. These were made of dressed deer-skins. They were mostly of a single piece, with a gathering seam along the top of the foot, and another from the bottom of the heel, without gathers, as high or a little higher than the ankle joint. Flaps were left on each side, to reach some distance up the legs. These were nicely adapted to the ankles and lower part of the leg b}^ thongs of a deer-skin, so that no dust, gravel or snow could get within the moccasin.
"In cold weather the moccasins were well stuffed with deer's hair or dry leaves, so as to keep the feet comfortably warm ; but in wet weather it was usually said that wearing them was 'a decent way of going barefooted' ; and such was the fact, owing to the spongy texture of the leather of which they were made.
"Owing to this defective covering- of the feet more than to any other circumstance the greater number of our hunters and warriors were afflicted with rheumatism in their limbs. Of this disease they were all apprehensive in cold or wet weather, and, therefore, always slept with their feet to the fire to prevent or cure it as well as they could. This practice unquestionably had a very salutary effect, and prevented many of them from becoming confirmed cripples in early life.
"In the latter years of the Indian war, our young men became more enamored with the Indian dress. The drawers were laid aside and the leggins made longer so as to reach the upper part of the thigh. The Indian breech-cloth was
History of West Virginia 79
adopted. This was a piece of linen or cloth nearly a yard long, and eight or nine inches broad. This was passed under the belt, before and behind, leaving the ends for flaps hanging before and behind over the belt. These flaps were sometimes ornamented with some coarse kind of embroidery work. To the same belt which secured the breech-cloth, strings, which supported, the long leggins, were attached. When .this belt, as was often the case, passed over the hunting shirt, the upper part of the thighs and part of the hips were naked.
"The young warrior, instead of being abashed by this nudity, was proud of the Indian dress. In some few instances I have seen them go into places of public worship in this dress. Their appearance, however, did not add much to the devotion of the young ladies.
"The linsey coats and bedgowns, Avhich were the uni- versal dress of our women in early times, would make a strange figure at this day.
"The writers should say to the ladies of our present day, your ancestors knew nothing of the ruffles, leghorns, curls, combs, rings, and other jewels with which their fair daughters now decorate themselves. Such things were not then to be had. Many of the younger part of them were pretty well grown before they ever saw the inside of a storeroom, or ever knew there was such a thing, unless by hear-sa}', and indeed scarcely that.
"Instead of the toilet, they had to handle the distaff or shuttle, and sickle or weeding-hoe, contented if they could obtain their linsey clothing, and cover their heads with a sun- bonnet made of six or seven hundred linen.
THE FORT.
"The reader will understand by this term not only a place of defense, but the residence of a small number of families belonging to the same neighborhood. As the Indian mode of warfare was an indiscriminate slaughter of all ages and sexes, it was as requisite to provide for the safety of the women and children as for that of the men.
"The fort consisted of cabins, block-houses and stock- ades. A range of cabins commonly formed one side, at least,
80 History of West Virginia
of the fort. Divisions or partitions of logs separated the cabins from each other. The walls of the outside were ten or twelve feet high, the slope of the roof being turned wholly inward. Very few of these cabins had puncheon floors, the greater part were earthen.
"The block-houses were built at the angles of the fort. They projected about two feet beyond the outer walls of the cabins and stockades. Their upper stories were about eighteen inches every way larger in dimensions than the under one, leaving an open at the commencement of the second story to prevent the enemy from making a lodgment under their walls.
"In some forts, instead of block-houses, the angles of the fort were furnished with bastions. A large folding gate, made of thick slabs, nearest the spring, closed the fort. The stockades, bastions, cabins and block-house walls were fur- nished with port holes at proper heights and distances. The whole of the outside was made completely bullet-proof.
"It may be truly said that 'necessity is the mother of invention', for the whole of this work was made without the aid of a single nail or spike of iron, and for this reason — such things were not to be had.
"In some places, less exposed, a single block-house with a cabin or two constituted the whole fort.
"Such places of refuge may appear very trifling to those who have been in the habit of seeing the formidable military garrisons of Europe and America, but they answered the purpose, as the Indians had no artillery. They seldom attacked and scarcely ever took one of them.
"The families belonging to these forts were so attached to their own cabins on their farms that they seldom moved into their fort in the spring until compelled by some alarm, as they called it; that is, when it was announced by some murder that the Indians were in the settlement.
HUNTING.
"This was an important part of the employment of the early settlers of this country. For some years the M^oods supplied them with the greater amount of their subsistence;
History of West Virginia 81
and ^vith regard to some families at certain times, the whole of it, for it was no uncommon thing for families to live several months without a mouthful of bread. It frequently hap])ened that there was no breakfast until it was obtained from the woods. Fur constituted the people's money. They had nothing else to give in exchange for rifles, salt, and iron, on the other side of the mountains.
"The fall and early part of winter was the season for hunting the deer, and the whole of the winter, including part of the spring, for bears and fur-skinned animals. It was a customary saying that fur is good during every month in the name of which the letter R occurs.
"As soon as the leaves were pretty well down, and the weather became rainy, accompanied with light snows, these men, after acting the part of husbandmen, so far as the state of warfare permitted them to do so, soon came to feel that they were hunters. They became uneasy at home. Every- thing about them became disagreeable. The house was too warm ; the feather-bed too soft ; and even the good wife was not thought, for the time being, a proper companion. The mind of the hunter was wholly occupied with the camp and chase.
"Hunting was not a mere ramble in pursuit of game, in which there was nothing of skill and calculation ; on the con- trary, the hunter, before he set out in the morning, was informed by the state of the weather in what situation he might reasonably expect to meet with his game ; w^hether on the bottoms, sides, or tops of the hills. In stormy weather the deer always seeks the most sheltered places and the lee- ward sides of the hills. In rainy weather, when there is not much wind, they keep in the open woods, on the high ground.
"In every situation it was requisite for the hunter to ascertain the course of the wind, so as to get the leeward of the game. This he effected by putting his finger in his mouth, and holding it there until it became warm, then holding it above his head; the side Avhich first became cold showed which way the wind blew.
"As it was requisite, too. for the hunter to know the cardinal points, he had only to observe the trees to ascertain
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them. The bark of an aged tree is thicker and much rougher on the north side than on the south side. The same thing may be said of the moss, it is much thicker and stronger on the north than on the south side of the trees.
"The whole business of the hunter consisted of a suc- cession of intrigues. From morning till night he was on the alert to gain the wind of his game and approach them without being discovered. If he succeeded in killing a deer, he skinned it, and hung it up out of the reach of wolves, and immediately resumed the chase till the close of the evening, when he bent his course toward his camp ; when arrived there, he kindled up his fire and, together with his fellow hunter, cooked his supper. The supper finished, the adven- tures of the day furnished the tales for the evening. The spike buck, the two and three pronged buck, the doe and the barren doe figured through their anecdotes to great advantage.
THE WEDDING.
"For a long time after the first settlement of this country, the inhabitants in general married young. There was no dis- tinction of rank and very little of fortune. On this account the first impressions of love resulted in marriage ; and a family establishment cost but a little labor and nothing else.
"A description of a wedding from the beginning to the end will serve to show the manners of our forefathers, and mark the grade of civilization which had succeeded to their rude state of society in the course of a few years.
"In the first years of the settlement of the country a wedding engaged the attention of a whole neighborhood, and the frolic was anticipated by old and young with eager expectation. This is not to be wondered at, when it is told that a wedding was almost the only gathering which was not accompanied with the 'labor of reaping, log-rolling, building a cabin, or planning some scout or campaign'.
"On the morning of the wedding day the groom and his attendants assembled at the house of the father for the pur- pose of reaching the home of his bride by noon, which was the usual time for celebrating the nuptials, which for certain reasons must take place before dinner.
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"Let the reader imagine an assemblage of people, without a store, tailor or mantua-maker within a hundred miles, and an assemblage of horses without a blacksmith or saddler within an equal distance. The gentlemen dressed in shoe- packs,' moccasins, leather breeches, leggins, linsey hunting shirts, and all home made. The ladies dressed in linsey petti- coats or linen bed gowns, coarse shoes, stockings, handker- chiefs and buckskin gloves, if any. If there were any buckles, rings, buttons or ruffles, they were the relic of olden times, family pieces from parents or grand-parents. The horses were caparisoned with old saddles, or bridles or halters and pack-saddles, wdth a bag or blanket thrown over them ; a rope or string as often constituted the girth as a piece of leather.
"The march, in double file, was often interrupted by the narrowness and obstructions of our horse-paths, as they were called, for we had no roads; and these difficulties were often increased, sometimes by the good and sometimes by the ill will of neighbors, by felling trees and tying grapevines across the way. Sometimes an ambuscade was formed by the way- side, and an unexpected discharge of several guns took place, so as to cover the wedding company with smoke. Let the reader imagine the scene which followed this discharge ; the sudden spring of the horses, the shrieks of the girls, and the chivalrous bustle of their partners to save them from falling. Sometimes, in spite of all that could be done to prevent it, some were thrown to the ground. If a wrist, elbow or ankle happened to be sprained, it was tied with a handkerchief and little more was thought or said about it.
"The ceremony of the marriage preceded the dinner, which was a substantial back-woods feast of beef, pork, fowls and sometimes veni'son and bear meat, roasted and boiled, with plenty of potatoes, cabbage, and other vegetables. During the dinner the greatest hilarity always prevailed, although the table might be a large slab of timber, hewed out with a broad axe, supported by four sticks set in auger holes ; and the furniture, sometimes old pewter dishes and plates ; the rest wooden bowls and trenchers ; a few pewter spoons, much battered about the edges, were to be seen at some tables. The rest were made of horns. If knives were
84 History of West Virginia
scarce, the deficiency was made up by the scalping knives, which were carried in sheaths suspended from the belt of the hunting shirt. Every man carried one of them.
"After dinner the dancing commenced and generally lasted till the next morning. The figures of the dances were three and four-handed reels, or square sets of jigs. The commencement was always a square four, which was followed by what was called 'jigging it off'; that is, two of the four would single out for a jig, and were followed by the remain- ing couple. The jigs were often accompanied with what was called 'cutting out' ; that is, when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation the place was supplied by some of the company without any interruption to the dance. In this way a dance was often continued till the musician was heartily tired of his situation. Toward the latter part of the night, if any of the company, through weariness, attempted to conceal themselves for the purpose of sleeping, they were hunted up, paraded on the floor, and the fiddler ordered to play 'Hang out till tomorrow morning'.
"About nine or ten o'clock a deputation of the young ladies stole away the bride and put her to bed. In doing this it frequently happened that they had to ascend a ladder instead of a flight of stairs, leading from the dining and ball room to the loft, the floor of which was made of clapboards lying loose. This ascent, one might think, would put the bride and her attendants to the blush ; but as the foot of the ladder was commonly behind the door, which was purposely opened for the occasion, and its rounds at the inner ends were well hung with hunting shirts, dresses and other articles of clothing, the candles being on the opposite side of the house, the exit of the bride was noticed but by few. This done, a deputation of young men in like manner stole off the groom and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance still continued ; and if the seats happened to be scarce, which was often the case, every young man, when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his lap as a seat for one of the girls, and the offer was sure to be accepted. In the midst of this hilarity the bride and groom werie not forgotten. Pretty late in the night some one would remind the company that
History of West Virginia 85
the new couple must stand in need of something to cat, and enough bread, beef, pork and cabbage would S(jmctimes be sent up to afford a good meal for half a dozen hungry men. The young couple were compelled to cat and drink more or less of whatever was offered.
"But to return. It oftened happened that some neighbors or relatives, not being asked to the wedding, took offence, and the mode of revenge adopted by them on such occasions was that of cutting off the manes, foretops, and tails of the horses of the wedding company.
"On returning to the infare, the order of procession was the same as before. The feasting and dancing often lasted several days, at the end of which time the whole company were so exhausted with loss of sleep that several days' rest was required to fit them to return to their ordinary labors.
"Should I be asked why I have presented this unpleasant portrait of the rude manners of our forefathers, I in turn would ask the reader : 'Why are you pleased with the his- tories of the blood and carnage of battle? Why are you de- lighted with the fiction of poetry, the novel and romance? I have related the truth, and only truth, strange as it may seem. I have depicted a state of society and manners which are fast vanishing from the memory of man, with a view to giving the youth of our country a knowledge of the advantages of civilization, and to giving contentment to the aged by pre- venting them from saying 'that former times were better than the present'.
HOUSE WARMING.
"I will proceed to state the usual manner of settling a young couple in the world. A spot was selected on a piece of land belonging to one of the parents for their habitation. A day was appointed short! \' after the marriage for com- mencing the work of building their cabin.
"The materials for the cabin were mostly prepared on the first day, and sometimes the foundation laid in the evening. The second day was allotted for the raising. The cabin being finished, the ceremony of house warming took place before the young couple were permitted to move into it.
86 ' History of West Virginia
"The house warming was a dance of a whole night's continuance, made up of the relatives of the bride and groom and their neighbors. On the day following, the young couple took possession of their new premises.
"We desire now to say a few words about the sports of the pioneer. These were such as might be expected among a people who, owing to the circumstances, as well as educa- tion, set higher value on physical than mental endowments, and on skill in hunting and bravery in war than any polite accomplishment or the fine arts.
"Many of the sports of the early settlers of this country were imitative of the exercises and stratagems of hunting and war. Boys were taught the use of the bow and arrow at an early age ; but, although they acquired considerable adroit- ness in the use of them, so as to kill a bird or squirrel, yet it appears to me that in the hands of the white people the bow and arrow could never be depended upon for warfare or hunt- ing, unless made and managed in a different manner from any specimen I have ever seen.
"One important pastime of our boys was that of imitating the noise of every bird and beast in the woods. This faculty was not merely a pastime, but a very necessary part of educa- tion, on account of its utility under certain circumstances. Imitating the gobbling and other sounds of the wild turkey often brought those keen-eyed and ever-watchful tenants of the forest within the reach of the rifle. The bleating of the fawn brought its dam to her death in the same way. The hunter often collected a company of mopish owls to the trees about his camp, and amused himself with their hoarse scream- ing. His howl would raise and obtain response from a pack of wolves, so as to inform him of their whereabouts as well as to guard him against their depredations.
"This imitative faculty was sometimes requisite as a measure of precaution in war. The Indians, when scattered about in a neighborhood, often called together by imitating turkeys by day and wolves or owls by night. In similar situ- ations our people did the same. I have often witnessed the consternation of a whole neighborhood in consequence of the screeching owls. An early and correct use of this imitative
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faculty was considered as an indication that its possessor would become in due time a good hunter and a valiant war- rior.
"Throwing the tomahawk was another boyish sport, in which many acquired considerable skill. The tomahawk, with its handle of a certain length, will make a given number of turns within a certain distance; say in five steps, it will strike with the edge, the handle downward ; at the distance of seven and a half, it will strike with the edge, the handle upwards, and so on. A little experience enabled the boy to measure the distance with his eye, when walking through the woods, and strike a tree with his tomahawds: in any w^ay he chose.
"The athletic sports of running, jumping and wrestling were the pastimes of boys in common with men. A well grown boy, at the age of twelve or thirteen years, was fur- nished with a small rifle and shot punch. He then became a fort soldier, and had his port hole assigned him. Hunting squirrels, turkeys and raccoons soon made him expert in the use of his gun.
"Dramatic narrations, chiefly concerning Jack and the Giant, furnished our young people with another source of amusement during their leisure hours. Many of these tales were lengthy and embraced a considerable range of incident. Jack, always the hero of the story, after encountering many difficulties, and performing many great achievements, came ofif conqueror of the Giant. Many of these stories were tales of knight-errantry, in which some captive virgin was released from captivity and restored to her lover.
"These dramatic narrations concerning Jack and the Giant bore a strong resemblance to the poems of Ossian, the story of Cyclops and Ulysses in the Odyssey of Homer, and the tale of Giant and Great-heart in the Pilgirm's Progress ; they were so arranged as to the different incidents of the narration that they were easily committed to memory. They certainly have been handed do\\-n from generarions from time immemorial. 'Civilization has indeed banished the use of those tales of romantic heroism; 1)ut what then? It has sub- stituted in their place the novel and romance.'
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"Singing was another, but not very common amusement among our first settlers. Their tunes were rude enough, to be sure. Robin Hood furnished a number of our songs : the balance were mostly tragic. These last were denominated 'love songs about murder'. As to cards, dice, backgammon and other games of chance, we knew nothing about them. These are amongst the blessed gifts of civilization.
EARLY TRIALS AND HARDSHIPS.
"My reader," says Mr. Doddridge, "will naturally ask where were their mills for grinding grain? Where their tan- neries for making leather? Where their smith-shops for making and repairing their farming utensils? Who were their carpenters, tailors, cabinet workmen, shoemakers and weavers? The answer is, Those manufacturers did not exist, nor had they any tradesmen who were professedly such.
"Every family were under the necessity of doing every- thing for themselves as well as they could. The hominy block and hand mills were in use in most of our houses. The first was made of a large block of wood about three feet long, with an excavation burned in one end, wide at the top, and narrow at the bottom, so that the action of the pestle on the bottom threw the corn up the sides towards the top of it, from whence it continually fell down into the center. In consequence of this movement, the whole mass of the grain was pretty equally subjected to the strokes of the pestle. In the fall of the year, while the Indian corn was soft, the block and pestle did very well for making meal for Johnny cake and mush, but were rather slow when the corn became hard.
"The sweep was sometimes used to lessen the toil of pounding grain into meal. This Avas a pole of some springy, elastic wood, thirty feet long or more; the butt end was placed under the side of the house, or a large stump. This pole was supported by two forks, placed about one-third of its length from the butt end, so as to elevate the small end about fifteen feet from the ground ; to this was attached, by a large mortise, a piece of sapling, about five or six inches in diameter, and eight or ten feet long. The lower end of this was shaped so as to answer for a pestle. A pin of wood was put through
History of West Virginia 89
it at a proper height, so that two persons could get at the sweep at once. Ti i simple machine very much lessened the labor and expedited the work. I remember that when a boy I put up an excellent sweep at m}' father's. It was made of a sugar tree sapling. It was kept going almost constantly from morning until night by our neighbors for several weeks. In the Greenbrier country, where they had a number of saltpetre caves, the first settlers made plenty of excellent gunpowder by means of those sweeps and mortars.
"A machine, still more simple than the mortar and pestle, was vised for making meal, while the corn was too soft to be beaten. It was called a grater. This was a half circular piece of tin, perforated with a punch from the concave side, and rubbed on the rough edges of the holes, while the meal fell through them on the board or block to which the grater was nailed, which, being in a slanting direction, discharged the meal into a cloth or bowl placed for its reception. (Note : The grater — as above described — is still in use by many families in West Virginia, and perhaps in other States, in the fall be- fore the corn has become sufficiently hardened and seasoned for the mill ; and the author and his family avail themselves of this crude, but convenient, method of procuring new corn meal during the short period that corn remains in a suitable condition for grating; and those who have never eaten mush or pone made from new corn meal thus obtained have missed much indeed.)
"The hand mill was later than the mortar and grater. It was made of two circular stones, the lower of which was called the bed-stone, the upper one the runner. These were placed in a hoop, with a spout for discharging the meal. A staff was let into a hole in the u])per surface of the runner, near the outer edge, and its upper end through a hole in a board fastened to a joist, so that two persons could be em- ployed in turning the mill at the same time. The grain was put into the opening in the runner by hand. These mills are still in use in Palestine, the ancient country of the Jews. To a mill of this sort our Savior alluded when, with reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, he said, 'Two women shall be grinding at a mill, the one shall be taken and the other left'.
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This mill is much preferable to that used at the present time in Upper Egypt for making the dhoura bread. It is a smooth stone, placed on an inclined plane, upon which the grain is spread, which is made into meal by rubbing another stone up and down upon it. Our first water mills were of that descrip- tion denominated tub-mills. It consists of a perpendicular shaft, to the lower end of which a horizontal wheel about four or five feet in diameter is attached ; the upper end passes through the bed-stone, and carries the runner after the man- ner of a 'brundlehead'. These mills were built with very little expense, and many of them answered the purpose very well. Instead of bolting cloths, sifters were in general use. They were made of deer skins, in the state of parchment, stretched over a hoop, and perforated with a hot wire.
"Our clothing was all of domestic manufacture. We had no other resource for clothing, and this indeed was a poor one. The crops of flax often failed, and sheep were destroyed by the wolves. Linsey, which is made of flax and wool^ — the former the chain, and the latter the filling — was the warmest and most substantial cloth we could make. Almost every house contained a loom, and almost every woman was a weaver. (Although the flax breaker and hackle, the spinning wheel and loom, would today seem very crude implements for the manufacture of cloth, the finished product was superior in durability to any linen or woolen goods on the market to- day. The writer's mother was an expert weaver, and as re- cently as thirty-five years ago he wore clothing made by her own hands from cloth of her manufacture. Many of these old looms are still in existence, but few, if any, are in use, except for the weaving of rag carpets.) — S. M.
"Every family tanned their own leather. The tan-vat was a large trough sunk to the upper edge in the ground. A quantity of bark was easily obtained in clearing and fencing land. This, after drying, was brought in, and in wet days was shaved and pounded on a block of wood with an axe or mallet. Ashes were used in place of lime for taking off the hair. Bear's oil, hog's lard and tallow answered the place of fish oil. The leather, to be sure, was coarse ; but it was sub- stantially good. The operation of currying was performed
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by a drawing knife with its edges turned, after the manner of a currying knife. The blacking for the leather was made of soot and hog's lard. Almost every family contained its own tailors and shoemakers. Those who could not make shoes could make shoe-packs. These, like moccasins, were made of a single piece of leather, with the exception of a tongue piece on the top of the foot. This was made two inches broad and circular at the lower end. To this the main piece of leather was sewed with a gathering stitch. The seam behind was like that of the moccasin. To the shoe-pack a sole was sometimes added. The women did the tailor work. They could all cut out and make hunting shirts, leggins and drawers.
"The state of society which existed in our country at an early period of its settlement is well calculated to call into action native mechanical genius. With the few tools which they brought with them into the country, they certainly per- formed wonders. Their plows, harrows with wooden teeth, and sleds were in many instances well made. Some made wagons with wheels sawn from gum trees, which answered their purpose very well. Their cooper ware, which compre- hended everything for holding milk and water, was generally well executed. The cedar ware, by having alternately a white and red stave, Avas then thought beautiful ; many of their puncheon floors were made very neat, their joints close, and the top even and smooth. Their looms, although heavy, did very well, the workmanship in many cases being nearly, if not quite, equal to similar handiwork of today.
"Wild animals roamed the forests at will. \^enison and bear meat afforded the principal diet for many of the early settlers. But the bears and wolves often caused much annoy- ance and loss of property. The bear was the natural enemy of the hog, and the wolf was equally destructive of the sheep."
Note : William Glover, grand father of the writer of this book, about the year 1875 related a story of his adventure with a bear when he was a small boy, about the year 1820. The story, as I remember it, ran about as follows :
"We lived near what is now the eastern apjiroach to Glover's Gap tunnel, near the present boundary line between
92 History of West Virginia
Marion and Wetzel counties. Our log cabin stood in a small clearing, surrounded by a dense forest. Bears, wolves and other wild animals were quite plentiful. Near the cabin, in a small ravine, there was a large spring, where mother was accustomed to do our washing. On one summer day, while thus engaged, her attention was attracted by a very emphatic signal of distress on the part of some hogs that were running at large in the woods near by. My brothers and I — there were some half dozen of us, most of whom were small 'tads', in home-spun shirts and bare legs — were playing 'Injun' not far away, when mother called us to go and ascertain what was wrong with the hogs. With our rudely constructed bows and arrows and war clubs, we started in the direction from whence the noise came, tearing through the brush and shouting like little savages. On reaching the scene of trouble, we found an old sow with her back broken; her little pigs were darting around, here and there, in a frightened way ; while a large black bear was making off up the hill with a little porker in his mouth. It was easy to see that we had the bluff on Mr. Bruin, and we boldly followed, calling him all sorts of ugly names for daring to steal one of our hogs. But, finally, when nearing the top of the hill, the bear stopped and looked around. We immediately did the same, and hit only the high places on the return home. As long as the bear was headed the other way, we all made believe that we were very brave — 'heap big Injun — but when the bear stopped and faced about, we all suddenly became very home sick, and were not long in getting there."
The description of "A Pioneer Wedding", by the Hon. George Wesley Atkinson, in his "History of Kanawha County", is such a graphic portrayal of life among the good old West Virginia pioneer that the writer can not well refrain from reproducing it here. Indeed, the events depicted are nearly on a parallel with scenes that came under my own personal observation in my boyhood days, in certain rural districts in Marion County, back in the sixties. Of course these conditions have long since given way before the ad- vancement of education and the general march of progress ; but whether that whole-souled, unadulterated hospitality, so
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characteristic of our forefathers, lias kept pace with other virtues, I will let the reader answer according to his own view.
A PIONEER WEDDING.
(By George Wesley Atkinson, in "History of Kanawha
County".)
Every nation has its customs, and every age has its peculiar whims of fashion, dress and style. The wealthy citi- zens of the great cities kill the "fatted calf", wine flows freely, and they have grand balls, and bridal tours which, in many cases, "take in" all places of note and importance in both hemispheres ; but the poorer classes, of course, can not indulge in such extravagance when their sons and daughters are united in holy wedlock. It is their custom, however, to have all the fun they can on such occasions, and they seldom fail to enjoy themselves hugely.
It is my purpose, in this chapter, to give a pen picture, as best I can, of a wedding on the Kanawha before Charleston was a city, and before you and I were born.
The parson lived fully eighty miles away. Mountains, creeks, and rivers intervened. The wind blew a gale, and the snow fell thick and fast. The messenger called at his cabin and informed him of his mission. The parson hesitated, but the messenger told him that he must not falter; that there was no other minister nearer than Hacker's Lick; that the young couple were bent upon a marital union, and would, of course, listen to no excuse ; that the entire settlement were preparing for the occasion, and the hearts of many would bleed if he disappointed them. The old parson, who had ridden thou- sands of miles, through rain and ice, to meet his appointments as an itinerant minister of the Gospel, and had never failed, while in health, to be on time, after a lengthy consultation with his wife at last consented to go. He saddled his horses and in company with the guide, and his wife, who always accompanied him upon such occasions, he started westward to the settlement on the Kanawha.
Passing over the adventures and the sufferings which were then consequent upon a ride of eighty miles through a
94 History of West Virginia
trackless wilderness, I find them at the settlement the evening before the day appointed for the riiarriage. The parson was the first minister who had ever left a foot-print in the sands of this frontier settlement, and there was no little excitement over his arrival. They rode up to the door of the parents of the young lady who was to be united in marriage, and their presence was announced by a number of little tow-haired urchins, from a fifteen or twenty pounder in size up to a round hundred or more avovirdupois, in the following fearless arid undismayed manner :
"Mother ! mother ! hyur's the circuit rider and his wife, and they're nothin' but people like us, either. He's a big fat .man like Uncle Bill, and she's big too, and has got on a black straw hat with a turkey tail all along the side on it ! Oh, Kate, you ought to jist see his nose. It's longer nor Uncle John's and as crooked as the gourd handle, and turns down at the end like pap's off ox's horn, that one what ain't broke off, you know !"
"Hush ! children, hush !" shouted a womanly voice from the rear shed of the cabin, "keep quiet now and behave your- selves like good boys and girls. Billy, you take 'Watch' and hiss him on the black spring rooster, but don't make much noise. Nance, you quit rockin' the baby, and sweep the dirt off'n the ha'th. Jane, you quit churnin' and drive out that good-for-nothin' dog. Jim, shove that shoe bench under the bed, and wipe the water off'n them cheers for the preacher and his woman to set on, and don't fool about it nuther. Be quick to handle yourself!"
By this time the matron had reached the front door, and, opening it, confronted the parson and his wife.
"Come in," said she, "and make yourselves at home. We ain't very well fixed for keepin' company, but you are wel- come to the best we've got. Come in. Set up to the fire. 'Most froze, ain't you? I know you are. The old man, he's up the holler feedin' the hogs and water'n the calves, but he'll be along presently, and will put up your horses. We've got plenty, sich as it is, and you're welcome to it. Now make yourselves at home," and she left the room.
In a short time she returned, dressed in another gown,
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and, wiping the perspiration from her face with a tow-lin^n apron, continued:
"Well, parson, we've hearn of you afore, but it's the fust time any of us ever seed you in these parts; and this is your woman? I'm reel glad to see her, too," and she gave another shake of the hand. "We was afeerd she wouldn't come, as it w^as so fur and so cold and rough. You must excuse my looks, I hain't had no time to comb my head since yisterday mornin'. Work, you know, must be done fust, and fixin' up afterwards, 'specially when there's a weddin' on hands. Shoo, there! Sammy, drive them ducks out'n the kitchen. Sail, you take the woman's fixin's and hang 'em on the rack. Set right up to the fire and warm yourselves, and make your- selves feel as though you was jist right at home. W^e don't keer for style down hyur. We're plain home people." The old lady then subsided, and the parson and his good wife had a moment's rest.
By this time the barking of the dog and the yells of the boys evidenced the fact that there was a serious time among the chickens. The "black rooster" had been executed in short order, and his bulky carcass was thrown lifeless on the kitchen floor. Sally picked him up and dropped him into a large kettle of boiling water, and proceeded to remove his feathers instanter. The disturbance in the poultry yard gradually quieted down, until not even the musical quacking of an inde- pendent duck could be heard; and a few minutes later the old fat hound who had taken an innocent part in the chase had fallen asleep in the corner, and was beginning to enjoy his systematic snoring, when the front door opened and two or three tow-headed boys entered, and, before they could close the door, a large cur pushed his shaggy form into the room and made a direct drive for the fire. The matron, observing the presence of the intruder, reached for the poker and "went for him". "Watch" howled piteously and struck a "bee line" for the kitchen, and as he had no time to work his rudder or measure distance, he ran into the churn, upsetting it ; and bearing slightly to the north-east, he collided with the kettle of scalded rooster, and in like manner turned it in promis- cuous order upon the puncheon floor. At this juncture the
96 History of West Virginia
situation was somewhat serious in that pioneer household. The preacher had been an eye witness to the unfortunate occurrence, and that was what was the matter. If it had only been kept from his ministerial gaze no one would have cared. Well, it was no use to "cry over spilt milk", so the matron came promptly to the rescue.
"Get the wooden ladle, Nan, and dip up the milk, and don't scrape no dirt up neither. Keep the scrapin's for the pigs. Be nice about it, daughter, because the preacher's hyur, and we read in the good book that 'cleanliness is next to God- liness', and besides, you are to be spliced to-morrow. Kill that dog if he sticks his head inside this house ag'in. Keep the children out of mischief, and hurry on the supper, for I know that the parson and his woman are well nigh starved, as they hain't had nuthin' to eat since they crossed Sewell mountain early this mornin'. Push things, Nancy, and show 'em you're the smartest gal in the settlement, kase I know you are."
"Oh, mother, please shut up. I'll do everything right, and more, too," said the unpretentious bride-elect.
Well, supper came, and, although very hungry, the par- son and his wife partook of that meal cautiously and thought- fully. They had witnessed some things on that evening in the culinary department of that household which had a ten- dency to weaken the demands of the inner man ; and yet noth- ing extraordinary at all had transpired. Customs vary in every locality. The parson, though an old itinerant minister, had not yet fully completed his education. He had not yet fully mastered the field of the itinerancy, or the simple fact of the upsetting of the churn would not in the least have troubled his appetite. Pioneers would call him fastidious, and they would not misapply the term. "A man in Rome should do as Romans do," but our parson and his wife had not quite attained that degree of perfection in the study of human peculiarities which would enable them to put this principle into practice. Had the demands of the inner man been less exacting, in all probability no supper would Kave been eaten by the parson and his wife that night. They ate, however, and ate heartily.
Night came, and the parson, being weary, after reading
History of West Virginia 97
the scriptures, singing, and prayer, desired to retire. One of the boys lighted a pine torch, and bidding the parties to fol- low, started for the second story of the cabin by means of a step-ladder in the chimney corner. The parson hesitated, but in response to cries of "Come on", he went, followed by his wife. Saying nothing of a bruised forehead, which he received by colliding with a girder of the building, and a narrow escape from a fall to the room below, occasioned by the giving way of one of the boards in the floor, they succeded in laying themselves down to rest in a raccoon skin bed with straw underneath. Five of the family slept in the same room, and all of them snored as musically as the low, hoarse rattle that emanates from the throttle of a rusty steam-valve. The par- son dreamed, slept, prayed, and listened, in about the order named, and how he longed for the dawn of day!
Morning came, and they arose. The wind was calm, and the sun smiled upon the grand hills which surrounded this pioneer home. Nature was rejoicing, and so were the family, for it was but a few hours until the oldest daughter and sister was to be united in wedlock with a young man of the neigh- borhood, whose rifle never missed fire, and who had never lowered his arm in a contest with the savages.
The hour for the marriage had arrived. The crowd had assembled. The bride was attired in a flannel gown striped with red and blue, and around her shoulders was neatly thrown a white, blue, and red woolen scarf, knit from moun- tain spun yarn. She was elegantly dressed, and was fresh as a morning-glory and white as a lily. She was the symbol of beauty and elegance. Her hair was fixed up a la frontiere, with rooster feathers through and through. She was a fresh- blown wild rose from the mountains of the Great Kanawha.
The bridegroom came at an early hour. He was dressed in buckskin pants, calf-skin vest, tanned with the hair on, and wore a blue jeans hunting-shirt and beaded moccasins. He was a stalwart young man. His shoulders were broad, and his chest full and rounded. He M^as fleet of foot, and when he pulled the trigger of his rifle something always fell.
The house was filled, a score or more stood outside the doors and windows, and all were anxiously waiting for the old parson "to tie the knot". The bridegroom took his posi-
98 History of West Virginia
tion on the floor, and called to Nancy to come on. She was in the back shed of the cabin, and failed to respond to the call of her lover. The old gentleman, however, soon brought her to the front, and the parson began the ceremony ; and when he reached the place where the question is asked, "If any person present can show any just cause why this couple should not be joined together, etc., let him now speak, or else forever hold his peace," there was a pause. The silence was profound. •
" 'Twas as the general pulse of life stood still."
But the silence was soon broken. A tall, good looking young man over in the far corner of the room, in a very excited tone, exclaimed :
"I have an objection!"
The parson asked him to state his objection.
He replied : "Sir, I want her myself !"
The parson decided that his point was tiot well taken, and proceeded with the ceremony. After he had gone through it, and pronounced them man and wife, he ordered the young man to salute his bride, and her to salute her husband, which they did with an earnest embrace and a hearty kiss. Then followed the congratulations of the crowd, who approached the couple, one by one, shook hands with both of them, and the men and women, kissed the bride ; after which, in like order, they withdrew from the building.
The parson, after breakfast of bear meat, venison, corn- cake, and hominy, received for his services a promiscuous package of all kinds of fur skins, wrapped neatly around several pounds of tobacco, which was not only considered a luxury, but in those days was a legal tender also.
The old parson and his wife took their trophies and left for their home beyond the Sewells, and the party, led by the newly married couple, went to dancing, which they kept up, without intermission, for three days and nights.
The foregoing description of a frontier marriage will not apply, altogether, to every family of that day, but on the whole it is not overdrawn or exaggerated. Times and styles change as well as men, and a rehearsal of old history often appears quite ridiculous and unreasonable, yet such things have literally occurred. I was not present at the wedding
History of West Virginia 99
described, nor was any one who is noAv living, but tradition has given us a well preserved record of how people were mar- ried a hundred years ago in this beautiful valley, which was then seldom traversed by any other than a savage race, and it is my privilege and pleasure to put it in print and hand it down to posterity.
CHAPTER VII.
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR— 1754 TO 1763. (From West Virginia Archives and History.)
From the coming of the first white settlers to West Virginia to the year 1754 — a period of nearly thirty years — the white men and Indians dwelt together in peace and har- mony. The Shawnees had their wigwams at "Old Town," Maryland, opposite the mouth of the South Branch of the Potomac; at the "Indian Old Fields," now in Hardy County, in the valley of that river; and at the "Shawnee Springs," now Winchester, in Frederick County, Virginia. "But," says Kercheval, "in the year 1753, emissaries from the West- ern Indians came among the (Shenandoah) Valley Indians, inviting them to cross the Alleghany Mountains ; and in the Spring of 1754 they suddenly and unexpectedly moved off and immediately left the valley." This movement was evi- dently made under the influence of the French. Both France and England had been engaged but recently in the War of the Austrian Succession, and the truce secured by the terms of the treaty, of Aix-la-Chapelle afforded to both an oppor- tunity to push their schemes of colonization into the Ohio Valley — a region which both claimed but neither possessed. But the final struggle for territorial supremacy in America was at hand. "The country west of the Great Mountains is the center of the British Dominions," wrote Lord Hillsbor- ough. The English occupied the point at the "Forks of the Ohio" — now Pittsburgh — and began the erection of a fort. The French came down the Allegheny River, dispossessed them and completed the fort, calling it Fort Duquesne. In 1755 the English General, Edward Braddock, with the 44th and 48th Royal Infantry Regiments, came to Virginia, and, having been joined by a large force of provincial trp'ops, marched against Fort Duquesne; but when within ten miles thereof, his army was shot down by the French and Indians
History of West Virginia 101
on the fatal field of Monongaliela. Then began a war of extermination — a border war carried on against the West Virginia settlements. This continued for seven long years, in all of which the French and Indians, or the latter alone, carried death and desolation all along the frontier of civiliza- tion. The West Virginia pioneers nevertheless stood their ground, and, aided by companies of rangers from the older Virginia settlements, warred successfully against their bar- barian enemies until the close of the war in 1763.
The depredations of the French and Indians upon the white settlements during the years of this war w^ere particu- larly fatal on the frontier settlements of West Virginia. They destroyed the settlement of Foyle and Tygart on Tygart's Valley River ; that of the Eckarleys at Dunkard's Bottom on Cheat River; and that at the mouth of Decker's Creek on the Monongaliela. Then scalping parties overran all the region drained by the upper tributaries of the Potomac and Greenbrier Rivers ; and then carried death and desola- tion eastward to Jackson's River and to the Lower Shenan- doah Valley. Everywhere dark mysterious clouds of malig- nant spirits hung upon the horizon, threatening every moment to overwhelm and exterminate the half-protected pioneers in their wilderness homes, and there was scarcely a settlement in all the region from the Potomac to the New River that did not experience some of the fatal effects of the terrible storm of savage warfare which raged so fiercely around them. Then there were battlefields on the soil of West Virginia. The battle of Great Cacapon River was fought in what is now Bloomery Magisterial District, in Han.pshire County, April 18th, 1756, between a detachment of one hundred men of Colonel Washington's regiment, under Capt. John Mercer, on one §ide, and a body of French and Indians on the other. The battle of Lost River was fought in the Spring of 1756 in what is now^ Lost River IMagisterial District, Hardy Cou'nty, between West Virginia frontiersmen under Capt. Jeremiah Smith and a body of fifty Indians commanded by a French officer. The battle of the Trough was fought in 1756 in what is now Moorefield Magisterial District, Hardy County, between a body of seventy Indians, allies of the French, and a Virginia garrison from Fort Pleasant near by.
102 History of West Virginia
The massacre at Fort Seybert occurred in May, 1758, in what is now Bethel Magisterial District, Pendleton County, on the South Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac, twelve miles east of the present town of Franklin ; the Fort was attacked by Shawnee Indians, under the celebrated chief, Killbuck; the garrison surrendered and all were massacred, save one.
Expedition of General Edward Braddock — March of the
British Army Through the Eastern Part of
West Virginia.
The year 1754 closed with the French in complete pos- session of the Ohio Valley. But a war was in progress which, in its results, was to change the geography of a continent and exert a powerful influence in moulding the destiny of nations. Both nations — France and England — speedily mus- tered veteran regiments fresh from the battlefields of the Old World and transferred them to the wilds of the New. In mid-winter, 1755, Gen. Edward Braddock, a British general, sailed from the harbor of Cork, Ireland, with two regiments destined for Virginia. February 20th the ships which bore them across the Atlantic arrived in Chesapeake Bay and proceeded up the Potomac River to Alexandria, where all were disembarked preparatory to the march through the wilderness, the object being the recovery of Fort Duquesne at the forks of the Ohio — now Pittsburgh. The troops which came with Braddock were the 44th and 48th Royal Infantry Regiments, commanded by Sir Peter Halket and Col. Thomas Dunbar. Sir John St. Clair was the Quartermaster-General and Lieut. Robert Orme was the Chief Aid to the General. From Alexandria the army moved up the Potomac, passing the site of the present City of Washington, and proceeded to Fredericktown, Maryland. Its progress from there to Wills' Creek, now Cumberland, the metropolis of western Maryland, is a subject of intense inter- est to every student of West Virginia history. This is because a large part of the distance marched between these points was through what is now the eastern part of the State. In
History of West Virginia 103
this connection the following from the Journal of Lieutenant Orme is of special interest:
"As no road had been made to Wills' Creek on the Maryland side of the Potomac, the 48th Regiment was obliged to cross that river at Congogee (now Conococheague Creek, Washington County, Maryland,) and to fall into the Virginia Road near Winchester. The General ordered a bridge to be built over the Antietam (Creek), which being finished and provision laid on the road. Colonel Dunbar marched with his regiment, the 48th, from Fredericktown, Maryland, on the 28th day of April, and about this time the bridge over the Opecoon in Virginia, now in Berkeley County, West Virginia, was finished for the passage of the artillery, and floats were built on all the rivers and creeks."
On the 29th of April the 48th Regiment, under Colonel Dunbar, took up its line of march from Frederick, Mary- land, to the mouth of Conococheague Creek, now in Wash- ington County, that State ; thence across and up the Opequon River to the vicinity of Winchester, in Frederick County ; thence westward and north-westward over the mountains to the "Forks of Cacapon", in Hampshire County, now West Virginia ; and thence to the mouth of Little Cacapon, where the army crossed the Potomac and was in Maryland again. The following description of the progress of the army through eastern West Virginia is quoted from what is known as the "Seaman's Journal." which \A'as doubtless written by Lieutenant Spcndelowe, of the detachment of Marines sent by Commodore Keppel, of the British fleet, A\ith Rraddock on his expedition to the Ohio :
"April 29th. 1755: ^^> began our marcli (from Freder- icktown) at 6, but found much difficulty in loading our bag- gage, so that we left several things behind us, particularly the men's hammocks. A\'e arrived at 3 o'clock at one ^\'alk- er's, 18 miles from Frederick, and encamped there on good ground ; this day we passed the !^outh Ridge (South Moun- tain) or Shenandah (Shenandoah) Mountains, very easy in the ascent. We saw plenty of hares, deer, and partridges. This place is wanting of all refreshments.
"On the 30th : — At 6, we marched in our wav to Conoco-
104 History of West Virginia
chieg, where we arrived at 2 o'clock, 16 miles from Walker's i this is a fine situation, close to the Potomac. We found the Artillery Stores going by water to Wills' Creek, and left two of our men here.
''May 1st : — At 5, we went with our people, and began ferrying the Army &c. into Virginia, which we completed b}^ 10 o'clock, and marched in our way to one John Evens,* where we arrived at 3 o'clock — 17 miles from Connecocheig, and 20 from Winchester. We got some provisions and forage here. The roads now begin to be very indifferent.
"On the 2nd ; — As it is customary in the Army to halt a day after 3 days' march we halted today to rest the Army.
"On the 3rd : — Marched at 5 in our way to one Widow Barringer's, 18 miles from Evans : this day was so excessively hot that several officers and many men could not get on till the evening, but the body got to their ground at 3 o'clock. This is 5 miles from Winchester, a fine station if properly cleared.
"On the 14th : — Marched at 5 in our way to one Potts — 9 miles from the Widow's — where we arrived at 10 o'clock. The road this day was bad ; we got some wild turkeys here : in the night it came to blow hard at N. W.
"On the 5th : — Marched at 5 in our way to one Henry Enoch's*, being 16 miles from Potts, where we arrived at 2 o'clock. The road this day lay over prodigious mountains, and between the same we crossed over a run of water 20 times in 3 miles' distance. After going 15 miles we came to a river called Kahapetin (Cacapon), where our men ferried the Army
(*The John Evans here mentioned was the builder and defender of Fort Evans, a stockade, which was situated about two miles from the site of the present town of Martins- burg, in Berkeley County. It was partially erected in 1755, and completed the following year. Scarcely was it ready for occupancy when the French and Indians made an incursion into the vicinity, and the people, among them the founders of Martinsburg, found refuge in this fort. Then it was besieged, but the heroism of those within saved the fort from destruction, and themselves from massacre. — Kercheval's "History of the Shenandoah Valley".)
History of West Virginia 105
over and got to our ground, where we found a company of Peter Halket's encamped. f
"On the 6th : — We halted this day to refresh the Army.
"On the 7th : — We marched at 5 in our way to one Cox's (Probably Friend Cox, whom Washington mentions in his report of survey, April 25th, 1750, while in the employ of Lord Fairfax), 12 miles from Enoch's. This morning was very cold, but by 10 o'clock it was very hot. We crossed another run of water 19 times in 2 miles, and got to our ground at 2 o'clock, and encamped close to the Potomac. (On Virginia side. — V. A. L.)
"On the 8th : — We began to ferry the Army over tlie river into Maryland, which was completed at 10, and then we marched on our way to one Jackson's, 8 miles from Cox's. At noon it rained very hard and continued so till 2 o'clock, when we got to our ground and encamped on the banks of the Potomac. A fine situation, with a good deal of clear ground about it."
April 30th, Braddock left Fredericktown with his stafif and a body-guard of light horses. Before leaving Alexandria, he had purchased from Gov. Horatio Sharpe, of Maryland, a chariot, one of the cumbersome carriages of that day, and made his journey through eastern West Virginia with a degree of style far better suited to the streets of London than the roadway through the forests of Berkeley County and over the Hampshire hills at that time. He arrived at Wills' Creek — Fort Cumberland, — where he found in camp six com- panies of the 44th Regiment, nine companies of Virginia Rangers, and independent companies from North Carolina, South Carolina, New York and Maryland.
(*Henry Enoch resided in the "Forks of Cacapon" as early as 1750. He was one of Washington's chain carriers, when surveying land for John Parker in Little Cacapon River, April 26th, 1750.— V. A. Lewis, in W. Va. Archives and History.)
(fThe Company belonged to the 44th Rcgt., which marched over the same route in advance of the 48th. — ^V. A. L.)
106 History of West Virginia
From Cumberland the army began the march to Fort Duquesne, and it was the evening of the 8th of July when the columns, for the second time, reached the Monongahela River at a point ten miles distant from that fortress. On the next day a crossing was effected and once more the ranks were formed on the level plain before them. The order of march was given, but scarcely were the columns in motion when a deadly fire was poured in upon them. It came from a body of eight hundred French and Indians concealed in the dense forest, and this was continued until of the twelve hundred men who crossed the Monongahela that morning sixty-seven officers and seven hundred and fourteen privates were either killed or wounded. Braddock was among the latter, and four days later he died, his name evermore to be associated with defeat. The remainder of the army returned to Fort Cum- berland, and thence the West Virginians and Virginians pro- ceeded to their homes and to Philadelphia.
The Battle on the Monongahela — Braddock's Defeat.
As previously stated. Gen. Edward Braddock, a British General, sailed from the harbor of Cork, Ireland, with two regiments destined for Virginia; and on February 20th, 1755, the ships which bore them across the Atlantic arrived in Chesapeake Bay, and proceeded up the Potomac River to Alexandria, where all were disembarked preparatory to the march through the wilderness, the object being the recovery of Fort Duquesne — now Pittsburgh, Penna.
Before proceeding with a description of the great battle, it might be appropriate to here give a brief explanation of the events leading up to this point.
As elsewhere stated, both France and England aspired for supremacy in the Ohio Valley. In order to counteract the movements of the French in the construction of trading posts in territory claimed by England, the latter country gave to the Ohio Company (an organization of Englishmen and Virginians) liberty to locate and hold in their own right 600,000 acres of land within the disputed territory. Pursuant to this grant, the Company proceeded to establish trading
History of West Virginia 107
posts among the Indians near the Ohio. Following this move- ment the French seized and made prisoners of many of the English and A^irginia traders ; and, by use of troops stationed at convenient points, succeeded in opening a communication from Presq Isle to the Ohio River. The Ohio Company then sent a party of men to erect a stockade where Pittsburgh now stands, a mo\-cmcnt recommended by General Wash- ington. This party was accompanied by a detachment of militia which had been ordered out by the governor ; but before this was completed they were driven ofif by the French, who immediately took possession of the place and erected thereon Fort Duquesne.
Preparatory to the movement against Fort Duquesne by Braddock, the English government had communicated certain instructions to Governor Dinwiddie, among which was an order to place the colonial militia on the footing of independ- ent companies. The result of this was the reduction of Washington to a captaincy, which he refused and thereupon resigned. Braddock, however, offered him a place on his staff, which Washington accepted, the order of his appoint ment being announced at Fort Cumberland May 10th.
We will now proceed with our story as related by De Hass in "Indian Wars in Western Virginia":
On the 20th of April the whole force, embracing about twenty-five hundred men, moved from Alexandria, and in due time reached Wills' Creek, where a fort had been erected by Colonel Innes, and named Cumberland in honor of the distinguished duke. Here the army was unfortunately de- layed for nearly a month by the Virginia contractors failing to furnish the required number of horses and wagons.
At length, through the efforts and personal influence of Franklin, the Postmaster-General of the Colonies, they were supplied by some Pennsylvania farmers. But this was only the commencement of their difficulties. The mountain wil- derness presented obstacles that for a time seemed to defy the energy and capacity of the European general. During 'the first three days' march, the army advanced but nine miles. In many places they were compelled to double their teams in
108 History of West Virginia
front, and often, in climbing the mountain sides, their hne was extended to four miles in length.
On the seventh day they had reached the Little Meadows, where Washington advised that the heavy artillery should be left, together with -the wagons, and that the baggage, &c., be taken on pack horses. To this suggestion Braddock at last reluctantly assented. Twelve hundred men, with twelve pieces of cannon, were chosen as the advance corps. This was headed by Braddock in person, assisted by Sir Peter Halket as Brigadier-General, Colonels Gage and Burton and Major Sparks. Washington, who was too ill to travel, was left with Colonel Dunbar and the balance of the army.
On the 8th of July, after a march of nineteen days, which could have been accomplished in nine had it not been for the "fastidiousness and presumption of the commander- in-chief", who, instead of pushing on with vigor, "halted to level every mole-hill and bridge every rivulet", the division reached a point near the mouth of Crooked Run and the Monongahela.
On the morning of the 9th Colonel Washington rejoined the division under Braddock, whom he found in high spirits, and firm in the conviction that within a few hours "he would victoriously enter the walls of Fort Duquesne".
The men were in fine discipline, and as the noontide sun of mid-summer fell upon their burnished arms and brilliant uniforms, there was displayed one of the finest spectacles, as Washington afterward declared, he had ever beheld. Every man was neatly dressed and marched with as much precision as though he had been on parade at Woolwich. The glitter of the bayonets and the "flash of warlike steel contrasted strangely with the deep and peaceful verdure of the forest shade". On the right of the army calmly flowed the Monon- gahela, imaging upon its bosom the doomed host; while, on the left, rose up the green old mountain, the sides of which had never before echoed to the tramp of soldiery or to the strains of martial music.
"How brilliant that morning, but how melancholy that evening."
Before proceeding farther it may be necessary to describe
History of West Virginia 109
the ground now so celebrated at Braddock's Field. It is a small bottom, embracing but a few acres, bounded on the west by the river and on the east by a bluff} bank, through which runs a deep ravine, and over which at the time of the battle and for many years afterward grew •hea\'y trees, matted brambles, vines, grass, etc. Upon this bluff lay con- cealed the Indian and French forces. By one o'clock the entire division had crossed the river: Colonel Gates, with three hundred regulars, followed by another body of two hundred, led the achance. The commander-in-chief, sup- ported by the main column of the army, next crossed. The whole of the advance party remained on the bottom until the rest of the division crossed, and herein was the great error. Had the three hundred or five hundred men under Colonel Gates advanced and drawn the enemy's fire, thus giving the seven hundred men in reserve an opportunity to rout the foe with ball and bayonet, the result of that bloody conflict might have been very different.
The General, having arranged his plans, ordered a move- ment of the division under Colonel ' Gates, while he would bring up in person the residue of the army. The gallant Colonel moved forward with his men, and whilst in the act of passing through the ravine already noticed, a deadly and terrible fire was opened upon them by an invisible foe.
To the brave grenadiers, who had stood fire on the plains of Europe, amid tempests of cannon balls, cutting down whole platoons of their comrades, this new species of warfare was perfectly appalling ; and, unable longer to breast the girdle of fire which enveloped them, they gave way in confusion, involving the whole army in distress, dismay and disorder.
In such a dilemma, with hundreds of his men falling at every discharge, his ranks converted into a wild and reckless multitude, unable to rally and too proud to retreat, Braddock obstinately refused to allow the provincial troops to fight the Indians in their own way. (At this point Washington, seeing the ineffectiveness of the British method of fighting Indians, "besought Braddock to allow him to take three hundred men and fight the Indians after their own fashion, which proposi- tion so much offended Braddock that he cursed Washington
110 History of West Virginia
and threatened to run him through with his sword".) But, Braddock, with a madness incomprehensible, did his utmost to form the men into platoons and wheel them into close columns. The result was horrible and the sacrifices of life without a parallel at that time in Indian warfare. The Vir- ginia regiments, unable to keep together, spread through the surrounding wood, and by this means did all the execution that was effected. Every man fought for himself, and, rush- ing to the trees from behind which gleamed the flash of the rifle, the brave Virginian often bayoneted the savage at his post. This perilous enterprise, however, was attended with terrible sacrifice. Out of three full companies but thirty micn were left. Truly has it been said, "they behaved like men and died like soldiers". Of Captain Poison's company one only escaped. In that of Captain Peyronny every officer from the Captain down was sacrificed.
Of those engaged in this fearful conflict, and who were so fortunate as to escape, were many who afterwards became distinguished in the military and civil annals of Virginia. Of this number were the Lewises, Matthewses, Grants, Fields, etc.
This appalling scene lasted three hours, during which the army stood exposed to the steady fire of a concealed but most deadly foe, and men fell on every hand like grass before the sweep of the scythe.
Finally, Braddock, after having five horses killed under him, fell mortally wounded by the avenging hand of an out- raged American, named Thomas Faucett (or Fawcett) in retaliation for the murder of his brother, Joseph Faucett, who, contrary to Braddock's orders, had sought the protec- tion of a tree during the fight with the Indians. As Braddock fell, all order gave way, and what remained of that so lately proud army rushed heedlessly into the river, abandoning all to the fury of the savages and French. Artillery, ammuni- tion, baggage, including the camp chest of Braddock, which contained, it is said, $375,000 in gold, all fell into the hands of the victorious enemy.
The retreating army rushed wildly forward and did not stop until coming up to the rear division. So appalled were
History of West Virginia 1 1 1
the latter at the terrible disaster that the entire army retreated with disgraceful precipitancy to Fort Cumberland. This, ac- cording to Smollett, "was the most extraordinary victory ever obtained, and the farthest flight ever made".
It was the most disastrous defeat ever sustained by any European army in America. Sixty-three officers and seven hundred and fourteen privates were killed or dangerously wounded. There is, perhaps, no instance upon record where so great a proportion of officers were killed. Out of the eighty-six composing the regiment, but twenty-three escaped unhurt. Their brilliant uniforms seemed sure marks for the deadly aim of the savage.
On that disastrous day the military genius of Washington showed forth with much of that splendor which afterwards made him so illustrious. Two aids of Braddock had fallen, and, therefore, upon Washington alone devolved the duty of distributing orders. "Men were falling thick and fast, yet regardless of danger, he spurred on his steed, galloping here and there through the field of blood. At length his horse sank under him ; a second was procured, and, pressing amid the throng, he sent his calm and resolute voice among the fright- ened ranks, but without avail. A second horse fell beneath him, and he leaped to the saddle of a third, while the bullets rained like hail-stones about him." Four passed through his coat without inflicting the slightest wound, showing clearly that a stronger hand than that of man's protected the body at which they had been aimed. An eye-witness says he expected every moment to see him fall, as his duty exposed him to the most imminent danger. An Indian warrior was often after- wards heard to say that Washington was not born to be shot, as he had fired seventeen times at his person without success.
The courage, energy, bravery and skill displayed by Washington on this occasion marked him as possessed of the highest order of military 'talent. Just from a bed of sickness, yet forgetting his infirmities, he pushed through the panic- stricken crowd, and his bright sword could be seen pointing in every direction as he distributed the orders of liis com- mander.
At last, when
112 History of West Virginia
>!j * ^ (<_
Hapless Braddock met his destined fall,"
the noble Virginia aid, with his provincial troops, who had been held in so much contempt by the haughty and pre- sumptuous general, covered the retreat, and saved the rem- nant of the army from annihilation.
At the fall of Braddock, Washington, with Captain Stuart of the Virginia Guards, hastened to his relief, and bore him from the field of his inglorious defeat, in the sash which had decorated his person. Braddock was taken to Dunbar's camp, on the summit of Laurel Hill, where he breathed his last on the evening of the fourth day after the battle. His body was interred in the center of the road, and the entire army marched over the spot in order that the remains of the unfortunate general might not be desecrated by savage hands. Tradition still designates the place of his burial. It is about nine miles east of Uniontown, and one hundred yards north of the National Road.
The only words General Braddock was heard to utter after his fall were, "Is it possible — all is over!" What a volume of agony did those simple words express. Alas, such is glorious war !
General Braddock was a man of undoubted bravery, but imprudent, arrogant, headstrong and austere. He was a rigid disciplinarian, and could maneuvre twenty thousand men on the plains of Europe equal to any officer of his age ; but per- haps the worst man 'the British government could have selected for leading an army against the savage of America. The Walpole Letters, in speaking of him, say he had been Governor of Gibraltar ; that he was poor and prodigal as well as brutal — "a. very Iroquois in disposition." Also, that he had been engaged in a duel with Mr. Gamley, and an amour with Mrs. Upton.
Before leaving England, the Duke of Cumberland warned him against surprise from the savages. Dr. Franklin also had a conversation with him in Virginia, and strongly advised him to guard against ambuscades, at the same time acquaint- ing him with the mode of warfare peculiar to the Indians. Braddock treated it all as no obstacle, talked of making short work of it, swore he could take Fort Duquesne in a day, then
History of West Virginia 113
proceed up the Allegheny and destroy all the French posts between the Ohio and Canada, &c. It was this spirit of arrogance, hauteur and overweening confidence that brought about his disastrous defeat on the Monongahela. Had he taken the advice of Washington, Franklin, or Sir Peter Halket, and guarded against surprise, his name might not have gone down to posterity connected with the most inglo- rious defeat in the annals of modern warfare, and his bones not have filled a mountain grave in the unbroken solitude of America.
Thus ended the expedition of General Braddock, cer- tainly one of the most unfortunate ever undertaken in the west.
After the retreat of the army, the savages, unwilling to follow the French in pursuit, fell upon the field and preyed on the rich plunder which lay before them. The wounded and slain were robbed of everything, and the naked bodies left a prey to the fierce beasts of the wood. In 1758, after General Forbes had taken Fort Duquesne, it was resolved to search up the remains of Braddock's army, and bury the bones. This was partly carried out at the time, but many years afterwards (June, 1781), a second and more successful attempt was made. George Roush, John Barr and John Rhodenhamer, engaged as scouts, gathered and carted several loads of human bones and deposited them in a hole dug for the purpose. Our informant, who was one of the party, says the place of sepulture was directly on the battlefield. For nearly one hundred years after the battle was fought, farmers still occasionally plowed up some relic of melancholy interest. During the summer of 1850 workmen engaged in grading the track for a railroad threw up numerous bones, bullets and other relics of the noted battle.
The number of French and Indians actually engaged has never been fully ascertained, but variously estimated at from four to eight hundred. Col. James Smith, who was a captive at the time in Fort Duquesne, says the number did not exceed four hundred.
114 History of West Virginia
(There are many other incidents in connection with this unhappy expedition, of more or less importance, which we could relate, but forbear from doing so from lack of space. — Author.)
We take the following- from the Wheeling Register of October 16, 1913:
BRADDOCK'S MONUMENT.
At Uniontown, Pa., yesterday a memorial park was dedi- cated and a monument to Major-General Edward Braddock was unveiled. The incident no doubt will cause many persons to take their histories from dusty shelves and "read up" on the military hero who is thus honored.
It has been a century and a half since the English com- mander led his red-coated regulars and their provincial com- rades into fatal ambush in the attempt to wrest from French hands control of the headwaters of the Ohio River. The fight for Fort Duquesne is referred to by a writer in the New York Sun, in comparison with the present industrial war cen- tered in Pittsburgh, acorn and oak. The French and Indian war was a training school for the Revolution which followed more than twenty years later. Washington campaigned with Braddock, and Morgan, Stark and Israel Putnam, all later to win glory in the struggle of the colonies, participated in the earlv war.
CHAPTER VIII.
FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR— CONTINUED. Attack Upon Fort Duquesne — Its Surrender — Peace Declared.
After the disastrous ending of Braddock's campaign, the Indians crossed the mountains into the unprotected settle- ments of Virginia and Pennsylvania, spreading destruction on the way. They spared neither men, women nor children nor property wherever found. Some of the settlers aban- doned their homes and sought safety beyond the Blue Ridge. Those who remained (from force of circumstances, or other- wise) were subject to savage cruelty, and many forfeited their lives. In Ai)ril, 1756, Washington wrote as follows from Winchester :
"The Blue Ridge is now our frontier, no men being left in this county (Frederick) except a few who keep close with a number of women and children in forts .... The supplicating tears of the women and moving petitions of the men melt me with such extreme sorrow that I solemnly de- clare, if I know my own mind, I could offer myself a willing sacrifice to the butchering enemy, provided that would con- tribute to the people's ease."
As it would be useless to follow up the marauding Indian bands while the French were allowed to hold their position at the head of the Ohio, Washington recommended to the Assembly that an army be sent against Fort Duquesne. After Braddock's defeat on the Monongahcla, F,ngland made no move to drive off the French and Indians until the year 1758. In this year William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, assumed control of the English government. He was a man of noble character, strong mind and great ability, and possessed the full confidence of the nation. The colonists were now in- spired with new hope. They Avere assured that help was forthcoming. He called upon the different governments to
116 History of West Virginia
raise as many men as possible; promised to send over all the necessary munitions of war and to pay liberally all enlisted soldiers. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Nev\^ Hampshire and others each contributed a goodly number of men, and sixteen hundred men were equipped by Virginia and sent to the field under Washington.
It was determined that three expeditions should be sent out. The first against Louisburg, the second against Ticon- deroga and Crown Point, and the third against Fort Duquesne. The first consisted of 14,000 men, twenty ships and eighteen frigates; the second, to consist of 16,000 men, failed to materialize. The third, or western expedition, was under command of Gen. John Forbes. The army consisted of about nine thousand men, including British regulars and provincials from Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Penn- sylvania and the southern counties of Delaware. The Vir- ginia, North Carolina and Alaryland troops were ordered to rendezvous at Winchester, the Pennsylvanians, under Colonel Boquet, assembled at Raystown (now Bedford), at which point they were joined b}^ the British regulars from Philadel- phia.
Owing to sickness. General Forbes was compelled to stop at Carlisle, but about the middle of September, 1758, he continued the march to Bedford, where he met the provincial troops under Colonel Washington. From here they pro- ceeded to Loyalhanna, where Colonel Boquet erected a fort.
Major Grant, with 800 men, was sent forward on a sort of reconnoitering expedition to ascertain the conditions at Fort Duquesne, and to secure such information as might be useful in an attack upon that fortification. But it appears that he thought himself able to take the fort, for with fifes blowing and drums beating, he marched boldly towards the stockades early on the morning of September 21st. If such were his hopes, they were soon to be dispelled ; for, upon seeing the approach of Grant and his men, the French and Indians swarmed out of the fort in such great numbers and made such an unexpected onslaught that the invaders were literally swept ofif their feet ; and it was with much difficulty
History of West Virginia 117
that the French officers succeeded in preventing the savages from murdering the prisoners.
A detachment under Major Lewis, acting as rear guard, hearing the sound of battle, rushed to Grant's reUef, leaving fifty Virginians under Captain Bullet to protect the baggage. But the addition of Lewis's men was without avail against so large a force, and those who were able to do so sought safety in flight, while Majors Grant and Lewis were both taken prisoners.
Captain Bullet, observing the hasty flight of Lewis's and Grant's men before their savage pursuers, ordered his men to lower their arms, and waited until the Indians, who, thinking the party were ready to surrender, approached within a few steps, when, giving the signal, a deadly volley was poured upon the foe, followed by a rush with the bayonet so sud- denly and vigorously that the enemy gave way and retreated in the utmost dismay and confusion. Captain Bullet and what remained of the party then retreated to the camp of Colonel Boquet.
General Forbes reached Loyalhanna on November 1st and shortly afterwards proceeded to Fort Dequesne. Before arriving there, he received information that the French had abandoned the fort upon hearing of the approach of a large force of British and provincial soldiers. Forbes, however, proceeded with his men to Fort Duquesne, and, finding the place abandoned, as was reported, placed a slow match to the magazines, and departed \\ith his men down the Ohio River by water, landing at Turtle Creek about midnight. Return- ing to the "fort" on November 25th, 1758, the English took peaceable possession of what remained of the former strong- hold, and on its ruins rose Fort Pitt. And now on this his- torical site and for miles around is spread the thriving City of Pittsburgh.
The fall of Duquesne ended the struggle between England and France in the Ohio Valley.
Niagara, Crown Point, Ticonderoga and Quebec gave up to British supremacy in 1759, followed by the surrender of Montreal, Detroit and all Canada, September 8th, 1760.
118 History of West Virginia
The treaty of Fontainbleau followed, November, 1762, which formally terminated the war between France and England.
Supplementary to other claims of France to West Vir- ginia territory already alluded to in a previous chapter, the following extracts from West Virginia Archives and History will be of interest : •
Following the granting of over half a million acres of land west of the Alleghanies to the Ohio Company by the English Crown, France sent an expedition to bury leaden plates at the mouth of the principal tributaries to the Ohio River. These bore inscriptions asserting the claims of France to the Ohio Valley. The engraving was the work of Paul de Brosse, an artist of Canada, with the exception of a blank which was to be filled with the name of the place of interment. The expedition for this purpose was organized by the Marquis de la Gallissoniere, then the Governor-General of Canada. It consisted of eight subaltern officers, six cadets, an armorer, twenty soldiers, one hundred and eighty Cana- dians, thirty Iroquois Indians, twenty-five Abenaka Indians, and Father Bonnecamps, who called himself the Jesuit Mathe- matician, the whole in command of Capt. Bionville de Celoron. His journal is in the archives of the Department de la Marine, in Paris. Much of it has been published in this country. For our fullest knowledge of it we are indebted to the historical writings of Orsamus H. Marshall.
Supplied with six leaden plates to be deposited along the Ohio, the expedition left La Chine, on the St. Lawrence, above Montreal, June 15th, 1749, and arrived at Niagara Falls on the 6th of July. On the 20tli it was on the Allegheny River near the present town of Warren, Pa., where, on the south bank of that river, opposite the mouth of Connewango Creek, the first plate was buried. August 3rd the second one was interred on the same river "four leagues below the mouth of French Creek".
The voyage was continued down the Allegheny and then on the Ohio, and the movements of the expedition now be- come of the deepest interest to every student of West Vir- ginia history. On the 13th of August it reached the mouth of Wheeling Creek, called in De Celeron's journal the
History of West Virginia 119
Kanourouara, where landing was effected and the officers went on shore, where they stood, the first Europeans on the site of the City of Wheeling. There they buried the third plate. The blank on it was filled as follows : "Enterre a I'entree de la riviere, et sur la rive Septentrionale de Kanouon- ara, qui se decharge a Test de la riviere Oyo." Translation : "Buried at the mouth and on the north bank of the River Kanououara, which empties into the easterly side of the Ohio River." This plate has never been found. Neither Celoron nor Bonnecamps gives such a description of the locality as to warrant a positive identification of the place of burial. That it was at the mouth of the present Wheeling Creek and on its north bank is certain. This was on the apex of the angle or triangular upper point at the confluence of the creek with the Ohio. It has been suggested thiit it may lie beneath the approach, or northern end, of the present Baltimore & Ohio • Railroad bridge. If it has not disappeared by the caving of the banks, it still remains where it has lain for 164 years, and, inscribed in her language, is now a silent, unseen and unheard witness to the efforts of France to hold posses- sion of the Ohio Valley — and of West Virginia as part of it. Hastening onward down the Ohio, stopping only long enough to bury the fourth plate at the mouth of the Mus- kingum River, the expedition arrived at the mouth of the Great Kanawha River on the 18th of August, and the bateaux and canoes were driven ashore by a violent rainstorm. Here, on the site of the present town of Point Pleasant, Mason County, W^est A'irginia, these Frenchmen established an encampment. It was a great day in the early history of the State — in that of the whole Ohio Valley. September 17, 1671 — seventy-eight years before — Capt. Thomas Batts. with his party of \"irginia explorers, acting under a commission from the House of Burgesses, arrived at the Falls of the Great Kanawha and took formal possession of the region drained by that river in the name of the English King. On a tree hard by they painted a crown, under which the letters C. R. — • Charles Rex — and then shouted, "Long live Charles the Second, by the Grace of God King, of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, Virginia, and the territories thereunto be-
120 History of West Virginia
longing." Now the French on that August day — at the mouth of that same river — the Great Kanawha — proclaimed in a loud voice, "Vive le Roi" — Long live Louis XV — and possession was now taken of the country in the name of the King ot France.
The bank of this river flowing in from the southeast, and draining an extensive region, was chosen for the deposit of the fifth plate. Only a brief record of the ceremony is given. Celeron's account of the interment of the plate is as follows : "Enteree au pied d'un orme, sur la rive "meridionale de 1^ Oye, et la rive orientale de Chinondaista, le 18 Aout, 1749." Trans- lation : "Buried at the foot of an elm on the south bank of the Chinondaista, the 18th day of August, 1749."
The Royal Arms were affixed to a neighboring tree, and a Proces Verbal was drawn up and signed as a memorial of the ceremony, and witnessed by the officers present. This docu- ment was in the following form: "L'an, 1749, nous Celoron, chevalier de I'ordre Royal et militaire de St. Louis, Capitaine Commandant un detachment envoye par les ordres de M. le Marquis de Galissonniere, Commandant General et Canada, dans la belle Riviere accompanye des principaux officiers de notre detachment, avons enterre — (here was inserted the place of deposit) — une plaque de plomb, et fait, attacher dans le meme lieu, a un arbre, les Armes du Roi. En foy de quoi, nous avone dresse et signe, avec M. M. les officiers, le present Proces Verbal a notre camp, le (day of month) 1749." Trans- lation: "In the year 1749, we, Celoron, chevalier of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, commander of a detachment sent by order of the Marquis of Gallissoniere, Governor Gen- eral of Canada to the Ohio, in the presence of the principal officers of our detachment, have buried (here insert name of place of deposit) a leaden plate, and in the same place have affixed to a tree the Arms of the King. In testimony whereof we have drawn up and signed, with the officers, the Proces Verbal, at our camp (day of the month) 1749."
Inclement weather — rain storms — detained the expedi- tion two days at the mouth of the Great Kanawha; then the voyage doAvn the Ohio was resumed and the sixth and last plate was interred on the point formed by the confluence of
History of West Virginia 121
the Great Miami with the Ohio. Thence all returned to Canada.
The copy of the inscription on the plate buried at the mouth of the Great Kanawha is omitted in Celoron's Journal, but, fortunately, the discovery of the plate in March, 1846, leaves no doubt as to what it was. There it had lain for ninety-seven years. Then a small boy, a son of John Beale, Esq., observed it projecting from the bank of the Kanawha, a few feet below the surface. Its historic value was recog- nized by the citizens and it was carefully preserved. It passed into i-he oossession of Hon. James M. Laidley, a 'ucm- ber of the General Assembly of Virginia, from Kanawha County, who, in 1850, carried it to Richmond, where it at- tracted great attention from historical students. It was later placed in the cabinet of the Historical Society. This plate, like all the others in size, was eleven inches lc5ng, seven and one-half inches wide and one-eighth in thickness. At the time it was found, Dr. Willis De Haas was preparing the manu- script of his "History of the Earl}^ Settlements and Indian Wars of Western Virginia", which was published in 1851. He secured for this work an impression of the plate then attracting wide attention, and the fac simile herein presented is a photographic reproduction from that work. The follow- ing is a translation of the inscription which it bears.
Translation.
"In the year 1749, reign of Louis XV., King of France, we Celoron, Commandant of a detachment sent by Monsieur the Marquis de la Galissoniere, Commandant General of New France, to re-establish tranquillity in some Indian villages of these cantons, have buried this plate at the mouth of the Chinidashhichetha, the 18th August, near the River Ohio, otherwise Beautiful River, as a monument of renewal of pos- sessions which we have taken of the said River Ohio and of all those which fall into it, and of all the lands on both sides as far as the sources of said rivers; the same as were enjoyed, or ought to have been enjoyed, by the preceding Kings of France, and that they have maintained it by their arms and by treaties, especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix-la-Chapelle."
CHAPTER IX.
LORD DUNMORE'S WAR — BUILDING OF FORT FINCASTLE — MCDONALD'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE OHIO INDIANS- BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT.
In the 3^ear 1774, John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, was the Governor of the Colony of Virginia; hence Dunmore's War was a designation applied to a series of bloody deeds engaged in by the Virginia frontiersmen and the warriors of the Indian Confederacy of the Ohio Wilderness that year.
At this time Berkeley County, formed in 1772, included its present area with that of the whole of Jefferson and a part of that of Morgan. Hampshire County not only had its present extent, but a portion of Morgan and all of the Counties of Hardy, Grant and Mineral. Augusta County then stretched away from the Blue Ridge to the Ohio, and to the upper valley of that river, even, as was asserted, be- yond Fort Pitt. ("In the war of 1754 doubt had existed as to which colony the fork of the Ohio was situated in, and the Old Dominion having been forward in the defense of the contested territory, while her northern neighbor had been very backward in doing anything in its favor, the Virginians felt a certain claim upon the 'Key of the West'. This feeling showed itself before 1763, and by 1773 appears to have attained a very decided character. Early in 1774, Lord Dunmore and his nephew. Dr. John Connolly, who had lived at Fort Pitt, and was an intriguing and ambitious 3^oung man,- determined, by strong measures, to assert the claims of Virginia upon Pittsburgh and its vicinity. The Governor despatched Connolly, with a captain's commission and with power to take possession of the countr}'- upon the Mononga- hela, in the name of the King. He issued the proclamation to the people, in the neighborhood of Redstone and Pittsburgh,
History of West Virginia . 123
calling" upon them to meet upon the 24th and 25th of January, 1774, in order to be embodied as Virginia militia. Arthur St. Clair, who then represented the proprietors of Pennsylvania in the west, was at Pittsburgh at the time, and arrested Connolly before the meeting took place. Connolly, soon after, was for a short time released by the sheriff, upon the promise to return to the law's custody, which promise he broke how- ever; and, having collected a band of followers, on the 2Sth day of March came again to Pittsburgh, still asserting the claim of Virginia to the government. Then commenced a series of contests, outrages and complaints. The upshot of the matter was this, that Connolly, in Lord Dunmore's name, and by his authority, took and kept possession of Fort Pitt ; and as it had been dismantled and nearly destroyed by royal order, rebuilt it and named it Fort Dunmore.
At the time of issuing his proclamation, he wrote to the settlers along the Ohio that the Shawnees were not to be trusted ; that they had declared open hostility to the whites ; and he (Connolly) desired all to be in readiness to redress any grievances that would occur. One of these circulars was addressed to Capt. Michael Cresap, then at or near Wheeling. A few days previous to the date of Connolly's letter (April 21) a canoe loaded with goods for the Shawnese towns, the property of a Pittsburgh merchant named Butler, had been attacked by three Cherokee Indians, about sixty miles above, and one of the whites killed. This, of course, caused consid- erable sensation in the neighborhood of Wheeling. The people, too, aroused by the false cry of Connolly, became greatly excited ; and when, a few days after, it was reported that a boat containing Indians was coming down the river, a resolution was at once taken to attack them. Several men, one of whom it is alleged was Captain Cresap, started u]) the river, and, firing upon the canoe, killed two Indians, whom they scalped. On the following day several canoes contain- ing Indians were discovered a short distance above the island. Pursuit was immediately given; and that night, while the Indians were encamped near the mouth of Captina Creek, twenty miles below Wheeling, the whites attacked them, killing one and wounding several of the company. These
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were clearly the exciting causes of the war of 1774. It is true, however, as already stated, the magazine was charged, and needed but the match to produce instantaneous explosion. THAT match was fired by the murderer's torch at Captina and Yellow Creek." — De Haas.)
The part of this country lying west of Hampshire was known as the "District of West Augusta", its boundaries being then undefined. Botetourt County, created in 1769 from the southern portion of Augusta County, likewise ex- tended from the Blue Ridge across West Virginia to the Ohio River; the line separating it from Augusta County, extending north fifty-five degrees west, and crossing Green- brier River at the southern end of the Marlin Mountains, terminated on the Ohio River, near the present village of Belleville, now in Wood County, West Virginia. Thus all that part of West Virginia lying between the said line and the Great Kanawha River was included in Botetourt County. Fincastle County, organized in 1772 from the southern part of Botetourt, also extended westward from the Blue Ridge to the Ohio, and included within its limits all of W^est Vir- ginia lying between the Great Kanawha and Big Sandy Rivers. At this time there were probably twenty thousand white people living in what is now W^est Virginia.
In the ten years intervening between the close of the French and Indian War in 1763, and the year 1774 — that of Lord Dunmore's War — there was comparative peace and quiet along the Western Frontier; and for this reason, this period has been called the "Halcyon Decade of the Eighteenth Century." But hostilities began in the spring of 1774, and a savage warfare, with all its horrors, was waged upon the de- fenseless settlements of the W^estern Border. Messengers bore tidings of this to Williamsburg, the old Colonial Capital of Virginia, and the House of Burgesses — the legislative body of the Colony — directed Lord Dunmore to prosecute a war against the Indian nations of the Ohio W^ilderness. As a preliminary movement to this, he ordered Major Angus McDonald to proceed with four hundred men, from the Lower Shenandoah Valley, by way of Wheeling, against the Waka-
History of West Virginia 125
tomika and other Indian towns in the Aluskinguni \ alley, northwest of the Ohio. — (W. Va. Arch, and History.)
At the time of the arri\al of Maj. Angus McDonald at Wheeling, in July, 1774, it appears that the fort at that ])lace had not yet been completed. The establishment was called Fort Fincastle. It was planned by Col. George Rogers Clark, who was present with a ])arty under Captain Cresap in Wheeling, in April, 1774, and constructed unrler the su])er- vision of Ebenezer Zane and John Caldwell, two of the prin- cipal men of the settlement. But it appears that the com])le- tion of the building of the fort was largely effected through the efforts of one Capt. William Crawford, with the aid of about two hundred men who had been recruited at Fort Pitt by Dr. John Connolly (the commander of the latter place) and turned over to him (Crawford) with instructions to pro- ceed to Wheeling and "complete the building of the fort".
Yet, as previously indicated, the fort was not completed until in July, as history says: "In July, Maj. Angus McDonald arrived in Wheeling and took command, and, under the joint direction of himself and Capt. William Crawford, with the aid of the large force under their command, the fort was soon completed."
The fort was located immediately on the left bank of the Ohio River (looking south), about a quarter of a mile above the mouth of Wheeling Creek, and at a much less dis- tance from the foot of the immense hill that rises with unusual boldness from the inner margin of the bottom land. Just beyond the louer line of pickets the high bench of ground on M^hich the fort was erected terminates ; and after an abrupt descent of about thirty feet another level commences, which stretches along with uniform grade to the creek. Much of this bottom, particularly that portion next to the river, \\ as cleared, fenced and cultivated in corn. Between the fort and base of the hill the forest- had likewise been cleared away, and here stood some twenty-five or thirty humble log (h\ell- ing houses, thrown together in the form of a village, which, though of little importance then, was the germ of one of the fairest cities that now grace the Little Mountain State. The fort was built on open ground, and covered a space of about
126 History of West Virginia
three-quarters of an acre. In shape it was a parallelogram, having a block house at each corner, with lines of stout pickets about eight feet high extending from one block house to another. Within the enclosure were a store house, barrack- rooms, garrison wells, and a number of cabins for the use of families ; the principal entrance was through a gateway on the eastern side of the village. It served as a place of refuge for the settlers during the war which followed, and which w^s terminated, as far as a treaty could effect the purpose, in the fall of the year, by Lord Dunmore at Camp Charlotte. — ("History of the Pan-Handle.")
Having completed the fort at Wheeling, Captain Craw- ford was placed in charge of the garrison, while the conduct of an expedition against the Indians in Ohio was committed to Major McDonald. On the 26th of July the latter left Wheeling with about four hundred men, and reached the mouth of Fish Creek, on the eastern side of the Oliio, where the present village of Woodland, in Marshall County, now is. Here they crossed the Ohio River and proceeded against the Shawnese towns on the Muskingum, destroying Waka- tomica, near what is now Dresden, Ohio. The army also destroyed a number of other Indian villages, and was the first effective blow struck by the Virginia troops in the Dunmore War.
According to "History of the Pan-Handle", Lord Dun- more himself had already begun to move in his projected campaign. Leaving Williamsburg, Virginia, then the seat of government, July 10th, 1774, he proceeded to different places, gathering troops and completing his preparations for the expedition. In the latter part of August he marched with his forces to Fort Pitt. He arrived at Wheeling September 30th. The strongth of Dunmore's forces is given in Valentine Crawford's letter to Washington, written from the Wheeling fort the day after his arrival, and which is quoted, as follows :
"Fort Fincastle, Oct. 1st, 1774. "His Lordship arrived here yesterday with about twelve hundred men, seven hundred of whom came by water with his Lordship, and five hundred came under my brother, William., by land, with bullocks, etc."
History of West Virginia 127
To the frontier settlement the advent of so large a body of troops, some of whom were British regulars, and all com- manded by the royal governor, was an event of no ordinary importance.
The consternation and alarm which followed the expecta- tion of an inroad of the savages had already given place to a strong and determined feeling, not only to defend their homes and families from hostile incursion, but, also, by aggressive measures against the foe, insure themselves against future molestation. And, now, when the forces embodied by the authority of the colony for the defenses and protection of the border appeared in their midst, marshalled in all "the pomp and circumstances of war", the interest and excitement occasioned by their presence can readily be imagined.
"The debarkation of the troops — their imposing and martial array — the brilliant uniforms of the regulars con- trasting with the homely hunting shirts of the provincial militia — the stirring music of fife and drum, and the glitter of their burnished arms flashing in the September sun as they marched from the landing to their quarters in the fort, all united to stir the pulse of hardy mountaineer and bright- eyed maiden gazing on the gallant display. Even the Fort donned her holiday attire in honor of the royal governor, and floated from her ramparts the red-cross banner of Saint George — that proud and gorgeous ensign of Old England.
An amusing anecdote in connection with this event is still preserved among local traditions : When Lord Dun- more landed at the river from his barge, and marched up to the Fort preceded by his bodyguard of Scotch Highlanders, with their bonneted chieftains —
"All plaidcd and plumed in their tartan array" —
the martial strains of the bagpipes waking the morning echoes - — a lively frontier damsel, catching sight of their novel dress, ran nearly breathless to her mother, exclaiming. "Come, mother, come and see the handsome men dressed in petticoats and bonnets !"
128 History of West Virginia
"Lord Dunmore immediately sent Major Crawford — • recently promoted — forward with five hundred men and fifty pack horses and two hundred bullocks to meet Colonel Lewis, who was coming by way of the Kanawha. After completing his preparations for the expedition, he followed in a few days thereafter with the rest of the forces by river."
The Battle at Point Pleasant.— Fought October 10, 1774. (From Howe's History of Virginia.)
The army destined for this expedition was composed of volunteers and militia, chiefly from the counties west of the Blue Ridge, and consisted of two divisions. The northern division, comprehending the troops collected in Frederick, Dunmore (noAv Shenandoah), and the adjacent counties, was to be commanded by Lord Dunmore in person ; and the southern, comprising the different companies raised in Bote- tourt, Augusta, and the adjoining counties east of the Blue Ridge, was to be led by Gen. Andrew Lewis. These two divisions, proceeding by different routes, were to form a junction at the mouth of the Big Kanawha, and from thence penetrate the country northwest of the Ohio River, as far as the season would permit of their going, and destroy all the Indian towns and villages which they could reach.
About the 1st of September, the troops placed under the command of General Lewis rendezvoused at Camp Union (now Lewisburg), and consisted of two regiments, com- manded by Col. William Fleming, of Botetourt, and Col. Charles Lewis, of Augusta, containing about four hundred men each.
At Camp Union they were joined by an independent company under Col. John Field of Culpepper, a company from Bedford under Captain Buford, and two from the Holstein settlement (now Washington County) under Cap- tains Evan Shelby and Harbert. These three latter com- panies were part of the force to be led on by Colonel Christian, who was likewise to join the two main divisions of the army at Point Pleasant, so soon as the other companies of his regiment could be assembled. The force under General
History of West Virginia 129
Lewis, having- been thus augmented to eleven hundred men, commenced its march for the mouth of the Kanawha on the 11th of September, 1774.
From Camp Union to the point proposed for the junction of the northern and southern divisions of the army, a dis- tance of one hundred and sixty miles, the intermediate country was a trackless forest, so rugged and mountainous as to ren- der the progress of the army at once tedious and laborious. Under the guidance of Capt. Matthew Arbuckle, they suc- ceeded, however, in reaching the Ohio River, after a march of nineteen days, and fixed their encampment on the point of land immediately between that river and the Big Kanawha. The provisions and ammunition, transported on pack-horses, and the beeves in droves, arrived after.
When the southern division arrived at Point Pleasant, Governor Dunmore, with the forces under his command, had not reached there ; and unable to account for his failure to form the preconcerted junction at that place, it was deemed advisable to await that event; as by so doing a better oppor- tunity would be afforded to Colonel Christian of coming up with that portion of the army which was then with him. Meanwhile General Lewis, desiring to learn the cause of the delay of the northern division, dispatched runners by land in the direction of Fort Pitt, to obtain tidings of Lord Dunmore, to be communicated to him immediately. In their absence, however, advices were received from his lordship that he had determined on proceeding across the country directly to the Shawnee towns ; and ordering General Lewis to cross the river, march forward, and form a junction with him near them. These advices were received on the 9th of October (the day preceding the battle), and preparations were immdiately be- gun for the transportation of the troops over the Ohio River.
Early on the morning of Monday, the lOfn of that month, two soldiers left the camp and proceeded up the Ohio River in quest of deer. When they had progressed about two miles they unexpectedly came in sight of a large number of Indians rising from their encampment, and who, discovering the two hunters, fired upon them and killed one ; the other escaped unhurt, and running briskly to the camp, communicated the
130 History of West Virginia
intelligence "that he had seen a body of the enemy, covering four acres of ground, as closely as they could stand by the side of each other".
The main part of the army was immediately ordered out under Colonels Charles Lewis and William Fleming; and, having formed into two lines, they proceeded about four hundred yards, when they met the Indians, and the action commenced.
At the first onset, Col. Charles Lewis having fallen and Colonel Fleming having been wounded, both lines gave way and were retreating briskly towards the camp, when they were met by a reinforcement under Colonel Field, and rallied. The engagement then became general, and was sustained with the most obstinate fury on both sides. The Indians perceiv- ing the "tug of war" had come, and determined on affording the colonial army no chance of escape, if victory should de- clare for them, formed a line extending across the point, from the Ohio to the Kanawha, and protected in front by logs and fallen timber. In this situation they maintained the contest with unabated vigor from sunrise till towards the close of evening, bravely and successfully resisting every charge which was made on them and withstanding the impetuosity of every onset with the most invincible firmness, until a fortunate movement on the part of the Virginia troops decided the day.
Some short distance above the entrance of the Kanawha River into the Ohio, there is a stream called Crooked Creek, emptying into the former of these (see diagram on last page of this chapter) from the northeast, whose banks are tolerably high and were then covered with a thick and luxuriant growth of weeds.
Seeing the impracticability of dislodging the Indians by the most vigorous attack, and sensible of the great danger which must arise to his army if the contest were not decided before night. General Lewis detached three companies which were commanded by Captains Isaac Shelby, George Matthews and John Stuart, with orders to proceed up the Kanawha River and Crooked Creek, under cover of the banks and weeds, till they should pass some distance beyond the enemy, when they were to emerge from their covert, march down-
History of West Virginia 131
ward towards the point, and attack the Indians in their rear.
The manoetn-re thus planned by General Lewis was promptly executed, and gave a decided victory to the Colonial army. The Indians, finding themselves suddenly and unex- pectedly encompassed between two armies, and not doubting but that in their rear was the looked-for reinforcement under Colonel Christian, soon gave way, and about sundown com- menced a precipitate retreat across the Ohio, to their towns on the Scioto. The victory, indeed, was decisive, and many advantages were obtained by it ; but they were not cheaply bought. The Virginia army sustained in this engagement a loss of seventy-five killed and one hundred and forty wounded — about one-fifth of the entire number of troops.
Among the slain were Colonels Lewis and Field ; Captains Buford, Morrow, Wood, Sundifif, Wilson, and Robert McClan- ahan, and Lieutenants Allen, Goldsby and Dillon, with some other subalterns. The loss of the enemy could not be ascer- tained. On the morning after the action, Colonel Christian, who had arrived after the battle was ended, marched his men over the battle ground and found twenty-one of the Indians lying dead where they had attempted to conceal themselves under some old logs and brush.
From the great facility with which the Indians either carry oiT or conceal their dead, it is always difficult to ascer- tain the number of their slain ; and hence arises, in some measure, the disparity between their known loss and that sustained by their opponents in battle. Other reasons for this disparity are to be found in their peculiar mode of warfare, and in the fact that they rarely continue a contest when it has to be maintained with the loss of their warriors. It would not be easy otherwise to account for the circumstance that even when signally vanquished the list of their slain docs not, frequently, appear more than half as great as that of their victors. In this particular instance, many of the dead were certainly thrown into the river.
Nor could the number of the enemy engaged be ever ascertained. Their army is known to have been composed of warriors from the different nations north of the Ohio, and to have comprised the flower of the Shawnee, Delaware,
132 History of West Virginia
Mingo, Wyandotte, and Cayuga tribes, led on by men whose names were not unknown to fame, and at the head of whom was Cornstalk, sachem of the Shawnees, and king of the northern confederacy.
This distinguished chief and consummate warrior proved himself on that day to be justly entitled to the prominent station he occupied. His plan of alternate retreat and attack was well conceived, and occasioned the principal loss sus- tained by the whites. If at any time his warriors were be- lieved to waver, his voice could be heard above the din of arms, exclaiming, in his native tongue: "Be strong! be strong !" and when one near him, by trepidation and reluct- ance to proceed to the charge, evinced a dastardly disposi- tion, fearing the example might have a pernicious influence, with one blow of his tomahawk he severed his skull. It was, perhaps, a solitary instance in which terror predominated. Never did men exhibit a more conclusive evidence of bravery in making a charge, and fortitude in withstanding an onset, than did these undisciplined soldiers of the fcicst in the field at Point Pleasant. Such, too, was the good conduct of those who composed the army of Virginia on that occasion, and such the noble bravery of many, that high expectations were entertained of their future distinction. Nor were these ex- pectations disappointed. In the various scenes through which they subsequently passed, the pledge of after eminence then given was fully redeemed, and the names of Shelby, Campbell, Matthews, Fleming, Moore, and others, their com- patriots in arms on the memorable 10th of October, 1774, have been inscribed in brilliant characters on the roll of fame.
As Historian Howe appears to have relied wholly upon Withers's version of the events immediately following the battle at Point Pleasant, and as a few events as related by Withers do not correspond entirely with the facts as later ascertained by a more thorough investigation, the writer will here introduce commentaries by Thwaites, which present a clearer understanding of some things heretofore in doubt:
For several days after the battle of Point Pleasant, Lewis was busy in burying the dead, caring for the wounded.
History of West Virginia 133
collecting the scattered cattle, and building a store house and small stockade fort.
Early on the morning of October 13th, messengers who had been sent on to Dunmore, advising him of the battle, re- turned with orders to Lewis to march at once with all his available force against the Shawnee towns, and when within twenty-five miles of Chillicothe to write to his lordship. The next day the last rear guard, with the remaining beeves, arrived from the mouth of the Elk, and while work on the defenses at the Point was hurried, preparations were made for the march. By evening of the 17th, Lewis, with 1,150 men in good condition, had crossed the Ohio and gone into camp on the north side. Each man had ten days' supply of flour, a half pound of powder, and a pound and a half of bullets; while to each company was assigned a pack-horse for the tents. Point Pleasant was left in command of Colonel Fleming (who had been severely wounded in the battle), Captains Dickinson, Lockridge, Herbert, and Slaughter, and 278 men, few of whom were fit for service. On the 18th, Lewis, with Captain Arbuckle as guide, advanced towards the Shawnee towns, eighty miles distant in a straight line and probably a hundred and twenty-five by the circuitous trails. The army marched about eleven miles a day, fre- quently seeing hostile parties, but engaging none. Reaching the Salt Licks near the head of the south branch of Salt Creek (in the present Lick Township, Jackson County, O.), they descended that valley to the Scioto, and thence to a prairie on Kinnikinnick (now Kilkenny) Creek, where was the freshly •deserted Indian village referred to in Withers's narrative. This was thirteen miles south of Chillicothe (now Westfall). Here they were met, early on the 24th, by a messenger from his Lordship, ordering them to halt, as a treaty was nearly ■concluded at Camp Charlotte. But Lewis's army had been fired on that morning, and the place was untenable for a ■camp in a hostile country, so he concluded to seek better ground. A few hours later another messenger came, again peremptorily ordering a halt, as the Shawnees had practically come to terms. Lewis now concluded to join tlie northern ■division in force, at Camp Charlotte, not liking to have the
134 History of West Virginia
two armies separated in the face of a treacherous enemy ; but his guide mistook the trail, and took one leading directly to the Grenadier Squaw's Town. Lewis camped that night on the west bank of Congo Creek, two miles above its mouth, and five and a quarter miles from Chillicothe, with the Indian town half-way between. The Shawnees were now getting alarmed and angered, and Dunmore himself, accompanied by the Dela- ware chief White Eyes, a trader, John Gibson, and fifty volun- teers, rode over in hot haste that evening to stop Lewis and reprimand him. His Lordship was mollified by Lewis's expla- nations, but the latter's men, and, indeed, Dunmore's, were furious over being stopped when within sight of their hated quarry, and tradition has it that it was necessary to treble the guards during the night to prevent Dunmore and White Eyes from being killed. The following morning (the 25th) his Lordship met and courteously thanked Lewis's officers for their valiant services ; but said that now the Shawnees had acceded to his wishes, the further presence of the southern division might engender bad blood. Thus dismissed, Lewis led his army back to Point Pleasant, which was reached on the 28th. He left there a garrison of fifty men under Captain Russell, and then by companies the volunteers marched through the wilderness to their respective homes, where they disbanded early in November.
"This battle," says Colonel Stuart, in his historical memoir, "was, in fact, the beginning of the Revolutionary War, that obtained for our country the liberty and independ- ence enjoyed by the United States — and a good presage of future success ; for it is well known that the Indians were influenced by the British to commence the war to terrify and confound the people, before the}^ commenced hostilities them- selves the following year at Lexington. It was thought by British politicians that to incite an Tndian war would pre- vent a combination of the Colonies for opposing parliamentary measures to tax the Americans.' The blood, therefore, spilt in this memorable battle will long be remembered by the good people of Virginia and the United States with gratitude."
The route of Lewis's army from "Camp Union", now
History of West Virginia 135
Lewisburg, in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, to Point Pleasant is described by Historian Atwater as follows:
"The route of Lewis's army lay wholly through a track- less forest. His supplies were transported on pack-horses, which were clambering about among the tall cliffs or winding their way through the dangerous defiles, ascending or de- scending the lofty summits of the Alleghany Mountains. The country, at that time, in its aspect was one of the most ro- mantic and wild in the whole Union. Its natural features are majestic and grand. Among these lofty summits and deep ravines, Nature operates on a scale of grandeui", simplicity and sublimity scarcely ever equalled in any other region and never surpassed in the world. The march was more painful and difBcult than Hannibal's over the Alps."
Referring to the scenery on the way, Bancroft says : "At that time there was not even a track over the rugged moun- tains, but the gallant young woodsmen who formed the party moved expeditiously with their pack-horses and droves of cattle through the home of the wolf, the deer and the panther. x\fter a fortnight's struggle, they left behind them the last rocky hill-tops, and passing between the gigantic growth of primeval forests, in which, in the autumnal season, the golden hues of the linden, the sugar tree and the hickory contrasted with the glistening green of the laurel, the crimson of the sumac, and the shadows of the somber hemlock, they descended to where the Elk, united with the Kanawha, widens into a plain."
The late lamented Mrgil A. Lewis gives the following interesting description of the route traversed by these heroes :
"Onward pressed these heroic men, determined to forever drive the savage power from the southern banks of the Ohio. They forced their way through the lonely mountains ; Keeney's Knob, now in Summers County, four thousand feet high, stood out against the southern sky ; from the lofty elevations in what is now Fayette County they gazed upon the silvery course of New River, which, rolling like a destiny, rushed on through the realms of solitude and shade; Big and Little Sewell Mountains were passed ; down into a rocky gorge, where the town of Ansted in the last named county stands,
136 History of West Virginia
over another mountain crest, down Rich Creek, and down Kelley's Creek, until they encamped at its mouth, where the town of Cedar Grove, on the Great Kanawha River and in Kanawha County, now stands. On the first of October they had reached the mouth of Elk River and on the site of Charleston, the present capital of the State, were felling gigantic poplars and making canoes in which to transport some of their baggage to the mouth of the Great Kanawha. Then they crossed the Elk, continued their march down the north side of the Kanawha, through what is now Putnam and Mason Counties, to the Ohio."
Monument at Point Pleasant : A Brief History of Its Erection.
Death of Cornstalk.
The following information, taken from "West Virginia Archives and History," relative to the erection of the monu- ment at Point Pleasant in honor of the heroes who died on the battlefield at that place, will be of interest to many of our readers :
On the first day of April, 1860, the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act providing that Mrs. John S. Lewis, Miss Ellen Steenberger, Miss L. D. Smith and others be appointed a body politic and corporate with authority to purchase land and erect a monument on the Battlefield of Point Pleasant; but owing to the civil war soon coming on (during which time West Virginia was formed), the matter was dropped until the Centennial Celebration at Point Pleas- ant on October 10th, 1874, at which event the question of the erection of a suitable monument was again discussed. The matter was brought before the West Virginia Legislature, and on the 25th of February, 1875, that body passed an act making "an appropriation of $3,500 to aid in the purchase of land and the erection of a monument in commemoration of the Battle of Point Pleasant", the act being approved by Governor John J. Jacobs, Feb. 25, 1875.
In the meantime, the committee of ladies who had been appointed in 1860 for the purpose of soliciting subscriptions had, during the turmoil of civil strife, succeeded in raising a
History of West Virginia 137
"Monument Fund", which, in 1909, amounted to the sum of $2,107.84, including interest.
On the 29th of March, 1901, His Excellency, Governor A. B. White, by authority of an act of the Legislature passed on the 7th of February, 1901, appointed the following named gentlemen as trustees to take charge of funds and push the work through to completion : Virgil A. Lewis, of Mason City ; Charles C. Bowyer, of Point Pleasant ; and John P. Austin, of Redmond, all of Mason County. On the 25th of May, 1901, an organization was effected by electing John P. Austin, president, Virgil A. L6wis, secretary, and Charles C. Bowyer, treasurer.
The trustees proceeded to business as fast as circum- stances would permit. They selected as the location for the monument a piece of ground "at the apex of the angle formed by the confluence of the two rivers — the Ohio and the Great Kanawha — on which the Virginian army was encamped at the beginning of the battle, and where its honored dead, who fell in the struggle, were buried. This is high land and con- tains about two and a half acres. This land was purchased from Thomas J. Darst, J. H. Stone and others, J. D. ]\lcCul- lough, Nancy A. Varian, and R. A. Comstock, and the title was vested in the State of West Virginia.
The trustees, still being short of the necessary amount of funds, in February, 1902, "where the entire State's dele- gation in Congress expressed, not only a willingness, but a desire, to do all they could in the matter of securing an appro- priation of $10,000 to aid in the erection of a monument on the battlefield of Point Pleasant", and this amount was duly appropriated. The enterprise, therefore, became a State and National one.
The trustees were now in a position to proceed with the erection of the monument. After some delay, occasioned by certain red-tape requirements of the War Department at Washington, work was begun on the foundation May 11th, 1909, and the structure was completed at 11 :10 a. m., Monday, August 22nd. 1909. ■ "It is twenty-two feet square at the base, eighty-two feet
138 History of West Virginia
high, and contains one hundred and fifty-two granite blocks, — the whole weighing one hundred and forty-three tons.
"The statue, facing east, standing eight feet high, and weighing two tons, is cut of Westerly granite, by the Smith Granite Company, of Westerly, Rhode Island. The bronze panels and bas-relief were cast by Albert Russell & Sons Company, of Newburyport, Mass. ; the historical data thereon having been compiled by Virgil A. Lewis, State Historian and Archivist, in compliance with an order of the trustees."
The unveiling and dedication of the monument took place on Saturday, October 9th, 1909. Next to the battle itself, this was considered the most important event that ever took place in Point Pleasant. It was estimated by State Historian Virgil A. Lewis, who was present and took par- ticular note, that there were not less than fifteen thousand people present. Jt was no ordinary occasion for which this great assemblage met. It was to confer long neglected honors due departed heroes : men who struck the first vital blow for American freedom and independence. It was, therefore, a National affair in which all liberty-loving people were interested (whether conscious of it or not) ; and those who were present to do homage to those departed spirits enjoyed a privilege — the recollection of which should ever bring a feeling of deep reverence and stimulate and strengthen any lagging patriotism.
The ceremony of dedication was performed by officers of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, as follows :
Emmet M. Showalter, Grand Master.
Neil Robinson, P. G. M., as Deputy Grand Master.
John Hamilton, P. G. M., as Senior Grand Warden.
John Dunbar Baines, Junior Grand Warden.
John M. McConihay, G. L., as Grand Treasurer.
H. R. Howard, P. G. M., Grand Secretary.
Rev. J. Howard Gibbons, Grand Chaplain.
George W. Atkinson, P. G. M., as Grand Orator.
George Thornburg, P. G. M., as Senior Grand Deacon.
John H. Hutchinson, as Junior Grand Deacon.
Virgil A. Lewis, as Principal Grand Arch.
History of West Virginia 139
P. B. Buxton, as Grand Pursuivant.
T. W. Ford, as Grand Steward.
John Thornburg, as Grand Steward.
John M. ColHns, P. G. M., as Grand Marshal.
R. ]\I. Baird, as Grand Tiler.
There was also a large number of the fraternity from all over the State. The meeting of the Order was held at the Masonic Hall, at Point Pleasant, at 9:30 a. m. After the announcement of the purpose for which they were assembled, the Grand Lodge, under the escort of the Knights Templar of Franklin Commandery of Point Pleasant, of Kanawha Commandery of Charleston, of Huntington Commandery of Huntington, and of Rose Commandery of Gallipolis, Ohio, awaited the movement of the procession then forming.
Following is a description of the line of march, as recorded in "Archives and History of West Virginia," by Virgil A. Lewis :
"The procession, one of the largest ever seen in the State, formed at 9 :30 a. m., at the corner of Viand and Sixth streets, and proceeded north on \"iand street to Fourteenth ; west on Fourteenth to Ohio ; south on Ohio to Twelfth ; west on Twelfth to Alain to Tu-enda-wee Park, the site of the monu- ment. The success of the parade was due in part to everyone who participated in it or who in any manner contributed to this, one of the most magnificent pageants ever witnessed in the State of West Virginia. It consisted of three divisions, formed as follows :
"The First Division.
"This moved at the head of the procession, under the immediate direction of Col. John P. R. B. .Smith, the Grand Marshal of the day ; with him being one of his assistants, Andrew L. Boggess, and J. L. Boggess, color-bearer. The Point Pleasant Brass Band moved at the head of this division. Then came long lines of Blue Lodge Masons, followed by marching columns of Knights Templar in brilliant uniforms, followed by the officers of the Grand Lodge of West \^irginia in carriages. It was an imposing scene.
140 History of West Virginia
"The Second Division.
"This division moved closely upon the rear of the first ; at its head was Prof. Peter Higgins Steenbergen, Assistant Marshal, with Lesley P. Neale as his aid, and Robert Liter as color-bearer. Then came the children of the public schools of Point Pleasant, in charge of Mrs. Mary Margaret Bryan, instructor of music in these schools. This was one of the most imposing and inspiring scenes of the whole parade. The children were so arranged that by the wearing of their caps and capes of red, white and blue, they made the stars and stripes of a living, breathing, moving American flag, a sight so inspiring as to call forth cheers and exclamations from the thousands of spectators along the line of march. Those of the teachers in the public schools who not only assisted Mrs. Bryan with the drilling of the pupils, but marched with them in the parade, and thus did much to contribute to its success, were : Misses Bertha Steinbach, Eva Hughes, Anna Pauline Lewis, Elizabeth Hogg, Nora Somerville, Carrie Mcintosh, Mary Work, Roma Gibbs, Ella Howard, and Juha Ryan. Marching with the teachers and children were Capt. William H. Howard, President of the Board of Education, and Mr. Carlisle Whaley ; the only other member of the Board, Mr. John W. C. Heslop, not participating in this march be- cause of his part in the Masonic exercises. Following imme- diately after this 'American Flag of School Children' came a highly decorated wagon carrying, among others, the thirteen little boys who were to unveil the monument, they represent- ing the thirteen American Colonies, and being also descend- ants of the men who participated in the Battle of Point Pleasant. At their head was little Charles Cameton Lewis, son of Mr. C. C. Lewis, of Point Pleasant, West Virginia; John Dickinson Lewis, son of Mr. Charles Cameron Lewis, of Charleston, W. Va. ; Chancellor Bowyer, son of Mr. Frank Bowyer, of Winfield, Putnam County, W. Va. ; Alfred Stone Lewis, son of Hon. Virgil A. Lewis, of Mason, Mason County, W. Va. ; Henderson Hampton Miller, son of Dr. Joseph Lyons Miller, of Thomas, Tucker County, W. Va. ; Loraine Sterrett. son of Mr. Charles Sterrett, of Beech Hill,
History of West Virginia 141
Mason County, W. Va. ; Neale Blackwood, son of Mr. C. K. Blackwood, of Point Pleasant, W. Va. ; Robert Cameron Thompson, son of Mr. William Rootes Thompson, of Hunt- ington, W. Va. ; Herbert Thomas Henderson, son of James Henderson, of Five Mile, Mason County, W. Va. ; William Hogg, son of Hon. Charles Edgar Hogg, of Morgantown, W. Va. ; Perry Simpson Poffenberger, son of Judge George Pofifenbarger, of Point Pleasant, W. Va. ; John Daniel vSteen- berger, son of Prof. Peter Higgins Steenberger, of Point Pleasant, W. Va. ; and John Griffith Freelinghuysen Smith, son of Mr. Homer Smith, of Point Pleasant, W. Va.
"Nothing could have been more appropriate than that these children should participate in the unveiling of the monu- ment. On the front seat of this wagon sat little Miss Elizabeth Sehon McCoach, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John M. McCoach, of Huntington, West Virginia, and Charles Lewis Pomeroy, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Pomeroy, of that city, both of whose ancestors participated in the battle of Point Pleasant. Then came members of the Charles Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, of Point Pleasant, W. Va. ; among them were Mrs. John Daniel McCul- lough. Misses Lillie Lee Hogg, and Lena Lorena Roseberry, of Point Pleasant ; Mrs. Lucy Sehon Roseberry, of Point Pleasant; Mrs. Lucy Sehon McCoach, of Huntington, West Virginia. Then came the members of civic societies, followed by municipal officials.
The Third Division.
"This division was headed by Edward Barto Jones, Assistant Marshal, aided by Hon. John Park Austin and Floyd Sterrett, with Trix Couch as color-bearer. In front of this division was the Uniform Rank of Knights of Pythias, marching with the drill step of the Regular Army, and in their splendid uniform presented an imposing appearance- one of the best features of the parade. Mounted on horseback next came Hon. William E. Glasscock, Governor of West Virginia, with the following named officers of his staff, and officers of the National Guard, viz :
142 History of West Virginia
Brig.-Gen. Noyes S. Burlew, Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff.
Brig.-Gen. Edward C. O'Toole, Commissary-General.
Brig.-Gen. Clarke Hamilton, Chief of Ordnance.
Colonels — Aides-de-Camp John Cummins, H. L. Carp- specken, S. M. Smith, C. N. Briscoe, W. C. Lloyd, Enoch Carver, Charles Bealle, Peter A. Simpson, Vernon E. Johnson, and A. C. Mclntire ; and members of the National Guard, de- tailed for duty with the Governor's staff; viz: — Capt. James I. Pratt, Second Inft. ; and Capt. John C. Bond, Pay. Dept.
"These were followed by United States Senator Nathan Bay Scott, and Congressmen William P. Hubbard of the First District and Hon. James A. Hughes of the Fifth District, accompanied by the State Officers, Hon. Stuart F. Reed, Secretary of State; Hon. E. Lesley Long, Treasurer of State; and Hon. Maurice P. Shawkey, State Superintendent of Free Schools. Immediately thereafter, in carriages, were Judges Ira E. Robinson, Luther Judson Williams, and George Polfen- barger, of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Following these were Mrs. William E. Glasscoclc, wife of the Governor, accompanied by the wives of the Staff Officers ; and, in auto- mobiles, Hon. William Seymour, Edwards, escorting Mrs. James A. Hughes and daughter, and the wives of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals; then came, in carriages, Ex- Gov. William A. MacCorkle, William E. Chilton, ex-Secretary of State, with Hon. Wesley Mollohan and Judge W. S. Laid- ley, with other distinguished invited guests, followed by citi- zens and visitors in carriages and automobiles and on horse- back, the whole making an imposing parade extending along ten squares in the town.
"Arriving at the monument the vast concourse of people covered Tu-enda-wee Park, and packed the adjacent streets. Minute guns were fired by the cannoneers, Thomas Mason and Wilbur Roberts, of Mason City, W. Va. The day was an ideal one ; overhead was the clearest of skies ; the sun shone brilliantly ; then came mildly tempered zephyrs, the whole rendering the scene a most delightful one. The school chil- dren— hundreds of voices — sang
History of West Virginia 14v5
*jMy Country 'tis of Thee
Sweet Land of Liberty ■ Of thee I sing.'
"Thousands of voices joined in singing this patriotic an- them.
"Following the unveiling of the monument and the im- pressive ceremonies in connection therewith, addresses were made from a platform erected at the base of the monument. Mayor John L. Whitten presided. The first speaker, and the chief orator of the day, was Governor William E. Glasscock, who began his oration by saying: 'A knowledge of our past history can do us no good unless it suggests to us something from which we can profit' — a sentence which should become proverbial. Other speakers were Hon. Nathan B. Scott, ex- Governor William A. MacCorkle, Hon. W^illiam E. Chilton, Hon. William P. Hubbard, Hon. James A. Hughes, Hon. John S. Darst, Hon. Stuart F. Reed, and Mrs. Liva Simpson Pof- fenbarger.
"The real memorial address was Sunday, the 10th of October, the anniversary of the battle. On this day Judge George Wesley Atkinson delivered an address, resplendent with rhetorical flourish and literary excellence. In this he discussed the history of the great battle from the standpoint of the historian, together with its results as they affected the subsequent history of the nation *********_
"The scenes and events of that day will be remembered by all who witnessed them as long as they live ; and those who come after them will read of them with much interest. Mean- while the towering monument, dedicated and unveiled that day, will stand through centuries to come as a silent witness of the appreciation of the generation which reared it — of the heroism and bravery of the men who, on that day of battle, broke the savage power at the mouth of the Great Kanawha river."
144 History of West Virginia
"An hundred years have breathed their changeful breath
Upon this field of glory and of death ; A century of change, yet round me still,
The self-same valley, plain, and glen and hill. Where all day long the sound of battle rolled,
Where all day long the fearful and the bold Behind their slender bulwarks, stern and pale.
Stood face to face, the white man and the red, Their cause the same, the same their gory bed.
The same great rivers meet and mingle here,
That on' that day of doubt, and dread and fear Flowed calmly on, unheedful of the strife.
The sound of battle and the wreck of life. Now sweet the sunlight falls upon the dell
Where heroes fought and brave Charles Lewis fell. Today when rains have swollen the river's tide.
The rich soil crumbles from the water's side; There white and ghastly, bedded in the clay,-
The bones of those who fell that autumn day; And ere they sink beneath the Ohio's wave.
The sunlight, for a while, gleams on the grave Of sires of noble sons, and sons of noble sires,
A nation's incense. All her altar fires Can scarce repay the labor of that day.
From dewy dawn, till sunlight fled away.
A nation's song, through all the coming time
Can scarce give language to thy thoughts, sublime. As standing there beside the crimson'd rills
You thought of dear ones far across the hills. Of West Augusta homes, Avhere warm and bright
The firelight gleamed on household gods at night. And dawn awoke each weary, weary day
When bright eyes, waiting, watched the western way For forms those eyes might never, never greet ;
For forms then stark in death, where two great rivers meet."
(By Harry Maxwell Smythe, in "Moundsville Reporter." Written at Point Pleasant during great flood in Ohio River, August, 1875).
History of West Virginia
145
All
Plan of the Battle of Point Pleasant, Showing the Present
Location of the Ohio River Railroad and the Kanawha
& Michigan Railroad With Reference to Same.
"A" represents small pond and ravine where the action commenced, and where Colonel Charles Lewis was mortally wounded. From this place, at right angles to the Ohio, to Crooked Creek, both armies, early in the action, were extended through the woods. After a while the Indian line extended farther down on the creek.
"B," the court house.
"C," Cornstalk's grave. He was originally buried near the Kanawha ; but subsequently his remains were disinterred, and removed to their present resting place.
"D," position of the fort built after the battle. All the officers who fell in the battle were buried at or near this spot, at what was known as the Point Lot.
CHAPTER X.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
Resolution of Thanks to Lord Dunmore. A Change of Senti- ment— Lord Dunmore's Abdication of Office as Governor of Virginia. Unrest of American Colonists — Patrick Henry — A Letter from Washington — Capture of Ticon- deroga — Battle of Bunker Hill — Equipment of Virginia Troops — Declaration of Bill of Rights — Declaration of Independence.
Following the treaty of Camp Charlotte, the convention sitting at Richmond, desiring to give the Earl of Dunmore an expression of their approval of his success in the recent west- ern campaign, on March 25, 1775, passed the following reso- lution :
■ ''RESOLVED, unanimously, that the most cor- dial thanks of the people of the Colony are a tribute justly due to our worthy Governor, Lord Dunmore, for his truly noble, wise, and spirited conduct on the late expedition against our Indian enemy; a conduct which at once evinces his excellency's attention to the true interests of this colony, and a zeal in the executive department, which no dangers can divert, or difficulties hinder, from achieving the most im- portant services to the people who have the happi- ness to live under his administration."
A vote of thanks was also passed to the officers and soldiers of the expedition. (See Amer. Arch. Vol. 2, p. 179, 301.)
These cordial feelings, however, appear to have been of short duration, for the bad feelings toward the mother country were soon awakened from their temporary dormancy which finally resulted in Dunmore's hasty abdication of the office of
History of West Virginia 147
governor. The storm was now fast gathering, presaged by the rumbhng thunders and lowering clouds of unrest through- out the American colonies. The colonists had long since tired of British rule. They realized the dangers of their position — the savages on one side and the scarlet coats on the other — but this did not dampen the ardor of their patriotism, and "When, through the slow medium of communication with Williamsburg, came the news of how Patrick Henry had elec- trified the Assembly by his warning that as 'Caesar had his Brutus, so might the British king find a retribution for his oppressions,' and responding defiantly to the cries of treason, Tf that be treason, make the most of it,' their own hearts caught the generous glow% and they resolved, if die they must, to die freemen and in defense of the rights they had purchased with toil and blood."
The colonists made common cause against the repugnant stamp and tea tax, the navigation and trade laws, etc. So when the act was passed to close the port of Boston on June 1st, 1774, in retaliation of the ill feelings engendered by the "Boston Tea Party," the House of Burgesses resolved that the first of June — the day on which the operation of the Port Bill was to commence — be set apart by the members as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, in order "devoutly to implore the divine interposition to avert the heavy calamity which threatened destruction to their civil rights, and the evil of a civil war ; and to give them one heart and one mind firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to Ameri- can rights." (Graham's Colonial History U. S.)
Thinking to head off any further measures on the part of the Americans antagonistic toward the arbitrary decrees of an enraged parent country, the royal governor dissolved the Assembly on the 26th of May. But this act was too late. A close observance of fasting and prayer was maintained throughout the commonwealth and "seemed to strengthen the spirit of resistance to the oppressive measures of the British authorities."
The following extract, from a letter to Washington from Valentine Crawford, October 1st, 1774, fairly shows the state
148 History of West Virginia
of public feeling at that time ; describing Dunmore's arrival at Wheeling:
"In order that we may be able to assist you in relieving the poor distressed Bostonians, if the report here be true that General Gage has bombarded the city of Boston, ***«***_ This is a most alarming circumstance and calls for every friend of this country to exert himself at this time in its cause."
In March, 1775, the Virginia Assembly openly discussed the probabilities of war and the necessity of preparing for defense. Some members favored postponing these prepara- tions, in the hope of securing a peaceable adjustment of their difficulties, but Patrick Henry, with much earnest eloquence, contended for immediate action, claiming that hesitation was fatal. Said he : "There is no longer any room for hope. We must FIGHT — An appeal to arms, and to the God of Hosts, is all that is left us. Gentlemen may cry 'Peace ! Peace !' but there is no peace — the war is actually begun — the next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms."
Scarcely had these utterances been made when the sounds of battle were heard. The plains of Lexington and Concord witnessed the first blood shed in the struggle for American Independence, on the 19th of April, and the spirit of resist- ance and revolution spread rapidly to the remotest borders of the land.
"In Virginia the march of the revolution w^as accelerated by the intemperate measures of Lord Dunmore, the governor. Having, by a sudden and clandestine operation, removed a portion of the public stores during the night from Williams- burg on board of armed vessels, and finding his conduct sharply arraigned by the provincial convention, he retorted to their censure and condemned all their proceedings in a pro- clamation, which concluded with the usual formula, 'God Save the King.' They replied to him by a proclamation which concluded with 'God save the liberties of America,' and Pat- rick Henry marched against him at the head of a detachment of the provincial militia. Lord Dunmore, who at first solemn-
History of West Virginia 149
ly swore that if any violence were offered himself he would proclaim liberty to all the negro slaves in the province, and lay Williamsburg in ashes, finding that his menace inflamed the public rage instead of inspiring fear, was obliged to pro- cure a respite from the approaching danger by granting a bill of exchange for the pecuniary value of the stores which had been removed, but soon again, involving himself by his vio- lence in a quarrel (from which the utmost prudence could hardly have kept him free) with the popular party, he fled hastily from Williamsburg with his family on the 8th of June, took refuge on board the Fowey, a British man-of-war, and thus practically abdicated his functions. An interregnum en- sued, but a delegated convention, in view of the public safety, assumed such legislative and executive control as was neces- sary for the defense and protection of the colony in all her interests."
Meantime, events of the most serious character and fraught with the gravest consequences were occurring in the •east. The second congress convened at Philadelphia on the 10th day of May, and on the same day Col. Ethan Allen with a small force of Vermont militia, known as "Green Mountain Boys," surprised and captured the British fortress of Ticon- deroga with her garrison and equipment, and also that of Crown Point; both important defenses of Lake Champlain. This sudden assumption of aggressive warfare, the gallantry and success of the enterprise, together with Allen's character- istic demand for the surrender "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," stirred the popular feeling to a blaze throughout the whole country. These suc- cesses were followed, on the 17th day of June, by the battle of Bunker Hill, in which a detachment of a thousand pro- vincials, under Col. Prescott, supported by Putnam and War- ren, twice repulsed, with great loss, the attack of a greatly superior force of British regulars, commanded by Howe in person, and only fell back, on the third attack, from lack of ammunition. This gallant and noble struggle, showing how well a rude and undisciplined force could meet the trained veterans of the vaunted British army, gave the liveliest satis- faction to their expectant fellow countrymen, and determined
150 History of West Virginia
them, if such determination were necessary, to take no step backward in the good cause of the country's rights. Recog- nizing the imminence of war, the necessity of thorough mi tary organization followed, and Congress at once took meas- ures for embodying the troops of the provinces into a con- tinental army.
On the 15th of June, they unanimously elected George Washington commander-in-chief of the American forces — a choice which all subsequent time has justified as one of singu- lar wisdom and good fortune.
The Virginia Convention took prompt and vigorous measures for recruiting and equipping their quota of troops. By the middle of July two regiments were raised and provision made for seven more. The nine regiments were soon equip- ped "the Virginia line," thence forward throughout the war were engaged in many sanguinary fields, and maintained an honored and honorable fame. Among other acts of the As- sembly was one passed July 17th, 1775, "for the better pro- tection of the inhabitants on the frontiers of this colony * * * *. Be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid. That there shall be appointed and raised, exclusive of the regiments be- fore mentioned, two companies, consisting each of one captain, three lieutenants, one ensign, four sergeants, two drummers and two fifers, and one hundred men rank and file, to be stationed at Pittsburgh ; also one other company, consisting of a lieutenant and twenty-five privates, to be stationed at Fort Fincastle, at the mouth of Wheehng creek, etc."
During this time, the inhabitants of the frontier were com- paratively free from molestation b}'- the Indians, and were not only deeply interested in the events which had been trans- piring in the East, but gave a hearty support to all the meas- ures adopted to secure and defend the liberties of the colonies.
By the opening of the new year it began to be under- stood that having drawn the sword the issue of the fight must be utter subjugation or a separate national existence. The feeling was so manifest at the Virginia convention that on the 6th day of May, 1776, they passed the declaration known as the Bill of Rights, and on the 15th day of May, 1776, with suitable preamble.
History of West Virginia 151
"Resolved nnaniniously, That the delegates appointed to represent this colony in the General Congress be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent States, absolved from all alle- giance to, or dependence upon, the crown of Great Britain ; and that they give the assent of this colony to such declara- tion, etc."
On the 29th of June, 1776, they formally adopted a con- stitution, or form of government, which abrogated British rule and established a government of the people for the State of Virginia. The same day Patrick Henry was elected Gov- ernor of the State.
By these various acts the people were fully committed to the Revolution finally inaugurated by the passage of the Declaration of Independence by Congress, which was pro- mulgated formally on the 4th of July, 1776. (Extracts from "History of the Pan Handle.")
About the same time the Declaration of Independence was declared, the name of Fort Fincastle, at Wheeling, was changed to Fort Henry, in honor of Patrick Henry, the new Governor of Virginia, and has ever since been known by that name.
The fort was erected on an elevation on what is now known as Main Street Hill, the site being marked with a tablet, erected by the State, bearing the following inscription :
"By Authority of the State of West Virginia To Commemorate the Siege of Fort Henry, September 11, 1782. the Last Battle of the American Revolution, This Tablet Is Placed Here. "T. M. GARVIN, "W. W. JACKSON, "S. H. GRANN,
"Committee."
The "monument" stands on the outer edge of the side- walk, in front of the building now occupied by The 'Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., near the corner of Eleventh and ]\Tain streets. It is a very small affair to be dignified with
152 History of West Virginia
the name of monument, considering the important event it is intended to commemorate, being a stone only 32 inches long, 12 inches wide at the base and 16 inches at the top — 20 inches on the outer side and 8 inches on the side facing the walk — ■ the top sloping inward.
CHAPTER XI.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR. Battle at Fort Henry, Wheeling, W. Va.
On the first of September, 1782, John Lynn (a celebrated spy and the same who had been with Captain Foreman at the time of the fatal ambuscade at Grave Creek), being engaged in watching the warriors' paths, northwest of the Ohio, discovered a war party marching with great expedition for Wheeling, and hastening to warn the inhabitants of the danger which threatened them, swam the river and reached the village just in advance of the appearance of the invaders.
The fort was at this time without any regular garrison, and depended exclusively on those who sought its protection.
The brief space of time which elapsed between alarm by Lynn and the arrival of the Indians permitted only those who were immediately present to avail themselves of the fort's security, and when the attack began there were not more than twenty men to oppose the assault. The dwelling house oi Col. Ebenezer Zane, about one hundred and twenty feet from the fort, contained the military supplies which had been fur- nished by the government of Virginia ; and as it was admira- bly situated as an out-post from which to annoy the savages in their onsets, he resolved on maintaining possession of it, as well to aid in the defense of the fort as for the preserva- tion of the ammunition.
George Green, Andrew Scott, Miss McCullough. Molh" Scott, Mrs. Zane, and Sam and his wife Kate (negro slaves of Colonel Zane) were all who remained with Ebenezer in the house during the siege.
Capt. Silas Zane commanded in the fort.
The enemy consisted of 238 Shawnee and Delaware Indians and 40 British soldiers, known as "Queen's Rangers", under the command of a Captain Bradt. They approached
154 History of West Virginia
under the British colors. Before firing on the fort they demanded its surrender. Response was made by the firing of several shots at the standard which they bore ; and the enemy rushed to the assault. A well directed and brisk fire, opened upon them from Colonel Zane's house and the fort, soon drove them back. Again they rushed forward, and again they were repulsed.
The number of arms in the house and fort, and the great exertions of the women in moulding bullets, loading guns and handing them to the men, enabled them to fire so briskly, yet so effectively, as to cause the enemy to recoil from every charge. The darkness of night soon suspended their attacks and afforded a temporar}^ repose to the besieged. Yet were the assailants not wholly inactive. Having suffered severely by the galling fire poured upon them from the house, they determined on reducing it to ashes. For this purpose, when all was quietness and silence, a savage, with a fire-brand in his hand, crawled to the kitchen, and raising himself from the ground, waving the torch to and' fro to re-kindle its flame, was about to apply it to the building when a shot forced him to drop the torch and hobble away, howling. The vigilance of Sam had detected the Indian in time to thwart his purpose.
On the return of light, the savages and scarlet coats were seen yet surrounding the fort, engaged in making such prepa- . rations as they were confident would insure a successful assault.
Soon after the firing of the preceding da}^ had subsided, a small boat from Fort Pitt, on the way to the Ohio Falls with cannon balls for the use of the troops at the latter point, put to shore at Wheeling ; and the man who had charge, although discovered and slightly wounded by the savages, reached the postern and was admitted to the fort. The boat, of course, fell into the hands of the enemy, who resolved on using the balls on board for the demolishing of the fortress.
To this end they procured a hollow log', and binding it closely with chains taken from a shop near by, charged it with powder and ball. All being ready, a light was applied ; a dreadful explosion ensued ; their cannon burst — its slivers flew in every direction ; and instead of tearing down the fort,
History of West Virginia 155
as they had anticipated, resulted in injury only to themselves. Several Indians were killed, and many wounded, and all were dismayed by the event. History does not record that any of the British soldiers were participants in this foolish under- taking; but it is to be presumed that their knowledge of explosives would be sufficient to warn them of the danger of an experiment of this kind, and tfiat they were careful not to expose themselves during its operation. In all probability they regarded the event as a good joke upon their savage companions-in-arms ; for it is known that the British, with their past experience wdth the French and Indians, possessed no great love for the savages — regarding them only as tools for their present selfish purposes.
Those not seriously injured soon recovered from their shock and resumed the assault with redoubled energy. Still they were received with a fire so constant and deadly that they were again forced to retire.
When Lynn gave the alarm that an army was approach- ing, the fort having been for some time unoccupied by a garri- son and Colonel Zane's house being used as a magazine, those who retired into the fortification had to take with them a supply of ammunition for its defense. The supply of powder, deemed ample at the time, was now nearly exhausted. It was, therefore, lucky for the whites that the savages had retired at this particular time. Realizing the great importance of replenishing their stock from Colonel Zane's house, it was proposed that one of their fleetest men should endeavor to reach the house, obtain a keg of powder and return with it to the fort. This was necessarily a very hazardous undertaking, but many promptly offered their services. Among those who volunteered to go was Elizabeth, the younger sister of Colonel Zane. She was then young, active and athletic, with precip- itancy to dare danger, and fortitude to sustain her in the midst of it. Disdaining to weigh the hazard of her own life against the risk of others, when told that a man would en- counter less danger by reason of his greater flectness, she replied, "And should he fall, his loss will be more severely felt. You have not one man to spare: — a woman will not be missed in the defense of the fort." Her services were accepted.
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ELIZABETH ZANE
From an Old Portrait of the Heroine
— Used by Special Permission of Miss Carrie Zane.
Miss Zane — later Mrs. Clark — was buried in old Walnut Grove Cemetery in Martins Ferry, Ohio. A movement is now on foot for the erection of an appropriate monument at her grave by the U. S. Government.
History of West Virginia 157
Divesting- herself of some of her garments that might impede her progress, she stood prepared for the hazardous adventure ; and when the gate was opened, she bounded forth with the buoyancy of hope and in the confidence of success. In amaze- ment, the Indians beheld her spring forward ; and only ex- claiming, "a squaw, a squaw," no attempt was made to interrupt her progress. Arrived at the door, she proclaimed her errand. Colonel Zane fastened a table-cloth around her waist, and emptying into it a keg of powder, again she ven- tured forth. The Indians were no longer passive. Ball after ball passed whistling by, but she reached the gate and entered the fort in safety. This heroine had but recently returned from Philadelphia, where she had received her education, and was wholly unused to such scenes as were daily occurring on the frontier. She afterwards became the wife of a Mr. McGlanlin, whose death occurred some time afterwards, and she married a Mr. Clark. She was yet living somewhere in Ohio in 1831.
Another instance of heroic daring deserves to be recorded here. When the news of the fight at Wheeling reached Shep- herd's Fort, a party was dispatched from the latter place to aid the Wheeling garrison. Upon arriving in view, it was found that the attempt would be hopeless and unavailing, and the detachment consequently prepared to return. Francis Duke (son-in-law to Col. Shepherd) was unwilling to turn his back on a people in such great need of assistance as he knew the besieged must be, and declared his intention of endeavoring to reach the fort, that he might help in its defense. It was useless to try to dissuade him from the attempt ; he knew its danger, but he also knew their weakness, and putting spurs to his horse, rode briskly forward, calling aloud, "open the gate, — open the gate." He was seen from the fort, and the gate was open ior his entrance, but he did not live to reach it. Pierced by the bullets of the savages, he fell, to the sorrow of the whites. Such noble daring deserved a better fate.
During that night and the next day, the Indians still main- tained the siege, and made frequent attempts to take the fort by storm ; but they were invariably repulsed by the deadly fire of the garrison and the few persons in Col. Zane's house.
158 History of West Virginia
On the third night, despairing of success, the enemy raised the siege, and leaving about one hundred warriors to scout and lay waste the country, the remainder of the army re- treated across the Ohio and encamped at the Indian Spring, five miles from the river. Their loss in the various assaults upon the fort could not be ascertained, but was doubtless very heavy. Of the garrison, none were killed and only two wounded ; the heroic Francis Duke was the only white who fell during the siege. The gallantry displayed by all, both men and women, in the defense of the fort, cannot be too highly commended ; but to the caution and good conduct of those few brave individuals who occupied Col. Zane's home its preservation has been mainly attributed.
This was the last battle of the Revolutionary War. It will, therefore, be seen that the first and last guns in the war for independence were fired on the bank of the Ohio, within West Virginia, as the battle at Point Pleasant was the first of the Revolution. This last statement is based on the fact that Lord Dunmore, colonial governor of Virginia, was in collusion was the English government and its agents in this country, and aided and abetted that country in various ways, such as instigating and perpetuating the enmity of the Indians against the colonists, — at the same time persuading the savages to believe that the British government was friendly to their in- terests. Dunmore's actions throughout the 1774 campaign and thereafter (although so shrewdly disguised at this time as not to be discerned by the Assembly) were such as to excite the suspicions of the military officers and soldiers. His pre- vious knowledge of the coming battle at Point Pleasant, and his failure to join Lewis's forces at that point as was pre- viously agreed upon, and the sudden haste of the northern division of the arm}^ through the Ohio country; the "treaty" at Camp Charlotte AFTER his Indian friends had been "Hcked to a frazzle" at Point Pleasant by General Lewis and his brave men — his subsequent actions on his return to Williamsburg — all these circumstances and many more furnish conclusive evidence that the first battle of the Revolution was indeed fought at Point Pleasant.
CHAPTER XII.
Names, Locations, and Date of Establishment of Forts in
West Virginia.
Fort Ashby.
A stockade. It stood on the east bank of Patterson's Creek on the site of the present village of Alaska, formerly Frankfort, in Frankfort District, Mineral County. Erected by Lieutenant John Bacon, under orders from Colonel Wash- ington, in 1755.
Fort Buttermilk.
A stockade. Situated on the South Branch of the Poto- mac, about three miles above the present town of Moorefield, in South Fork District, Hardy County. Erected by Captain Thomas Waggener under orders from Colonel Washington in 1756.
Fort Capon.
A small stockade fort. Stood at the "Forks of Capdn" in the Great Cacapon Valley, in Bloomery District, Hampshire County. Erected prior to 1757.
Fort Cox.
A stockade. Situated on the lower point of land on the Potomac at the mouth of Little Cacapon river. Erected prior to 1750. Here "George Washington, on April 25th, 1750, sur\'eyed a tract of 240 acres of land for Friend Cox." Friend Cox was therefore, probably, the builder of the fort.
Fort Edwards.
A stockade, situated on or near the site of the present village of Capon Bridge, in Bloomery District. Hampshire
160 History of West Virginia
County. On November 11, 1749, George Washington sur- veyed for David Edwards at Capon Bridge, 412 acres of land, and in the following spring surveyed 400 acres, adjoining David Edwards, for Thomas Edwards ,and also another tract, adjoining David and Thomas, for Joseph Edwards. It will therefore be seen that the fort was probably built in or about 1749, by the Shepherds.
Fort Evans.
A stockade fort, situated two miles south of Martinsburg, in Arden District, Berkeley County. Erected by John Evans in 1755-1756.
Fort Furman.
A stockade, situated on the South Branch of the Potomac, about one mile above Hanging Rock, and three miles north of Romney, in Springfield District, Hampshire County. Erected at the beginning of the French and Indian War, by William Furman.
Fort George.
A small stockade, located on the east bank of the South Branch of the Potomac nearly opposite the present town of Petersburg, in Milroy District, Grant County. Erected about the year 1754, presumably by Jacob Welton and his brothers.
Fort Hedges.
A small stockade fort on the west side of Back Creek, on the road now leading from Martinsburg to Berkeley Springs, in Hedges District, Berkeley County.
Fort Hopewell.
This was situated on the South Branch of the Potomac, the exact location is not known. Erected some time before the year 1754.
Fort McKenzie.
This fort was located on the South Branch of the Potomac. Exact place of location not known. Probably erected by Cap- tain Robert McKenzie some time prior to the 5^ear 1757.
History of West Virginia 161
Fort Maidstone.
This was a stockade fort, situated on the bluff on the lower point at the mouth of Great Cacapon River, now in Bath District, Morgan County. No record of name of builder. Supposed to have been erected prior to 1756, as Washington's papers referred to this fort in that year.
Fort Neally.
Fort Neally was a small stockade fort on Opequon River, now in Opequon District, Berkeley County. Erected prior to 1756, as the fort was attacked by Indians in that year. Name of builder not known.
Fort Ohio.
A stockade fort, was erected by Job Pearsall on the pres- ent site of Romney, in Hampshire County. Probably erected prior to 1754, as it is recorded that "Major Washington spent the night at this fort on April 19, 1754."
Fort Peterson.
A small stockade fort, situated on the South Branch of the Potomac, two miles above the mouth of the North Branch, in Milroy District, Grant County. Erected about 1756. Erected by order of Governor Dinwiddie.
Fort Pleasant.
A strong structure, having cabins, palisades, and block- houses. It was erected by Thomas Waggener, under orders of Colonel Washington, in 1756, on the "Indian Old Fields" about a mile and a half above the "Trough" on the South Branch of the Potomac, in Moorefield District, Hardy County. One of the block houses was still standing in 1830. It was sometimes called Fort Van Meter, and at other times was known as "Town Fort." Round about, this fort were the scenes of many Indian depredations.
162 History of West Virginia
Fort Riddle.
This was a small stockade fort on Lost River, in Lost River District, Hardy County. Near it a fierce and bloody battle was fought between a body of fifty Indians and a com- pany of Virginia frontiersmen under Capt. Jeremiah Smith.
Fort Sellers.
A small stockade on the east side of Patterson's Creek at the mouth thereof, in Franklin District, Mineral County. "Here George Washington surveyed lands for Elias Sellers, April 1, 1748." This fort was erected by Colonel Washington.
Fort Seybert.
A strong fort having cabins, palisades, and block houses. It stood on the South Fork of the South Branch of the Poto- mac, twelve miles northeast of Franklin, in Bethel District, Pendleton County. Indians attacked this fort iii April, 1758, killing many of the occupants, after their surrender.
Fort Upper Tract.
A stockade fort, erected under directions of Col. Wash- ington, in 1756. It stood a short distance west of the South Branch of the Potomac at what is now known as "Upper Tract," in Mill Run District, Pendleton County.
Fort Warden.
Fort Warden was a small stockade fort in the vicinity of the present town of Wardensville, in Capon District, Hardy County. Erected by William Warden prior to 1749. The builder and a Mr. Taff were murdered by the Indians, and the fort burnt, in 1758.
Fort Williams.
This was a stockade fort, situated on the South Branch of the Potomac, two miles below Hanging Rock, in Spring- field District, Hampshire County.
History of West Virginia 163
Fort Arbuckle.
A small stockade fort erected by Capt. Mathew Arbuckle, at the mouth of Mill Creek, a stream falling into Muddy Creek four miles from its mouth, in Blue Sulphur District, Greenbrier County.
Fort Baker.
Sometimes referred to as "Baker's Station," and some- times mentioned as Fort Cresap. It was erected in 1732, and stood at the head of Cresap's Bottom, in Meade District, Marshall County. Built by John Baker and his neighbors. It was a stockade fort, with block houses joined by palisades.
Fort Baldwin.
This was a blockhouse which stood on the site of the present village of Blacksville, in Clay District, Monongalia County. It was the most western fort in that county. "The valley of Dunkard's Creek, in which it was located, was the scene of many a barbarian incident of the border wars."
Fort Beech Bottom.
This was a small stockade fort which stood on the east bank of the Ohio River, twelve miles above \Yheeling, in Buf- falo District, Brooke County.
Fort Beeler.
Fort Beeler was a stockade fort which stood upon the site of the present town of Cameron, in Cameron District, Marshall County. It was erected by Colonel Joseph Beeler, who had secured title to a large tract of land in this vicinity. It was known as "Beeler's Station." Colonel Beeler repre- sented to the national authorities that, because of the almost constant presence of Indians about the "Station," it was im- possible for him to defend it longer, and in 1781 a garrison of 53 men under Capt. Jeremiah Long was stationed there. This made it possible for white men to hold possession of the region round about.
164 History of West Virginia
Fort Belleville.
This was a strong fort. It stood on the site of the pres- ent village of Belleville, in Harris District, Wood County. It was erected in the autumn of the year 1785 and spring of 1786, by Captain Joseph Wood and ten men hired in Pittsburgh as laborers for the year. The first building was 20 x 40 feet, two stories high, with port holes in the walls for musketry. The four block-houses were erected to include this building, at the corners of an oblong square, between which were erected several small cabins, the whole connected by palisades ten feet high, so as to make a regular stockaded fort 100 x 300 feet, sufficient to accommodate from 100 to 150 persons. At each end were strong gates for the admission of cattle. On the river side was a small gate, or sally-port, through which the inmates passed in getting water or in going to and from their canoes. Five or six cabins stood on the river bank just below the fort, but these were abandoned in times of threatened hostilities. Several of the tragedies and dramas of Indian warfare were enacted around the walls of this fort and on the hills in its vicinity.
Fort Bowling.
This was a small fort in the Pan Handle above Wheeling, its exact location not being ascertained, but doubtless known locally.
Fort Buckhannon.
A small fort situated near the site of the present town of Buckhannon, in Upshur County. Erected prior to the year 1781. See "Indian Massacres" in another chapter.
Fort Burris.
This was a small fort located on the "Flats," on the east side of the Monongahela River, in Morgan District, Monon- galia County. Its exact location not knoAvn.
History of West Virginia 165
Fort Bush.
Fort Bush was situated on the west side of Buckhannon River, a short distance above the mouth of Turkey Run, in Upsbur County. The first settler on the spot was John Hack- er, who came here in 1769. The Indians were very trouble- some in this neighborhood, as will be shown elsewhere.
Fort Butler.
This was a small fort which stood at the mouth of Roar- ing Creek, on the east side of Cheat River, in Portland District, Preston County. Erected about the year 1774.
Fort Chapman.
This was a blockhouse erected by the Chapmans — George and William — who came to the vicinity of New Cumberland, Hancock County, in 1784-85.
Fort Clark.
This was a small stockade consisting of four cabins placed •close together, and protected by a palisade wall ten feet high. It was situated on Pleasant Hill, in Union District, Marshall County. - Its builder and defender was Henry Clark, who came here in 1771. (See "Indian Massacres").
Fort Cobun.
A small stockade fort erected by Jonathan Cobun in 1779, near Dorsey's Knob, on Cobun's Creek, in iMorgan District, Monongalia County. An historical spot.
Fort Cook.
This fort, a strong one, was situated on Indian Creek, three miles from its mouth, in Red Sulphur District, Monroe Count3^ It was an oblong structure with cabins joined by palisades and block-houses at the corners, and covered one and one half acres of ground. Indian massacres in this vicinity.
166 History of West Virginia
Fort Coon.
This was a small fort, situated on the West Fork River, in Harrison County. (See "Indian Massacres.")
Fort Cooper.
Fort Cooper was a block-house, erected by Leonard Cooper in 1792. It stood on the north bank of the Great Ka- nawha River, eight miles from its mouth, in what is now Cooper District, Mason County.
Fort Culbertson.
This was a stockade fort erected in 1774 by Captain (after- wards General) James Robertson, of Tennessee, acting under orders from William Preston, County Lieutenant of old Fin- castle County. It stood on the site of the settlements made by Andrew Culbertson in 1753, in Culbertson's Bottom — now Crump's Bottom — on New River, in Pipestem District, Sum- mers County.
Fort Currence.
A small fort situated one-half mile east of the present site of the village of Crickard, in Huttonsville District, Ran- dolph County. It was erected in 1774 by the joint labors of neighboring settlers for mutual protection. It has been called "Fort Casino" by some writers.
Fort Dinwiddie.
This was a fort of considerable size, situated on the pres- ent site of the village of Stewartstown, in Union District, Monongalia County. Its proprietor appears to have been Jacob Rogers, and for this reason the fort was sometimes called Fort Rogers, or Rogers's Fort.
Fort Donnally.
This fort was situated near the present town of Frank- ford, ten miles north of Lewisburg, in Falling Spring Dis-
History of West Virginia 167
trict, Greenbrier County. It was erected by Colonel Andrew Donnally in 1771, while the locality was still in Botetourt County. It has an interesting history.
Fort Edgington.
This fort was situated near the mouth of Harmon's Creek, nearly opposite Steubenville, Ohio, in Cross Creek District, Brooke County, W. Va.
Fort Edwards.
This was a small fort situated five miles south of Boothes- ville, in Boothe's Creek District, Taylor County.
Fort Flinn.
This was a small stockade fort situated on the bank of the Ohio River on the upper point at the mouth of Lee Creek, in Harris District, Wood County. It occupied a site in what was known to the first settlers as the "Indian Clearing," a tract of about twenty acres. It was erected in 1785 by a band of adventurers from the vicinity of Wheeling, but originally from the Valley of the Susquehanna River. Thomas and Jacob Flinn, brothers, aided by Jacob and John Parchment and John Barnett, were the builders. It was sometimes spoken of as "Flinn's Station." Hither came the settlers who were afterwards among the founders of the town that grew up around the walls of Fort Belleville, a short distance below, one of them being Malcom Coleman, who was killed by the Indians on Mill Creek, in Jackson County.
Fort Friend.
This fort was erected by Jonas Friend at Maxwell's Ferrv, on Leading Creek, in Leadville District. Randolph County. Indians visited this vicinity in 1781. and nearly de- stroyed the whole settlement. (See "Indian Massacres.")
168 History of West Virginia
Fort Hadden.
This was a strong fort on the point of high ground on , the west side of Tygart's Valley River, at the mouth of Elk- water Creek, in Huttonsville District, Randolph County. (See "Indian Massacres.)
Fort Harbert.
This was a block-house, situated on Tenmile Creek, in Harrison County. (See "Indian Massacres.")
Fort Harrison.
This was a stockade fort situated on the west side of the Monongahela River, at the source of Crooked Run, in Cass District, Monongalia County. It was erected by Richard Har- rison, who came from Eastern Virginia. It consisted of a two- story, hewed log-house, 20x30 feet, with a large yard enclosed by a wall of strong palisades. Within this yard was a well, and just outside was a spring. The former has been filled, but the latter flows on just as it did when the fort hard by was the scene of Indian hostilities.
Fort Henry (Formerly Fort Fincastle).
This fortress was situated on the high bluft* on Main street. Wheeling, and was erected in 1774, and called Fort Fin- castle, in honor of Lord Dunmore, one of whose titles of dig- nity was that of Viscount Fincastle. It was a small structure at first, but was enlarged in 1777 and the name changed to Fort Henry in honor of Patrick Henry. As thus changed it was a parallelogram, having its greatest length along the river, the stockade being formed of square palisades of white oak, closely fitted, together, and about seventeen feet high. This was supported by bastions, with port holes for rifles and mus- ketry above and below, and sentry boxes at the corners ; it was thus well adapted for resisting a savage force, however powerful. It enclosed about half an acre of ground. AVithin this space was the commandant's house, a two-story structure.
History of West Virginia 169
and a store house of one story in the center (both very strong), with barracks for the garrison ; during this year a well was dug and several cabins and families were arranged along the western wall.
Fort Holliday.
This fort was situated on the site of the present town of Holliday's Cove, in Butler District, Hancock County. It was erected in 1776 and greatly strengthened the next year. At that time Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia, sent to Colonel Andrew Swearingen a quantity of ammunition, which was stored here. At the time of the first siege of Fort Henry (1777) runners hastened to Fort Holliday for aid. Then it was that Colonel Swearingen, with fourteen men, departed for the beleagured fort, and ere the siege was raised all ar- rived and rendered efficient aid.
Fort Jackson.
This fort was situated on Tenmile Creek in Sardis Dis- trict, Harrison County, and was a rendezvous for the settlers and their families in that neighborhood. It was erected in the year 1774. In the valley of this creek were enacted some of the horrible scenes of the border war. (See "Indian Mas- sacres.")
Fort Eckley.
A small fort situated on the Little Levels in Academy District, Pocahontas County. It was erected about the year 1772. It was sometimes later called Fort Day.
Fort Kelly.
A fort known in border annals as "Kelly's Station." It was situated on the site of the present town of Cedar Grove, on the right bank of the Great Kanawha River, twenty miles above Charleston, at the mouth of Kelly's Creek, in Cabin Dis- trict, Kanawha County. It was built by Captain William Morris, who came to the spot in 1774. It derived its name
170 History o£ West Virginia
from Walter Kelly, who was killed at that place in 1772. It was long a prominent place, being the shipping point for the people who crossed the momitains in the early settlement of the Great Kanawha Valley and of the State of Kentucky. For many years after the fort fell into decay the place was known as the "Boat Yards."
Fort Kerns.
This was a stockade fort. It was situated on the east side of the Monongahela River, on the high land just across the mouth of Decker's Creek, in Morgan District, Monongalia County. It was one of the largest forts in that region, and for many years the gathering place for the families of the Monon- gahela in times of danger. Its builder and defender was Michael Kerns, a native of Holland, who wedded Susan Weatherhold, of Westmoreland County, Pa., and came to the site of Morgantown in 1772. He erected the first mill in Mon- ongaHa County, and was long the proprietor of a boat yard at the mouth of Decker's Creek, now Morgantown.
Fort Lee.
This fort, named in honor of Governor Lee of Virginia, was situated on the site of the present city of Charleston, the capital of the State. It was erected in the summer of 1788 by half of a company of Rangers from Greenbrier County sent to protect the inhabitants of the Great Kanawha Valley from ' the incursions of Indians. George Clendenin, who was County Lieutenant of Greenbrier County at the time, and who directed the work of construction, writing Governor Edmund Ran- dolph under date of June 9, 1788, said: "We built a very strong fort and finding it impossible to keep the place with the few men that were in service, I thought it expedient to order the remainder of the Ranging Company into service." Within the next seven years much interesting frontier history was made there. June 11, 1793, Col. John Steele, United States Inspector of Western Defenses, inspected Captain Hugh Caperton's Company of Greenbrier Rangers stationed at Fort Lee.
History of West Virginia 171
Fort Liberty.
This fort was a block-house situated on the site of the present town of West Liberty, in West Liberty District, Ohio County. This was the first seat of justice of that county, and for this reason this block-house is frequently referred to b\ early writers as the "Court House Fort."
Fort Link.
This block-house was erected by Jonathan Link in 1780. It was located on Middle Wheeling Creek, near the present town of Triadelphia, in district of that name, in Ohio County.
Fort Martin (New Martinsville).
This was a block-house. It was erected some time prior to 1780, on the site of the present town of New Martinsville, the county seat of Wetzel County. The fort stood on the bank of the Ohio River, about where the residence of Charles W. Barrick is now located, and a short distance north of the M. E. Church. It does not appear to have been regularly gar- risoned, but rather used as an abode for its builder — a Mr. Martin.
Fort Martin (Monongalia County).
This fort was situated on the west side of the Mononga- hela River, on Crooked Run, in Cass District, Monongalia County. It was erected about the year 1773 by Charles Mar- tin, who came from Eastern Virginia. In June, 1779, while most of the men were at work in the fields, a lot of Indians attacked the fort, killing James Stewart, James Smalley and Peter Crouse, and took John Shriver and his wife, two sons of Stewart, two sons of Smalley and a son of Crouse prisoners and carried them into captivity. This Charles Martin was great-grandfather of Hon. S. R. Martin, who now (1913) re- sides in New Martinsville, West Virginia. His first wife was a daughter of Lord Fairfax. In 1768 he was granted four hundred acres of land in ]\Tonongalia County. The above mentioned fort was located on this farm.
172 History of West Virginia
Fort Martin (Marshall County).
This was a stockade on the Ohio River, at the mouth of Fish Creek, in Frankhn District, Marshall County. It was erected by Presley Martin sometime prior to 1793.
Fort Minear.
This fort was situated on the east side of Cheat River, 011 the site of the present town of St. George, in St. George Dis- trict, Tucker County. It was built by John Minear in 1776, assisted by a body of emigrants who accompanied him here and who afterwards became the fotmders of St. George. (See "Indian Massacres.")
Fort Morgan.
This was a small stockade fort erected about 1772. It was situated on the site of the present town of Morgantown, Mon- ongalia County.
Fort Morris (Preston County).
An early fort, a stockade, enclosing a number of houses or cabins on a small tract of land — about one acre — on Hog Run, a branch or tributary of Sandy Creek, now in Grant Dis- trict, Preston County. It was built by Richard Morris in 1774.
Fort Morris (Kanawha County).
This was a stockade fort standing on the south bank of the Great Kanawha River, opposite the mouth of Campbell's Creek, now in Louden District, Kanawha County. It was erected by Captain John Morris in 1774. The Captain was a brother of Colonel William Morris, who commanded Fort Kelly, fifteen miles further up the river.
History of West Virginia 173
Fort Neal.
This was sometimes called "Neal's Station." It was located on the upper point at the mouth of a small run, on the south bank of the Little Kanawha River, one mile from its mouth, and nearly opposite Parkersburg. The people in this vicinity suffered a great deal at the hands of the Indians, as will be related elsewhere.
Fort Nutter.
This was a stockade fort situated on the east bank of Elk Creek, now within the corporate limits of Clarksburg, Harri- son County. Its builders and defenders were Thomas, John, Matthew and Christopher Nutter, brothers, who came to this vicinity in 1772. It afforded protection to the inhabitants on the West Fork of the Monongahela from its source to its con- fluence with the Tygart's Valley River, at what is now Fair- mont ; and to those who lived on Buckhannon River and Hacker's Creek, as well as to those of the immediate locality. When the Hacker's Creek settlement was broken up by the savages in 1779 the settlers who escaped took refuge in this fort, where they aided in resisting the foe and in maintaining possession of the country. There were many tragedies and dramas enacted in this vicinity, some of which we will relate in a future chapter.
Fort Pawpaw.
This was a small fort situated on Paw^paw Creek, in Ma- rion Count3^ Captain John Evans, of the Rangers, -vvas located here for a while, and was later transferred to Fort Henry at Wheeling.
Fort Pierpoint.
This fort was erected in 1769 by John Pierpoint. It was located in what is now Union District, in Monongalia County, about . . miles from Morgantown and one mile from Easton.
174 History of West Virginia
Fort Powers.
Was situated on Simpson's Creek, in Harrison County. It is supposed to have been erected by John Powers in 1771. We shall hear more of this fort in future chapters.
Fort Prickett.
This was a stockade fort erected in 1774. It was situated at the mouth of Prickett's Creek, on the east side of the Mo- nong"ahela River, five miles below Fairmont, Marion Count . In early years of the Revolution it afforded protection to z' the settlers in that part of the Monongahela Valley. Read the interesting story of David Morgan's adventure with the Indians in the vicinity of this fort.
Fort Randolph.
A fort was located on the site of the present town of Point Pleasant, Mason County. It was erected immediately follow- ing the great battle at that point between the whites, led by Lewis, and the reds, led by Cornstalk. Here the one hundred and forty wounded Virginians stayed until they were able to return to their homes. The stpckade was afterwards found to be too frail for practical use in such an exposed locality, and Captain Russell, in November, 1774, built a larger and better structure, which the builder named Fort Blair. It stood on the apex of the upper angle formed by the confluence of the Great Kanawha and Ohio Rivers. This fort appears to have been destroyed within less than two years after its com- pletion. Captain Arbuckle came down from Pittsburgh, ac- companied by Virginia forces, in May, 1776, and erected, on the site of Fort Blair, a large stockade with block houses and cabins. It Avas named Fort Randolph in honor of Peyton Ran- dolph,' a member of the Continental Congress, who had died the year before. On the 8th of January, 1777, the Continental Congress passed an act authorizing the Governor of Virginia to garrison this fort with a compan}^ of one hundred men, commanded by "one captain, two lieutenants, one ensign, and
History of West Virginia 175
the usual number of inferior non-commissioned officers," for the protection of the western frontier of A'irginia against Indian incursion, the Continental government to defray the expense. "April 9th ensuing it was resolved that the men en- listed to garrison Fort Randolph should not be called for any service without their consent. Captain Arbuckle continued in command throughout the year 1777, and was, therefore, there when the barbarous murder of Cornstalk, the Shawnee chief, occurred. He risked his life to prevent it, but without avail." Captain Arbuckle was succeeded in command here by Captain William McKee, of Rockbridge County, at the close of the year. Early the following year (1778) Lieutenant Moore and several of his men lost their lives in an Indian ambuscade near the fort. Again in May of the same year a large body of Indians laid siege to the fort and it was under fire for a week, after which the siege was raised and the Indians departed, driving away with all the cattle from the fort. The life of Fort Randolph, like its predecessors, was of short duration, for it appears to have been destroyed (proba- bly by the Indians) shortly after its abandonment in 1779. About 1785 another fort was erected at Point Pleasant. "It was on the Ohio River bank, fifty rods from where its prede- cessors, Fort Blair and Fort Randolph, had stood."
Fort Rice (Brooke County).
This was a rectangular stockade having a block-house at one of its corners and several cabins within the enclosure. It was situated on Buffalo Creek, by the course of the stream twelve or fifteen miles from its mouth, near where Bethany College now stands, in Brooke County. It was erected by Abraham and Daniel Rice, and it afforded protection to twelve families in times of hostilities. In September, 1782, a desper- ate attack was made upon it by one hundred Indians, who were dispatched to attack it after the siege of Fort Henry had been raised. This action at Fort Rice is among the most remarkable of the border wars. The reds attempted to storm the fort, and while there were but six people in the fort, they killed three Indians and w^ounded others the first fire. The
176 History of West Virginia
siege lasted twelve hours, then the Indians departed. George Felebaum was killed in the beginning of the battle ; the other five members of the heroic band in the fort were unhurt. They were Jacob Miller, George Lefler, Peter Fullenweider, Daniel Rice and Jacob Lefler, Jr.
Fort Richards.
A strong fort on the west bank of the West Fork River, in the vicinity of the mouth of Sycamore Creek, now in Union District, Harrison County. Here Jacob Richards was granted 400 acres of land in 1771. He, with the assistance of Arnold, Paul, Isaac, and Conrad Richards, his relatives, erected and occupied this fort, within whose walls many of the pioneers and their families found refuge in time of danger.
Fort Robinson,
A block-house. It stood opposite the foot of Six Mile Island in the Ohio River, now in Robinson District, Mason County. It was built by Capt. Isaac Robinson in 1794. Mr. Robinson, when a small boy, had been captured by the Indians, with whom he lived for twelve years.
Fort Savannah.
This fort was situated on the Big Levels, on the site of the present town of Lewisburg, in Greenbrier County. Prob- ably built by Capt. Andrew Lewis in 1755.
Fort Shepherd.
This was a strong stockade fort erected in 1755, and situated at the Forks of Wheeling Creek, now in Triadelphia District, Ohio County. It was erected by David Shepherd, afterwards county lieutenant of that county. This fort was destroyed by Indians after its evacuation by the whites in September, 1777, and was rebuilt in 1786, and four years later it was re-constructed. "This time the palisade walls were
History of West Virginia 177
built of sycamore plank three inches thick, twelve feet long, the ends fitted in rabbeted posts, one plank resting upon another. There were bastions at the corners and ])ort holes along the walls." (See "Battle at Fort Henry.")
Fort Statler.
A stockade fort, situated on Dunkard Creek, now in Clay District, Monongalia County. It was erected about 1770 by John Statler (sometimes called Stradler). This fort, like many others in West A'irginia at that period, was the scene of bloody tragedies.
Fort Stewart.
This was a block-house erected in 1773 by John Stewart. It stood on a ridge between two small ravines, on Stewart's Run, about one mile from its source and two miles from Georgetown, in Monongalia County.
Fort Stuart.
This fort was erected by Capt. John Stuart about 1769. It was situated in what is now Fort Spring District, Green- brier County, near Fort Spring Depot, on Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. He and a gentleman by the name of Robert McClennahen came to this' place from the Shenandoah Valley in 1769, and both commanded companies of Greenbrier men in General Lewis's army in Dunmore's \\''ar. McClennahan was killed in the battle at Point Pleasant. October 10, 1774. The first court in Greenbrier County was held in this fort, and John Stuart was its clerk.
Fort Tackett.
This Avas a small stockade. It was situated on the Great Kanawha River, one-half mile below the mouth of Coal River. Kanawha County. It was built by LeAvis Tackett, who was supposed to have been the first settler between the mouth of
178 History of West Virginia
the Elk and the Ohio Rivers. It was erected sometime pre- vious to the year 1788. It was destroyed by the Indians January 5th, 1788, at which time and place Chris. Tackett was killed, John McElheny and wife, with Betsey Tackett, Samuel Tackett and a small boy were taken prisoners. John Young and wife escaped.
Fort Tomlinson.
This was a stockade fort. It was situated just north of the present Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station, on the east side of that road, in what is now the City of Mounds ville. Its builder was Joseph Tomlinson, great-grandfather of Judge Charles Newman, of Wheeling, W. Va. The writer is in- formed that a descendent of Tomlinson's now occupies a building on the site of the old fort, which, by the way, is located within fifty yards of the late residence of Judge Newman. Tomlinson and a party of his neighbors came to the Grave Creek Flats — now Moundsville — in 1770. Two years later he brought his family from Maryland and com- menced laying the foundation for the present beautiful city. The fort was erected in the spring of 1773. In 1777 the in- mates, on learning of the approach of the Indians that had besieged Fort Henry, evacuated this fort and hastened to Wheeling. Joseph Tomlinson took his family to the mouth of Pike's Run, on the Monongahela River, where they re- mained until 1784. On their return to Moundsville in that year, they found Fort Tomlinson a heap of ashes, having been burned' by the Indians. It was rebuilt and thereafter served as a place of refuge until the Indian wars were ended. Some interesting episodes that occurred in and about this place will be related in another chapter.
Fort Van Meter.
This was a stockade fort,' situated on the north side of Short Creek, about five miles from its confluence with the Ohio River, in Ohio County. It was erected in 1774, at the beginning of Dunmore's War. During many consecutive
History of West Virginia 179
summers the inhabitants found refuge within its walls. It is said that the first court of Ohio County was held in this fort. It was commanded by Maj. Samuel McCullough until his death by the Indians on the 30th of July, 1782, while he and his brother John were reconnoitering to ascertain if Indians were near. His brother escaped to the fort. This fort was the scene of much trouble with the savages.
Fort Warwick.
Fort Warwick was a small fort situated in what is now Huttonsville District, Randolph County. It was erected by James Warwick and was among the early places of defense in Tygart's Valley. Near it resided John White, who was killed at Point Pleasant, and his brother William, whose death is connected with one of the tragedies enacted near Fort Buckhannon. (See "Indian Massacres.")
Fort Wells.
Fort Wells was a small stockade fort erected in the spring of 1773 by Richard Wells. It stood on the dividing ridge between the waters of Cross Creek and Harmon's Creek, in Brooke County. Its commandant was a Quaker, and in con- sequence of his kindness to the Indians, they never molested him or his people. It was unfortunate for our forefathers as well as for the Indians that the former were not all Quakers.
Fort West.
The settlement on Hacker's Creek, as stated elsewhere, was one of the earliest west of the Alleghanies. John and Thomas Hacker and Alexander West, with several others, came here in 1770 and settled on the banks of that stream, in what is now Lewis County. They erected a fort on West's land. Perhaps there was not another settlement in the State that suflfered more from Indian depredations than did this one. The savages were especially bad during the years of 1778 and 1779, and the people were forced to seek safety in flight when
180 History of West Virginia
Fort West was burned by the Indians. A few of the inhabit- ants returned to their lands in 1780, and constructed another fort a short distance from the one that had been destroyed, and they named it Beech Fort, because of its timbers being all beech logs. The Indians afterwards returned, but the peo- ple "held the fort", and no more abandoned their settlement.
Fort Westfall (Randolph County).
This was a stockade within which M'as a large house. It stood one-fourth mile south of where Beverly now stands. It was erected by Jacob Westfall in 1774. The Indians caused some trouble in this vicinity.
Fort Wetzel.
Fort Wetzel was a stockade fort situated on Wheeling Creek, now in Sand Hill District, Marshall County. The builders and defenders were John Wetzel and his five sons — Martin, Lewis, Jacob, George and John — the most noted Indian fighters that ever dwelt on the West Virginia frontier. Stories of their adventures with the Indians and some of their personal history will be found in this book.
Fort Wilson.
This fort was situated one-half mile above the mouth of Chenoweth's Creek, about four miles north of Beverly, on the east side of Tygart's Valley River, Randolph County. Its builder and defender was Benjamin Wilson. He has con- tributed considerable information concerning the early history of the region in which he resided. There were twenty-two families in his fort in May, 1782. Some interesting stories will- be found in this book concerning adventures with Indians in this vicinity.
Fort Woods.
A stockade fort. It was erected about 1773 by Capt. Michael Woods, and is situated on Rich Creek, four miles
History of West Virginia 181
cast of Peterstovvu, in Monroe County. The Captain on "May 29, 1774, furnished Col. Wilham Preston with a roll of men fit for military duty in the region in which his fort was located. This list has been preserved and is a highly interest- ing document, these men being West Virginia pioneers of that time. Much history was made in this vicinity. Septem- ber 3, 1774, Maj. \\'illiam Christian, with his battalion of Fincastle County men from the Holston and Watauga settle- ments, on the march to join Colonel Lewis's army at Camp Union, encamped within a few miles of Fort Woods, to which he sent eight hundred pounds of flour for the use of the men assembled there. Captain Woods, with fourteen volunteers from this fort, joined the company of Capt. James Roberson of Christian's battalion, and with it was in the thickest of the fight at Point Pleasant. In 1781, Captain ^\'ood mustered a number of men for service with Gen. George Rogers Clark in Illinois, and they were ready to march thither at the time of the Indian incursion on Indian Creek, in March of that year. They pursued the Indians, killing some of them and recovered the white prisoners, among them being the Meeks family from the mouth of Indian Creek. These men, destined for the Illinois expedition, were commanded by a Lieutenant W^oods. presumably a son of Capt. Michael \\^oods."
The greater jmrt of the foregoing information in this chapter was taken from "West Mrginia Archives and His- tory", published in 1906.
This is given, principally, for the purpose of aiding to a better understanding of what is to follow in future cha])ters. At the same time, the simple description of tht forts them- selves mav be of interest to some of our readers.
CHAPTER XIII.
MURDER OF CORNSTALK, THE GREAT INDIAN
CHIEF.
(Written by Col. John Stuart.)
"In the year 1777, the Indians, being urged by British agents, became very troublesome to frontier settlers, mani- festing much appearance of hostilities, when the Cornstalk warrior, with the Redhawk, paid a visit to the garrison at Point Pleasant. He made no secret of the disposition of the Indians ; declaring that, on his own part, he was opposed to joining the war on the side of the British, but that all the Nation, except himself and his own tribe, were determined to engage in it; and that, of course, he and his tribe would have to run with the stream (as he expressed it). On this, Captain Arbuckle thought proper to detain him, the Redhawk, and another fellow, as hostages, to prevent the Nation from join- ing the British.
"In the course of that summer our Government had ordered an army to be raised, of volunteers, to serve under the command of General Hand, who was to have collected a number of troops at Fort Pitt, with them to descend the river to Point Pleasant, there to meet a reinforcement of volunteers expected to be raised in Augusta and Botetourt Counties, and then proceed to the Shawnee towns and chastise them so as to compel them to neutrality. Hand did not suc- ceed in the collection of troops at Fort Pitt; and but three or four companies were raised in Augusta and Botetourt, which were under the command of Col. George Skillern, who ordered me to use my endeavors to raise all the volunteers I could get in Greenbrier for that service. The people had begun to see the difficulties attendant on a state of war and long campaigns carried through the wilderness, and but a few were willing to
History of West Virginia 183
engage in such service. But as the settlements which we cov- ered, though less exposed to the depredations of the Indians, had showed their willingness to aid in the proposed plan to chastise the Indians, and had raised three companies, I was very desirous of doing all I could to promote the business and aid the service. I used the utmost endeavors, and proposed to the militia officers to volunteer ourselves, which would be an encouragement to others, and by such means to raise all the men who could be got. The chief of the officers in Green- brier agreed to the proposal, and we cast lots who should command the company. The lot fell on Andrew Hamilton for captain, and William Renic, lieutenant. We collected in all about forty, and joined Colonel Skillern's party on their way to Point Pleasant.
"When we arrived, there was no account of General Hand or his army, and little or no provision made to support our troops, other than what we had taken with us down the Kanawha. We found, too, that the garrison was unable to spare us any supplies, having nearly exhausted, when we got there, what had been provided for themselves. But we con- cluded to wait there as long as we could for the arrival of General Hand, or some account from him. During the time of our stay two young men, of the names of Hamilton and Gilmore, went over the Kanawha one day to hunt for deer ; on their way to camp, some Indians had concealed themselves on the bank among the weeds, to view our encampment ; and as Gilmore came along past them, they fired on him and killed him on the bank.
"Captain Arbuckle and myself were standing on the oppo- site bank when the gun was fired ; and while wc were won- dering who it could be shooting, contrary to orders, or what they were doing over the river, we saw Hamilton run down the bank, who called out that Gilmore was killed. Gilmore was one of the company of Captain Hall, of that part of the country now Rockbridge County. The captain was a relation of Gilmore's, whose family and friends were chiefly cut off by the Indians in the year 1763, when Greenbrier was cut off. Hall's men instantly jumped in a canoe and went to the relief
184 History of West Virginia
of Hamilton, who was standing in momentary expectation of being put to death.
"They brought the corpse of Gilmore down the bank, covered with blood and scalped, and put him into the canoe. As they were crossing the river, I observed to Captain Arbuckle that the people would be for killing the hostages, as soon as the canoe would land. He supposed that they would not offer to commit so great a violence upon the inno- cent, who were in nowise accessory to the murder of Gilmore. But the canoe had scarcely touched the shore until the cry was raised, 'Let us kill the Indians at the fort' ; and every man, with his gun in his hand, came up the bank pale with rage Captain Hall was at their head, and leader. Captain Arbuckle and I met them, and endeavored to dissuade them from so unjustifiable an action; but they cocked their guns, threatened us with instant death if we did not desist, rushed by us into the fort, and put the Indians to death.
"On the preceding day, Cornstalk's son, Elinipsico, had come from the Nation to see his father, and to know if he was well, or alive. When he came to the river opposite the fort, he hallooed. His father was at that instant in the act of delineating a map of the country and the waters between the Shawnee towns and the Mississippi, at our request, with chalk upon the floor. He immediately recognized the voice of his son, got up, went out and answered him. The young fellow crossed over, and they embraced each other in the most tender and affectionate manner. The interpreter's wife, who had been a prisoner among the Indians and had recently left them, on hearing the uproar the next day and hearing the men threatening that they would kill the Indians, for whom she retained much afifection, ran to their cabin and informed them that the people were just coming to kill them ; and that, be- cause the Indians who had killed Gilmore ^ad come with Elinipsico the day before. He utterly denied it; declared that he knew nothing of them, and trembled exceedingly. His father encouraged him not to be afraid, for that the Great Man above had sent him there to be killed and die with him. As the men advanced to the door, Cornstalk rose up and met them; they fired upon him, and seven or eight bullets went
History of West Virginia 185
through him. So fell the great Cornstalk warrior — whose name was bestowed upon him by the consent of the Nation, as their great strength and support. His son was shot dead as he sat upon a stool. The Redhawk made an attempt to go up the chimney, but was shot down. The other Indian was shamefully mangled, and I grieved to see |;iim so long in the agonies of death.
"Cornstalk, from personal appearance and many brave acts, was undoubtedly a hero. Had he been spared to live, I believe he would have been friendly to the American cause ; for nothing could induce him to make the visit to the garrison at the critical time he did but to communicate to them the temper and dis])Osition of the Indians, and their design of taking j)art with the British. On the day he was killed we held a council, at which he was present. His countenance was dejected ; and he made a speech, all of which seemed to in- dicate an honest and manly disposition. He acknowledged that he expected that he and his party would have to 'run with the stream', for that all the Indians on the lakes and northwardly were joining the British. He said that when he returned to the Shawnee towns after the battle at the Point, he called a council of the Nation to consult what was to be done, and upbraided them for their folly in not suffering him to make peace on the evening before the battle. '\Miat,' said he, 'will you do now? The Big Knife is coming upon us, and we shall all be killed. Now^ you must fight, or we are done.' But no one made an answer. He said, 'Then let us kill our ^\•omcn and children and and fight till we die.' But none would answer. At length he rose and struck his tomahawk in the post in the center of the town house: 'I'll go,' said he. 'and make peace'; and then the warriors all grunted out. 'Ough, ough, ough,' and runners were instantly dispatched to the Governor's army to solicit a peace, and the interposition of the Governor on their behalf.
"When he made his speech in council with us, he seemed to be impressed with an awful premonition of his aj-ii^roaching fate ; for he repeatedly said, 'When T was a young man and went to war, I thought that might be the last time and 1 would return no more. Now I am here among vou : vou max
186 History of West Virginia
kill me if you please ; I can die but once ; and it is all one to me, now or another time.' This declaration concluded every sentence of his speech. He was killed about one hour after our council."
Ex-Governor Atkinson — commenting on the above mur- der, in his "History of Kanawha County," — says : "Thus closed the life of perhaps the greatest Indian chief and warrior that ever lived in America. He feared death less than he feared the white man. He met his fate calmly, and died like a patriot. His murder was a disgrace to the men who com- mitted the awful crime, and left a blot upon the history of our country which time nor change can ever erase."
The remains of Cornstalk were interred in what is now the courthouse yard at Point Pleasant. A nice monument now marks his resting place. -
"Where is my home, my forest home,
The proud land of my sires? Where stands the wigwam of my pride.
Where gleamed the council fires? Where are my kindred's hallowed graves,
My friends so light and free? Gone, gone forever from my sight !
"Great Spirit, can it be !"
Murder of Adam Stroud and Captain Bull and Their Families.
Captain Bull, a Delaware chief, once lived with his tribe on Unadilla River, an eastern branch of the Susquehanna, the village where he resided being then known as Oghkwago, in, Boone County, New York.
In 1763, he took an active part in Pontiac's conspiracy, and in the following spring Sir William Johnson, English Indian agent of New York, sent out a party of whites and friendly Indians to capture him ; and after a sharp struggle. Bull and some of his followers were taken and conveyed to New York City, where they were detained as prisoners for a time and were then discharged. Bull and five families of his relatives came to West Virginia and settled on the Little Kanawha River, in Braxton County, at a salt spring about one and a quarter miles below the present Bulltown P. O. They proved to be very friendly with the whites on Buckhannon
History of West Virginia 187
and Hacker's Creek, — frequently visiting and hunting with them.
Adam Stroud (a German) and his family lived on Elk River a few miles south of the Bulltown Indians. During his absence one day in June, 1772, some Shawnese Indians visited his home and murdered his wife and seven children, plundered the house and drove off the cattle.
The trail of the murderers led towards the Bulltown habi- tation. A party of five men, consisting of William White, William Hacker, John Cartright, and two others — one of whom (it was claimed by Cartright on his death-bed) was Jesse Hughes — started out in pursuit, and believing, or pre- tending to believe, that the Bulltown Indians were the guilty persons, they fell upon and murdered every man, woman and child, and threw their bodies into the river.
It seems that while preparations were being made for the. pursuit of the Indians, it was intimated probably Captain Bull and his men were the responsible persons, but this belief was not entertained by many of the whites in that community, and the pursuers were requested not to molest the friendly Indians, but the advice fell upon deaf ears. At first the whites denied having molested Captain Bull's party, but later on some member of the gang confessed the deed, but declared they had found in the Indians' possession clothes and other things belonging to Stroud's family.
It can not be truthfully denied that there were many savage-hearted men among the white settlers, whose deeds were sometimes equally as terrible as those ever perpetrated by the Indians. The trouble was, some whites seemed to look upon the Indian as no better than a snake, and consequently considered him legitimate prey wherever found. Environ- ment, of course, had something to do with this feeling, and we of today are not in a position to know just how we would act were we situated precisely as were those whom we, from our present point of view, must condemn. However, these cases were the exception — not tlic rule. We doubt not the patience of our early settlers, regardless of their humane feel- ings, was often sorely tried, — and after all, it would seem strange if there were not a few of them who would occasion- ally overstep the bounds of discretion.
CHAPTER XIV.
MURDER OF THE MORAVIAN INDIANS BY THE
WHITES — THE GREATEST CRIME EVER
PERPETRATED IN THE ANNALS
OF BORDER WARFARE.
(From Wils De Hass's "History of Border Warfare in West
irgmia .)
This is a chapter in our history which Ave would fain drop, and draw over it the curtain of obHvion, did not our duty require us to speak in deference to a higher obhgation. The murder of the Christian or Moravian Indians was one of the most atrocious affairs in the settlement of the wert. It is a reproach upon the character of the country, and a living stigma upon the memory of every man known to have been engaged in the diabolical transaction. It is but justice, how^- ever, that those who protested against the enormity should he exonerated from blame.
The Moravian Indians consisted chiefly of the Delawares, wath a few" Mohicans. These simple-minded children of the forest had become converted to Christianity through the zeal and influence of Moravian Missionaries. Their homes em- braced the villages of Gnad'^nhutten, Schonbrunn, Salem and Lichtenau.
For ten years they had lived in peace and quietness. The karsh savage had been softened by the mild influence of Christianity ; peace, content and happiness smiled upon him from year to year, and blessed him with their joys. But, alas, the destroyer came, and blotted this fair field of Christian labor utterly from existence.
The Moravian Indians early became objects of suspid^^ to both the whites and surrounding savages. The latter, be- cause they had given up the customs of their race ; and by the former, on account of their supposed protection to, or harbor-
History of West Virginia 189
ing of, hostile Indians. Their towns lay immediately on the track from Sandusky to the nearest point on the Ohio ; and while passing to and fro, the hostile parties would compel their Christian brethren to furnish provisions. Thus situated, as it were, between two fires, it is not surprising that they should have fallen a sacrifice to one or the other. During the whole of our Revolutionary struggle, the Moravian Indians remained neutral, or if they took any part, it was in favor of the whites, advising them of the approach of hostile Indians, etc. Yet, notwithstanding all their former friendliness, they fell under the displeasure of the border settlers, who suspected them of aiding and abetting the savages whose depredations upon the frontier had caused so much terror and misery throughout western A'irginia and Pennsylvania. To add to this feeling, early in February, 1782, a party of Indians from Sandusky penetrated the settlements and committed numer- ous depredations. Of the families that fell beneath the mur- derous stroke of these savages was that of David Wallace, consisting of himself, wife and six children, and a man named Carpenter. Of these all were killed, except the latter, whom they took prisoner. The early date of this visitation induced the people at once to believe that the depredators had wintered with the Moravians, and the excited settlers uttered vengeance against those who were supposed to have harbored them. An expedition was at once determined vipon, and about the first of March a body of eighty or ninety men, chiefly from the Monongahela, rendezvoused at the Old Mingo towns, on Mingo Bottom, now Jefiferson County, Ohio. Each man fur- nished himself with his own arms, ammunition and provisions. Many of them had horses. The second day's march Inought them within one mile of the middle Moravian town, and they encamped for the night. In the morning the men were divided into two equal parties, one of which was to cross the river about a mile above the town, their videttes having re- ported that there were Indians on both sides of the river. The other party was divided into three divisions, one of. which was to take a circuit in the woods and reach the river a little distance below the middle of the town, and the third at its upper end.
190 History of West Virginia
The victims received warning- of their danger, but took no measure to escape, believing they had nothing to fear from the Americans, but supposed the only quarter from which they had grounds for apprehending injury was from those Indians who were the enemies of the Americans.
When the party designed to make the attack on .the west side had reached the river, they found no craft to take them over; but something like a canoe was seen on the opposite bank. The river was high with some floating ice. A young man by the name of Slaughter swam the river, and brought over, not a canoe, but a trough, designed for holding sugar water. This trough could carry but two men at a time. In order to expedite their passage, a number of men stripped ofl^ their clothes, put them into the trough, together with their guns, and swam by its sides, holding its edges with their hands. When about sixteen had crossed the river, their senti- nels, who had been posted in advance, discovered an Indian, whose name was Shabosh, whom they shot and scalped. By this time, about sixteen men had got over the river, and sup- posing that the firing of the guns which killed Shabosh would lead to an instant discovery, they sent word to the party de- signed to attack the town on the east side of the river to move on instantly, which they did.
In the meantime, the small party which had crossed the river marched with all speed to the main town on the west side of the river. Here they found a large company of Indians gathering the corn, which they had left in their fields the pre- ceding fall, when they removed to Sandusky. On the arrival of the men at the town, they professed peace and good will to the Moravians, and informed them that they had come to take them to Fort Pitt for their safet3^ The Indians surren- dered, delivered up their arms, even their hatchets, on being promised that everything should be restored to them on their arrival at Pittsburgh. The murderers then went to Salem, and persuaded the Indians there to go with them to Gnaden- hutten, the inhabitants of which, in the meantime, had been attacked and driven together, and bound without resistance ; and when those from Salem were about entering the town, they were likewise deprived of their arms and bound.
History of West Virginia 191
The prisoners being thus secured, a council of war was held to decide their fate. The officers, unwilling to take on themselves the whole responsibility of the awful decision, agreed to refer the question to the whole number of the men. The men were accordingly drawn up in line. The command- ant of the party, Col. David Williamson, then put the ques- tion to them in form : Whether the Moravian Indians should be taken prisoners to Pittsburgh, or put to death ; and re- quested all those who were in favor of saving their lives should step out of the line, and form a second rank. On this sixteen, some say eighteen, stepped out of rank, and formed themselves into a second line. But, alas ! this line of mercy was far too short for that of vengeance.
Most of those opposed to this diaboHcal resolution pro- tested in the name of high Heaven against the atrocious act. and called God to witness that they w^ere innocent of the blood of those inoffensive people ; yet the majority remained unmoved, and some of them were even in favor of burning them alive. But it was at length decided that they should be scalped in cold blood, and the Indians were told to prepare for their fate, that, as they were Christians, they might die in A CHRISTIAN MANNER. x\fter the first burst of horror was over, they patiently suft'ered themselves to be led into buildings, in one of which the men, and in the other, the women and children were confined, like sheep for slaughter. They passed the night in praying, asking pardon from each other for any offences they had committed, and singing hymns of praise to God. (O, what a pity that the God of Hosts did not send down upon the beastly murderers who were impa- tiently waiting for sun rise to appear that they might glut their craven propensities for gore upon an innocent people, a bolt of fire to consume them, and set their prisoners free!)
From the time they had been placed in the guard-house the unfortunate prisoners foresaw their fate, and commenced singing, and praying, and exhorting one another to place their faith in the Savior of men.
The particulars of this catastrophe were too horrid to relate. When morning arrived, the murderers selected two houses, which they correctly named slaughter-houses — one
192 History of West Virginia
for the women and children. The victims were then bound, two and two together, and led into the slaughter-houses, where they were scalped and murdered.
The number of the slain, as reported by the men on their return from the campaign, was eighty-seven or eighty-nine, but the Moravian account, which no doubt is correct, makes the number ninety-six. Of these, sixty-two were grown per- sons, one-third of M'hom were women, the remaining thirty- four were children. All these, with a few exceptions, M^ere killed in the houses.
A few men who were supposed to be warriors were tied and taken some distance from the slaughter-houses to be tomahawked.
Of the whole number of the Indians at Gnadenhutten and Salem, only two made their escape. These were two lads of fourteen or fifteen years of age. One of them escaped on the night previous to the massacre, and concealed himself in the cellar of the house to M^hich the women and children were brought next da}^ to be murdered, M^hose blood he saw run- ning in streams through the floor. On the following night he left the cellar, into which, fortunately, no one came, and got into the woods. The other youth received one blow upon his head, and was left for dead.
The Indians of the upper town were apprised of their danger in due time to make their escape, two of them having found the mangled body of Shabosh. Providentially, they all made their escape, although they might have been easily overtaken by the party, if they had undertaken their pursuit A division of the men were ordered to go to Schonbrunn, but finding the place deserted, they took what plunder they could find and returned to their companions without looking farther after the Indians.
After the work of death had been finished and the plunder secured, all the buildings in the town were set on fire, includ- ing the slaughter-houses. A rapid retreat of these white- livered cowards to the settlement concluded this deplorable campaign. It was, certainly, one of the most horrible affairs ever undertaken in this country, and is revolting to every
History of West Virginia 193
feeling of the HUMAN heart. It must stand a record of in- famy as long as time lasts.
Doddridge, whose views, in part, we have embodied in a portion of this account, says :
"In justice to the memory of Colonel Williams, I have to say that although at that time ver}' young, I was personally accjuainted with him, and from my recollection of his conver- sation, I say with confidence that he was a brave man, but not cruel. He would kill an enemy in battle, and fight like a soldier, but not murder a prisoner. Had he possessed the authority of a superior officer in a regular army, I do not be- lieve that a single Moravian Indian would have lost his life ; but he possessed no such authority. He was only a militia officer, who could advise, but not command'. His only fault was that of too easy a compliance with popular opinion and popular prejudice. On this account his memory has been loaded with unmerited reproach. Should it be asked what sort of people composed the band of murderers of these un- fortunate people, I would answer : They were not miscreants or vagabonds ; many of them were men of the first standing in the country. Many of them had recently lost relations by the hands of the savages, and were burning for revenge. They cared little upon whom they wreaked their vengeance, so they were Indians.
"When attacked by our people, although they might have defended themselves, they did not. They never fired a single shot. They were prisoners and had been promised protection. Every dictate of justice and humanity required that their lives should be spared. The complaint of their villages being 'half- way houses for the warriors' was at an end, as they had been removed to Sandusky the fall before. It was therefore an atrocious and unqualified murder. But by whom committed? By a majority of the campaign? For the honor of my country, I hope that I may safely answer this question in the negative. It was one of those convulsions of the moral state of society in which the voice of justice and humanity is silenced by the clamor and violence of a lawless minority, ^^ery few of our men imbrued their hands in the blood of the Moravians. Ev^n those who had not voted for saving their lives retired from
194 History of West Virginia
the scene of slaughter with horror and disgust. Why then did they not give their votes in their favor? The fear of pubhc indignation restrained them from doing so. They thought well, but had not heroism enough to express their opinion. Those who did so deserve honorable mention for their intre- pidity. So far as it may hereafter be in my power, this honor shall be done them, while the names of the murderers shall not stain the pages of history, from my pen at least."
When we compare this act of extreme cruelty and barbar- ism with the general reputation of the early pioneers of West Virginia for true bravery and noble character, w^e can not but conclude that those sixteen or eighteen men who so nobly "formed the second line" were the only ones present on that fatal spot who truly represented the average pioneer. We can not conceive the possibility of the present Christian citi- zens of our Little Mountain State being offspring of mur- derers' of innocent men, women and children.
The great majority of our historians steer clear of expo- sitions of such scenes as we have just described, but a history that gives but one side of a question is necessarily out of plumb — lop-sided — and can not be depended upon. Let the bitter go with the sweet. The truth wrongs no one. If the bridge is down, the watchman will not be doing his duty if he displays the white flag of safety. Deception is never right, but is often dangerous.
CHAPTER XV.
INDIAN WARS AND MASSACRES IN WEST VIRGINIA.
Attack on Fort Seybert (or Sivert).
Fort Seybert (sometimes called Sivert) stood on the South Pork of the South Branch of the Potomac River, twelve miles northeast of Franklin, in Bethel District, Pen- dleton County. It was a strong- fort, having cabins, palisades, and block-houses. It was besieged by Indians April 28, 1758. Following is a history of the unhappy event:
"In this fort the inhabitants of what was then called the "Upper Tract" all sought shelter from the tempest of savage ferocity; and at the time the Indians appeared before it there were contained within its walls between thirty and forty persons of both sexes and of different ages. Among them was a Mr. Dyer (the father of Colonel Dyer, late of Pendleton County) and his family. On the morning of the fatal day, Colonel Dyer and his sister left the fort for the accomplish- ment of some object, and although no Indians had been seen there for some time, yet they did not proceed far before they came in view of a party of forty or fifty Shawnees going directly towards the fort. Alarmed for their own safety as well as for the safety of their friends, the brother and sister endeavored by hasty flight to reach the gate and gain admit- tance into the garrison ; but before they could effect- this they were overtaken and made captives.
"The Indians rushed immediately to the fort and com- menced a furious assault on it. Captain Seybert prevailed (not without much opposition) on the besieged to forbear firing until he should endeavor to negotiate with and buy off the enemy. With this end in view, and under the protection of a flag, he went out and soon succeeded in making the wished-for arrangements. When he returned, the gates were
196 History of West Virginia
thrown open and the enemy admitted. No sooner had the money and other articles stipulated to be given been handed over to the Indians than a most bloody tragedy was begun to be acted. Arranging the inmates of the fort in two rows, with a space of about ten feet between them, two Indians were selected, who taking each his station at the head of a row, Avith their tomahawks most cruelly murdered almosu every white person in the fort ; some few whom caprice, or some other cause, induced them to spare, were carried into captivity, — such articles as could be well carried away were taken off b}^ the Indians ; the remainder was consumed, with the fort, by fire.
Note : Among those carried off into captivity was James Dyer, then fourteen years old. Two years later he escaped from his captors when in the Scioto Valley and returned home. A son of his. Col. Zebulon D^^er, was long Clerk of the Court of Pendleton County. The Indians burned the fort, but it was rebuilt by order of the Colonial Assembly. The attack was made on this fort the day after the massacre at Fort Upper Tract and at Upper Tract, Pendleton County, in which Captain Dunlap and twenty-two others were killed. The inhabitants in the neighborhood who succeeded in escap- ing here sought shelter at Fort Seybert, where the next day the greater part of them were killed, as above recorded. — S. M.
Battle of the Trough — Capture of Mrs. Neff: Her Escape to Fort Pleasant — Pursuit of the Indians — The Fight.
As a preliiiiinary to what is to follow, it might be well to give a brief description of Fort Pleasant.
It was a strong fort, having cabins, palisades, and block- houses. Its location was on the "Indian Old Fields", about a mile and a half above the "Trough" on the South Branch of the Potomac, in Hardy County. It Vv^as sometimes called Fort Van Meter, and after the founding of Moorefield, was often referred to as the "Town Fort". It was erected by Thomas Waggener in 1756 under orders of Col. George Washington.
About the year 1755 the Indians, while invading the
History of West Virginia 197
South Branch, captured a Mrs. Neff, whom they left with an old Indian while they reconnoitered Fort Pleasant nearby.
What followed is described by De Hass in his "Indian Wars" :
"At a late hour in the night Airs. Neff, disco\ering- that her guard was pretty soundly asleep, ran oft". The old fellow very soon awoke, fired oft" his gun, and raised a }ell. Airs. Neft" succeeded in reaching Fort Pleasant, and gave notice where the enemy were encamped. A small part}' the same evening came from another fort, a few miles above, and joined their friends in Fort Pleasant. After the escape of Mrs. Neft", the Indians collected into a deep glen, near the fort. Early the next morning sixteen men, well mounted and armed, left the fort with a view to attack the Indians. They soon discovered their encampment by the smoke of their fire. The whites divided themselves into two parties, intending to enclose the Indians, but urifortunateh'. a small dog which followed them, starting a rabbit, alarmed the Indians, upon which they cautiously moved oft", passed between the parties of white men unobser\'ed, took a position between them and their horses, and opened a most destructive fire. The whites returned the fire with great lirmness and bravery, and a des- perate and bloody conflict ensued. Seven of the whites fell dead and four were wounded. The others retreated to the fort. Three Indians fell in this battle and several were wounded. The victors secured the white men's horses and took them oft". This was called the battle of the Trough."
An old gentleman named Van Meter witnessed the fight from the top of a ridge, and then made his way to tlic fort.
Battle With the Shawnees Near Edward's Fort.
Fort Edward stood on or near the site of the present village of Capon Bridge, Hampshire County.
In May, 1757, a body of Shawnees, under command of their celebrated chief. Kill-buck, crossed the Alleghanics and committed various acts of depredation. According to \\'ith- ers, "some thirty or fort}' of this party appeared in the neigh- l)orhood of Edward's fort and killed two men at a mill, whom
198 History of West Virginia
they scalped, and then made off, taking with them a quantity of meal. Information having been conveyed to the fort, forty men, under Captain Mercer, started in pursuit of the murder- ers. The Indians, expecting this, concealed themselves be- neath a bank and awaited the approach of the whites. As a decoy, they had strewn along the path some meal taken from the mill. Mercer's party discovering this, supposed the Indians were making a speedy retreat, and, not apprised of their strength, moved on at a brisk step, until the whole party were drawn immediately over the line of the Indians beneath the bank, when the latter opened a most destructive fire upon them, sixteen falling dead at the first discharge. The others, attempting to save themselves by flight, were pursued and slaughtered in every direction, until, out of the forty, but six escaped to the fort. One poor fellow, who ran up the side of the mountain, was fired upon by an Indian ; the ball pene- trated just above his heel, ranged up his leg, shivered the bones, and lodged a little below his knee ; he slipped under the lap of a fallen tree and there hid himself, and lay in that situation for two days and nights before he was discovered by his friends. It was that length of time before the people of the fort would venture out to collect and bury the dead. This wounded man recovered and lived many years after.
Sometime afterwards, the Indians, in much greater force, and aided, it was believed, by several whites, determined to carry this fort by storm. The garrison had been considerably reinforced ; among others, by the late Gen. Daniel Morgan, then a young man. The Indians made the assault with great boldness ; but on this occasion they met with a sad reverse of fortune. The garrison sallied out, and a desperate battle ensued. The assailants were defeated with great slaughter, while the whites lost comparatively but few men.
During the year 1758 the savages again appeared east of the mountains, where they did considerable damage. A party of about fifty Indians arrived in the vicinity of Mill Creek, about nine miles south of Woodstock. On the alarm being given, the neighbors took refuge in the home of George Painter. Late in the afternoon they were attacked. Mr. Painter sought safety in flight and was killed. They also
History of West Virginia 199
killed four infant children. Then, after setting fire to the house, the savages moved off with forty-eight prisoners, among whom was Mrs. Painter, live of her daughters and one of her sons ; a Mrs. Smith and several of her children, among them a lad of twelve or thirteen years, "fine, well-grown boy, and remarkably fleshy".
Two of Painter's sons and a young man named Jacob Myers escaped. They gave the alarm at both Powell's and Keller's forts, some distance away; and early the next morn- ing a small party set out f6r the scene of trouble, reaching Mr. Painter's early in the day ; but on learning of the strength of the Indians, they refused to go farther, as they were too weak in numbers to chance a battle with the Indians.
The following is taken verbatim from De Hass's "Border Wars", which will illustrate two particular characteristics of the Indian at the time of which we write, namely : His capacity for cruelty on the one hand, and his power of fascina- tion on the other :
"After six days' travel they reached their villages, and held a council, when it was determined to sacrifice their help- less pFisoner, Jacob Fisher. They first ordered him to collect a quantity of dry wood. The poor little fellow shuddered, burst into tears, and told his father they intended to burn him. His father replied, T hope not;' and advised him to obey. When he had collected a sufficient quantity of wood to answer their purpose, they cleared and smoothed a ring around a sapling, to which they tied him by the hand, then formed a trail of wood around the tree, and set it on fire. The poor boy was then compelled to run around in this ring of fire until he came in contact with the flame, whilst his infernal torment- ors were drinking, singing, and dancing (another illustration of the effects of booze) around him with 'horrid joy.' This was continued for several hours; during which time tlie wretches became beastly drunk, and as they fell to the ground, their squaws would keep u]) the fire. With long sharp poles, they pierced the body of their victim whenever he flagged, until the poor and helpless boy fell and expired with the most excruciating torments, whilst his father and brothers were compelled to be witnesses of the heart-rending tragedy.
200 History of West Virginia
"After an absence of about three years, Mrs. Painter, with her son and two daughters, returned ; as did also Mrs. Smith, who had the honor, if it could be so deemed, of presenting her husband with an Indian son, by a distinguished chief. Smith received his wife, and never maltreated her on this account ; but he had a most bitter aversion to the young chief. The boy grew up to manhood, and exhibited the appearance and dispo- sition of his sire. Attempts were made to educate him, but without success. He enlisted in the army of the Revolution as a common soldier, and never returned. Fisher and his sur- viving sons, with several others, returned home. Three of Mr. Painter's daughters remained with the Indians ; one of whom, after many years' captivity, returned. The others mar- ried and spent their lives with their swarthy companions.
"In connection with this, we may state that a most re- markable feature of the Indian life was the peculiar power of fascination which it exercised over those subjected to its in- fluence. Other instances are upon record which show that this attachment to the allurements of savage life was often astonishing. The following will serve as an illustration :
"About the year 1758 a man by the name of John Stone, near what is called the White House, in the Hawksbill settle- ment, was killed by the Indians. Stone's wife, with her infant child and a son about seven or eight years old, and George Grandstaff, a youth sixteen years old, were taken prisoners. On the South Branch Mountain, the Indians murdered Mrs. Stone and her infant, but they took the boy and Grandstaff to their towns. Grandstaff remained about three years a pris- oner. The boy Stone grew up with the Indians, came home, and after obtaining possession of his father's property, sold it, got the money, returned to the Indians and was never heard of again."
Bingaman's Adventure With Indians Near Petersburg, Hardy
County.
In 1758, a man named Bingaman lived in his cabin, re- mote from any neighbors, near the present village of Peters- burg, Hard)^ County. In the fall of this year a party of eight
History of West Virginia 201
Indians arrixed at liis cabin late at night, \\liilc the- fainil}- were asleep. Before Bingaman was aware of their presence, the savages had forced an entrance into his house. ]Mrs. Bingaman, the younger, was shot but not fatall}-. After get- ting his parents, wife and child under the bed, Bingaman pre- pared for battle. He called for the hired man, who was up stairs, to come down and assist him, but the fellow refused to come down. The room was dark, and having discharged his gun, Bingaman commenced beating about at random with his hea\"y rifle. In this manner he fought with the desperation of a giant, and terribly did his blows fall upon the enemy. One after another he beat down before him, until finalh , of the eight but one remained, and he fled in terror from the house, and escaped to tell his tribe that he had met with a man who ^as a "perfect devil." Bingaman had actually killed seven of the Indians in single-handed combat.
Other Indian Depredations on the South Branch.
(From De Hass's "Border Wars.")
In the year 1764. a party of eighteen Delawares crossed the mountains. Furman's Fort was about one mile above Hanging Rock, on the South Branch. \\'illiam Furman and Nimrod Ashby (builders of the fort) had gone out from the fort to watch a deer lick in the Jersey mountains. The In- dians discovered and killed them both, and passed on into the county of Frederick, where they divided into two parties. One party of eight moved on to Cedar Creek settlement ; the other of ten attacked the people in the neighborhood of the present residence of ]\Iaj. John White. On this place a stock- ade was erected. The people in the neighborhood had taken the alarm, and were on their way to this fort, when assaulted by these Indians. They killed David Jones and his wife, also some of Mrs. Thomas's family, and carried off one of the daughters. An old man, named Lloyd, and his wife, and sev- eral of his children, were killed. Esther Lloyd, their daughter, about thirteen years old. received three tomahawk wounds in the head, was scalped, and left lying, supposed to be dead.
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Henry Clouser and two of his sons were killed, and his wife and four of his daughters taken. The youngest daughter was about two years old ; and as she impeded the mother's travel- ing, they killed it on the way. Mrs. Thomas was taken to the "Wappatomaka;" but the river being pretty full, and deep fording, they encamped near Furman's fort for the night. The next morning a party of white men fired off their guns at the fort, which alarmed the Indians, and they hurried across the river, assisting all the female prisoners, except Mrs. Thomas, who being quite stout, was left to struggle for herself. The current, however, proved too strong for her, and she floated down the river — but lodged against a rock, upon which she crawled, and saved herself from drowning.
The other party of eight Indians committed several mur- ders on Cedar Creek. It is probable that this party killed a, Mr. Lyle, a Mr. Butler, and some others. Mr. Ellis Thomas, the husband of the woman whose story has just been given, was killed the preceding harvest. The party of eight Indians took ofif two female prisoners, but were pursued by some white men, overtaken in the South Branch mountain, fired upon, and one of the Indians killed. The others fled, leaving their guns, prisoners and plunder.
In 1765 two Indians were seen lurking near Mill Creek. Matthias Painter, John Painter, and William Moore armed themselves, and went in pursuit. They had not proceeded far before they approached a large fallen pine, with a very bushy top. As they neared it, Matthias Painter observed, "We had better look sharp; it is quite likely the Indians are concealed under the tops of this tree." He had scarcely utter- ed the words before one of them rose up and fired. The ball grazed the temple of John Painter. Moore and Painter fired at the same instant; one of their balls passed through the Indian's body, and he fell, as the37^ supposed, dead enough. The other fellow fled. The white men pursued him some distance ; but the fugitive was too fleet for them. Finding they could not overhaul him, they gave up the chase and re- turned to the pine tree ; but to their astonishment, the sup- posed dead Indian had moved off with both guns and a large pack of skins. They pursued his trail, and when he found
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they were gaining uix)n him, he got into a sink hole, and as soon as they approached, commenced firing at them. He had poured out a quantity of powder on dry leaves, filled his mouth with bullets, and using a musket which was a self-primer, he was enabled to load and fire with astonishing quickness, lie thus fired at least thirty times before the}^ could get a chance to dispatch him. At last Mr. Moore got an opportunit}', and shot him through the head. Moore and Painter had many disputes as to which gave the fellow the first wound. Painter, at length, yielded, and Moore got the premium allowed by law for Indian scalps.
The fugitive who made his escape unfortunately met with a young woman on horse-back, named Sethon, whom he tore from her horse, and forced ofif with him. This occurred near the present town of New Market, and after traveling about twenty miles it is supposed the captive broke down from fatigue, and the savage monster beat her to death with a heavv pine-knot. Her screams were heard by some people who lived upwards of a mile away from this scene of horror, and who next day, on going to the place to ascertain the cause, found her stripped and weltering in blood.
Indian Depredations on the Monongahela River,
"1777, the year of the three sevens, sometimes called 'bloodv year,' is full of painful incidents to hundreds of fami- lies in North-Western Virginia." says De Hass, in Border Wars. 'Tt was. indeed, the most terrible year the early set- tlers ever experienced. Dark, mysterious clouds of malignant spirits hung upon tlic horizon, threatening every moment to overwhelm and exterminate the half-protected pioneer in his wilderness home. At length the storm broke over them, and there was scarcely a settlement in the great \'a11ey of the West that did not experience its fatal and terrible ei'fect. Thf^ fury of the savages during this year seemed to have no bounds. The wretched inhabitants were massacred with every con- ceivable cruelty. Men, women and children were chosen ob- jects of their revenge, and scarcely a .settlement west of the Alleghanies escaped their visits and their fury. The alarm
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became great, and terror seemed to seize.upon the entire popu- lation. Block-houses were hastily thrown up, and many who could moved their families to Redstone and other points on the Monongahela River; but still, there were hundreds left to endure all the anticipated horrors of an Indian invasion."
The Indians separated into what were termed "scalping parties," and penetrated the country at various points. One of their first acts along the Monongahela River was to visit the house of a Mr. Grigsly, on West Fork, and carry off his wife and two children. Mr. Grigsly was absent at the time ; but returning soon after, and missing his family, suspected the true cause, although no injury had been done to either the house or furniture. Securing the services of some of his neighbors, pursuit was immediately given. Keeping the trail about six miles, the horror-stricken husband came suddenly upon the gncstly forms of his murdered wife and child. The savages, finding Mrs. Grigsly unable to travel on account of her delicate condition, most inhumanly tomahawked her, to- gether with her youngest child.
The almost frantic husband and parent, burning for re- venge, rushed on with a few select men, but the savages, sus- pecting a pursuit, divided into small parties, and so effectually covered their trail that all efforts to trace them were unsuc- cessful, and the pursuit had to be given up. This was but the commencement of such scenes of blood along the Mononga- hela River.
A short time after this occurrence, a Miss Coons, whose father erected Coons's I^ort on the West Fork River, now in Harrison Count}^ went into the field to turn some hemp which lay near the fort. While there engaged, two young me::, Thomas Cunningham and Enoch James, approached, and after a short conversation, went on. They had not gone far before the report of a gun was heard, and on looking round they saw two Indians standing near Miss Coons, one of whom was in the act of scalping his unfortunate victim. Pursuit was im- mediately given, but the savages eluded every eft'ort to trace them. One of the young men fired at the retreating murder- ■ers, but without success.
"Western Pennsylvania suffered in common this year with
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Western Mrginia. Scalping parties overran tlic settlements along the lower Monongahela and its tributaries. The settle- ments within the region now embraced in Washington, Alle- gheny, and Westmoreland counties suffered severely. As it was known that the Indians who committed these depreda- tions crossed the Allegheny River, it was determined to erect a fort on that stream, supposing that the presence of a small garrison would have the effect to check the movements of the enemy in that quarter. Accordingly, Colonel William Craw- ford, whose melancholy fate a few years later thrilled the. whole country with horror, visited the Allegheny for the pur- pose of selecting a proper location for the proposed fort. He decided to place it near the mouth of Puckety Creek, about seventeen miles above Pittsburgh. The fort was immediately built, and called Crawford, in honor of its projector. Several others were erected about this time along the Loyalhanna, Kiskiminitas, Cheat, Ten-mile, Pigeon Creek, etc. The eff'ect of the erection of this fort may have been to force the Indians lower down, and such was doubtless the fact. Large parties of them found their way to points along the Ohio River, on the West Virginia border, and their operations were very aggres- sive, particularly in Wheeling and vicinity. The whole com- bined force of the W^estern Confederation of Indians seemed directed against this particular section, with the exception of small parties that occasionally crossed over to the upper Mon- ongahela, Cheat, West Fork, and Tygart's Valley Rivers, or their tributaries." (Withers).
Indians Attack the Brains and Powells on Snowy Creek, in
Preston County.
On April 11th. 1778, five Indians came to a house on Snowy Creek, in Preston County, in which lived James Brain and Richard Powell, and remained in ambush during the night, close around it. In the early morning, the appearance of some ten or twelve men, coming from the house with guns, for the purpose of amusing themselves in shooting at a mark, deterred the Indians from making their meditated attack. The men seen by them were travelers, who had associated for
206 History of West Virginia
mutual security, and who, after a morning's repast, resumed their journey unknown to the savages. When Mr. Brain and the sons of Mr. Powell went to their day's work, being en- gaged in carrying clap-boards for covering a cabin, at some distance from the house, they were soon heard by the Indians, who, despairing of succeeding in an attack on the house, changed their position, and concealed themselves by the side of the path, along which those engaged at work had to go. Mr. Brain and one of his sons being at a little distance in front of them, they fired and Brain fell. He was tomahawked and scalped, while another of the party followed and caught the son as he was attempting to escape by flight. Three other boys were then some distance behind and out of sight, and hearing the report of the gun which killed Brain, for an in- stant supposed that it proceeded from the rifle of some hunter, in quest of deer. They were soon satisfied that this supposi- tion was unfounded. Three Indians came running toward them, bearing their guns in one hand, and tomahawks in the other. One of the boys, stupified by terror, and unable to stir from the spot, was immediately made prisoner. Another, the son of Powell, was also soon caught ; but the third, finding himself out of sight of his pursuers, ran to one side and con- cealed himself in a bunch of alders, where he remained until the Indians passed the spot where he la}^, when he arose, and taking a different direction, ran with all his speed and effected an escape. The little prisoners were then brought together ; and one of Mr. Powell's sons, being discovered to have but one eye, was stripped naked and slain and then scalped. The little Powell who had escaped from the savages, being forced to go a direction opposite to the house, proceeded to a station about eight miles off, and there informed the people of what had been done.
Thereupon a party of men hurriedly equipped themselves and proceeded to the scene of action, but the Indians had de- parted. One of their little captives, Benjamin. Brain, being asked by them "how many men were at the house," replied, "twelve." In answer to another question regarding the dis- tance to the nearest fort, he informed them it was two miles. Yet he well knew that there was no fort nearer than eight
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miles, and that there was not a man at the house, Mr. Powell being from home and the twelve men having departed before his father had gone out to work. His object, of course, was to save his mother and the other women and children from captivity or death, by inducing the Indians to believe that it would be extremely dangerous to venture near the house; and this ruse worked, as the savages departed in great haste, tak- ing with them their two little prisoners, Benjamin and Isaac Brain. So quietly had all these events transpired that Mrs. Brain did not learn of the fate of her husband until the return of the little boy with the men from the fort. She no doubt heard the shots, but this was of so frequent occurrence as to occasion no suspicion of danger.
Capture of Leonard Schoolcraft in Buckhannon Settlement.
In the early part of May, 1778, a party of Indians came into the Buckhannon settlement and made prisoner of Leonard Schoolcraft, a youth of about sixteen (probably son of John Schoolcraft, members of whose family were later murdered or captured by the Indians, as related elsewhere), who had been sent from the fort on some business. When he arrived at the Indian town in Ohio, arrangements were made for his running" the gauntlet. He was told tliat he might defend himself against the blows of the young Indians, who were to pursue him to the council house. Being active and athletic, he availed himself of the privilege, so as to save himself from the beating which he would otherwise have received, and laid about him with well-timed blows, frequently knocking down those who came near to him — much to the amusement of the warriors. The young fellow arrived at the council house without any serious effects from his race, and by reason of this performance, he was adopted into the family of one of the warriors. Here young Schoolcraft found some other prison- ers, among whom were the two Brain boys, Benjamin and Isaac. Later on they all three effected their escape from their captors, recrossing the Ohio River near where New IMartins- ville now stands ; thence up Big Fishing Creek, in \\''etzel County, crossing over the dividing ridge between ^^''etzel and
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Marion Counties, thence down Buffalo Creek to where Fair- mont now stands. Here the boys ran onto an encampment of hunters from the Buckhannon settlement. Young School- craft Joined the hunters, while the Brain boys proceeded on their return home by way of the Tygart's Valley River and Three Fork Creek. .
Withers does not account for these boys after their ar- rival at the Indian towns in Ohio. But tradition has it as above stated, which may be the correct version.
Death of Captain Booth and Capture of Nathaniel Cochran on
Booth's Creek, 1778.
On the 16th day of June, 1778, Captain James Booth and Nathaniel Cochran were at work in a field on Booth's Creek, near where the little village of Briertown now stands. They were surprised by a part}^ of Indians, who fired upon them, killing Booth, and slightly wounding Cochran, who betook himself to flight, hoping to get beyond the range of the sav- ages' guns and escape ; in this he did not succeed, for he was overtaken, made prisoner and carried into the Indian towns.
The death of Captain Booth was mournfully regretted by the settlers, for he was a man of great energy, good education, and possessed extraordinary talents. He was probably the most prominent man in the settlement and his death was felt to be a very great loss.
Cochran was afterwards taken by the Indians from their towns in Ohio to Detroit, where he was sold and remained a captive for a long period. While at Detroit he made an at- tempt to escape,' and would have succeeded had he not un- fortunately taken a path which led him directly to the old Maumee towns, where he was recaptured, and after being de- tained for a time, was sent back to Detroit. After enduring many hardships and suffering many privations, being traded backward and forward among the Indians of that section and Canada, he was finally exchanged and found his way home. A youth of scarcely eighteen when taken by the Indians, he returned a man of thirty-five. He was afterwards a Captain of the militia, and lived to a ripe old age. Five of his children
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were still living in 1880. They were William Cochran, the oldest, aged 91, who lived at Worthington; James, father of Nathaniel Cochran of Fairmont, who lived in Jackson County ; John, who lived near the mouth of Booth's Creek; Mrs. Han- nah Brown, and Mrs. Polly Bowman, who lived near Booth's Creek. — (Dunnington's History of Marion County).
Two or three days after the killing of Capt. Booth, the same party of Indians met Benjamin Shinn, William Grundy and Benjamin W^ashburn returning" from the head of Booth's Creek, and Grundy fell a victim to the savages. Going on farther, the Indians saw a boy about sixteen years old standing in the path leading from Simpson's to Booth's Creek, mending his saddle girth. They fired at him, and the ball passed di- rectly through him, killing both him and his horse. — (From Dunnington's History of Marion County).
Adventure of David Morgan and His Children, 1778.
These inroads made by the Indians led the inhabitants, in 1778, to make greater preparations for security than ever before, fearing that when winter was over, hostilities would be again renewed. Many of the settlements received acces- sions to their number from the immigrants who were constant- ly arriving, and the population graduall}^ increased until it was evident that the time was rapidly appearing when the progress of civilization would be so great that the uncivilized must give way before it, for every settler lessened the dangers of frontier life as he increased its power to repel it.
Their troubles were not yet over, however, for early in the year 1779 the settlers were alarmed by circumstances which led to the belief that Indians were lurking in the neighborhood. The inhabitants around Prickett's Fort especially became alarmed and entered the fort ; yet their fears seemed ground- less, for days passed and no signs of the Indians were seen. A sense of security began to take possession of them ; but as spring was rapidly approaching — the season when the savages usually commenced their depredations — they continued to make the fort their place of abode at night, but attended to their farm duties during the day. Among those who sought
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refuge in Prickett's Fort was David Morgan, who at the time was upward of 70 years of age. About the first of April, being uiiwell himself, he sent his two children — Stephen, a youth of sixteen (afterwards the father of the late Hons. William S. and Charles Morgan), and Sarah, a girl of fourteen — to feed the cattle on his farm, which was on the opposite side of the river, about a mile distant. Unknown to their father, who supposed they would return immediately, the children took with them bread and meat for a lunch, and resolved to spend the day on the farm, preparing the ground for water melons. Accordingly, after feeding the stock, Stephen set himself to work, his sister helping him in various ways, and occasionally going to the cabin, a short distance west of where they were, to wet some linen she was bleaching. After the children left the house, Morgan, whose illness increased, went to bed, and falling asleep, dreamed that he saw Sarah and Stephen walk- ing about the yard of the fort, scalped. This dream, which under ordinar}'- circumstances would not tend to produce a comfortable feeling in the mind of the dreamer, caused Morgan no little apprehension when on awaking he found the children were still absent. Taking with him his gun, he immediately set out for the farm to see what detained them.
Impressed with the fear that he w^ould find his horrible dream realized, he ascended a slight eminence which over- looked the field where the children were, and w^as overjoyed to see them safe, talking busily as they worked. Unknown to them, he sat down to rest on an old log, commanding a full view of them and the cabin. He had been there but a short time when, happening to look towards the house, he saw two Indians stealing from it towards the children. Fearing a sud- den alarm would deprive them of their self-possession and unfit them for escape, Morgan retained his seat upon the log, and in a low voice, with as careless a manner as he could assume, told them of their danger and said, ''run for the fort.'' The children instantly started and the Indians with hideous yells, immediately pursued them. At this moment Morgan made ^himself known and the Indians, giving up the chase, sheltered themselves from his bullets behind trees. Believing that discretion is the better part of valor, and not wishing to
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fight against such odds, Morgan then attempted to place him- self out of danger by flight, but age and infirmity prevented his making much headway, and he soon realized that he would be speedily overtaken by the Indians, who were following in hot pursuit. Resolved to die game, he suddenly wheeled and made ready to fire at them, but seeing the motion they instantly sprang behind trees, and Morgan, wishing to save himself in the same manner, got behind a sugar sapling, but finding it insufficient for protection, he quitted it for a large oak a short distance farther on. One of the Indians then took possession of the sapling he had just left, but seeing it could not shelter him, threw himself down behind a log which lay at the root of the tree. This also was not suflicient to cover him, and Morgan, seeing him exposed, fired at him. The ball took effect and the savage, rolling over on his back, stabbed him- self twice. Having thus rid himself of one of his pursuers, Mor- gan again took to flight, the surviving Indian close upon liini. There were now no trees to shield him, and the Indian could readily overtake him, and his gun being unloaded, he had no means of defense. The race had continued for about ten yards, when, looking over his shoulder, Morgan observed the Indian almost upon him with gun raised. Morgan watched closely the Indian's finger upon the trigger, and as he pressed it sprang to one side, letting the ball whiz harmlessly by. See- ing that a hand-to-hand encounter was inevitable, Morgan then aimed a blow with his gun at his adversary, who in turn hurled his tomahawk at him, cutting oft" three fingers from his left hand and knocking the weapon from his grasp. They then closed, and Morgan, being a good wrestler, in spite of his years, succeeded in throwing the Indian. He was not strong enough to maintain his position, however, for the Indian was soon on top of him, and with a yell of triumph began feeling for his knife with which to dispatch him. For- tunately for Morgan, the savage, while in the house, had seen a woman's apron, and pleased with its color, had taken and bound it around his waist above the knife; this hindered him from getting at the knife quickl}-, and while he continued fumbling for it Morgan succeeded in getting one of the Indian's fingers in his mouth. Finally the Indian found his
212 History of West Virginia
knife, grasping it near the blade, while Morgan caught hold of the extremity of the handle, and as the redskin drew it from its scabbard the old man closed his teeth on the finger he held with terrible force, causing the savage involuntarily to relax his grasp. Morgan quickly drew the knife through his hand and in an instant plunged it into his body; then, feeling the Indian sink lifeless back in his arms, he loosed his grasp and started for the fort. Meantime, Sarah, unable to keep pace with her brother, who by this time had reached the fort, followed in his footsteps until he came to the river, where he had plunged in and swam across. She was making her way to the canoe when her father overtook her and they crossed to the fort together.
The above incident took place on that part of Morgan's plantation which is a short distance northeast of the residence of the late George P. Morgan. David's cabin stood near where the burying ground of the Morgan family is now sit- uated, and his body, with those of his family, rests within the inclosure. — (From Dunnington's History of Marion County.)
Death of John Owens and John Juggins. Escape of Owen Owens and Son of John Owens.
About two months after David Morgan's adventure with the Indians, John Owens, Owen Owens, and John Juggins were on their way to a cornfield, on Booth's Creek, when they were fired upon by Indians; John Owens and John Juggins were killed, but Owen Owens escaped. A son of John Owens who had been sent to the pasture for the horses to use in plowing, heard the report of the guns, and not realizing that anything was wrong, came riding along on one horse and leading another. The Indians saw him first, and began firing at him, but fortunately none of the shots took effect, and the boy made his escape.
Death of John Ice and James Snodgrass.
In the fall of 1786, John Ice and James Snodgrass came over into what is now Wetzel County, to hunt buffalo. When
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they arrived at the hunting grounds, they turned their horses loose to graze while they searched for their game. Upon their return late in the evening, their horses were missing. They started on the horses' trail, not suspecting the presence •of Indians in that neighborhood. They had not proceeded far when they were fired upon from ambush, and some In- dians rushed out and scalped them. No white man saw the act, but a searching party shortly afterwards had no difficulty in reading the signs. The remains of these unfortunate men were badly torn by the wolves when found. This tragedy oc- •curred on the head waters of Fishing Creek.
The foregoing was not the only scene of Indian murders in Wetzel County, as the following from the "History of Wet- zel County," by John C. McEldowney, Jr.. will show:
The Story of Crow's Run.
In the early spring of 1782, a squad of men started out from Fort Henry on a hunting expedition. Among them was a man by the name of Crow, of whom our story relates. They traveled onward until they reached the mouth of what is now Big Fishing Creek, which stream em])ties into the (3hio Ri\cr at New Martinsville. They followed the creek until they reached the mouth of a run putting into Big Fishing Creek, twelve miles from New Martinsville. Here they encamped for the night. The next day they went in search of game, which was then plentiful in that neighborhood, with three men in one company and two in another. Crow being one of the two. After hunting all day, at sunset the two came to- ward camp carrying the game they had shot, and on reaching the camp Crow's companion started out to get some wood with which, to build a fire. The man had scarcely started when a band of Indians surrounded the camp, and Crow, real- izing his danger, started to run, when a volley of shots was poured into him, killing him instantly. His companion, on hearing the shots, started toward camp, but seeing the In- dians, he turned and fled, never stopping until he had reached i:he company of the three whom he met coming towards the
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camp, at the mouth of what is now Crow's Run. The Indians, becoming alarmed at their approach, immediately retreated.
The whites returned to camp, where they found Crow lying dead near the creek, with his head partially in the water. They picked him up and placed him in a hollow S3^ca- more tree and covered the body to protect it from the wolves until they could return and give the remains proper burial. Going to Wheeling, they secured reinforcements and return- ing to the scene of the tragedy in four days the}'^ buried Crow's body under a sycamore tree, using walnut logs for his coffin, and inscribed on the tree, "]. J. Crow, 1782." This tree stood until about the year 1875, when it was blown down by the wind. It was from this incident that Crow's Run received its name.
The Murder of Edward Doolin at New Martinsville.
(From McEldowney's History of Wetzel County).
The earliest white settler along the Ohio River, in Wetzel Count}'', was Edward Doolin, who came here about the year 1780 and made a settlement near Doolin's Spring, one mile from the mouth of Big Fishing Creek, on lands now owned by the heirs of Philip Witten. He there built two cabins, one for himself and wife and the other for his negro slave. He owned a large survey of lands lying on both sides of the stream, which still bears his name; lines of his survey are well established, and have been familiar to the courts of Wetzel County in divers suits of ejectment.
He had broken the solitude of the vast wilderness ; he was visited by a tribe of Delaware Indians, who came at night and took away his negro slave into captivit}^ and returning at day- break, and finding Doolin in his front yard, shot and scalped him. His wife, who was in the cabin lying abed with a new- born babe beside her, was not molested. Mrs. Doolin was a woman of remarkable beauty, and the savages, fearing it might prove fatal to compel her to accompany them in her delicate state of health, urged her to remain there for a few days until she entirely recovered, promising to return and take her with
History of West Virginia 215
them to be the wife of their great chief. This alluring pros- pect, however, did not seem to charm the white beauty into lingering there.
At that time a blockhouse stood near the present residence of Eliza Martin (now the residence of Charles W. Barrick — S. M.), in the limits of the present town of New Martinsville. Its solitary inmate, when these occurrences took place, was a man named Martin, who heard the report of the firing in the early morning, in the direction of Doolin's clearing. He made a reconnoisance and found the body of Doolin lying in front of his cabin. Entering the house he wrapped Mrs. Doolin in blankets and, taking the infant in his arms, assisted her to the blockhouse, where he placed the widow and orphan in a canoe and transported them up the Ohio to the mouth of Captina Creek. He then returned with some men, and they buried the body of Doolin in the spot known as Witten's Garden, where the grave is still to be seen. And every spring the Easter flowers bloom over the dust of Edward Doolin — the first white settler of Wetzel, and one of the few white men killed by the Indians within her borders.
Mrs. Doolin lived near the settlement until her daughter had grown to be a girl of ten. She then married and went to Kentucky, where her daughter, after she had grown to be a young lady, married one Daniel Boone, a descendant of the noted Indian scout of the same name.
Mrs. Doolin sold this land to the Martins, McEldownieys and Wittens.
Note : The deed from Doolin's heir to Philip Witten con- tains a reservation clause, setting aside a certain portion of ground around the grave for its protection, but the spot is now being used as a part of the garden, and save a bunch of lilies that persist in coming up at the place in spring time, there is nothing to mark the resting place of the first citizen of what is now New Martinsville. The question of the erection of a suit- able monument in memory of the departed pioneer has been raised from time to time, but as yet no definite action has been taken. S. M.
216
History of West Virginia
Story of the Drygoos (or Draygoos), or the Two Half-Indians.
A few days subsequent to the killing of James Snodgrass and John Ice on Fishing Creek, in what is now Wetzel County, in the autumn of 1786, a party of Indians came to Buffalo Creek, and meeting Mrs. Dragoo and her son in a field gather- ing beans, took them prisoners, and supposing that their de- tention would induce others to look for them, waylaid the path leading from the house. According to expectation, un- easy at their continued absence, Jacob Straight and Nicholas Wood went to ascertain the cause. As they approached the Indians fired and Wood fell.. Straight, taking to flight, was soon overtaken. Mrs. Straight and her daughter, hearing the
The house shown in the background of this picture occupies a slightly elevated spot of ground about sixty feet from the noted Doolin Sprin?. It was here where Edward Doolin erected the first log cabin within the present corporate limits of New Martinsville, and where he was killed by the Indians, as related elsewhere in this book.
Mrs. Lou Heidelson, the present owner of the premises, is repre- sented standing at the foot of Doolin's grave, and the author at the head. In the spring time a bunch of lilies come up at the head of the grave. This is all there is to mark the resting place of the first settler of New Martinsville, W. Va.
History of West Virginia 217
firing and seeing the savages in pursuit of Mv. Straight, bo- took themselves also in flight, but were discovered by some of the Indians, who immediately ran after them. The daughter concealed herself in a thicket and escaped. Her mother sought concealment under a large shelving rock, and was not afterwards discovered, although those in pursuit of her hus- band passed near and overtook him not far off. Indeed she was at that time so close as to hear Mr. Straight say, when overtaken, "Don't kill me and I will go with you," and the savage replying, "Will you go with me?" she heard the fatal blow which depri\-ed her husband of his life.
Mrs. Dragoo being infirm and unable to travel to their towns, was murdered on the way. Her son (a lad of seven) remained with the Indians upwards of twenty years. He mar- ried a squaw, by whom he had four children, two of whom he brotight home with him when he forsook the Indians.
In connection with the foregoing events it might be inter- esting to give the following facts as related by Mrs. Malinda Anderson, late of Jacksonburg, Wetzel County, and a grand- daughter of the above mentioned Mrs. Dragoo, who was killed by the Indians. Mrs. Anderson received her informa- tion from her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Hays, who, with her husband, John Hays, came to what is now Jacksonburg in 1805 from Prickett's fort. Mr. Hays and his wife were born in 1748, and were at that fortification at the time the above events occurred, and consequently were familiar wnth all the circumstances of that unhappy afifair. Mrs. Hays was eleven years old at the time of her mother's (Mrs. Dragoo's) death. The story is as follows :
"It was in a fort situated on Clinton's Run, Monongalia Count)^ known as Prickett's Fort. The Drygoo family were some of its occupants. There was a garden about half a mile from the fort, and Mrs. Dragoo and her son Charles, who was but four years old, went to the garden to pick beans, when the Indians came upon them unawares and made them prison- ers before giving them time to call for help. They tied Mrs. Drygoo to a tree near the fort, but not in sight, and returned to the garden to see if they cotdd catch some more in tlie same wav. In a little while Mrs. Havs (my mother) and her sister
218 History of West Virginia
came out of the fort and started toward the garden to help their mother (my grandmother, Mrs. Drygoo) pick beans, and as they neared the garden started to call for their mother, but she did not answer. Fortunately they got scared at some- thing (not the Indians) and started toward the fort at full speed, and on reaching it informed the occupants that their mother, Mrs. Drygoo, and their brother, Charles Drygoo, started out in the garden some time ago to pick beans and that they were not in the garden now. The men immediately sus- pected that which was correct and soon raised a company under Captain David Morgan and went in pursuit. The Indians, seeing that they had been discovered, beat a hasty retreat. They untied Mrs. Drygoo and put her on a pony, which was very wild, and made ofif with great speed. After traveling for about ten miles the pony she was on 'umped a run. The calf of one of her legs was torn open, having caught on a sharp limb of a tree. They stopped and bandaged the wound up the best they could, after which they continued the journey, but the bandage did no good, and she became very weak from loss of. blood. The Indians, seeing that it was de- laying their journey, decided to kill her. When they began to untie her from the pony Charles began to cry and a big Indian picked him up and said, 'Don't cry;' that they would not kill his mother, but she could not travel and that he could be his boy after this. They killed and scalped her near the place known as Betsey's Run, on the North Fork of Fishing Creek, in Grant District, Wetzel County — the run being named after her — 'Betsey,' for EHzabeth. After performing this brutal act they made ofif with Charles into Ohio (crossing the river where New Martinsville now is) to the Indian towns, where he lived with them until he was twenty-seven years old. While with the Indians he was one of them, and while very young married an Indian maiden, and from her he had four children, two boys and two girls."
"At the Morgan treaty at the mouth of Little Muskingum James Hays was one of the men under Levi Morgan, and in- quired of the Indians as to the whereabouts of his brother, Charles Drygoo, on which he was informed that he was dead, but that he had some children. He asked for them and he was
History of West Virginia IVJ
given the two boys. He brought them to where Jacksonburg now stands, where they hved and died in the cabin built by James Hays in 1805. There are a number of people in Wetzel County who are proud to say'Liiat the blood of Charles Drygoo and his Indian squaw flow^s in their veins."
Murder of the Schoolcraft Family in Buckhannon Settlement.
In the fall of 1779 several families in the Buckhannon set- tlement left the fort and returned to their homes, under the belief that thv season had advanced too far for the Indians again to come among them. But they were sorely disap- pointed. The men being all assembled at the fort for the pur- pose of electing a Captain, some Indians made an attack upon the famil' of John Schoolcraft and killed the w^omen and eight children — two little boys alone were taken prisoners. A small girl who had been tomahawked and scalped lived several days afterward.
Indians Attack Samuel Cottrail's at Clarksburg.
The, last mischief that was done this fall was perpetrated at the house of Samuel Cottrail near where Clarksburg now stands. During the night considerable fear was excited, both at Cottrail's and at Sotha Hickman's, on the opposite side of Elk Creek, by the continued barking of the dogs, that Indiatis were lurking near, and in consequence of this appre- hension Cottrail, on going to bed, secured w^ell the door and directed that no one should stir out in the morning until it was ascertained that there was no danger threatening. A while before day, Cottrail being asleep, Moses Coleman, a\1io lived with him, got u]), shelled some corn and giving a few ears to Cottrail's nephew \\ith directions to feed the pigs around the yard, went to the hand mill in an outhouse and commenced grinding. The little boy, being squatted down shelling the corn to the pigs, found himself suddenly drawn on his back and an Indian standing oxer him, ordering him to lie there. The savage then turned towards the house in which Coleman was, fired, and as Coleman fell the Indian ran u]) to
220 History of West Virginia
scalp him. Thinking- this a favorable time for him to reach the dwelling house, the little boy sprang to his feet and run- ning to the door it was opened and he admitted. Scarcely was it closed after him when one of the Indians, with his toma- hawk, endeavored to break it open. Cottrail fired through the door at him and he went oft'. In order to see if others were about and to have a better opportunity of shooting with effect, Cottrail ascended the loft and, looking through a crevice, saw the Indians hurrying away through the field and at too great a distance for him to shoot with the expectation of injuring them. Yet he continued to fire and halloo, to give, notice of ■danger to those who lived near him.
The Indians Invade the Tygart's Valley in 1780.
The severity of the following winter put a temporary stop to savage inroads, and gave to the inhabitants an interval of quiet and repose. Hostilities were, however, resinned upon the first appearance of spring, and acts of murder and devasta- tion, which had been suspended for a time, were begun to be committed, with a firm determination on the part of the In- dians to exterminate the inhabitants of the western country, of which West Virginia was a part. To effect this object an expedition was gotten up between the British commandant at Detroit and the Indian chiefs northwest of the Ohio River, to be carried on b}^ their united forces against Kentucky, while an Indian army alone was to penetrate West Virginia, then k:nown as North Western Virginia, and spread desolation over its surface. The army destined to operate against Kentucky was to consist of six hundred Indians and Canadians, to be commanded by Colonel Byard (a British officer) and furnished with every implement of warfare known at that time, from the tomahawk to the cannon.
Luckily for West Virginia, the scattered and isolated location of its inhabitants and the lack of roads and transpor- tation facilities operated, in a measure, in their favor. How- ever, the whites in this section were not exempt from invasion. Small parties of savages would avail themselves of unguarded
History of West Virginia 221
moments and kill and phnulcr whenever opportunities offered without too great personal danger.
In the early part of March. 1780, Thomas Lacy discovered Indian signs near the u])i)cr part of Tygart's A'allcy River, near where Elkins now stands, and becoming alarmed, hur- riedly made his way to Hadden's Fort at the mouth of Elk- water Creek, in what is now Randolph Count}-, and related what he had seen. Ilis story was not believed. However, as a matter of precaution, as Jacob and AMlliam Warwick and some other men from Green])ricr were about leaving the fort on their return home, it was decided that a com])any of men should accompany them part of the way. In s])ite of their previous warning, they were traveling in a careless, unguarded way, when they were suddenly attacked by some Indians lying in ambush near the place where Thomas Lacy had seen mocca- sin tracks the day before. The men on horseback escaped, but those on foot M^ere not so lucky. The Indians being sta- tioned on both sides of the path, the footmen made a rush for the river, and in climbing the steep bank on the opposite side John McLain, James Ralston and John Nelson were killed, and James Crouch, though badly hurt, succeeded in eluding the savages and returned to the fort the following day.
The Attack on the Bozarth Home on Dunkard Creek, 1778.
The alarm which had caused the people in the neighbor- hood of Prickett's Fort to mo\x into it for safety induced two or three others on Dunkard Creek to collect at the house of Mr. Bozarth, tliinking the)"- would be more exempt from dan- ger when together than remaining at their several homes. About the first of March, 1778, when only Mrs. Bozarth and two men were in the house, the children, who had been out at play, came running into the yard, exclaiming that tliere were "ugly red men coming." LTpon hearing this, one of the two men in the house, going to the door to see if Indians really were approaching, received a glancing shot in his breast, which caused him to fall back. The Indian who had shot him sprang immediately after, and grappling with the other white man, was quickly thrown on the bed. His antagonist having
222 History of West Virginia
no weapon with which to do him any injury, called to Mrs. Bozarth for his knife. Not finding one at hand, she seized an ax and at one blow let out the brains of the prostrate savage. At that instant a second Indian entered the door and shot dead the man engaged with his companion on the bed. Mrs. Bozarth turned on him, and with a well directed blow let out his entrails and caused him to bawl out for help. Upon this others of his party who had been engaged with the children in the yard came to his relief. The first who thrust his head in at the door had it cleft by the ax of Mrs. Bozarth and fell lifeless on the ground. Another, catching hold of his wounded, bawling companion, drew him out of the house, when Mrs. Bozarth, with the aid of the white man who had been first shot and was then somewhat recovered, succeeded in closing and making fast the door. The children in the yard were all killed, but the heroism and exertion of Mrs. Bozarth and the wounded white man enabled them to resist the repeated attempts of the Indians to force open the door and to maintain possession of the house until they were relieved b)^ a party from the neigh- boring settlement.
The Killing of Nathaniel Davisson on Ten Mile, in
Harrison County.
In September, 1778, Nathaniel Davisson and his brother, being on a hunting trip up Ten Mile, in Harrison County, left their camp early on the morning of the day on which they in- tended to return home, and naming an hour at which they would be back, proceeded through the woods in different di- rections. At the appointed time Josiah went to the camp, and after waiting there in vain for the arrival of his brother, and becoming uneasy lest some unlucky accident had befallen him, he set out in search of him. Unable to see or hear anything of him, he returned home and prevailed on several of his neighbors to aid in endeavoring to ascertain his fate. Their search was, likewise, unavailing, but in the following March he was found by John Read, who was hunting in the neighbor- hood. He had been shot and scalped; and notwithstanding he had lain out nearly six months, yet he was but little torn by wild beasts and was easily recognized.
History of West Virginia 223
The Killing of Lieutenant John White on Tygart's Valley.
In October, 1779, a party of Indians lying in ambush near the road, in Tygart's Valley, fired several shots at Lieutenant John White, riding by, wounding the horse and causing the rider to be thrown. Being left on foot and on open ground, he was soon shot, tomahawked and scalped. As soon as this event was made known Captain Benjamin Wilson, with his usual promptitude and energy, raised a company of volunteers and proceeded to the Indian crossing at the mouth of Little Kanawha (where Parkersburg now" stands). Here he re- mained three days, with a view to intercept the retreat of the savages. They, however, returned by another route and his scheme of cutting them off while crossing the river failed.
Another Attack by the Indians at Martin's Fort, in Monongalia County.
In the month of June, 1778, at Martin's Fort, on Crooked Run, another murderous scene was enacted by the savages. The greater part of the men having gone forth early to their farms, and those who remained being unapprehensive of imme- diate danger and consecjuently supine and careless, the fort was necessarily easily accessible, and the vigilance of the sav- ages who were lying hid around it, discovering its exposed and weakened situation, seized the favorable moment to at- tack those who were without. The women Avere engaged in milking the cows outside the gate, and the men who had been left behind were loitering around. The Indians rushed for- ward and killed and made prisoners of ten of them. James Stewart, James Small and Peter Crouse were the only persons who fell, and John Shriver and his wdfe, two sons of Stewart, tw^o sons of Smally and a son of Crouse were carried into cap- tivity. According to their statement upon their return there were thirteen Indians in the party which surprised them, and emboldened by success, instead of retreating with their prison- ers, remained near the fort until night, when they put the cap- tives in a waste house near, under the custody of two of the savages, while the remaining eleven went to see if they could
224
History of West Virginia
not succeed in forcing an entrance at the gate. But the dis- aster of the morning had taught the inhabitants the necessity of greater watchfulness. The dogs were shut out at night, and the approach of the Indians exciting them to bark freely, gave notice of impending danger in time for them to avert it. Thus being frustrated, the savages proceeded to their towns with the prisoners.
''^^/r7}/77^p7rr77n^^
^///////'7/^
mmmMiM/mmmiMimf^si^^^/fSMm
Site of Files' Cabin at Beverly, former county seat of Randolph County. The Files family is supposed to have been buried where the present railroad is shown.
CHAPTER XVI.
INDIAN WARS AND MASSACRES.— Continued.
Attack on the Thomas Family on Booth's Creek.
Early in March, 1780, a party of Indians invaded the set- tlements on the upper branches of the Monongahela River, and on the night of the 5th of that month came to the house of Captain John Thomas, near Booth's Creek. Unapprehensive of danger, with his wife and seven children around him en- gaged in their accustomed evening devotions, they were sur- prised by the forced entrance of a party of savages, who mur- dered all the members of the family except one little boy, whom they took prisoner. Stopping at the home of Captain Thomas was a young woman by the name of Elizabeth Jug- gins, whose father had been killed by Indians the previous year, as related elsewhere. On the first appearance of the Indians she crawled under a bed and escaped the observation of the savages. After setting fire to the house the Indians departed. Seeing the flames, Miss Juggins crawled from her hiding place and escaped to the woods, and in the early morn- ing spread the alarm.
Removal from Booth's Creek to Simpson's Creek. Pursuit of the Indians.
After the murder of John Thomas and his family the set- tlement on Booth's Creek was forsaken and its inhabitants went to Simpson's Creek for greater security. In the spring John Owens procured the assistance of some }oung men about Simpson's Creek and proceeded to Booth's Creek for the jnir- pose of threshing some wheat at his farm there. \^T^ilc on a stack throwing down sheaves several guns were fired at him by a party of twelve Indians concealed not far oft. Owens
226 History of West Virginia
jumped from the stack, and the men caught up their guns, but thought best to go to Simpson's Creek for assistance before venturing in pursuit of the savages. On their return to Booth's Creek the Indians had left, taking with them the horses left by Owens. The men, however, found the trail and followed it until night. Early in the morning, crossing the West Fork at Shinnston, they went on in pursuit and came within sight of their camp, and seeing some of the savages lying near their fire, fired at them, but, as was believed, with- out effect. The Indians again took to flight, and as they were hastening on one of them suddenly wheeled and fired upon his pursuers. The ball passed through the hunting shirt of one of the men, and Benjamin Coplin returning the shot, an Indian was seen suddenly to spring into a laurel thicket. Not supposing that Cophn's ball had taken effect, they followed the other savages some distance further, and as they returned got the horses and plunder left at the camp. Some time after- wards a gun was found in the thicket into which the Indian sprang, and it was then believed that Coplin's shot had done execution.
Murder of Settlers on Crooked Run.
In the same 3^ear (1781) Indians made their appearance on Crooked Run, in Monongalia County. Thomas Pindall having been one day at Harrison's Fort, at a time when a great part of the neighborhood had gone thither for safety, prevailed on three young men (Harrison, Crawford and Wright) to return and spend the night with him. Some time after they retired for the night some of the women heard a sound resembling the whistle on a charger (a powder meas- ure), and insisted on their going directly to the fort. The men heard nothing, and thinking there was no danger, refused to move before morning. When morning came there M^as nothing to indicate grounds for alarm. Mr. Pindall walked to the woods to catch a horse, and the young men went to a run nearby to perform their morning ablutions, leaving the women remaining in bed. While the men were thus engaged three guns were fired at them and Crawford and Wright were
History of West Virginia 227
killed. Harrison fled in safety to the fort. The women, alarmed at the shooting, sprang out of bed and proceeded towards the fort, pursued by the Indians. ]\Irs. Pindall was overtaken and killed, l>ul Rachel Pindall, her sister-in-law, escaped to the fort.
The Indians Invade Tygart's Valley, Leaving Ruin, Death and Destruction in Their Wake.
In April, 1780, as some men were returning to Cheat River from Clarksburg (where they had been to obtain certificates of settlement rights to their lands from the commissioners ap- pointed to adjust land claims in the surrounding counties), they, after haAing crossed Tygart's Valley River, encountered a large party of Indians, and John Minear, Daniel Cameron and a Mr. Cooper were killed; the others effected their escape with difficulty.
The savages then moved on towards Cheat River, but meeting with James Brown and Stephen Radclift' and not be- ing able to kill or take them, they changed their course, and passing over Leading Creek (in Tygart's A'alley) nearly de- stroyed the whole settlement. They there killed Alexander Roney, Mrs. Dougherty, Mrs. Hornbeck and her cliildren, Mrs. Bufifington and her children and many others and made prisoners of Mrs. Roney and her son and Daniel Dougherty. Jonathan Buffington and Benjamin Hornbeck succeeded in making their escape and carried the sad news to Friend's and Wilson's forts. Colonel Wilson immediately raised a coni- jjany of men and proceeding to Leading Creek, found the set- tlement without inhabitants and the houses nearly all burned. He then pursued the savages, but not coming uj) with them as soon as expected, the men became fearful for the safety of their own families, and they returned to their homes the fol- lowing day.
When the land claimants, who had been the first to en- counter this party of Indians, escaped from them, they fled back to Clarksburg and gave the alarm. This was quickly communicated to the other settlements and spies were sent out to watch for the enemy. By some of these the savages
228 History of West Virginia
were discovered on the AVest Fork near the mouth of Isaac's Creek, and intelligence of it immediately carried to the forts. Colonel Lowther collected a company of men, and going in pursuit came in view of their encampment a while before night, on a branch of Hughes' River, on what is now known as Indian Creek.
Jesse and Elias Hughes — active, intrepid and vigilant men — were left to watch the movements of the savages, while the remainder retired a short distance to refresh themselves and to prepare to attack them in the morning.
Before day Colonel Lowther arranged his men in order of attack, and when it became light, on the preconcerted signal being given, a general fire Avas poured in upon them. Five of the savages fell dead and the others fled, leaving at their fires all their shot bags and plunder and all their guns except one. Upon going to their camp it was found that one of the prisoners (a son of Alexander Roney, who had been killed in the Leading Creek massacre) was among the slain. Every care had been taken to guard against such an occurrence, and he was the only one of the captives who had sustained any injury from the fire of the whites.
As soon as the fire was opened upon the Indians Mrs. Roney (one of the prisoners) ran toward the M^hites, rejoicing at the prospects of deliverance, and exclaiming, "I am Alex- ander Roney's wife of the Valley and not a bad-looking little woman, either, if I were well dressed." The poor woman, ignorant of the fact that her son had just been killed, and for- getting for the moment the recent loss of her husband, seemed intent only on her own escape from the savages.
Another of the captives, Daniel Dougherty, being tied down and unable to move, was discovered by the whites as they rushed toward the camp. Fearing that he might be one of the enemy and do them some injury if they advanced, one of the men, stopping, demanded who he was. Benumbed with cold and discomposed by the sudden firing of the whites, he could not render his Irish dialect intelligible to them. The white raised his gun and directed it towards him, calling aloud, "If you don't make known who you are I'll blow the hull top of yer pesky head ofl^." Fear supplying him with energy.
History of West Virginia 229
Dougherty exclaimed, "Loord Jasus, an" am 1 to be kilt be me own paple at lasht ?"
At this moment Colonel Lowther mterfercd and Daniel's life was saved.
In consequence of information received from the prison- ers who were rescued, to the effect that a large party of Indians was expected hourly to come up, Colonel Lowther deemed it prudent not to go in pursuit of those who had fled, and collecting the plunder which the savages had left, catch- ing the horses which they had stolen, and having buried young Roney, the party set out on its return homeward — highly gratified at the success which crowned their exertions to punish their untiring foe.
Attack on West's Fort, and Removal of People to Buckhan-
non — Adventure of Jeremiah Curl, Henry Fink and
Others — Pursuit of the Indians by the Whites,
and the Running Fight and the Recapture
of Horses and Other Stolen Property.
West's Fort, on Hacker's Creek, was visited by savages early in 1778.
The frequent incursions of the Indians into this settle- ment had caused the inhabitants to desert their homes the next year, and shelter themselves in places of greater security ; and being unwilling to give up the improvements which they had already made and commence anew in the woods, some few families returned to it during the winter, and on the approach of spring moved into the fort. They had not long been here before the Indians made their appearance, and con- tinued to invest the fort for some time. Too weak to sally out and give them battle, and not knowing when to expect relief, the inhabitants were almost reduced to despair, when Jesse Hughes resolved, at his own hazard, to try to obtain assistance to drive off the enemy. Leaving the fort at night, he broke their sentinels and ran with speed to the Buckhannon Fort. Here he prevailed on a party of the men to accompany him to West's Fort and relieve those who had been so long ■confined there. They arrived before da}-, and it \\as thought
230 History o£ West Virginia
advisable to abandon the place once more and remove to Buckhannon. On their way, the Indians used every artifice to separate the party, so as to gain an advantageous oppor- tunity of attacking them; but in vain. They exercised so much caution, and kept so well together, that every stratagem was frustrated and they all reached the fort in safety.
Two days after this, as Jeremiah Curl, Henry Fink and Edmond West, who were old men, and Alexander West, Peter Cutright and Simon Schoolcraft were returning to the fort with some of their neighbors' property, they were fired upon by the Indians, who were lying concealed along a run bank. Curl was sHghtly wounded under the chin, but disdain- ing to fly without making a stand, he called to his companions "Stand your ground, for we are able to whip them". At this instant, a lusty warrior drew a tomahawk from his belt and rushed toward him. Nothing daunted by the danger which seemed to threaten him. Curl raised his gun ; but the powder being damped by the blood from his wound, it did not fire. He instantly picked up West's gun (which he had been carry- ing to reHeve West of part of his burden) and discharging it at his assailant, brought him to the ground.
The whites being by this time rid of their incumbrances, the Indians retreated in two parties and pursued different routes, not however, without being pursued. Alexander West, being swift of foot, soon came near enough to fire and brought down a second, but having only wounded him, and seeing the Indians spring behind trees, he could not advance to finish him ; nor could he again shoot at him, the flint having fallen out when he first fired.
Jackson (who was hunting sheep not far off), hearing the report of the guns, ran towards the spot, and being in sight of the Indian when West shot, saw him fall and after- wards recover and hobble off. Simon Schoolcraft, following after West, came to him just after Jackson, with his gun cocked ; and asking where the Indians were, was advised by Jackson to get behind a tree, or they would soon let him know where they were. Instantly the report of a gun was heard, and Schoolcraft let fall his arm. The ball passed through it, and striking a steel tobacco box in his waist-
History of West Virginia 231
coat pocket, did him no further injury. Cutright, when West fired at one of the Indians, saw another of them drop behind a log, and changing his position, espied him where the log was a little raised from the earth. With steady nerve he drew upon him. The moaning cry of the savage, as he sprang from the ground and moved hastily away, convinced them that the shot had taken effect. The rest of the Indians continued behind trees, until they observed a reinforcement coming up to the aid of the whites, and they fled with the utmost precipi- tancy. Night soon coming on, those who followed them had to give over the pursuit. A company of fifteen men early next morning went to the battle ground, and taking the trail of the Indians and pursuing it some distance, came to where they had some horses (which they had stolen after the skir- mish) hobbled out at a fork of Hacker's Creek. They then found the plunder which the savages had taken from neigh- boring houses, and supposing that their wounded warriors were near, the whites commenced looking for them, when a gun was fired at them by an Indian concealed in a laurel thicket, which wounded John Cutright. The whites then caught the stolen horses and returned with them and the plunder to the fort.
For some time after this there was nothing occurring to indicate the presence of Indians in the Buckhannon settle- ment, and some of those who were in the fort, hoping that they would not be again visited by them this season, determined on returning to their homes.
Austin Schoolcraft was one of these, and being engaged in removing some of his property from the fort, as he and his niece were passing through a swamp on their way to his house, they were shot by some Indians. Mr. Schoolcraft was killed and his niece taken prisoner.
Murder of the Mclntires and Pursuit of the Indians
by the Whites.
A short distance above Worthington, near the mouth of Bingamon Creek, occurred the last of the Indian depredations in that vicinity.
232 History of West Virginia
In May, 1791, as John Mclntire and his wife were return- ing from a visit, they passed through the yard of Uriah Ashcraft. A few minutes afterwards, Mr. Ashcraft was startled by the growling of one of the dogs, and stepped to the door to see what had aroused him. He had scarcely reached the entrance when he espied an Indian on the outside. Closing the door, he ascended the stairs and attempted three times to fire from a window at the redskin, but his gun snapped. He then observed that there were other Indians close at hand, and he raised a loud shout for help, hoping that friends in the vicinity might hear him and come to his relief. The Indians presently retreated, and shortly afterwards three brothers of Mclntire came up. Ashcraft explained the situa- tion, and the four set out to follow the trail of the savages. About a mile off they found the body of John Mclntire, whom the Indians had overtaken, tomahawked, scalped and stripped ; and concluding that Mrs. Mclntire, whom they knew to have been with her husband, was taken prisoner, they sent to Clarksburg for assistance to follow the murderers and recover the captive. A company of eleven men, led by Col. John Haymond and Col. George Jackson, started shortly after- wards in pursuit of the Indians, and followed the trail to Middle Island Creek, where it appeared fresh. Colonel Jack- son proposed that six men should be chosen who would strip as light as they could and go ahead of the horses. William Haymond, of Palatine, who was one of the number, in a letter to Luther Haymond, fift}^ years afterwards, thus gave an ac- count of what followed :
"George Jackson, Benjamin Robinson, N. Carpenter, John Haymond, John Herbert and myself (the sixth) were those chosen. We stripped ourselves as light as we could, tied handkerchiefs around our heads, and proceeded as fast as we could. The Indians appeared to travel very carelessly, and as it was in May, and the weeds were young and tender, we could follow a man very easily.
"Arriving on a high bank, Jackson turned around and said, 'Where do you think they have gone?' With that he jumped down the bank, and we proceeded down on the beach a short distance, when suddenly we were fired upon b}^ one
History of West Virginia 233
of the Indians. We started in a run and had gone ten or fifteen yards when the other three fired. John Harbert and brother John caught sight of them first running up the hill and fired at theni.^ Robinson and myself ran and jumped upon the bank, when the Indians left their knapsacks, and I fired the third shot, the savages then being about fifty yards dis- tant. The Indian I shot bled considerably, and we trailed him for about a quarter of a mile, where he cut a stick, which we supposed w^as to stop the blood.
"We followed him for about a mile, but the men thought it dangerous to go farther, thinking he had his gun with him, and would hide and kill one of us, and we returned. The other Indians we did not follow, but on arriving at the place of attack found all their knapsacks, a shot pouch, four hatch- ets and all their plunder, including the woman's scalp. I have since heard that one of the Cunninghams, who Avas a prisoner with the Indians at that time, on his return said an Indian came home and said he had been with three other Indians on Muddy River (West Fork) and killed a man and a woman ; that they were followed; that they fired on the white men; and that the white men fired on them and w^ounded three, one of whom died after crossing the second ridge at a run. (We were then on the second ridge and near the second run.) If this account be true, and the Indians we followed the same, we must have shot well."
On the return of the whites, the body of Mrs. Mclntire was found near where that of her husband had been. (Dun- nington.)
The First Siege at Fort Henry at Wheeling, West Va.
We will now call the attention of our readers to events transpiring along the Ohio River. The history of the second siege of Fort Henry in the month of September, 1782, has already been recorded elsewhere. A brief history of the first siege will now be given.
In the month of August, 1777, — in which year the interior settlements were so tmmercifully harassed by the savages, — it was rumored that the Indians, in great numbers, meditated
234 History of West Virginia
an attack on Fort Henry; and as a precautionary measure,
scouting parties were kept out to watch the movem'"*"ts ...
the enemy: while the settlers in the ' ' *'-^ •' "'' , ,
; 1 ^ ^u- ^ f T Mr. Ashcraft was
sistmsf of about thirty ramihes, so' .orniC , j .
^u T A- :■ ■ ^u I u ^-'^f. and stepped to
ihe Indians, noticing that ihci ' "^"rff /• , / - ^
watched by the whites, abandoned ii ^^ourses of travel,
and divided as they approached the / /c., into small distinct
parties, and struck out along new lines for the Ohio. Thus
they succeeded in reaching Bogg's Island -two miles below
the fort — and there consolidated their force, cr ,sed the river
and proceeded directly to the creek bottom, under cover of
night, and completed their plans for the movement in the
morning; having completely fooled Capt. Joseph Ogle, who,
on August 31st, had been sent at the head of severe men to
scout along the usual routes followed by the Indians, and who
returned with the report of "no immediate cause for danger".
The Indian army, it is said, consisted of about 350 Mingoes, Shawnees and W3^andotts under command of Simon Girty.
Some of our later day writers claim that Girty was not present on this occasion ; that he was then at Fort Pitt ; that he did not leave Fort Pitt until five months after this battle was fought, notwithstanding there were persons present who claimed they were personally acquainted with him, and had talked with him before and during the battle. But whether Girty, or some other white man, commanded the Indians on this occasion, it does not matter ; and as this leader should have a name befitting his unenviable position, the name of Girty seems particularly appropriate, when it is understood what sort of a man the latter really was. So, for the lack of a better name, we shall call him Girty and let it go at that.
The Indians were formed in two lines across the bottom, which was cleared and partly in corn and partly in tall weeds, which effectually concealed them. Six Indians were then stationed close to the path which led from the fort. Shortly after daybreak, on September 1st, a negro man came running to the fort, with the information that he and a white man named Boyd (who had been sent out by Dr. McMechen to get a horse) had just been fired at by some Indians below the
History of West Virginia 235
fort, and that Boyd had been killed. Capt. Samuel Mason,
who had brought his company to the fort on the previous
brother'john cTugi..'. --^^ fourteen men to drive the enemy
fired at them.- RoW: \ strength of the savages. When
^u- hank. wher. ; ^ ^^"'^y ^^^^ ^^ ^^^"^- Immediately
after this, inc n army rushed from cover and
attacked Mason ana is 'ittle band. Out of the fifteen, only Mason and two of his men, Hugh McConnell and Thomas Glenn, escaped. W^^liam Shepherd, son of Col. David Shep- herd, was over^-^ken and killed near the present Market House in Wheeling. Upon being informed as to Captain Mason's unfortunate predicament, Captain Ogle, with his dozen ex- perienced scouts, hurried to the scene of conflict for the pur- pose of "'^sisting Mason and his men; but the result of the expedition was as disastrous as the other, for all were killed but Captain Ogle, Sergeant Jacob Ogle, and Martin Wetzel.
Immediately following this terrible slaughter of brave men, this army of savages, with reeking scalps 'just torn from the heads of the whites who had gone out to meet them in battle, presented themselves in front of the fort and demanded a surrender.
"The api)earance of the enemy, as they approached, was most formidable," says DcHass. "They advanced in two separate columns, with drum, fife, and British colors.
"As the Indians advanced, a few scattering shots were fired at them from the fort, without, however, doing nnicli execution. Girty, having brought up his forces, proceeded to dispose of them as follow: The right flank was brought around the base of the hill and distributed among the several cabins convenient to the fort. The left was ordered to defile beneath the river bank, close under the fort.
"Thus disposed, Girty presented himself to the window of a cabin, holding forth a white flag, and offering conditions of peace. He read the proclamation of Hamilton, Governor of Canada, and in a stentorian voice demanded the surrender of the fort, oft"ering, in case they complied, protection ; but if they refused, immediate and indiscriminate massacre.
"Girty referred, in a boasting manner, to the great force at his command ; and called u]ion them, as loyal subjects, to
236 History of West Virginia
give up in obedience to the demand of the king's agent, and that not one of them should be injured.
"Although the whole number of men in the fort did not exceed ten or a dozen, still there was no disposition to yield ; but, on the contrary, a fixed determination to defy the rene- gade, and all the power of King George.
"Girty having finished his harangue, Colonel David Shep- herd, the commandant, promptly and in the most gallant and effective manner, replied, 'Sir, we have consulted our wives and children, and all have resolved — men, women and children — sooner to perish at their posts than place themselves under the protection of a savage army with YOU at its head ; or abjure the cause of liberty and the colonies.' The outlaw attempted to reply, but a shot from the fort put a stop to any further harangue.
"A darker hour had scarcely ever obscured the hopes of the west. Death was all around that little fortress, and hope- less despair seemed to press upon its inmates ; but still they could not and would not give up. Duty, patriotism, pride, independence, safety, all required they should not surrender, and forswear the cause of freedom.
"Unable to intimidate them, and finding the besieged proof against the vile promises, the chagrined and discomfited Girty disappeared from the cabin, but in a few minutes was seen approaching with a large body of Indians, and instantly a tre- mendous rush was made upon the fort. They attempted to force the gates, and test the strength of the pickets by muscu- lar effort. Failing to make any impression, Girty drew off the men a few yards, and commenced a general fire upon the :ort holes.
"Thus continued the attack during most of the day and part of the night, but without any sensible effect. About noon, a temporary withdrawal of the enemy took place. Dur- ing the cessation, active preparations were carried on within the fort to resist a further attack. Each person was assigned some particular duty. Of the women, some were required to run bullets, while others were to cool the guns, load and hand them to the men, etc. Some of them, indeed, insisted upon doing duty by the side of the men, and two actually took their
History of West Virginia 237
position at the port holes, deaHng death to man}- a dusky warrior.
"About three o'clock, the Indians returned* to the attack with redoubled fury. They distributed themseh'es among the cabins, behind fallen trees, etc. The number thus disposed of amounted to perhaps one-half the actual force of the enemy. The remainder advanced along the base of the hill south of the fort, and commenced a vigorous fire upon that part of the stockade. This was a cunningly devised scheme, as it drew most of the inmates to that quarter. Immediately a rush was made from the cabins, led on by Girty in person, and a most determined effort made to force the entrance. The attempt was made with heavy timber, but failed, with the loss of many of their boldest warriors.
"Several similar attempts were made during the after- noon, but all alike failed. Maddened and chagrined by re- peated disappointment and ill-success, the savages withdrew to their covert until night-fall. Day at length closed ; dark- ness deepened over the waters, and almost the stillness of death reigned around. About nine o'clock, the savages re- appeared, making night hideous with their yells, and the heav- ens lurid with their discharge of musketry.
"The lights in the fort having been extinguished, the in- mates had the advantage of those without, and many a stal- wart savage fell before the steady aim of experienced frontiers- men.
"Repeated attempts were made during the night to storm the fort, and to fire it, but all failed through the vigilance of those within.
"At length the night of horror passed and day dawned upon the scene, but to bring a renewal of the attack. This, however, did not last long, and despairing of success, the sav- ages prepared to leave. They fired most of the buildings, killed the cattle, and were about departing, when a relief party of fourteen men, under Colonel Andrew Swearingen, from Holliday's fort, twenty-four miles above, landed in a pirogue, and undiscovered by the Indians, gained entrance to the fort.
"Shortly afterwards. Major Samuel McCollough, at the head of forty mounted men, from Short Creek, made his ap-
238 History of West Virginia
pearance in front of the fort, the gates of which were joyfully thrown open. Simultaneously with the appearance of INIc- Collough's men, re-appeared the enemy, and a rush was made to cut off the entrance of the party. All, however, succeeded in getting in except the gallant Major, who, anxious for the safety of his men, held back until his own chance was entirely cut off. Finding himself surrounded by savages, he rode at xuii speed in the direction of the hill.
"The enemy, with exulting yells, followed close in pursuit, not doubting they would capture one upon whom, of all men, they preferred to wreak their vengeance.
"Greatly disappointed at the escape of the gallant Major, and knowing the hopelessness of attempting to maintain the siege against such increased number, the Indians fired a few additional shots at the fort and then moved rapidly oft' in a body for their own country.
'Tt has been conjectured that the enemy lost on this oc- casion from forty to fifty in killed and wounded. The loss of the whites has been already stated. Not a single person was killed within the fort, and but one slightly wounded."
An account of McCollough's leap over the precipice and his escape from the Indians will be given in another chapter.
Ambuscade of Capt. William Foreman and His Men at Grave
Creek Narrows, in Marshall County,
September 27, 1777.
(By Wills De Hass, in Border Wars.)
By far the most disastrous ambuscade in the settlement of the west was that at the head of Grave Creek narrows, now Marshall County, Virginia (West Virginia), September 27, 1777.
In the fall of that year, when it became known that the Indian Nations northwest of the Ohio would become the allies of Great Britain, a call for troops was made on the West Vir- ginia frontiersmen for the purpose of protecting the frontier settlements. Major George Skillern raised two companies in Botetourt County, which, with forty Greenbrier County men under Captain William Renick, marched to Point Pleasant; and Capt. William Foreman, of Hampshire County, collected
History of West Virginia 239
a company of men in the South Branch Valley and proceeded to Wheeling, arriving at Fort Henry September 15.
On Sunday morning, September 26th, Captain William Foreman with twenty-four men, Capt. Ogle with ten men, and Capt. Linn with nine men, started from Fort Henry on a scout. Their intention was to cross the Ohio at a point where Moundsville now stands and thence proceed on down the river to Captina, a distance of about eight miles; but upon arriving at Tomlinson's fort and finding the same abandoned by the whites and sacked by the Indians, and no canoes to be had, the party remained there over night, and the next morning started to return to Wheeling. Capt. Linn, being fearful of an ambuscade, marched with his men along the hill crest ; but Ogle and Foreman, having no such apprehensions, kept to the trail along the river bottom. Thus they proceeded until they reached the upper end of McMechen's narrows — now followed by the Ohio River Railroad — where some of the party dis- covered in the path some Lidian trinkets, beads, etc. With a natural curiosity, but unthoughtful of a possible ambush, the men gathered about those who picked up what proved to be articles of decoy, and while examining them with the eager curiosity of so many children — all being grouped together in a compact form — two lines of Indians along the path, one above and the other below, and a large body of them, at once arose from covert and opened fire upon the unsuspecting party, with fatal effect. The river hill rises at this point with great abruptness, presenting an almost insurmountable barrier. Still, those of the party who escaped the first discharge at- tempted to climb up the precipice. But the savages pursued and killed several. At the first fire, Captain Foreman and most of his party, including his two sons, fell dead. The exact loss was never known, 1)ut it is supposed to have been about twenty-one, including the Captain. Of those who escaped up the hill were Robert Harkness and John Collins. In addition to Captain Foreman, the following named persons are said to have been killed in this' ambuscade : Edward Peterson. Benja- min Powell, Hambleton Foreman, James Greene, John \Mlson, Jacob Ogle, Jacob Pew, Isaac Harris, Robert McGrew, Elisha Shivers (or Shriver), Henry Riser, Bartholomew Vine}^ An-
240 History of West Virginia
thony Miller, John Vincent, Solomon Jones, William P2ngle, Nathan Foreman, Abraham Powell, Samuel Lowry, and Samuel Johnston.
On the day following this sad affair. Col. Shepherd, Col. Zane, Andrew Poe, Martin Wetzel, and some others went down and buried the dead in one common grave, near the scene of the murder. Here their remains reposed until June 1st, 1875, when, by an order of the county court of Marshall County, their bones were taken up and transferred to the Moundsville cemetery, near the entrance facing the city, and not far from the present Camp grounds. A stone slab about five feet high and eighteen inches wide, bearing the following inscription, marks the resting place of these pioneer soldiers :
THIS Humble Stone
is erected
to the memory
of
Captain Foreman
and
twenty-one of his men,
who were slain by a band of
ruthless savages (the allies of
a civilized nation of Europe),
on the 26th day of September, 1777.
"So sleep the brave who sink to rest
By all their country's wishes blest."
This monument was originally
erected above the narrows on the
Ohio river four miles above
Moundsville, on the ground
where the fatal action occurred,
and the remains of Capt. Foreman and his
fallen men were placed here June 1st, 1875,
by Capt. P. B. Catlett, under the
order of the County Court of ■
Marshall County.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
INDIAN WARS AND MASSACRES— Continued.
Murder of Inhabitants at Harbert's Fort.
The failure of the Indians to capture Fort Henry in Scj)- tember, 1777, and their desire to wreak their vengeance on the inhabitants less favored b}^ the protection of strong forts, prompted them to strike the frontier, at points below and thence proceed against the settlements in the interior. At that time, the entire frontier between Wheeling and Point Pleasant, a distance of one hundred and seventy miles, was unprotected, with the exceptions of a few small, inefficient stations at Grave's Creek, Baker's, etc. These offered no serious impediment to the progress of the savages, and thus, practically unmolested, they struck back to the heart of the mountain settlements. A few of the attacks made by the Indians on the Monongahela, Tygart's Valley, West Fork, and Cheat River settlements have already been recorded, but sev- eral important incidents were omitted, and these we will now take up in their regular order as they occurred.
"In 1878, the inhabitants of the upper Monongahela, not unmindful of the indications that had reached them, com- menced busily preparing for the anticipated attack. Harbert's block house, on Ten Mile Creek, in Harrison County, was con- sidered a safe and convenient resort, and thither those living in that quarter took shelter. Notwithstanding these pruden- tial steps, they unhappily sufifered themselves to be lulled into false security. The weather being fine, the children were al- lowed to play outside of the block-house. Suddenly one of them discovered Indians, and, running in, gave the alarm. John Murphy stepped to the door to see if danger really ap- proached, when one of the Indians, turning the corner of the
242 History of West Virginia
house, fired at him. The ball took effect, and Murphy fell into the house. The Indian, springing in, was grappled by Harbert and thrown to the floor. A shot from without wounded Harbert, yet he continued to maintain his advantage over the prostrate savage, striking him as effectually as he could with his tomahawk, when another gun was fired from without, the ball passing through his head. His antagonist then slipped out at the door, badly wounded in the encounter.
"Just after the first Indian entered, an active young war- rior, holding a tomahawk with a long spike at the end, came in. Edward Cunningham instantly drew up his gun, but it flashed, and they closed_in doubtful strife. Both were active and athletic; and sensible of the high prize for which they contended, each put forth his strength and strained every nerve to gain the ascendancy. For a while, the issue seemed doubtful. At length, by great exertion, Cunningham wrench- ed the tomahawk from the hand of the Indian and buried the spike end to the handle in his back. Mrs. Cunningham closed the contest. Seeing her husband struggling with the savage, she struck the latter with an ax. The edge wounding his face severely, he loosened his hold and made his way out of the house.
"The third Indian who had entered before the door was closed, presented an appearance almost as frightful as the object he had in view. He wore a cap made of the unshorn front of a buft'alo, with the ears and horns still attached, and hanging loosely about his head, which gave him a most hid- eous appearance ; and on entering the room, this frightful monster aimed a blow with his tomahawk at Miss Reece, which alighted on her head, inflicting a severe wound. The mother, seeing the uplifted weapon about to descend on her daughter, seized the monster by the horns ; but his false head coming off, she did not succeed in changing the direction of the weapon. The father then caught hold of him ; but far inferior in strength, he was thrown on the floor and would have been killed, but for the interference of Cunningham, who, having succeeded in clearing the house of one Indian, wheeled and struck his tomahawk into the head of the other.
"During all this time the door was kept secured by the
History of West Virginia 243
women, the Indians from ^vithout endeavoring several times to force it and would at one time have succeeded; but just as it was yielding, the Indian who had been wounded by Cun- ningham and his wife squeezed out, causing a moriientar}- re- laxation of their efforts, and enabled the women again to close it.
"The savages on the outside, in tlie meantime, were busily engaged in securing such of the children as could travel and murdering in the most inhuman and revolting manner all who could not. Despairing of being able to do further mischief, they moved oft".
"One white adult only was killed, and four or five wounded. Of the children, eight or ten were killed and car- ried oft". The Indians lost one killed, and had two badly wounded.
Appearance of the Indians Near West's Fort.
"Shortly after the attack at Fort Hacker, mentioned here- tofore, three women ventured forth from West's fort to gather greens in an adjacent field. One of these was a Mrs. Freeman, another Mrs. Hacker, but the name of the third is not now known. While thus engaged they were attacked by four Indians and all would probably have been killed had not their screams brought the men to their rescue. Three of the sav- ages immediately retreated, but the fourth, who carried a long staft" with a spear on its end, rand up and thrust it through the body of the unfortunate Mrs. Freeman. The savage then scalped his victim before the men could drive him oft".
"Some persons at a distance from the fort, hearing the screams, rushed forward. Of this number were Jesse Hughes and John Ashcraft, who ran for the fort together, and as they approached, Hughes discovered two Indians standing with their faces towards the fort, and looking very attentively at the movements of the whites. Changing their course they reached the fort in safety. Hughes immediately grasped his rifle and bounded out in pursuit, followed by some half dozen others. Before reaching the place where the two Indians had been seen, a signal resembling the howl of a wolf
244 History of West Virginia
was heard, which Hughes immediately answered, and he moved rapidly on in the direction whence it proceeded. In a short time the howl was again given and a second time answered. Running to the brow of a hill and cautiously looking around, Hughes and his companions saw two Indians coming towards them. Hughes fired and one of them fell. The other sought safety in flight and by running through the thickets finally escaped."
The Indians Appear Near Coburn and Stradler's Forts.
In the fall of the year 1778 a large party of Indians appeared near Coburn's fort, on .Coburn's Creek, in Monon- galia County, and attacked a company of whites returning from a field. John Woodfin and Jacob Miller were both killed and scalped.
"The same Indians next made their appearance on Bun- ker's Creek, near Stradler's fort. Here, as on Coburn Creek, they lay in ambush on the roadside, awaiting the return of the men who were engaged at work in some of the neighbor- ing fields. Towards evening the men came, carrying with them some hogs which they had killed for the use of the fort people, and on approaching where the Indians lay concealed, were fired upon and several fell. Those who escaped injury from the first fire returned the shot, and a severe action ensued. But so many of the whites had been killed before the savages exposed themselves to view that the remainder were unable long to sustain the unequal contest. Overpowered by num- bers, the few who were still unhurt fled precipitately to the fort, leaving eighteen of their companions dead in the road. These were scalped and mangled by the Indians in a most shocking manner, and lay some time before the men in the fort ventured out to bury them.
Attack on Fort Randolph at Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Early in June, 1778, a few Indians made their appearance in the vicinity of Fort Randolph (Point Pleasant), and after vainly manoeuvring to draw out an attacking party from the garrison, disappeared, when suddenly a large body of savages
History of West Virginia 245
arose from their covert and demanded a surrender of the fort on pain of insfant destruction.
"Captain McKee, the commandant, asked until morning for consideration. During the night the besieged made good use of the darkness by carrying water into the fort and put- ting all things in readiness for a regular siege.
"In the morning Captain McKee replied that the demand for a surrender could not be complied with. The Indians (they were mostly Shawnees) then said they had come ex- pressly for the purpose of avenging the death of their great chief, Cornstalk; that the fort should be reduced, and every soul massacred. The attack was commenced with great fury and continued, with but little intermission, for several days. Finding they could make no sensible impression, the enemy withdrew and proceeded up the Kanawha, evidently with the intention of attacking the Greenbrier settlements. No recent demonstration of hostility having been made in that quarter. Captain McKee justly became alarmed for the issue unless information of their approach could be conveyed to the settle- ments. Two soldiers were immediately sent in pursuit, but being discovered, were fired upon, and they returned to the fort. Two others then volunteered, Philip Hammon and John Pryor. An Indian squaw present decorated them in true savage style, so that the native warriors could scarcely have told them from genuine Shawnees. Thus efuipped, the intrepid hunters left Fort Randolph, and ■over hill and dale they sped onward, until finally they reached the settlements. The people were alarmed, and €re night closed in the whole neighborhood were col- lected at the residence of Col. Andrew Donally, which was a large, substantial, hewn-log dwelling, protected by pickets, and answered very well for a place of defense. It stood about ten miles north of the present town of Lewisburg. Every- thing was put in readiness for an attack. A strict watch was kept through the night, but no enemy appeared. The second ■day passed off in like manner. That night most of the men went to the second story, having slept none for nearly forty- eight hours. In the latter part of the night they became -drowsy, and when daylight appeared all were in a profound
246 History of West Virginia
sleep. Only three men were on the lower floor — Hammon and the white and black servants of Colonel Donally. At day- break the white servant opened the door, that he might bring in some firewood, and had gone but a few steps from the house when he was shot down. The Indians now sprang from their concealment on the edge of the rye field near the house, and rushing in a body, attempted to enter the door. Hammon and the black servant, Dick, made an effort to secure it, but the Indians commenced chopping with their toma- hawks, and had actually cut through the door, when Dick,, fearing they might succeed in gaining their purpose, left Hammon at his post, and seizing a musket which stood near, loaded with heavy slugs, discharged it through the opening among the Indians. The savages now fell back, and the door was secured. Some of the savages crawled under the floor and were endeavoring to force their way up ; Hammon and Dick, with one or two men from the loft who had been aroused by the firing, quietly awaited the Indians in their effort. Presently, one of them showing his head through the open- ing, Hammon aimed a blow with his tomahawk, and killed him. A second was killed in the same way, and the rest escaped.
"In the meantime, all the men in the loft were up, and pouring upon the enemy a most destructive fire, drove them off under cover of the woods. The attack was kept up during most of the day, but at such a distance as to do but little harm. One man was killed by a ball passing through an interstice in the wall. On the alarm being given by Hammon and his companion, a messenger was sent to the station at Lewisburg (this messenger was -John Prickett, and he was killed on the morning of the attack). By the activity of Col. Samuel Lewis and Col. John Stuart, a force of sixty-six armed men was ready to march on the third morning. To avoid an ambush, they left the direct road, and taking a circuitous route, arrived opposite the fort, turned across, and passing through a r3^e field, entered in safety. Giving up all hope after the accession of so large a force, the savages withdrew, and moved off in the direction of the Ohio. Seventeen of them were found dead in the 3^ard."
History of West Virginia 247
Capture of John Wetzel and Frederick Erlewyne.
In the spring of 1785, the Indians captured John Wetzel, Jr., and Frederick Erlewyne, the former sixteen years of age and the latter a year or two younger. The boys had gone from Shepherd's fort, at the Forks of Wheeling Creek, in Ohio County, for the puri)ose of catching horses. One of the stray animals was a mare, with a young colt, belonging to Wetzel's sister, and she offered the foal to John as a reward for finding the mare. While on this service they were captured by a party of four Indians, who, having come across the horses, had seized and secured them in a thicket, expecting the bells would attract the notice of their owners, so they could kill them. The horse was ever a favorite object of plunder with the savage, as not only facilitating his own escape from pursuit, but also assisting him in carrying off the spoil. The boys, hearing the well-known tinkle of the bells, approached the spot where the Indians lay concealed, congratulating them- selves on their good luck in so readily finding the strays, when they were immediately seized by the savages. John, in at- tempting to escape, was shot through the- wrist. His com- panion hesitating to go with the Indian and beginning to cry, they dispatched him wdth the tomahawk. John, who had once before been taken prisoner and escaped, made light of it, and went along cheerfully with his wounded arm.
The party struck the Ohio River early the following morning at a point near the mouth of Grave Creek, just below Moundsville. Here they found some hogs, and killing one of them, put it into a canoe they had stolen. Three of the Indians took possession of the canoe with their prisoner, while the other was busied in swimming the horses across the riVer. It so happened that Isaac Williams (a son-in-law of Mr. Toni- linson), Hambleton Kerr, and Jacob, a Dutchman, had come down that morning from Wheeling to look after the cattle, etc., left at the deserted settlement (Mr. Tomlinson having moved his family to Wheeling fort). WHien near the mouth of Little Grave Creek, a mile above, they heard the rc])ort of a rifle. "Dod rot 'em," exclaimed Mr. Williams, "a Kentuck boat has landed at the creek, and they are shooting my hogs."
248 History of West Virginia
Quickening their pace, in a few minutes they were within a short distance of the creek, when they heard the loud snort of a horse. Kerr being in the prime of hfe, and younger than Mr. Wilhams, was several rods ahead, and reached the bank first. As he looked into the creek, he saw three Indians standing in a canoe ; one was in the stern, one in the bow, and the other in the middle. At the feet of the latter lay four rifles and a dead hog; while a fourth Indian was swimming a horse a few rods from shore. The one in the stern had his paddle in the edge of the water in the act of turning and shoving the canoe from the mouth of the creek into the river. Before they were aware of his presence, Kerr drew up and shot the Indian that was in the stern, who instantly fell into the water. The crack of his rifle had scarcely ceased when Mr. Williams came up and shot the one in the bow, who also fell overboard. Kerr dropped his own rifle, and seizing that of the Dutchman, shot the remaining Indian. He fell over into the water, but still held on to the side of the canoe with one hand. So amazed was the last Indian at the fall of his companions that he never offered to lift one of the rifles which lay at his feet, in self- defense, but acted like one bereft of his senses. By this time the canoe, impelled by the impetus given to it by the first Indian, had reached the current of the river, and was some rods below the mouth of the creek. Kerr instantly reloaded his gun, and seeing another man lying in the bottom of the canoe, raised his rifle to his face as in the act of firing, when the other cried out, "Don't shoot, I am a white man \"
Kerr told him to knock loose the Indian's hand from the side of the canoe and paddle to the shore. In reply he said his arm was broken and he could not. The current, however, set it near some rocks not far from land, on which he jumped and waded out. Kerr now aimed his rifle at the Indian on horseback, who by this time had reached the middle of the river. The shot struck near him, splashing the water on his naked skin. The Indian, seeing the fate of his companions, with the utmost bravery slipped from the horse and swam for the canoe, in which were the rifles of the four warriors. This was an act of necessity, as well as of daring, for he well knew he could not reach home without the means of killing
History of West Virginia 249
game. He soon gained possession of the canoe, unmolested, crossed with the arms to his own side of the Ohio, mounted the captive horse, which had swam to the Indian shore, and with a yell of defiance escaped into the woods. The canoe was turned adrift to spite his enemies and was taken up near Maysville with the dead hog still in it, the cause of all their misfortunes.
The Bevans Murder at Clark's Fort in Marshall County,
West Virginia.
Fort Clark was a small stockade fort, consisting of four cabins placed together, and protected by a palisade wall ten feet high. It was situated on Pleasant Hill, in Union District, Marshall County. It was located on a farm since owned by John Allen. Among others resorting at this fort was a family by name of Bevans, embracing six members in all, parents, two sons and two daughters. One day in July, 1787, these four children visited their farm, which was about one mile from the fort, for the purpose of pulling flax. While sitting on the fence looking at the flax, they were fired upon by the Indians. The younger brother, whose name was Cornelius, was the only one to escape. The others were all killed.
The Johnson Boys' Adventure With Indians.
The following letter of Mr. Henry Johnson to Wills De Hass relative to the adventures of the Johnson boys with Indians is very interesting, coming, as it does, from one of the actors in a border drama :
Antioch, Monroe County, Ohio,
January 18th, 1851. Dear Sir:
Yours of the 8th instant has just come to hand, and I with pleasure sit down to answer your request, which is a state- ment of my adventure with the Indians. I will give the nar- rative as found in my sketch book. I was born in Westmore- land County, Pennsylvania, February 4th, 1777. When I was about eight years old, my father, James Johnson, having a large family to provide for, sold his farm, with the expecta-
250 History of West Virginia
tion of acquiring larger possessions further west. Thus he was stimulated to encounter the perils of a pioneer life. He crossed the Ohio River and bought some improvements on what was called Beach Bottom Flats, two and a half miles from the river and three or four miles above the mouth of Short Creek, with the expectation of holding by improvement right under the Virginia claim. Soon after we reached there, the Indians became troublesome ; they stole horses and killed a number of persons in our neighborhood. When I was be- tween eleven and twelve years old, in the month of October, 1788, I was taken prisoner by the Indians, with my brother John, who was about eighteen months older than I. The cir- cumstances were as follows : On Saturday evening we were out with an older brother and came home late in the evening. The next morning one of us had lost a hat, and about the middle of the day we thought that perhaps we had left it where we had been at work, about three-fourths of a mile from the house. We went to the place and found the hat, and sat down on a log by the roadside and commenced cracking nuts. In a short time we saw two men coming towards us from the house. By their dress, we supposed they were two of our neighbors, James Perdue and J. Russell.' We paid but little attention to them, until they came quite near to us, when we saw our mistake ; they were black. To escape by flight was impossible, had we been disposed to tr}^ We sat still until they came up. One of them said, "How do, brodder?" My brother asked them if they were Indians, and they answe'red in the affirmative, and said we must go with them. One of them had a blue buck-skin, which he gave my brother to carry, and without further ceremony we took up the line of march for the wilderness, not knowing whether we should ever return to our cheerful home ; and not having much love for our com- manding officers, of course we obeyed orders rather tardily. The mode of march was thus — one of the Indians walked about ten steps before, the other about ten behind us. After traveling some distance we halted in a deep hollow and sat down. They took our their knives and whet them, and talked some time in the Indian tongue, which we could not under- stand. My brother and I sat eight or ten steps from them.
History of West Virginia 251
and talked about killing them that night and making our escape. I thought, from their looks and actions, that they were going to kill us; and, strange to say, 1 felt no alarm. I thought that I would rather die than go with them. The most of my trouble was, that my father and mother would be fret- ting after us — not knowing what had become of us. I ex- pressed my thoughts to John, who went and began to talk with them. He said that father was cross to him and made him work hard, and that he did not like hard work ; that he would rather be a hunter and live in the woods. This seemed to please them ; for they put up their knives, and talked more lively and pleasantly. We became very familiar and many questions passed between us ; all parties were very inquisitive. They asked my brother which way home was several times, and he would tell them the contrary way every time, although he knew the way very well. This would make them laugh ; they thought we were lost, and that we knew no better. They conducted us over the Short Creek hills in search of horses, but found none ; so we continued on foot until night, when we halted in a hollow, about three miles from Carpenter's fort and about four miles from the place where they first took us; our route being somewhat circuitous, we made slow progress. As night began to close in, I became fretful, ^ly brother en- couraged me by whispering that we would kill them that night. After they had selected the place of our encampment, one of them scouted around, whilst the other struck fire, w^hich was done by stop])ing the touch-hole of his gun and flashing powder in the pan. After the Indian got the fire kin- dled, he reprimed the gun and went to an old stump to get some tinder-wood, and while he was thus em]:)loyed my brother took the gun, cocked it, and was about to shoot the Indian : alarmed lest the other might l^e close by, I remon- strated, and taking hold of the gun, ]~)revented him shooting; at the same time 1 begged him to Avait till night, and I \vould help him kill them both. Tlu' other Indian came back about dark, when we took our supper, such as it was, — some corn parched on the coals and some roast i)ork. We then sat and talked for some time. They seemed to be acquainted with the whole border settlement, from Marietta to Beaver, and could
252 History of West Virginia
number every fort and block-house, and asked my brother how many fighting men were in each place, and how many guns. In some places my brother said there were a good many more guns than there were fighting men. They asked what use were these guns. He said the women could load while the men fired. But how did these guns get there? My brother said when the war was over with Great Britain, the soldiers that were enlisted during the war were discharged, and they left a great many of their guns at the stations. They asked my brother who owned that black horse that wore a bell. He answered, father. They then said the Indians could never catch that horse. We then went to bed on the naked ground, to rest and study out the best mode of attack. They put us between them, that they might be better able to guard us. After a while one of the Indians, supposing we were asleep, got up and stretched himself on the other side of the fire and soon began to snore. John, who had been watching every, motion, found they were sound asleep. He whispered to me to get up, which we did as cautiously as possible. John took the gun with which the Indian had struck fire, cocked it, and placed it in the direction of the head of one of the Indians. He then took a tomahawk and drew it over the head of the other Indian. I pulled the trigger, and he struck at the same instant; the blow falUng too far back on the neck only stunned the Indian. He attempted to spring to his feet, uttering most hideous yells, but my brother repeated the blows with such effect that the conflict became terrible, and somewhat doubt- ful. The Indian, however, was forced to yield to the blows he received on his head, and in a short time he lay quiet at our feet. The one that was shot never moved ; and fearing there were others close by, we hurried off, and took nothing with -us but the gun I shot with. They had told us we would see Indians about to-morrow, so we thought there was a camp of Indians close by; and fearing the report of the gun, the Indian hallooing, and my caUing to John, might bring them upon us, we took our course towards the river, and on going about three-fourths of a mile, came to a path which led to Carpen- ter's fort. My brother here hung up his hat, that he might know where to take off to find the camp. We got to the fort
History of West Virginia 25.>
a little before daybreak. Wc related our ad\cnturc and tlie next day a small party went out with my brother and found the Indian that was tomahawked, on the ground ; the other had crawled oft", and was not found until some time after. He was shot through close by the ear. Having concluded this narrative, I will give a description of the two Indians. They were of the Delaware tribe, and one of them a chief. He wore the badges of his office — the wampum belt, three half-moons, and a silver plate on his breast ; bands of silver on both arms ; and his ears cut round and ornamented with silver; the hair on the top of his head was done up with silver wire. The other Indian seemed to be kind of a waiter. He was rather under size, a plain man. He wore a fine beaver hat, with a hole shot through the crown. My brother asked him about the hat. He said he killed a captain and got his hat. My brother asked him if he had killed many of the whites and he answered, a good many. He then asked him if the big Indian had killed many of the whites, and he answered, a great many, and that he was a great captain — chief.
(Signed) HENRY JOHNSON.
Captivity of Mrs. Glass Near Wellsburg.
(By Wills De Hass, in "Border Wars".)
Early on the morning of the 27th of Alarcli (1788), two Indians appeared on the premises of Mr. Glass, residing a few miles back of the present town of Wellsburg (Brooke County). At the time Mrs. Glass was alone in the house, \vith the exception of an infant and a small black girl. Mrs. Glass was spinning, and had sent her negro woman to the woods ior sugar water. In a few moments she returned, screaming at the top of her voice, "Indians! Indians!" Mrs. Glass jumped up, and running, first to the window, then to the door, attempted to escape. But an Indian met her and presented his gun; Mrs. Glass caught hold of the muzzle, turned it aside, and begged him not to kill her. The other Indian, in the meantime, caught the negro woman and brought her into the house. They then opened a chest and took out a small box
254 History of West Virginia
and some articles of clothing and without doing any further damage departed with their prisoners. After proceeding about a mile and a half, they halted and held a consultation, as she supposed, to kill the children. This she understood to be the subject by their gestures. To one of the Indians, who could speak English, she held out her little boy and begged them not to kill him, as he would make a fine chief after awhile. The Indian made a motion for her to walk on with her child. The other Indian then struck the negro child with the pipe end of his tomahawk, which knocked it down, and then by a blow with the edge across the back of the neck dis- patched it.
About four o'clock in the evening they reached the river, a mile above the creek, and carried a canoe, which had been thrown up in some driftwood, into the river. They got into this canoe and worked it down to the mouth of Rush Run, a distance of about five miles. They pulled the canoe into the mouth of the stream as far as they could ; going up the run about a mile, they encamped for the night. The Indians gave the prisoners all their own clothes for covering, and one of them added his own blanket. Shortly before daylight the Indians got up and put another blanket over them. The black woman complained much on account of the loss of her child, and they threatened, if she did not desist, to kill her.
At sunrise they commenced the march up a very steep hill, and at two o'clock halted on Short Creek, about twenty miles from the place whence they set out in the morning. The spot had been an encampment shortly before, as well as a place of deposit of plunder which they had recently taken from the house of a Mr. Van Meter, whose family had been killed. The plunder was deposited in a sycamore tree. They had tapped some sugar trees when there before, and now kindled a fire and put on a brass kettle, with a turkey, which they had killed on the way, to boil in sugar water.
Mr. Glass was working with a hired man in a field about a quarter of a mile from the house when his wife and family were taken, but knew nothing of the event until noon. After searching about the place and going to several houses in quest of his family, he went to Wells's fort, collected ten men, and
History of West Virginia 255
that night lodged in a cabin on the bottom on which the town of Wellsburg now stands.
Next morning they discovered the place where the Indians had taken the canoe from the drift, and their tracks at the place of embarkation. Mr. Glass could distinguish the track of his wife by the print of the high heel of her shoe. They crossed the river and went down on the other side, until they came near the mouth of Rush Run ; but discovering no tracks of the Indians, most of the men concluded that they would go to the mouth of the Muskingum, by water, and there- fore wished to turn back. Mr. Glass begged of them to go as far as the mouth of Short Creek, which was only two or three miles. To this they agreed. When they got to the mouth of Rush Run they found the canoe of the Indians. This was identified by a proof which goes to show the presence of mind of Mrs. Glass. While passing down the river one of the Indians threw into the water several papers which he had taken out of Mr. Glass's trunk; some of these she carefully picked up, and under pretense of giving them to the child. dropped them into the bottom of the canoe. These left no doubt. The trail of the Indians and their prisoners u]) the run to their camp, and then up the river hill, was soon dis- covered.
About an hour after the Indians had halted, Mr. Glass and his men came in sight of their camp. The object then was to save the lives of the prisoners, by attacking the Indians so unerxpectedly as not to allow time to kill them. \\'ith this view, they crept along until they got within one Inmdred yards of the camp. Fortunately, Mrs. Glass's little son had gone to a sugar tree, but not being able to get the water, his mother had stepped out to get some for him. 1'he negro woman w^as sitting some distance from the two Indians, who were looking attentively at a scarlet jacket which they had taken some time before. On a sudden they dropi^ed the jacket, and turned their eyes towards the men, who, su])pos- ing they were discovered, immediately discharged several guns, and rushed ui)on them, at full speed, with an Indian yell. One of the Indians, it was supposed, was wounded the first fire, as he fell and dropped his gun and shot pouch. After
256 History of West Virginia
running" about one hundred yards, a second shot was fired after him by Major McGuire, which brought him to his hands and knees ; but there was no time for pursuit, as the Indians had informed Mrs. Glass that there was another encampment close by. They therefore returned witli all speed and reached Beech Bottom fort that night.
The other Indian, at the first fire, ran a short distance be- yond Mrs. Glass, so that she was in a right line between him and the white men ; here he halted for a moment, to put on his shot pouch, which Mr. Glass mistook for an attempt to kill his wife with a tomahawk.
This artful manoeuvre no doubt saved the life of the sav- age, as his pursuers could not shoot at him without risking the life of the woman.
Mrs. Glass subsequently married a Mr. Brown, and was long a resident of Brooke County.
Massacre of Jolly's Family Near Wheeling.
"Among the early settlers in the neighborhood of Wheel- ing was Daniel Jolly. His improvement was on the hill, about three miles from the mouth of the creek. The land was later owned by a Mr. McEnall, and the site of Jolh^'s cabin is still pointed out not far from the road wdiich crosses the hill from the old toll-gate to the river. The family of Jolly consisted of himself, wife and four children, with one grandchild.
On the 8th of June (1791), a small party of Indians, who had secreted themselves behind some gooseberry bushes in the garden, fired upon the family, killing Mrs. Jolly instantly and wounding a son, daughter and grandson. Her eldest son, John, had just reached the house from the corn-field, and was in the act of wiping the perspiration from his brow with the sleeve of his shirt as the ball struck him in the mouth. He fell, badly wounded, and the next instant the savages M^ere tomahawking him. Killing and scalping the other wounded ones, and taking prisoner one son and a nephew of Mr. Jolly, named Joseph McCune, they pillaged, then fired the house and made a rapid retreat. Joseph McCune was killed after proceeding a short distance because he could not travel fast.
History of West Virginia 257
as he suffered from phthisic. Mrs. Jolly was standing in the door at the moment she was shot, looking in the direction of the spring, to which she had sent one of her children. The boy at the spring, whose name was James, escaped, also another member of the family in the field. A daughter, Mary, was absent at her uncle Joseph McCune's, who lived on the ridge about five miles from the forks of Wheeling Creek. Mr. Jolly had gone on a journey to the Monongahela to receive a payment for some property which he had sold previous to moving out.
The boy made prisoner remained in captivity seven years, and was then regained by his brother at Pensacola. He was discovered trading at Nashville ; and on being questioned, the facts of his captivity were elicited, whereupon a gentleman wrote to Colonel Zane, who communicated the intelligence to the boy's father. These particulars were derived by De Hass from Mrs. Cruger, Mr. Mclntire and a Mr. Darby, late of Wheeling.
Death of Captain Van Buskirk, 1791.
"Early in June of this year occurred the last conflict on the upper Ohio, between an organized party of Virginians (West Virginians) and Indians. In consequence of the num- erous depredations on the settlements now embraced in Brooke and Hancock Counties, it was determined to summarily chas- tise these marauders ; and accordingly, a party of men organ- ized under the command of Captain Lawson Van Buskirk, an ofificer of tried courage and acknowledged efficiency. A party of Indians had committed sundry acts of violence, and it was believed they would endeavor to cross the Ohio on their re- treat, at some point near Mingo Bottom (about four miles below where Steubenville now stands). The party of Cap- tain Van Buskirk consisted of about forty experienced fron- tiersmen, some of whom were veteran Indian hunters. The number of the enemy was known to be about thirty. The whites crossed the river below the mouth of Cross Creek and marched up the bottom, looking cautiously for the enemy's trail. They had discovered it along the run, but missing it.
258 History of West Virginia
they concluded to take the ridge, hoping thus to cross it. De- scending the ridge, and just as the}^ gained the river, the In- dians fired upon them, killing Captain Van Buskirk and wounding John Aidy. The eneni}^ were concealed in a ravine amidst a dense cluster of paw-paw bushes. The whites march- ed in single file, headed by their captain, whose exposed situa- tion will account for the fact that he was wounded with thir- teen balls. The ambush quartered on their flank and they were totally unsuspicious of it. The plan of the Indians was to permit the whites to advance in numbers along the line before firing upon them. This was done ; but instead of each selecting his man, every gun was directed at the captain, who fell, with THIRTEEN bullet holes in his body. The whites and Indians instantly treed, and the contest lasted more than an hour. The Indians, however, were defeated, and retreated toward the Muskingum, with the loss of several killed, while the Virginians, with the exception of their captain, had none killed and but three wounded.
"Captain Van Buskirk's wife was killed just eleven months previous to the death of her husband. They lived about three miles from West Liberty. She had been taken prisoner by the Indians and on the march towards the river her ankle was sprained so that she could not walk without pain. The Indians, therefore, put her to death on the hill just above where Wellsburg now stands. Her body was found by a pursuing party the next day." (Border Wars).
The Tush Murder.
George Tush and family resided on Wheeling Creek, about twelve miles from the Ohio River, on a farm after- wards owned by Albert Davis. The family consisted of Tush, his wife and five children.
On the evening of Saturday, September 6th, 1794, as George Tush was in the act of feeding some hogs near the cabin, he was fired upon by three Indians, one of the balls taking efifect in his shoulder blade. Being crazed by pain and fear, instead of making for the house, where he might be of some service to the family, he ran in the direction of the woods
History of West Virginia 259
and escaped; while three of his children were killed and a fourth left for dead, and Mrs. Tush taken captive. One of the children, though tomahawked and scalped, recovered and afterwards became the wife of George Goodrich, residing near Shelbyville, la.
"Tush, in his fright, ran some distance, and jumped from a ledge of rocks fifteen feet in height. This so disabled him that he could not get to Jacob Wetzel's house, which was just across the creek, until late that night. He was taken to Wheeling' a day or two after, and there remained until his wound was healed."
Some years after this event, George Tush, while out hunting, found what he recognized to be the remains of his wife. The Indians had probably killed her on account of her delicate condition, evidence of which was found with the remains.
Attack on Mr. Armstrong at Blennerhassett's Island, in Wood
County.
A man by the name of Armstrong purchased a tract of land near Blennerhassett's Island, in Wood County, where he erected a residence and mill, moving his family to that place from Belpre, Ohio, in the spring of 1794. The family con- sisted of himself, wife, and seven children. Shortly after their change of residence they were attacked by a band of Indians. In the morning, Mr. Armstrong, hearing what he took to be a turkey call, took his gun and dog and proceeded in the direction in which he heard the "gobbling." One of the sons who was taken prisoner and afterward escaped relates what followed :
"After proceeding a short distance, either from the dog or some other circumstance, Armstrong became alarmed, re- treated to the house and barred the door. The Indians pur- sued and endeavored to get the door open, but failing on the first attempt, they took a rail to effect their purpose. While they were endeavoring to gain entrance, Mr. Armstrong snap- ped his gun in an attempt to shoot, but it did not go off; he then ascended to the loft and removing some boards from the
260 . History of West Virginia
roof, escaped through the opening-, while the Indians were breaking down the door. The alarm was given to the stock- ade in upper Belpre, and a party went over. They met Mr. Armstrong and the two eldest sons, who had been in the mill. Mrs. Armstrong they found dead on the outside of the cabin. It appeared as if she had attempted to escape from the roof, as her husband did; but being a heavy woman, had probably fallen and broken her leg. Two children were dead and a little girl was still alive, but insensible, though when disturbed she would say, 'What's that?' Mrs. Armstrong and two children were scalped ; one child about two years old was not. Two sons who were in the cabin were taken prisoners and carried to the Indian towns, where they remained until the close of the war, when their elder brothers brought them from the Indian countrv."
CHAPTER XVIII.
Biographic Sketches and Personal Adventure.
Human events are, of course, dependent upon human action. Yet the deed, rather than the actor, is uppermost in our minds. We love to read of heroic performances, but the average historian is prone to laud the deed, without much apparent thought for the performer as an individual having an existence separate and apart from his fellows. He is satisfied to place all heroes in a common niche, without regard to in- dividuality, and — forget them, if not their deeds.
This is not as it should be. A hero deserves a better fate, for the plain reason that the act was within the individual and therefore a part of him, and when we neglect one, we discredit the other. Of course, it would not be possible to write the life history, or even a brief part, of all those who are entitled to honorable mention for the parts they have taken in life's drama. But, in the hero world, as in other realms, some characters stand out more prominently than others, and it is to this class we especially allude.
The memories of our pioneer fathers are passing away ; and while a few of our writers of pioneer history have given us brief sketches of biography and personal adventure, later day historians — ^especially writers of our school histories — are gradually dropping the curtain over these scenes and charac- ters ; and as time goes on the few old musty volumes which still remain are practically the only written evidence we have, and unless some action be taken to perpetuate these records, the memory of our forefathers, as well as their individual at- tainments, will become but a legend, and be finally buried in deep oblivion.
AMiat can possess more interest to the people of our Little Mountain State than a narrative of the toils, struggles and adventures of men, "whose unshod feet tracked in blood the
262 History of West Virginia
snows of our hills, mountains and valleys; whose single hand combats with fierce and relentless savages are unsurpassed in the annals of border warfare?" If we be interested in their deeds of heroism, why not be interested in the characters themselves? Is it enough to say that "John Smith sacrificed his life to save his friends?" Haven't we a natural desire to know more about "John Smith ?" VVe think so, and the writer is going to satisfy that desire so far as the limits of this book will reasonably permit.
Lewis Wetzel.
LEWIS WETZEL! Who, in West Virginia, has not heard of that name? For years it was a house-hold word in the homes of the pioneers west of the Alleghanies, especially along the Ohio Valley. We have recorded many adventures of the whites with Indians in which Wetzel had no part, but we have purposely withheld for this chapter a number of ad- ventures with the savages in which he was often the chief, if not the sole, actor.
As a scout he had no superiors and but few equals. He was the Boone of West Virginia, and his memory will be ever cherished in the minds of the descendants of our ancestors, who reckoned on his splendid prowess in the defense of their wilderness homes. And, though a taker of Indian scalps, the name of Lewis Wetzel should, and will, be perpetuated. on the pages of West Virginia history.
AVe can offer no more fitting eulogy of the man than is given by that noted writer of border history — Wills De Hass ■ — which we herewith reproduce, in part, together with a brief biographic sketch of the subject, along with a few narratives of his adventures :
"Lewis Wetzel was regarded b}^ many of the settlers in the neighborhood of Wheeling as the right arm of their de- fense. His presence was considered as a tower of strength to the infant settlements and an object of terror to the fierce and restless savages who prowled about and depredated upon our frontier homes. The memory of Wetzel should be em- balmed in the hearts of the people of Western Virginia ; for
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his efforts in defense of their forefathers were without a parallel in border warfare. Among the foremost and most devoted, he plunged into the fearful strife which a bloody and relentless foe waged against the feeble colonists. He threw into the common treasury a soul as heroic, as adventurous, as full of energy, and exhaustless of resources, as ever animated the human breast. Bold, wary and active, he stood without an equal in the pursuit to which he had committed himself, mind and body. No man on the western frontier was more dreaded by the enemy, and none did more to beat him back into the heart of the forest and reclaim the expanseless do- main which we now enjoy. Unfortunately for the memory of Wetzel, no reliable account of him has ever been published. The present generation know little of his personal history, save as gathered from the exaggerated pages of romance, or the scarcely less painted traditions of the day. By many he is regarded as having been very little better than a semi- savage ; a man whose disposition was that of the enraged tiger and whose only propensity was for blood. Our informa- tion warrants us in stating that these conceptions are all false. Lewis Wetzel was never known to inflict unwonted cruelty upon women and children, as has been charged upon him ; and he never was found to torture or mutilate his victim, as many of the traditions would indicate. He was revengeful, because he had suffered deep injury at the hands of that race, and woe to the Indian warrior who crossed his path. Lewis Wetzel was literally a man without fear. He was brave as a lion, cunning as a fox, 'daring where daring was the wiser part — prudent when discretion was valor's better self.' He seemed to possess, in a remarkable degree, that intuitive knowledge which can alone constitute a good and efificicnt hunter, added to which he was sagacious, prompt to act, and always aiming to render his actions efficient. Such was Lewis Wetzel, the celebrated Indian hunter of West Virginia."
John Wetzel, the father of Lewis, was one of the first settlers on Wheeling Creek. He had five sons and two daughters, whose names were respectively, Martin, Lewis, Jacob, John, George, Susan, and Christina.
The elder Wetzel spent much of his time in locating lands,
264 History of West Virginia
hunting and fishing. His neighbors frequently admonished him against exposing himself thus to the enemy; but disre- garding their advice, and laughing at their fears, he continued to widen the range of his excursions, until finally he fell a victim to the active vigilance of the tawny foe. He was killed near Captina, in 1787, on his return from Middle Island Creek (now in Pleasants County), under the following circum- stances : Himself and companion were in a canoe, paddling slowly near the shore, when they were hailed by a party of Indians and ordered to land. This they, of course, refused, when immediately they were fired upon and Wetzel shot through the body. Feeling himself mortally wounded, he directed his companion to lie down in the canoe, while he (Wetzel) so long as his strength remained, would paddle the frail vessel beyond reach of the savages. In this way he saved the life of his friend, while his own was ebbing fast. He died soon after reaching the shore, at Baker's Station, (at the head of Cresap's Bottom, in Meade District, Marshall County) and his humble grave can still be seen near the site of the primitive fortress. The author, anxious to ascertain with undoubted certainty the date of Wetzel's death and learn- ing from a rehable source that the place of his burial was indicated by a stone inscribed with the initials and year, visited the spot in the summer of 1849. With great difficulty he found the place and identified the grave of the elder Wetzel. A rough stone marks the spot, bearing in rude, but perfectly distinct characters, "J. W., 1787."
At the time of his father's death Lewis was about twenty-three years of age, and in common with his brothers, or those who were old enough, swore sleepless vengeance against the "whole Indian race.
Terribly did he and they carry that resolution into effect. From that time forward, they were devoted to the wood ; and an Indian, whether in peace of war, by night or by day, was a doomed man in the presence of either. The name of Wetzel sent a thrill of horror through the heart of the stoutest savage, before whom a more terrible image could not be conjured up than one of those relentless "long knives." But to the per- sonal history of Lewis.
History of West Virginia
265
OHIO ^/m
Scene one mile below Powhatan Station, in Marshall County, W. Va., where John Wetzel, who was killed by the Indians, was buried.
A — Old burial ground.
B — John Wetzel's grave.
C—Where beech tree marked "J- W., 1887," stood.
D — Where Baker's fort stood.
E— Ohio River Railroad bridge No. 198.
About 10 years ago some hunters, while excavating for a ground hog in a muskrat hole, which penetrated the grave of -Wetzel, un- earthed what was supposed to have been the remains of a coffin, but no bones were discovered. At the same time and place was found a crudely constructed, hand-made axe, supposed to have been the prop- erty of Wetzel.
Mr. Abram Dennis, a resident of Powhatan Station, was present at the time, and he informed the writer that the axe was delivered to him, and he turned it over to the Moundsville Echo, where it may now be seen on exhibition. On February 18, 1915, Mr. Munsey Cross, an old citizen of Powhatan, accompanied the writer to this spot and pointed out the places shown in this illustration. — S. M.
266 History of West Virginia
The first event worthy of record in the Hfe of our hero occurred when he was about fourteen years of age. The In- dians had not been very troublesome in the immediate vicinity of his father's, and no great apprehension was felt, as it was during a season of comparative quietude. On the occasion referred to, Lewis had just stepped from his father's door and was looking at his brother Jacob playing, when suddenly turn- ing toward the corn-crib, he saw a gun pointing around the corner. Quick as thought, he jumped back, but not in time to escape the ball ; it took effect upon the breastbone, carrying away a small portion and cutting a fearful wound athwart the chest. In an instant two athletic warriors sprang from be- hind the crib, and quietly making prisoners of the lads, bore them off without being discovered. On the second day they reached the Ohio River, and crossing the mouth of McMech- en's Creek, gained the big lick, about twenty miles from the river. During the whole of this painful march, Lewis suffered severely from his wound, but bore up with true courage, knowing if he complained the tomahawk would be his doom. That night, on lying down, the Indians, contrary to their cus- tom, failed to tie their prisoners. Lewis now resolved to escape ; and in the course of an hour or two, satisfying himself that the Indians were asleep, touched Jacob, and both arose without disturbing their captors. Lewis, leading the way, pushed into the woods. Finding, however, that he could not travel without moccasins, he returned to camp and soon came back with two pair, which, having fitted on, Lewis said, "Now I must go back for father's gun." Securing this, the two boys started in the direction of home. Finding the path, they trav- eled on briskly for some time ; but hearing a noise, listened, and ascertained the Indians were in pursuit. The lads stepped aside, as the pursuers came up, and then again moved on. Soon they heard the Indians return, and by the same plan effectually eluded them. Before daylight, they were again followed by two on horse-back, but resorting to a similar ex- pedient, readily escaped detection.
On the following day, about eleven o'clock, the boys reached the Ohio, at a point opposite Zane's Island. Lashing
History of West Virginia 26/
together two logs, they crossed over and were once more with their friends.
As this sketch will not allow us to notice in full his var- ious youthful exploits, we will pass over a series of years, and take up the thread of narrative at such points in our hero's perilous career as we may deem most interesting to the read- ers at large. Reaching the years of manhood, this remarkable person spent most of his time in the woods. He' was truly a genuine child of the forest and seemed to worship the grand old trees with more than Pagan devotion. To him the wilder- ness was full of charms, but the enjoyment of these was not without great personal danger. A dark, insidious foe prowled upon his track and closely watched every opportunity to way- lay and destroy him. Wetzel roamed abroad, delighted with every fresh grove, hill, dale, and rippling stream. To him the swelling of the breeze, "the repose of the leaf, the mysterious (juiet of the shade, the chant of birds, the whoop of the savage, and the long, melancholy howl of the wolf," were sights and sounds which stirred his most lively sensibilities. Rising from his couch of leaves, by the side of some moss-covered log, the lone hunter made his hurried meal and then moved on, careless of fatigue, until night again closed around him. Such was the woodman's life ; such the fascinations which bound him to the wilderness.
Shortly after Crawford's defeat, a man named Thomas Mills, in escaping from that unfortunate expedition, reached the Indian Spring, about nine miles from Wheeling, on the present National road, w^here he was compelled to leave his horse and proceed to \^^heeling on foot. Thence he went to A'an ]\Ieter's fort (on the north side of Short Creek, about five miles from its confluence with the Ohio River, now in Ohio County) and after a day or tw^o's rest, induced Lewis Wetzel to go with him to the spring for his horse. Lewis cautioned him against the danger, but ]\Iills was determined and the two started. Approaching the spring, they discovered the horse tied to a tree, and Wetzel at once comprehended their danger. Mills walked up to unfasten the animal, when in- stantl}- a discharge of rifles followed and the unfortunate man fell, mortallv wounded. Wetzel now turned, and knowing
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his only escape was in flight, plunged through the enemy and bounded off at the very extent of his speed. Four fleet In- dians followed in rapid pursuit, whooping in proud exultation at the prospect of soon overhauling their intended victim. After a chase of half a mile, one of the most active savages approached so close that Wetzel was afraid he might throw his tomahawk, and instantly wheeling, shot the fellovv' dead in his tracks.- In early youth Lewis had acquired the habit of loading his gun while at a full run, and now he felt the great advantage of it. Keeping in advance of his pursuers du: another half mile, a second Indian came up and upon Lewis turning to fire, the savage caught the end of his gun and for a time the contest was doubtful. At one moment the Indian, by his great strength and dexterity, brought Wetzel to his knees and had nearly wrenched the rifle from the hands of liis antagonist, when Lewis, by a renewed effort, drew the weapon from the grasp of the savage, and thrusting the muzzle against the side of his neck, pulled the trigger, killing him instantly.
The two other Indians by this time had nearly overtaken him, but leaping forward he kept ahead until his unerring- rifle was a third time loaded. Anxious to have done with that kind of sport, he slackened his pace and even stopped once or twice to give his pursuers an opportunity to face him. Every time, however, he looked around the Indians treed, unwilling any longer to encounter his destructive weapon. After run- ning a mile or so further in this manner he reached an open piece of ground, and as he wheeled suddenly the foremost Indian jumped behind a tree, but the tree not screening his body, Wetzel fired and dangerously wounded him. The re- maining Indian made an immediate retreat, yelling as he went, ^'Not catch dat man, him gun always loaded."
In the summer of 1786, the Indians having become trou- blesome in the neighborhood of Wheeling, particularly in the Short Creek settlement, and a party having killed a man near Mingo bottom, it was determined to send an expedition after the retreating enem.y of suflicient force to chastise them most effectually. One hundred dollars were offered to the man who would bring in the first Indian scalp. Major McMechen, living at Beech bottom, headed the expedition, and Lewis Wet-
History of West Virginia 269
zel was one of his men. They crossed the river on the 5th of August and proceeded by a rapid march to the Aluskingum. The expedition numbered about twenty men, and an advance of five were detailed to reconnoitre. This party reported to the commander that they had discovered the camp of the en- emy, but that it was far too numerous to think of making an attack. A consultation was thereupon held, and an immediate retreat determined on. During the conference our hero sat upon a log, with his gun carelessly resting across his knees. The moment it was resolved to retreat most of the party started in disordered haste, but the commander, observing Wetzel still sitting on the log, turned to inquire if he was not going along. "No," was his sullen reply; 'T came out to hunt Indians, and now that they are found I am not going home, like a fool, with my fingers in m}^ mouth. I am determined to take an Indian scalp or lose my own." All arguments were unavailing, and there they were compelled to leave him — a lone man, in a desolate wilderness, surrounded by an enemy vigilant, cruel, blood-thirsty and of horrid barbarity, with no friend but his rifle and no guide but the sure index which an all-wise Providence has deep-set in the heavens above. Once by himself, and looking around to feel satisfied that they were all gone, he gathered his blanket about him, adjusted his toma- hawk and scalping knife, shouldered his rifle and moved oft' in an opposite direction, hoping that a small party of Indians might be met with. Keeping away from the larger streams, he strolled on cautiously, peering into every dell and suspicious covert, and keenly sensitive to the least sound of a suspicious character. Nothing, however, crossed his path that day. The night being dark and chilly, it was necessar}' to have a fire, but to show a light in the midst of his enemy would be to in- vite certain destruction. To avoid this he constructed a small coal-pit out of bark, dried leaves, etc., and covering these with loose earth, encircled the pit with his legs, and then completed the whole by covering his head with the blanket. In this manner he would produce a temperature equal, as he expressed it, to that of a "stove room." This was certainly an original and ingenious mode of getting up a fire without at the same time endangering himself by a light.
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During most of the following day he roamed through the forest without noticing any "signs" of Indians. At length smoke was discovered, and going in the direction of it he found a camp, but tenantless. It contained two blankets and a small kettle, which Wetzel at once knew belonged to two Indians, who were doubtless out hunting. ■
Concealing himself in the matted undergrowth, he pa- tiently awaited the return of the occupants. About sunset one of the Indians came in and made up the fire and went to cooking his supper. Shortly after the other came in ; they then ate their supper and began to sing and amuse themselves by telling comic stories, at which they would burst into roars of laughter. Singing and telling amusing stories was the com- mon practice of the white and red men when lying in their hunting camps (provided there "was no reason to believe ene- mies were near). These poor fellows, when enjoying them- selves in the utmost glee, little dreamed that Lewis AA^etzel was so close. About 9 or 10 o'clock one of the Indians wrapped his blanket around him, shouldered his rifle, took a chunk of fire in his hand and left the camp, doubtless with the intention of going to watch a deer lick. The fire and smoke would serve to keep off the gnats and mosquitos. It is a remarkable fact that deer are not alarmed at seeing fire, from the circumstance of meeting it so frequently in the fall and winter seasons, when t*he leaves and grass are dry and the woods on fire. The ab- sence of the Indian was a cause of vexation and disappoint- ment to Wetzel, whose trap was so happily set that he con- sidered his game secure. He still indulged the hope that the Indian would return to camp before day, but in this he was disappointed. There are birds in the woods which commence chirping just before the break of day and, like the cock, give notice to the woodman that light will soon appear. Levvis heard the wooded songsters begin to chatter and determined to delay no longer the work of death for the return of the other Indian.
He walked to the camp with a noiseless step and found his victim buried in profound sleep, lying upon one side. He drew his tomahawk and Avith one stroke the Indian was silenced forever. After scalping him Lewis started for home.
History of West Virginia 271
Under the same circumstances the Indian would have served Lewis the same.
A most fatal decoy on the frontier was the turkey-call. On several different occasions men from the fort at Wheeling had gone across the hill in quest of a turkey whose plaintive cries had elicited their attention, and on more than one occa- sion the men never returned. Wetzel suspected the cause, and determined to satisfy himself. On the east side of the creek hill, and at a point elevated at least sixty feet above the water, there is a capacious cavern, the entrance to which at that time was almost obscured by a heavy growth of vines and foliage. Into this the alluring savage would crawl, and could there have an extensive view of the hill front on the opposite side. From that cavern issued the decoy of death to more than one incautious soldier and settler.
\\'etzel knew of the existence and exact locality of the cave, and accordingly started out before day, and by a circuit- ous route reached the spot from the rear. Posting himself so as to command a view of the opening, he waited patiently for the expected cry. Directly the twisted tuft of an Indian war- rior slowly rose in the mouth of the cave, and looking cau- tiously about sent forth the long, shrill, peculiar "cry," and immediately sank back out of view. LewHs screened himself in his position, cocked his gun, and anxiously awaited the re- appearance of the head. In a few minutes up rose the tuft, Lewis drew a fine aim at the polished head, and the next in- stant the brains of the Indian were scattered about the cave. That turkey troubled the inhabitants no longer, and tradition does not say whether or not the place was ever after similarly occupied.
A singular custom with this daring borderer was to take a fall hunt into the Indian country. Ecjuipping himself, he set out and i^enetrated to the Muskingum and fell upon a camp of four Indians. Hesitating a moment whether to attack a party so much his superior in numerical strength, he deter- mined to make the attem])t. At the hour of midnight, when naught was heard but the long, dismal howl of the wolf, he moved cautiously from his covert, and gliding through the darkness, stealthily approached the camp, supporting his rifle
272 History of West Virginia
in one hand and a tomahawk in the other. A dim flicker from the camp-fire faintly revealed the forms of the sleepers, wrap- ped in that profound slumber which, to part of them, was to know no waking. There they lay, with their dark faces turned up to the night-sky, in the deep solitude of the wilderness, little dreaming that their most relentless enemy was hovering over them. Quietly resting his gun against a tree, he un- sheathed his knife, and with an intrepidity that could never be surpassed, stepped boldly forward and a moment later one of the Indians was taking his eternal sleep ; another one went the way of the first, followed quickly by a third. The fourth Indian, being awakened by the sound, darted into the forest and escaped, although Wetzel pursued him some distance. Returning to camp, he scalped his victims and then left for home. This achievement stamped him as one of the most dar- ing and, at the same time, successful hunters of his da3^ The distance to and from the scene of this adventure could not have been less than one hundred and seventy miles.
During one of his scouts, in the neighborhood of Wheel- ing, Wetzel took shelter on a stormy evening in a deserted cabin on the bottom, not far from the late residence of Hamil- ton Woods. Gathering a few broken boards he prepared a place on the loft to sleep. Scarcely had he got himself ad- justed for a nap when six Indians entered and, striking a fire, commenced preparing their homely meal. Wetzel watched their movements closely, with drawn knife, determined, the moment he was discovered, to leap into their midst and in the confusion endeavor to escape. Fortunately they did not see him and soon after supper the whole six fell asleep. Wetzel now crawled down and hid himself behind a log at a con- venient distance from the door of the cabin. At early dawn a tall savage stepped from the door, and stretching up both hands in a long, hearty yawn, seemed to draw in new life from the pure, invigorating atmosphere. In an instant Wetzel had his finger upon the trigger and the next moment there was a dead Indian. Lewis then bounded away and in a little while was beyond pursuit.
When about twenty-five years of age Lewis entered the service of General Harmar, commanding at Marietta, Ohio.
History of West Virginia . 17^
His new duties growing distasteful, he took leave of absence and visited his friends in the neighborhood of \\'heeling. Shortly afterwards, however, he returned to duty, and was chiefly employed in the capacity of scout. It was whilst thus engaged that an affair occurred which changed the whole cur- rent of his life. Of the Indians who visited Marietta was one of some celebrity, known by the name of George Washington. He was a large, fine-looking savage and of much influence in his tribe. The time of which we write was one of compara- tive peace, and General Harma'r was particularly anxious to preserve the good feelings then existing between the whites and the Indians. Wetzel, during one of his scouts, met this Indian and shot him. The reader will understand that all Indians looked alike to Wetzel. They had killed his father and many of his relations and friends. He knew that the Indians, in spite of their peace proposals, had him marked as their victim the first opportunity; that their pretended peace movement was either a subterfuge to lull the pioneers into a feeling of security, in order to take an advantage of them, or else they were prompted to take such steps through fear. He knew that the Indians had no love for the whites, and- that some of them were even then crossing the Ohio into West Virginia on the pretense of hunting "game" — but what kind? "Wetzel admitted without hesitation that he had shot the Indian. As he did not wish to be hanged like a dog, he re- quested the general to give him up to the Indians, as there was a large number of them present. 'He might place them all in a circle, with their scalping knives and tomahawks — and give him a tomahawk and place him in the midst of the circle, and then let him and the Indians fight it out in the best way they could.' The general told him that he was an officer appointed by the law. by which he must be governed. As the law did not authorize him to make such a compromise, he could not grant his request. After a few days longer confine- ment he again sent for the general to come to sec him. He did so, and Wetzel said 'he had never been confined, and could not live much longer if he was not permitted some room to walk about.' The general ordered the officer on guard to knock oft" the iron fetters, but to leave on his hand-cuft"s. and
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permit him to walk about on the point at the mouth of the Muskingum; but to be sure to keep a close watch upon him. As soon as they were outside of the fort gate Lewis began to caper about like a wild colt broken loose from the stall. He would start and run a few yards, as if he were about making his escape, then turn around and join the guard. The next start he would run farther and then stop. In this way he amused the guards for some time, at every start running a little farther. At length he called forth all his strength, reso- lution and activity and determined on freedom or an early grave. He gave a sudden spring forward and bounded off at the top of his speed for the shelter of his beloved woods. His movement was so quick and so unexpected that the guard were taken by surprise, and he got nearly a hundred yards away before they recovered from their astonishment. They fired, but all missed ; they followed in pursuit, but he soon left them out of sight. As he was M^ell acquainted with the country, he made for a dense thicket, about two or three miles from the fort. In the midst of this thicket he found a tree which had fallen across a log, where the brush was very close. Under this tree he squeezed his body. The bushes were so thickly matted that he could not be discovered unless his pursuers examined very closely.
"As soon as his escape was announced General Harmar started the soldiers and Indians in pursuit. After he had lain about two hours in his place of concealment two Indians came into the thicket and stood on the same log under which he lay concealed ; his heart beat so violently he was afraid they would hear it thumping. He could hear them hallooing in every direction, as they hunted through the brush. At length, as the day wore away, Lewis found himself alone in the friendly thicket. But what should he do? His hands were fastened with iron cuffs and bolts, and he knew of no friend on the same side of the Ohio to whom he could appl}^ for assistance. He had a friend who had recently put up a cabin on the West Virginia side of the Ohio River, who, he had no doubt, would lend him any assistance in his power. With the most gloomy foreboding of the future, a httle after nightfall he left the thicket and made his way to the Ohio River. He came to
History of West Virginia 275
the river about three or four miles below the fort. He took this circuit, as he expected guards would be set at every point where he could find a canoe. How to get across the river was the all-important question. He could not make a raft with his hands bound. He was an excellent swimmer, but was fearful he could not swim the Ohio with his heavy iron handcuffs. After pausing some time he determined to make the attempt. Nothing worse than death could happen ; and he would prefer drowning to again falling into the hands of Harmar and his Indians. Like the illustrious Caesar in the storm, he would trust the event to fortune ; and he plunged into the river. He swam the greater part of the distance on his back and reached the West Virginia shore in safety, but so much ex- hausted that he had to lie on the beach some time before he was able to rise. He went to the cabin of his friend, where he was received with rapture. A file and hammer soon re- leased him from his iron handcuffs."
Information having reached General Harmar of Wetzel's whereabouts, he sent a party of men in a canoe to take him. As the boat neared the West Virginia shore Wetzel, with his friend and several other men, posted themselves on the bank and threatened to shoot the first man who landed. Unwilling to venture farther, the party returned, and Lewis made his way homeward, having been furnished by his kind friend with gun, ammunition, tomahawk, blanket, etc.
Exasperated at the escape of Wetzel, General Harmar oft'ered a large reward for his apprehension, and at the same time despatched a file of men to the neighborhood of Wheel- ing, with orders to take him dead or alive. The detachment was under the command of a Captain Kingsbury, who, hear- ing that Wetzel was to be at Mingo Bottom on a certain day, marched thither to execute his orders. We will let an eye- witness finish the story:
"A company of men could as easily have drawn old Horny out of the bottomless pit as take Lewis Wetzel by force from the neighborhood of the Mingo Bottom. On the day that Captain Kingsbury arrived there was a shooting match at my father's and Lewis was there. As soon as the object of Captain Kingsbury was ascertained it was resolved to ambush
276 History of West Virginia
the captain's barge and kill him and his company. Happii}', Major McMechen was present to prevent this catastrophe, and prevailed on Wetzel and his friends to suspend the attack till he would pay Captain Kingsbury a visit and perhaps he w^ould prevail with him to return without making an attempt to take Wetzel. With a great deal of reluctance they agreed to suspend the attack till Major McMechen should return. The resentment and fury of AA'etzel and his friends was boil- ing and blowing like the steam from a scape-pipe of a steam- boat.
" 'A pretty affair, this,' said they, 'to hang a man for kill- ing an Indian when they are killing some of our people almost every day.' Major McMechen informed Captain Kingsbury of the force and fury of the people, and asstired him that if he persisted in the attempt to seize Wetzel he would have all the settlers in the country upon him ; that nothing could save him and his company from a massacre but a speedy return. The Captain took his advice and forthwith returned to Fort Harmar. AVetzel considered the affair now as finally ad- justed."
In this, however, he was mistaken. His roving disposi- tion never permitted him to remain long in one place. Soon after the transaction just recorded he descended the river to Limestone (Maysville), and while there engaged in his harm- less frolicking an avaricious fellow named Loller, a lieutenant in the army, going down the river with a company of soldiers to Fort Washington, landed at Maysville and found Wetzel sitting in a tavern. Loller returned to his boat, procured some soldiers, seized Wetzel and dragged him aboard of the boat, and without a moment's delay pushed off, and that night de- livered him to General Harmar at Fort Washington, where he again had to undergo the ignominy of having his hands and feet bound with irons. "The noise of Wetzel's capture — and captured, too, for only killing an Indian — spread through the country like wild-fire. The passions of the frontiersmen were aroused up to the highest pitch of fury. Petitions for his re- lease were sent from the most influential men to the General from ever}^ quarter where the story had been heard. The General at first paid but little attention to these; at length,
History of West Virginia 277
however, the settlements along the Ohio and some of the back counties were preparing to embody in military array to release him by force of arms. General Harmar, seeing the storm that was ai)proaching, had Wetz-el's irons knocked off and set him at liberty.
"Wetzel was once more a free man. He returned to his friends, and was caressed by young and old, with undimin- ished respect. The vast number of scalps which he had taken pro\ed his invincible courage as well as his prowess in war; the suft'erings and persecutions by which he had been pursued by General Harmar secured for him the sympathy of the frontiersmen. The higher he was esteemed, the lower sank the character of General Harmar with the fiery spirits of the frontier."
Had Harmar possessed a tithe of the courage, skill and indomitable energy of Wetzel the gallant soldiers under his command in the memorable and disastrous campaign against the ]\Iiamis might have shared a very different fate.
Shortly after his return from Kentucky a relation from Dunkard Creek invited Lewis home with him. The invita- tion was accepted, and the two leisurely wended their way along, hunting and sporting as they traveled. On reaching the home of the young man, what should they see, instead of the hospitable roof, but a pile of smoking ruins. Wetzel in- stantly examined the trail and found that the marauders were three Indians and one white man, and that they had taken one prisoner. Iliat captive proved to be the betrothed of the young man, whom nothing could restrain from pushing on in immediate pursuit. Placing himself under the direction of Wetzel, the two strode on, hoping to overliaul the enemy be- fore they crossed the Ohio. It was found, after proceeding a short distance, that the savages had taken great care to obliterate their trail, but the keen discernment of Wetzel once on the track and there need not be much difficulty. He knew that they \\ould make for the river by the most expeditious route, and tlierefore, disregarding the trail, he pushed on, so as to head them at the crossing-place. After an hour's liard tra\'el the}' struck the path which tlic deer had made and
278 History of West Virginia
which their sagacity had taught them to carry over knolls in order to avoid the great curves of ravines.
Wetzel followed the path because he knew it was almost a direct line to the point at which he was aiming. Night com- ing on, the tireless and determined hunters partook of a hur- ried meal, then again pushed forward, guided b}^ the lamps hung in the heavens above them, until towards midnight a heavy cloud shut out their light and obscured the path. Early on the following morning they resumed the chase, and de- scending from the elevated ridge, along which they had been passing for an hour or two, found themselves in a deep and quiet valley, which looked as though human steps had never before pressed its virgin soil. Traveling a short distance, they discovered fresh footsteps in the soft sand, and upon close ex- amination the eye of Wetzel's companion detected the im- press of a small shoe with nailheads around the heel, which he at once recognized as belonging to his affianced. Hour after hour the pursuit was kept up ; now tracing the trail across hills, over alluvial ground, and often detecting it where the wily captors had taken to the beds of streams. Late in the afternoon they found themselves approaching the Ohio, and shortly after dark discovered, as they struck the river, the camp of the enemy on the opposite side and just below the mouth of Captina. Swimming the river, the two reconnoitered the position of the camp and discovered the locality of the captive. Wetzel proposed waiting until daylight before mak- ing the attack, but the almost frantic lover was for immediate action. Wetzel, however, would listen to no suggestion, and thus they waited the break of day. At early dawn the savages were up and preparing to leave, when Wetzel directed his companion to take good aim at the white renegade, while he would make sure work of one of the Indians. They fired at the same moment, and with fatal efifect. Instantly the young man rushed forward to release the captive, and Wetzel re- loading pursued the two Indians, who had taken to the woods, to ascertain the strength of the attacking party. Wetzel pur- sued a short distance and then fired his rifle at random to draw the Indians from their retreat. The trick succeeded, and they made after him with uplifted tomahawks, yelling at the
History of West Virginia 279
top of their voices. The adroit hunter soon had his rifle loaded and, wheeling suddenly, discharged its contents through the body of his nearest pursuer. The other Indian now rushed impetuously forward, thinking to dispatch his enemy in a moment. Wetzel, however, kept dodging from tree to tree and, being more lleet than the Indian, managed to keep ahead until his unerring gun was again loaded, when, turning, he fired, and the last of the party lay dead before him."
Note. — The writer remembers hearing read, when he was quite young (about forty years ago), an interesting novel, entitled "Albert Maywood and Forest Rose," in which Lewis Wetzel played a leading part. The story was based on the foregoing narrative.
In Prison at New Orleans.
Soon after the occurrence just narrated ovir hero deter- mined to visit the extreme south, and for that purpose engaged on a flat-boat about leaving for New Orleans. Many months elapsed before his friends heard anything of his whereabouts, and then it was to learn that he was in close confinement at New Orleans. The charge upon which he was confined for nearly two years was that he had passed some counterfeit money ; but this being disproved, it was then charged that he had been guilty of gaining the affections of the wife of a Spaniard. He was finally released by the intervention of our government and reached home by way of Philadelphia, to which city he had been sent from New Orleans. A gentleman named Rodefer says he saw him immediately after his return, and that his personal appearance had undergone great change from his long confinement. He remained but two days on Wheeling Creek after his return — one at his mother's and the other at Captain Bonnett's (father of Mrs. Rodefer). Many of the older citizens related to DeHass that they saw him dur- ing this brief visit and conversed with him about the unfair manner in which he had been treated in the Soutli. "Our venerable friend, Jacob Keller, Esq., who now owns the old
280 History of West Virginia
Bennett farm, says he saw Wetzel and gathered many par- ticulars concerning his imprisonment" (says DeHass).
"From the settlement he went to Wheeling, where he re- mained a few days, and then left again for the South, vowing vengeance against the person whom he believed to have been the cause of his imprisonment. During his visit to Wheeling he remained with George Cookis, a relative. Our informant says she met him there, and heard Mrs. Gookis plague him about getting married, and jocularly asked whether he ever intended to take a wife. 'No,' he replied, 'there is no woman in this world for me, but I expect there is one in heaven.'
""After an absence of many months, he again returned to the neighborhood of Wheeling, but whether he avenged his real or imaginar}^ wrongs upon the person of the Spaniard alluded to, the biographer, at this time, has not the means of saying. His propensity to roam the woods was still as great as ever, and soon after his return an incident occurred which showed that he had lost none of his cunning while undergoing incarceration at New Orleans. Returning home from a hunt north of the Ohio, somewhat fatigued and a little careless of his movements, he suddenly espied an Indian in the very act of raising his gun to fire. Both immediately sprang to trees, and there they stood for an hour, each afraid of the other. What was to be done? To remain there during the whole da}^, for it was then early in the morning, was out of the ques- tion. Now it was that the sagacity of Wetzel displa3^ed itself over the child-like simplicity of the savage. Gautiously "ad- justing his bear-skin cap to the end of his ram-rod, with the slightest, most dubious and hesitating motion, as though afraid to venture a glance, the cap protruded. An instant, a crack, and off was torn the fatal cap by the sure ball of the ever vigilant savage. Leaping from his retreat, Wetzel rapidly advanced upon the astonished Indian, and ere the tomahawk could be brought to its work of death the tawny foe sprang convulsively into the air, then fell upon his face quite dead.
"Wetzel was universally regarded as one of the most effi- cient scouts and woodmen of his day. He was often engaged by parties who desired to hunt up and locate lands, but were afraid of the Indians. Under the protection of Lewis Wetzel,
History of West Virginia 281
however, they felt safe, and thus he was frequently engaged for months at a time. Of those who became largely interested in western lands was John Madison, brother of James, after- wards President Madison. He employed Wetzel to go with him through the Kanawha region. During their expedition they came upon a deserted hunter's camp, in which were con- cealed some goods. Each of them helped himself to a blanket, and that day in crossing the Little Kanawha River they were fired upon b_\- a concealed party of Indians and Madison was killed.
"General Clark, the companion of Lewis in the celebrated tour across the Rocky Mountains, had heard much of Lewis Wetzel in Kentucky, and determined to secure his services in the perilous enterprise. A messenger was accordingly sent for him, but he was reluctant to go. However, he finally con- sented, and accompanied the party during the first three months' travel, but then declined going any farther and re- turned home. Shortly after this, he again left on a flat-boat, and never returned. He visited a relative named Philip Sykes, living about twenty miles in the interior from Natchez, and there made his home until the summer of 1808, when he died."
"The personal appearance of this distinguished borderer," says DeHass, "was very remarkable. He was five feet ten inches in height, very erect, broad across the shoulders, and had an expansive chest and limbs denoting great muscular strength. His complexion was very dark, and eyes of the most intense blackness, wild, rolling, and piercing as the dag- ger's point ; emitting, when excited, such fierce and withering glances as to cause the stoutest adversary to quail beneath their power. His hair was of raven jetness and very luxuriant, reaching, when combed out, below his knees. This would have been a rare scalp for the savages, and one for which they would at an}-^ time have given a dozen of their best warriors.
"When Lewis Wetzel professed friendship he was as true as the needle to the pole. He lo\-ed his friends and hated their enemies. He was a rude, blunt man, of few words before com- pany : but \vith his friends not only sociable, but an agreeable com])anion. Such was Lewis Wetzel; his name and fame will long survi\-e, ^vhen the achie\-ements of men \-astly his supe-
282 History of West Virginia
rior in rank and intellect, will slumber with the forgotten past."
Reference has been made to Wetzel's high intuitive powers, or instinct; also to his athletic attainments. The writer has in his possession a letter from "Uncle" Presley Martin of Reader, Wetzel County, West Virginia, under re- cent date, which will emphasize the fact that Wetzel pos- sessed these two great qualifications of a hunter in an abnor- mal degree. The letter is, in part, as follows :
"My grandfather, John Martin, came to Wheeling with his parents from New Jersey, in the early days. His father is said to have been the first regular blacksmith to open up a shop at that place.
"When my grandfather was a young lad he once took a scout with Lew Wetzel down the Ohio River. When they arrived at a point a short distance below where Proctor Station, in Wetzel County, now stands, it was getting late in the evening, and they began to look about them for a favor- able place to camp for the night. Wetzel, as was his custom before settling down for the night, took a circle around to see that everything was safe, for the Indians occasionally crossed over from Ohio into West Virginia. About the time Wetzel rounded into the center a big 'coon jumped up against a tree, and young Martin killed it. While they were feeling it and remarking how fat it was and what a fine mess it would make, Wetzel suddenly sprang up, with gun in hand, as though he had been told, and said, 'Indians, Martin !' and taking another circuit, he found fresh signs of Indians. Coming back with this information, Wetzel said, 'Now, Martin, what are we going to do, — stand our ground and take chances, or shall we head for the fort at Wheeling?' After a hurried consultation, it was decided to take the latter course — Wetzel not being willing that young Martin should be unnecessarily exposed to the very serious danger of an encounter with the. savages. On their return, they had to cross Proctor Creek, near its mouth. Being in a hurry, they did not wish to waste time hunting for a fording place, so Lewis took a run and leaped the stream at one bound, a distance of fully twenty feet ; but that was a performance too great for young Martin and he
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was compelled to swim, the water being too deep to wade. Grandfather said afterwards, in relating this incident, that he never before nor since had such a lively night's travel."
Andrew Poe and His Fight With "Big Foot".
(By Wills De Hass, in "Border Wars of West Virginia.")
A most formidable and fearful man was the vanquisher of 'Big Foot"'. Everybody has heard of the fight between the huge Wyandotte chief and Poe, but unfortunately, the credit has always been given the wrong man. Dr. Doddridge started the error; and every writer upon western history for nearly thirty years has insisted that ADAM Poe killed "Big Foot'". Unwilling to strip the laurel from the brow of any man, but pledged to do justice to all and give honor where honor is due, it now devolves upon us to say that it was not ADAM, l)ut ANDREW, Poe who accomplished the wonderful feat we are about to record.
Of those who settled at an early day on the Ohio, near the extreme upper corner of Virginia (West Virginia), were two brothers, Andrew and Adam Poe. They were born near the present town of Frederick, Md., and emigrated to the west in 1774. Adam was the older by some five years ; he lived to the age of ninety-three, and died in 1840.
These brothers were "backwoodsmen" in every sense of the word. They were shrewd, active and courageous, and having fixed their abode on the frontier of civilization, deter- mined to contest inch by inch with the savages their right to the soil and their privilege to live. In appearance they were tall, muscular and erect, with features indicating great strength of character. Andrew, in general contour of his face, difl^ered somewhat from his brother, while the freshness of his color indicated a better degree of health than the sallow com- plexion of the other. Both, however, were endowed with an unusual degree of strength, and woe to the man who dared engage in single combat with either. Early in the fall of 1781 there was an occurrence on the Ohio which stamped the char- acter of one as a man of no ordinary make. The place of
284 History of West Virginia
combat was near the mouth of TomHnson's Run and about two miles below Yellow Creek. A few months since we vis- ited the spot and obtained from a member of the family the particulars of that celebrated conflict, which we now give.
During the summer of 1781, the settlements in the region indicated suffered not a little from Indian depredations. At length it was ascertained that a party of six warriors had crossed the river and committed sundry outrages ; among the rest, killing a defenseless old man in his cabin. The people became aroused, and it was at once determined to raise a force and intercept the retreat of the savages. Eight determined spirits at once volunteered, and placing themselves under Capt. Andrew Poe, as he was then called, were ready for action at five minutes' notice. Early on the following morn- ing, they found the trail of the enemy and detected among the foot-prints those of a celebrated chief called Big Foot, who was distinguished for his daring, skill, eloquence, and immense size. He stood, literally, like the tall man of Tarsus, a head above his peers ; for he is said to have been nearly or quite seven feet in height, and large in proportion. The feet of this giant were so large as to gain for him the name of Big Foot. Andrew Poe, delighted at the prospect of testing his strength with so renowned a chief, urged the pursuit with unabated zeal, until brought within a short distance of the enemy.
For the last few miles the trail had led up the southern bank of the Ohio, where the foot-prints in the sand were deep and obvious, but when within a few hundred yards of the point at which the Indians were in the habit of crossing, it suddenly diverged from the stream and stretched along a rocky ridge, forming an obtuse angle with its former direc- tion. Here Andrew halted for a moment, and directed his brother and the other young men to follow the trail with pre- caution, while he still adhered to the river path, which led through a cluster of willows directly to the point where he supposed the enemy to lie. Having examined the priming of his gun, he crept cautiously through the bushes until he had a view of the point of embarkation. Here lay two canoes, empty and apparently deserted. Being satisfied, however, that
History of West Virginia 285
the Indians were close at hand, he relaxed nothing of his vigilance, and quickly gained a jutting clitt which hung over the canoes. Hearing a low murmur below, he i^cered cau- tiously over and beheld the object of his search. The gigantic Big Foot lay below him, in the shade of the willows, and was talking in a low, deep tone to another warrior, who seemed a mere pigmy by his side. Andrew cautiously drew back and cocked his gun. The mark was fair, the distance did not exceed twenty feet, and his aim was unerring. Raising his rifle slowly and cautiously, he took a steady aim at Big Foot's breast, and drew the trigger. Flis gun flashed. Both Indians sprang to their feet w^ith a deep interjection of surprise, and for a single second all three stared upon one another. This inactivity, however, was soon over. Andrew was too much hampered by the bushes to retreat, and setting his life upon the cast of the die, sprang over the bush which had sheltered him, and summoning all his powers, leaped boldly down the precipice and alighted upon the breast of Big Foot with a shock which bore him to the earth. At the moment of contact, Andrew had also thrown his right arm around the neck of the smaller Indian, so that all three came to the earth together.
At this moment a sharp firing was heard among the bushes above, announcing that the other parties were engaged, but the trio below were too busy to attend to anything but themselves. Big Foot was for an instant stunned by the vio- lence of the shock, and Andrew was enabled to keep them both down. But the exertion necessary for that purpose was so great that he had no leisure to use his knife. Big Foot quickly recovered, and without attempting to rise, wrapped his long arms around Andrew's body and pressed him to his breast with the crushing force of a boa constrictor! Andrew, as we have already remarked, was a powerful man, and had seldom encountered his equal ; but never had he yet felt an embrace like that of Big Foot. He relaxed his hold of the small Indian, who sprang to his feet. Big Foot then ordered him to run for his tomahawk, which lay within ten steps, and kill the white man while he held him in his arms. Andrew, seeing his danger, struggled manfully to extricate himself from the
286 History of West Virginia
folds of the giant, but in vain. The lesser Indian approached with his uplifted tomahawk, but Andrew watched him closely, and as he was about to strike, gave him a kick so sudden and violent as to knock the tomahawk irom his hand and send him staggering back into the water. Big Foot uttered an exclamation in a tone of deep contempt at the failure of his companion, and raising his voice to its highest pitch, thun- dered out several words in the Indian tongue, which Andrevv could not understand, but supposed to be a direction for a second attack. The lesser Indian now again ap- proached, carefully shunning Andrew's heels, and making many motions with his tomahawk in order to deceive him as to the point where the blow would fall. This lasted for several seconds, until a thundering exclamation from Big Foot compelled his companion to strike. Such was Andrew's dex- terity and vigilance, however, that he managed to receive the tomahawk in a glancing direction upon his wrist, wounding him deeply, but not disabling him. He now made a sudden and desperate effort to free himself from the arms of the giant, and succeeded. Instantly snatching up a rifle (for the Indian could not venture to shoot, for fear of hurting his companion), he shot the lesser Indian through the body. But scarcely had he done so, when Big Foot arose, and placing one hand upon his shoulder and the other upon his leg, threw him violently upon the ground. Before his antagonist could spring upon him, he was again upon his feet, and stung with rage at the idea of being handled so easily, he attacked his gigantic antag- onist with a fury which, for a time, compensated for inferior- ity of strength. It was now a fair fist fight betM^een them, for in the hurry of the struggle neither had leisure to draw his knife. Andrew's superior activity and experience as a pugilist gave him great advantage. The Indian struck out awkwardly, and finding himself rapidly dropping to the leeward, he closed in with his antagonist and again hurled him to the ground. They quickly rolled into the river and the struggle continued with unabated fury, each attempting to drown the other. The Indian being unused to such violent exertion, and having been much injured by the first shock in his stomach, was unable to exert the same powers which had given him such a supe-
History of West Virginia 287
riority at first — and Andrew, seizing him by the scalp lock, put his head under water and held it there until the faint struggle of the Indian induced him to believe that he was drowned, when he relaxed his hold and attempted to draw his knife. The Indian, however, to use Andrew's own expression, "had only been possoming." He instantly regained his feet, and in his turn, put his adversary under. In the struggle both were carried out into the current beyond their depth and each was compelled to relax his hold and swim for his life.
There was still one loaded rifle upon the shore and each swam hard in order to reach it, but the Indian proved the more expert swimmer, and Andrew seeing that he would be too late, turned and swam out into the stream, intending to dive and thus frustrate his enemy's intention. At this instant, Adam having heard his brother was alone in a struggle with two Indians and in great danger, ran up hastily to the edge of the bank above, in order to assist him. Another white man fol- lowed him closely, and seeing Andrew in the river, covered with blood and swimming rapidly from shore, mistook him for an Indian and fired upon him, wounding him dangerously in the left shoulder. Andrew turned, and seeing his brother, called loudly to him to "shoot the Indian upon the shore." Adam's gun, however, was empty, having just been dis- charged. Fortunately, Big Foot had also seized the gun with which Andrew had shot the lesser Indian, so that both were upon an equality. The contest now was who should beat load- ing, the Indian exclaiming, "Who load first, shoot first !" Big Foot got his powder down first, but in the excitement of drawing the ramrod out it slipped through his fingers and fell into the river. The noble savage now feeling that all was over, faced his foe, pulled open the bosom of his shirt, and the next instant received the ball of his adversary fair in his breast. Adam, alarmed for his brother, who was scarcely able to swim, threw down his gun and rushed into the river, in order to bring him ashore — but Andrew, more intent upon securing the scalp of Big Foot as a trophy than upon his own safety, called loudly upon his brother to leave him alone and scalp the big Indian, who was endeavoring to roll himself into the water, from a romantic desire, peculiar to an Indian warrior,
288 History of West Virginia
of securing his scalp from the enemy. Adam, however, refused to obey, and insisted upon saving the living before attending to the dead. Big Foot, in the meantime, had succeeded in reaching the deep water before he expired, and his body was borne off by the waves without being stripped of the orna- ment and pride of an Indian warrior.
The death of Big Foot was a severe blow to his tribe and is said to have thrown them all into mourning. He was an able and noble chief and often rendered signal service to the whites by reclaiming prisoners from the stake and otherwise averting the doom his tribe seemed determined to visit upon their captives.
Poe recovered from his wounds, and lived until about 1831.
Andrew Poe was certainly an extraordinary man, and the impress of his character is still visible in the region where he lived. During his lifetime he was a most active and useful man. He lived about one mile from Hookstown, Pennsyl- vania, where many of his descendants still reside.
Colonel William Crawford.
(By Wills De Hass in Indian Wars).
The fate of this unfortunate officer has excited, and will continue to excite so long as the history of the west shall be read, the most painful interest and the liveliest sympathy. We do not propose at this time to give a lengthy sketch of his life and services, but simply to notice a few points in his personal history.
Colonel Crawford was a native of Berkeley County, Vir- ginia (West Virginia). He was born in 1732 — a year memor- able as giving birth to Washington and Marion. He early gave promise of much talent and energy of character. At the age of twenty-six, he raised a company and joined Washing- ton's regiment in the expedition of General Forbes against Fort Duquesne. His fine military bearing at that time at- tracted the attention and commanded the esteem of Wash- ington. On the breaking out of the Revolution, by his own indomitable energy he enrolled a regiment and received, in
History of West Virginia 289
consideration of his great personal effort, a colonel's commis- sion in the Colonial army.
His lirst visit to the west was in 1767, and two years after, he removed his family. The place selected for his home was on the Youghioghany River, where the town of Connellsville, Fayette County, Penna., now stands. His house was one of the first in the valley of the Youghioghany, and it was always open to those who thought proper to give him a call. His hospitality and uniform kindness were subjects of general remark. Of those who early shared the hospitalities of his roof was Washington. We find in his journal of a tour to the west in 1770, frequent reference to Col. Crawford, who proved one of his most devoted friends.
He seems to have enjoyed himself greatly and passed the time most pleasantly. A sister of the gallant Colonel com- manded not a little of the distinguished guest's attention, and were we disposed, now that time has flung his many-colored veil over all, we could call upon fancy with her palette and brush to paint a scene in that western cabin ; but our limits forbid.
During this visit of Washington, he remained several days and then, accompanied by Colonel Crawford, proceeded to Fort Pitt, thence in company with others to the Great Kanawha, and after a pretty thorough exploration, returned to the Youghioghany. Most of the lands belonging to Wash- ington in the west were located by Col. Crawford. We have frequently heard the old surveyors along the Ohio say that they often met with his "corners." Some of the earliest sur- veys within the present limits of Brooke, Ohio and Marshall Counties (now in West Virginia), were made by Colonel Crawford. We sincerely regret the scarcity of material for a suitable memoir of this meritorious but most unfortunate officer. His papers and records were never preserved ; his family beeame scattered ; ,"most of his contemporaries have followed him to the land of spirits, and very little else than a few brief stories remain to tell of his virtues and his fame." Passing over many of his years of usefulness to the west, we come to the fearful catastrophe. Colonel Crawford had fre- quently led expeditions against the Indians, but on the occa-
290 History of West Virginia
sion of which we are about to speak, he at first absolutely declined to go. It seemed as though he had a presentiment of the fate which was to befall him. At length, however, he yielded to the importunities of his friends and accompanied the men to the place of rendezvous. It is even asserted that after his selection as commander, he was reluctant to accept. Having noticed elsewhere the progress of the army and its disastrous defeat, it now alone remains to finish the sad story by giving the particulars of the terrible death of its command- ing officer. As these have been most faithfully narrated by Dr. Knight, the fellow prisoner of Colonel Crawford and an eye-witness to the whole terrible scene, we will now follow his account. A retreat having been determined on, the whole army moved o& in the silence of the night, hoping thereby to avoid pursuit. But the ever vigilant enemy noticed the move- ment, and instantly pursuit was given.
"\Ye had not got a quarter of a mile from the field of action, when I heard Col. Crawford calling for his son John, his son-in-law Major Harrison, Major Rose and William Crawford, his nephews, upon which I came up and told him I believed the3^Avere before us. He asked, 'Is that the Doc- tor?' I told him it was. He then replied, that they were not in front, and begged me not to leave him ; I promised him I would not.
"We then waited, and continued calling for these men till the troops had passed us. The Colonel told me his horse had almost given out, that he could not keep up with the troops, and wished some of his best friends to remain with him ; he then exclaimed against the mihtia for riding ofif in such an irregular manner and leaving some of the wounded behind, contrary to his orders. Presently there came two men riding after us, one of them an old man, the other a lad. We inquired if they had seen any of the above persons and they answered they had not. »
"By this time there was a very hot firing before us and, as we judged, near where our main body must have been. Our course was then nearly southwest, but changing it, we went north about two miles, the two men remaining in com- pany with us. Judging ourselves to be now out of the
History of West Virginia 291
enemy's lines, we took a due east course, taking care to keep at the distance of fifteen or twenty yards apart, and directing ourselves by the north star.
"About day-break Colonel Crawford's and the younger man's horses gave out, and they left th^m. We pursued our journey eastward, and about two o'clock fell in with Capt. Biggs, who had carried Lieut. Ashly from the field of action, who had been dangerously wounded. We then went on about the space of an hour, when a heavy rain coming, we concluded it best to encamp, as we were encumbered with the wounded officer. A^"e then barked four or five trees, made an encamp- ment and a fire, and remained there all night. Next morning we again prosecuted our journey and having gone about three miles found a deer which had been recently killed. The meat was sliced from the bones and bundled up in the skin with a tomahawk lying by it. We carried all with us, and in ad- vancing about one mile farther espied the smoke of a fire. We then gave the wounded officer into the charge of the young man, desiring him to stay behind, whilst the Colonel, the Captain and myself, walked up as cautiously as we could toward the fire. When we came to it, we concluded, from several circumstances, some of our people had encamped there the preceding night. We then went about roasting the veni- son, and when just about to march observed one of our men coming upon our tracks. He seemed at first very shy, but having called to him he came up and told us he was the person who had killed the deer, but upon hearing us come up was afraid of Indians, hid in a thicket, and made ofif. Upon this we gave him some bread and roasted venison, proceeded together on our journey, and about two o'clock came upon the paths by which we had gone out. Capt. Biggs and myself did not think it safe to keep the road, but the Colonel said the Indians would not follow the troops farther than the plains, which we were then considerably past. As the wounded of- ficer rode Capt. Biggs's horse, I lent the Captain mine; the Colonel and ni3^self went about one hundred yards in front, the Captain and the wounded officer in the center, and the two young men behind. After we had traveled about one mile and a half, several Indians started up within fifteen or
292 History of West Virginia
twenty steps of the Colonel and me. As we first discovered only three, I immediately got behind a large black oak, made ready my piece and raised it up to take sight, when the Colonel called to me twice not to fire ; upon that one of the Indians ran up to the Colonel and took him by the hand. The Colonel then told me to put down my gun, which I did. At that instant one of them came up to me whom I had formerly seen very often, calhng me Doctor, and took me by the hand. They were DelaAvare Indians of the Wingenim tribe. Capt. Biggs fired amongst them, but did no execution. They then told us to call these people and make them come there, else they would go and kill them, which the Colonel did, but they four got off and escaped for that time. The Colonel and I were then taken to the Indian camp, which was about half a mile from the place where we were captured. On Sunday evening, five Delawares who had posted themselves at some distance farther on the road brought back to the camp, where we lay, Capt. Biggs's and Lieut. Ashley's scalps, with an In- dian scalp which Capt. Biggs had taken in the field of action ; they also brought in Biggs's horse and mine ; they told us the two other men got away from them.
"Monday morning, the tenth of June, we vv^ere paraded to march to Sandusky, about thirty-three miles distant; they had eleven prisoners of us and four scalps, the Indians being seventeen in number.
"Colonel Crawford was very desirous to see a certain Simon Girty, who lived among the Indians, and was on this account permitted to go to town the same night, with two warriors to guard him, having orders at the same time to pass by the place where the Colonel had turned out his horse, that they might, if possible, find him. The rest of us were taken as far as the old town, which was within eight miles of the new.
"Tuesday morning, the eleventh, Colonel Crawford was brought out to us on purpose to be marched in with the other prisoners. I asked the colonel if he had seen Mr. Girty. He told me he had, and that Girty had promised to do everything in his power for him, but that the Indians were very much en- raged against the prisoners, particularly Captain Pipe, one of
History of West Virginia 293
the chiefs; he Hkewise told me that Girty had informed him that his son-in-law, Colonel Harrison, and his nephew, Wil- liam Crawford, were made prisoners by the Shawnees, but had been pardoned. This Captain Pipe had come from the towns about an hour before Colonel Crawford and had painted all the prisoners' faces black.
"As he was painting me, he told me I should go to the Shawnees' towns and see my friends. When the colonel ar- rived he painted him black also, told him he was glad to see him, and that he would have him shaved when he came to see his friends at the Wyandotte town. When we marched, the colonel and I were kept prisoners between Pipe and Wyn- genin, the two Delaware chiefs, the other nine prisoners ware sent forward with a party of Indians. As we went along we saw four of the prisoners lying by the path tomahawked and scalped ; some of them were at the distance of half a mile from each other. WHien we arrived within half a mile of the place where the colonel was executed, we overtook the five prisoners that remained alive; the Indians had caused them to sit down on the ground, as they did so, also the colonel and myself, at some distance from them ; I was there given in charge of an Indian fellow to be taken to the Shawnees' town.
"In the place where we were now made to sit down, there was a number of squaws and boys, who fell on the five pris- oners and tomahawked them. There was a certain John Mc- Kinley amongst the prisoners, formerly an ofiicer in the 13th Virginia Regiment, whose head an old squaw cut ofif and the Indians kicked it about on the ground. The young Indian fellows came often where the colonel and I were and dashed the scalps in our faces. We were then conducted along to- ward the place where the colonel was afterwards executed. When we came within half a mile of it, Simon Girty met us, with several Indians on horseback; he spoke to the colonel, but I was about one hundred and fifty yards behind and could not hear what passed between them.
"Almost every Indian we met struck us with sticks or their fists. Gii'ty waited till I was brought up, and then asked. 'Was that the doctor?' I answered him 'Yes,' and went towards him, reaching out my hand; but hv 1)i(l me be-
294 History of West Virginia
gone, and called me a rascal; upon which the fellow
who had me in charge pulled me along. Girty rode up after me and told me I was going to the Shawnees' towns.
"When we came to the fire, the colonel was stripped naked, ordered to sit down by the lire, and then they beat him with sticks and their fists. Presently after, I was treated in the same manner. They then tied a rope to the foot of a post about fifteen feet high, bound the colonel's hands behind his back, and fastened the rope to the ligature between his wrists. The rope was long enough either for him to sit down or walk around the post once or twice and return the same way. The colonel then called Girty, and asked if they intended to burn him. Girty answered, 'Yes.' The colonel said he would take it all patiently. Upon this. Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, made a speech to the Indians, consisting of about thirty or forty men and sixty or seventy squaws and boys.
"When the speech was finished, they all yelled a hideous and hearty assent to what had been said. The Indian men then took up their guns and shot powder into the colonel's bod}^ from his feet as far up as his neck. I think not less than seventy loads were discharged upon his naked body. They then crowded about him, and to the best of my observation, cut off his ears ; when the throng had dispersed a little, I saw the blood running from both sides of his head in consequence thereof.
"The fire was about six or seven yards from the post to which the colonel was tied ; it was made of small hickory poles, burnt quite through in the middle, each end of the poles re- maining about six feet in length. Three or four Indians, by turns, would take up, individually, one of these burning pieces of wood and apply it to his naked body, already b.urned black with the powder. But enough of these harrowing details. Suffice to say that after prolonged agonies the unfortunate victim succumbed to the inevitable and the soul of Col. Craw- ford escaped to a pale beyond savage cruelty. After his death his body was consumed to ashes."
Colonel Crawford was about fifty j^ears of age when he suffered at the stake. His son-in-law and nephew were exe- cuted about the same time; John escaped. What became of
History of West Virginia 295
the other members of his family is not known to the vvrittT. A daughter was raised b}' Colonel Shepherd of Wheeling Creek, and married a Mr. Thornburg. At her marriage, tlie Colonel gave her one hundred acres of land, lying near the present town of Triadelphia.
Dr. John Knight, who related some of the foregoing de- tails, was a surgeon in the expedition against the Indians in Ohio. He, too, was sentenced to death, but after thrilling adventures finally escaped.
Col. Ebenezer Zane.
Colonel Ebenezer Zane, whose family is of Danish origin,, was born in Berkeley County, West Virginia, October 7th, 1747. The fore-parents early moved to France, thence to^ England, and towards the latter part of the seventeenth cen- tury emigrated to America. One branch settled in New Jer- sey, nearly opposite Philadelphia ; the other on the South Branch of the Potomac River, in Virginia. The subject of this sketch is from the latter branch. Having heard of the beautiful Ohio Valley, and being desirous of looking" upon that country himself, he. when about twenty-three years old, ac- companied by his faithful dog, left his home on the South Branch and on a certain morning in June, 1770, arrived at the east bank of the Ohio River, just above the confluence of- the river with Wheeling Creek, "and gazing upon the outspread landscape of island, hill and river, his enraptured vision com- prehended all, and more than realized his most extravagant ex- pectations." Being a young man of good judgment and sa- gacity, he readily comprehended the natural advantages of the location for a settlement and the future possibilities of the same becoming a great city. At this time, it is said, there was not a permanent white habitation from the source to the mouth of the Ohio River. Selecting a site, Zane erected a cabin and after remaining one season on the Ohio he returned to the South Branch. In the following spring he and his family, to- gether with some friends, moved westward as far as Redstone, where a part of the emigrants were left while Ebenezer. with his brothers. Jonathan and I^ilas, and two or three others, pro-
296 History of West Virginia
ceeded on to what is now Wheeling, where they commenced the necessary improvements for the reception of their famihes, who, in due course of time, were brought to their new homes. In 1773 quite a number of other settlers came from the South Branch and further increased the population of what is now the largest city in West Virginia.
Ebenezer Zane married Elizabeth McColloch, sister of the daring McColloch brothers, of border warfare fame. She bore him thirteen children: Catharine, Ann, Sarah, John, Samuel, Hetty, Jesse, and Daniel, and five others whose names we do not know.
"The clearing of Col. Zane embraced about ten acres, comprehending that portion of the present city, of Wheeling lying along Main and Market streets from the brow of the hill to a point above where the Suspension Bridge crosses over to the Island. It was girdled on every side by the dark green forest, save on the west, where swept the beautiful river.
"Col. Zane's intercourse with the natives having been marked by mildness, courtesy, and honorable dealing, his ham- let escaped the fury of the savages and nothing occurred to mar the pleasure of his western life until the fall of 1777, when the attack was made on Fort Henry of which mention has been made elsewhere. From time to time he received marks of distinction from the Colonial, State and National govern- ments. To these, however, he seems never to have aspired — preferring the peace and quietude of his home to the pomp of public positions. "He was as generous as brave; strictly hon- orable to all men, and most jealous of his own rights. He possessed, in an eminent degree, the constituents of a true gentleman — the disposition to render unto all their due^-the quick, delicate, accurate perception of others' rights and oth- ers' claims. He was of a nervous temperament and hard to restrain when excited ; a plain, blunt man, rude of speech but true of heart, knowing nothing of formalities and caring about little else than his family, his friends, and his country.
"The personal appearance of Colonel Zane M^as some- what remarkable : dark complexion, piercing black eyes, huge brows, and prominent nose. Not very tall, but uncommonly active and athletic, he was a match for almost any man in
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the settlement, and many are the incidents in wood and field told of his prowess and his strength. He was a devoted hunter and spent much of his time in the woods. But few men could out-shoot, and fewer still out-run, him. In illus- tration of his skill with the rifle, it is said that he once took aim from the fort and shot an Indian on the island."
Colonel Zane's courage was further attested by his actions during- the siege of the fort in the fall of 1782, related else- where.
By an act of Congress, May, 1796, Colonel Zane, assisted by his brother Jonathan and son-in-law John Mclntire, aided by an Indian guide, Tomepomehala, whose knowledge of the country enabled him to render valuable suggestions, erected a public road, in the year 1797, from Wheeling to Maysville ; in tonsideration for which service Colonel Zane was granted the privilege "of locating military warrants upon three sec- tions of land ; the first to be at the crossing of the Muskingum, the second at Hock-hocking, and the third at Scioto." The colonel thought of crossing the Muskingum at Duncan's Falls, but foreseeing the great value of the hydraulic powder created by the falls, determined to cross at the point where Zanesville has since been established and thus secure this important power. The second section was located where Lancaster now stands, and the third on the east side of the Scioto opposite Chillicothe. The first he gave, principally, to his two assist- ants for services rendered. In addition to these fine posses- sions, Colonel Zane acquired large bodies of land throughout what is now West Virginia, by locating patents for those persons whose fear of In^lians deterred them undertaking per- sonally so hazardous an enterprise.
After a life full of adventure and vicissitude, the subject of our sketch died of jaundice, in 1811, at the age of sixty-four.
Ebenezer Zane's Brothers.
(De Hass' Extracts from Withers' Border Wars.)
In the spring of 1771 Jonathan and Silas Zane visited the west and'made explorations during the summer and fall of that year. Jonathan was, perhaps, the most experienced hunter of
298 History of West Virginia
his day in the west. He was a man of great energy of char- acter, resolution, and restless activity. He rendered, efficient service to the settlements about Wheeling in the capacity of sp3^ He was remarkable for earnestness of purpose and energy and inflexibility of will, which often manifested itself in a way truly astonishing. Few men shared more of the confidence and more of the respect of his fellow men than Jonathan Zane. He was one of the pilots in Crawford's ex- pedition, and it is said, strongly admonished the unfortunate commander against proceeding; as the enemy were very num- erous and would certainly defeat him. He died in Wheeling, at his residence, a short distance above the site of the old first ward public school. He left large landed possessions, most of which were shared b}^ his children. The late Mrs. Ezen- ezer Martin, Mrs. Wood, and Mrs. Hildreth, of Belmont County, Ohio, were children of his ; also the late Mrs. Daniel Zane, of the island.
Of Colonel Zane's other brothers, Silas and Andrew, little can be gathered of the personal history. The latter was killed by the Indians while crossing the Scioto; Isaac was a some- what more conspicuous character. He was taken captive when but nine years old and carried to the Indian towns, where, he afterwards stated, he remained fou-r years without seeing a white man. He became thoroughly Indian in his habits and appearance, and married the sister of a distin- guished Wyandotte chief, by whom he raised a family of eight children. He acquired, with his Indian bride, large landed property, and became an important man in the confederacy. But, notwithstanding all this, he remained true to the whites and often was the means of communicating important in- telligence which may have saved the settlements from most bloody visitations. In consideration of those services, the government granted him a patent for ten thousand acres of land, on Mad River, where he lived and died.
Major Samuel MeColloch.
The greater portion of the following information regard- ing the history of the McCollochs is taken from DeHass' Indian Wars. This sketch relates principally to Samuel Mc-
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Colloch, though, incidentally, other members of the family will be mentioned in this chapter. There were two Major Mc- Collochs — John and Samuel — and for a time it was erroneous ly believed by many that John was the one who made the famous leap over the precipice at Wheeling at the point now known as McColloch's Leap. But DeHass has produced e\i- dence which shows conclusixely that Samuel was the hero of this episode. It might seem strange to us at this time that there could be any question about the identity of persons so well known as the McCollochs were in and about Wheeling. But when we consider the fact that but few written memo- randa were made by Hiq first settlers, and these were usually of such vague natui 5 to often cause confusion, and that the rest of our information has been handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation, dependent upon fickle memory, it is not strange that discrepancies occur here and there in the annals of West A'irginia.
The McColloch family, we are told, was one of the earliest that settled on Short Creek. There were originally three brothers, Abraham, Samuel^ and John, and two sisters. Col- onel Ebenezer Zane married Elizabeth, "whose life was a model of gentleness, virtue and love. Of the brothers, no men were more respected by their neighbors, or more dreaded by the Indians. Abraham was the eldest, Samuel next, and John the third." Samuel was a noted Indian scout and hunter and in this capacity he had but few, if any, superiors. To such scouts as Samuel McColloch, Lewis Wetzel, Ebenezer Zane, Daniel Boone, and a few others of their kind, the early settle- ments often owed their very existence, for these settlements could not long have survived the frequent attacks of the sav- ages had it not been for these faithful "watch dogs" of the forests. But there was a large territory to guard ; the foe were many, and comparatively few competent scouts. It can not, therefore, be considered strange that the Indians some- times slipped by unnoticed by these scouts, and the first notice or warning the settlers had of their presence was the terrible savage war-cry. As a mark of appreciation of his services, Samuel McColloch was commissioned Major in 1775.
Reference has been made elsewhere in this book to the
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part taken by our hero in the battle betwen the whites and the savages at WheeUng, September 2nd, 1777.
It will be remembered that the Indians drove the gallant Major to the summit of a lofty hill, which overhangs the pres- ent city of Wheeling, now known as McColloch's Leap. Real- izing that if he should not succeed in escaping his savage pur- suers his fate would be sealed, he strained every muscle of his noble steed to gain the summit and then escape along the brow in direction of Van Meter's fort on Short Creek. Having reached the top, he galloped ahead of his pursuers until he reached the point of the hill near the late crossing of the old Cumberland road. Here he encountered a large body of In- dians who M^ere just returning from a plundering expedition among the settlements.
This placed him in a very critical situation. Escape seemed almost an impossibility^ either in the direction of Short Creek or back to the bottom. The hill at this point is about three hundred feet in height, and at that time was, in many places, almost perpendicular. The savage horde was press- ing upon the Major, determined upon his capture. To hesi- tate longer meant capture and sure death at the stake. To leap over the fearful precipice seemed equally fatal ; so quickly adjusting himself in his saddle, grasping securely the bridle with his left hand and supporting his rifle in the right, he forced his horse to make the leap ! Down, down, they went, crashing through timber and tumbling over rocks, while the savages peered over the precipice, no doubt in hopeful expec- tation that their bitter enemy had at last been killed. But to their wonder and amazement, they saw the invulnerable Major on his white steed, galloping across the bottom, safe from pursuit !
Many other interesting stories of adventure are told of the Major, but they are not sufficiently authentic to warrant our repeating here.
"Towards the end of July, 1782, indications of Indians having been noticed by some of the settlers. Major Samuel McColloch and his brother John mounted their horses and left Van Meter's fort to ascertain the correctness of the report. Thev crossed Short Creek and continued in the direction of
McCOLLOCH'S LEAP
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Wheeling, but inclined towards the river. They scouted closely, but cautiously, and not discovering any such 'signs' as had been stated, descended to the bottom at a point on the farm owned by the late Alfred P. Woods, about two miles above Wheeling. They then passed up the river to the mouth of Short Creek, and thence up Girty's Point in the direction of Van Meter's. (Note: Girty's Point is a short distance from the Ohio River, and is the abrupt termination of one of the elevated ridges. It derived its name from Girty, the white renegade. It was his favorite route into the interior. The path first made by the Indians is still in use by the people of the neighborhood. — DeHass).
"Not discovering any indications of the enemy, the broth- ers were riding leisurely along, on July 30th, 1782, and when a short distance beyond the point a deadly discharge of rifles took place, killing Major McColloch instantly. His brother John escaped, but his horse was killed. Immediately mount- ing that of his brother, he made off, to give the alarm. As yet no enemy had been seen ; but turning in his saddle, after riding fifty yards, he saw the path was filled with Indians and one fellow in the act of scalping the unfortunate Major. Quick as thought, the rifle of John was at his shoulder, and in an instant more the savage was rolling in the agonies of death. John escaped to the fort unhurt, w^th the exception of a slight wound on his hip.
"On the following day, a party of men from Van Meter's fort went out and gathered up the mutilated remains of Major McColloch.
"Major John McColloch was, perhaps, quite as brave and true as his brother. He did ample service in the cause of our long struggle for independence, and a more devoted patriot, could not be found. He filled many important posts of honor and trust and was generally respected. The early records of Ohio County show that he acted a conspicuous part on the bench and otherwise.
"Major Samuel McColloch married a Miss Mitchell, and had only enjoyed the wedded life six months at the time of his death. His widow married Andrew Woods."
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Isaac Williams.
(From the American Pioneer.)
Isaac \\ illiams was born in Chester County, Pennsyl- vania, July 16th, 1737. While he was quite a young boy his parents removed to Winchester, Va., then a frontier town. Soon after this event his father died, and his mother married a Mr. Buckley. When he was about eighteen years old the colonial government employed him as a ranger, or spy, to watch the movements of the Indians, for which his early acquaintance with a hunter's life eminently htted him. In this capacity he ser\ed in the ami}- under General Braddock. He also formed one of the party who guarded the first convoy of provisions to Fort Duquesne, after its surrender to General Forbes in 1758. The stores were carried on i)ack-horses over the rough mountain trails, exposed to the attack of the In- dians, for which the deep ravines and narrow ridges of the mountain ranges afforded every advantage.
After the peace made with the Indians in j765, by Col. Bouquet, the country on the waters of the Monongahela be- gan to be settled by the people east of the mountains. Among the early emigrants to this region were the parents of Mr. Williams, whom he conducted across the mountains in 1768, but did not finally locate himself in the west till the following year, when he settled on the waters of Bufl:"alo Creek, near the present town of West Liberty. He accompanied Ebenezer and Jonathan Zane when they explored and located the coun- try about Wheeling in 1769. Previous to this period, however, he made several hunting excursions to the waters of the Ohio.
In returning from one of these adventurous expeditions, in company with two other men in the winter of 1767, the following incident befell him :
Early in December, as they were crossing the glades of the Alleghany Mountains, they were overtaken by a violent snow storm. This is a stormy, cold region in winter, but on the present occasion the snow fell to the depth of five or six feet and put a stop to their further progress. It was followed bv intenselv cold weather. While confined in this manner to
304 History o£ West Virginia
their camp, with a scanty supply of food and no chance of procuring more by hunting, one of his companions took sick and died, partly from disease and partly from having no food but the tough, indigestible skins of their peltry, from which the hair had been singed ofif at the camp fire and the skin boiled in the kettle. Soon after the death of this man, his remaining companion, from the difficulty of procuring fuel, became so much frozen in the feet that he could render Mr. Williams no further assistance. He contrived, however, to bury the dead man in the snow. The feet of this man were so badly frosted that he lost all his toes and a part of each foot, thus rendering him entirely unable to travel for a period of nearly two months. During this time, their food consisted of the rem- nant of their skins and their drink of melted snow. The kind heart of Mr. Wilhams would not allow him to leave his friend in this suffering condition while he went to the nearest settle- ment for aid, lest he should be attacked by wild beasts, or perish for the want of sustenance. With a patience and forti- tude that would have awarded him a civic crown in the best days of the chivalric Romans, he remained with his helpless friend until he was so far restored to health as to enable him to accompany him in his return to his home. So much re- duced was his own strength, from starvation and cold, that it was many months before his usual health was restored.
In 1769 he became a resident of the western wilds and made his home on the waters of Buffalo Creek. Here he found himself in a wide field for the exercise of his daring passion — hunting. From his boyhood he had displayed a great >relish for a hunter's Hfe and in this employment he for several years explored the recesses of the western wilds and followed the water courses of the great valley to the mouth of the Ohio ; and from thence along the shores of the Mississ- ippi. As early as the year 1770 he trapped the beaver on the tributaries of this river, and returned in safety with a rich load of furs.
During the prime of his life he was occupied in hunting and in making entries of lands. This was done by girdling a few trees and planting a small patch of corn. This operation entitled the person to four hundred acres of land. Entries of
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this kind were very aptl}' called "tomahawk improvements." An enterprising man could make a number of these in a season and sell them to persons who, coming late into the county, had not so good an opportunity to select prime lands as the first adventurers. Mr. Williams sold many of these "rights" for a few dollars, or the value of a rifle gun, which was then thought a fair equivalent, of so little account was the land then considered ; and besides, like other hunters of this day, he thought wild lands of little value except as hunting ground. There was, however, another advantage attached to these simple claims : it gave the possessor the right of entering one thousand acres of land adjoining the improvement, on condi- tion of his paying a small sum per acre into the treasury of the State of Virginia. These entries were denominated "pre- emption rights," and many of the richest lands on the left bank of the Ohio River are now held under these early titles.
As Virginia then claimed all the lands on the northwest side of the Ohio, many similar entries were made at this early daj^ on the right baiik and also on the rich alluvials of the Muskingum as high up as the falls— one tract, a few miles above Marietta, is still known as "Wiseman's Bottom," after the man who made a "tomahawk entry" at that place. After the cession of the lands or the territory northwest of the Ohio River to the United States, these early claims were forfeited.
While occupied in these pursuits, Williams became ac- quainted with Rebecca Martin, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Tomlinson, of Grave Creek (now Moundsville), then a young widow, and married her in October, 1775. Her former hus- band, John Martin, had been a trader among the Indians, and was killed on the Big Hockhocking in the year 1770. A man by the name of Hartness, her uncle on her mother's side, was killed with him at the same time by the Shawanese Indians. As a striking" proof of the veneration of the Indians for Wil- liam Penn and the people of his colony, two men from Penn- sylvania who were with them were spared. The two killed were from Virginia. The fact is referred to by Lord Dunmore in his speech at the Indian treaty near Chillicothe in the year 1774. Mr. Williams accompanied Dunmore in this camj^aign, and acted as a ranger until its close.
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By this marriage, Mr. Williams became united to a wo- man whose spirit was congenial to his own. She was born the 14th of February, 1754, at Wills' Creek on the Potomac, in Maryland, and had removed with her father's family to Grave Creek in 1771. Since her residence in the western country she had lived with her brothers, Samuel and Joseph Tomlin- son, as their housekeeper, near the mouth of Grave Creek, and for weeks together, while they were absent on tours of hunt- ing, she was left entirely alone. She was now in her twenty- first year ; full of life and activity, and as fearless of danger as the man who had chosen her for his companion. One proof of her courageous spirit is related by her niece, Mrs. Bukley. In the spring of the year 1774 she made a visit to a sister, who was married to a Mr. Baker, opposite the mouth of Yellow Creek, on the Ohio River. It was soon after the time of the massacre of Logan's relatives at Baker's Station. Having finished her visit, she prepared to return home in a canoe by herself, the traveling being chiefly done by water. The dis- tance from her sister's to Grave Creek was about fifty miles. She left there in the afternoon and paddled her light canoe rapidly along until dark. Knowing that the moon would rise at a certain hour she landed, and, fastening the slender craft to the willows, she leaped on shore, and, lying down in a thick clump of bushes, waited patiently the rising of the moon. As soon as it had cleared the tops of the trees and began to shed its cheerful rays over the dark bosom of the Ohio, she prepared to embark. The water being shallow near the shore, she had to wade a few paces before reaching the canoe, when, just in the act of stepping on board, her naked foot rested on the cold, dead body of an Indian, who had been killed a short time before, and which, in the gloom of the night, she had not dis- covered in landing. Without flinching or screaming, she step- ped lightly into the canoe with the reflection she was thankful he was not alive. Resuming the paddle she reached the mouth of Grave Creek in safety early the next morning.
Walter Scott's Rebecca, the Jewess, was not more cele- brated for her cures and skill in treating wounds than Rebecca Williams amongst the honest borderers of the Ohio River.
About the year 1785, while living a short time at Wheel-
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ing on account of Indian depredations, she, with the assistance of Mrs. Zane, dressed the wounds of Thomas Mills, who was wounded in fourteen places by rifle shots. He with three oth- er men were spearing fish by torch light about a mile above the garrison when they were fired upon by a party of In- dians secreted on the shore. Mills stood in the bow of the canoe holding a torch, and, as he was a fair mark, received most of the shots. The others escaped unhurt. One arm and one leg were broken, in addition to the flesh wounds. Had he been in the regular service with plenty of surgeons he prob- ably would have lost one or both limbs by amputation. But this being out of the question here where no surgeons could be procured, these women, with their fomentations and simple applications of slippery elm bark, not only cured his wounds, at the time deemed impossible, and restored him to health, but saved both his limbs.
Their marriage was as unostentatious and as simple as the manners and habits of the party. A travehng preacher hap- pening to come into the settlement, as they sometimes did, though rarely, they were married without any preparation of nice dresses, bride cakes, or bride-maids — he standing up in a hunting dress, and she in a short gown and petticoat of home- spun, the common wear of the country.
In the summer of 1774, the year before her marriage, she was one morning busily occupied in kindhng a fire preparatory to the breakfast, with her back to the door, on her knees, pufif- ing away at the coals. Hearing some one step cautiously on the floor, she looked around and beheld a tall Indian close to her side. He made a motion of silence to her, at the same time shaking his tomahawk in a threatening manner if she made any alarm. He, however, did not offer her harm; but looking carefully around the cabin he espied her brother Samuel's rifle hanging on the hooks over the fire place. This he seized upon, and fearing the arrival of some of the men, hastened his departure without any further damage. While he was with her in the house she preserved her presence of mind and betrayed no marks of fear; no sooner was he gone, however, than she left the cabin and secreted herself in the corn till her brother came in. Samuel was lame at the time.
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but happened to be out of the way ; so that it is probable his Hfe may have been saved from this circumstance. It was but seldom that the Indians killed unresisting women or children except in the excitement of an attack and when they had met with opposition from the men.
In 1777, two years after their marriage, the depredations and massacres of the Indians were so frequent that the settle- ment of Grave Creek was broken up. It was the frontier station and lower on the Ohio than an}?- other, above the mouth of Big Kanawha. It was in this year that the Indians made their great attack on the fort at Wheeling. Mr. Wil- liams and his wife, with her father's family, Mr. Joseph Tom- linson, moved on the Monongahela River above Redstone, old fort. Here he remained until the spring of 1783, when he returned with his wife and Mr. Tomlinson to their plantations on Grave Creek. In the year 1785 he had to remove again from his farm with the garrison at Wheeling.
It was some time in the spring of the succeeding year that Mr. Williams, in company with Hamilton Carr and a Dutch- man, had the adventure with the Indians at the mouth of Grave Creek, in which three of the savages were killed and John Wetzel, their prisoner, was rescued. This event is fully recorded elsewhere in this book.
It has been recorded that Rebecca Martin, before her marriage to Mr. Williams, acted as housekeeper for her broth- ers for several 3'"ears. In consideration for which service, Joseph and Samuel made an entry of four hundred acres of land on the West Virginia shore of the Ohio River, directly opposite the mouth of the Muskingum River, for their sister ; girdling the trees, building a cabin, and planting and fencing four acres of corn, on the high second bottom, in the spring of the year 1773. They spent the summer on the spot, occupy- ing their time with hunting during the growth of the crop. In this time they had exhausted their small stock of salt and breadstulT and Hved for two or three months altogether on boiled turkeys, which were eaten without salt. So accustomed had Samuel become to eating his meat without salt that it was some time before he could again relish the taste of it. The following winter the two brothers hunted on the Big
History of West Virginia 309
Kanawha. Some time in March, 1774, they reached the mouth of the river on their return. They were detained here a few days by a remarkably high freshet in the Ohio River, which from certain fixed marks on Wheehng Creek, is supposed to have been fully equal to that of February, 1832. The year 1774 was noted for the many Indian depredations. The re- newed and oft repeated inroads of the Indians led Mr. Wil- liams to turn his thoughts toward a more quiet retreat than that at Grave Creek. Fort Harman at the mouth of Mus- kingum (where Marietta now stands), having- been erected in 1786, and garrisoned by United States troops, he came to the conclusion that he would now occupy the land belonging to his wife and located by her brothers as before noted. This tract contained four hundred acres, and embraced a large share of rich alluvians. The piece opened by the Tomlinsons in 1773 had grown up with young saplings, but could be easily re- claimed. Having previously visited the spot and put up log cabins, he finally removed his family and effects thither the 26th day of March, 1787, being the year before the Ohio Com- pany took possession of their purchase at the mouth of the Muskingum.
Mr. Williams was a great hunter and trapper, but in later years turned his attention especially to clearing and cultivat- ing his farm. He was a very benevolent man and a highly respected citizen. He died Sept. 25th, 1820. His daughter and only child married a Mr. John Henderson, but died at the age of twenty without issue.
George Washington, the Soldier and Statesman.
(By Wallace Wood, in "Modern Achievement".)
George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, A^irginia, Feb. 22nd, 1732. Peter the Great had died seven years before. The lives of Catherine II, Maria Theresa, Frederick II, Josei^h II, and Louis XVI cover pretty nearly the same period as Washington's. The same may be said of the lives of Burke, Chatham, Warren Hastings, Clive, Robe- spierre, and W^csley. The pedigree of the \A'^ashington family
310 History of West Virginia
is still somewhat obscure. They probably emigrated from the north of England. The father of George was a well-to-do man and at his death, in 1743, left his family a good estate and other property. George started in life very poorly fur- nished with school learning; had no Latin, no Greek, no modern language but his mother tongue, and in that little more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. He made some acquaintance with geometry and its practical application in surveying. In boyhood he was fond of athletic sports and of mimic military exercises. Among his school fellows his char- acter won respect, and appeal was made to him on matters in dispute. After leaving school (1748) he followed up the study of geometry and the practice of surveying, and after a short engagement under Lord Fairfax, his kinsman by marriage, was appointed public surveyor.
His duties were to explore the country and learn the life of the people, for the^ purpose of dividing the'land into lots to suit the requirements of continually incoming settlers. A journal which he kept of his adventures on this expedition is interesting, ag showing the kind of training which was pre- paring him for the high destiny to which he was afterward called. It was a life of privation and- peril, but at the same time it was full of excitement. Naturally powerful of frame, this adventurous life favored the development of activity and strength. Three j^ears' experience gave him a iirmness of muscle and vigor of physical energy which few men ever attain at any age. With such a frame and after such experi- ence, encountered voluntarih^, there was no danger either of his being seduced by luxury or deterred by danger from what he considered the path of duty. With the pleasures of society and luxury and indolence within his reach, he sought for a career weighted \vith hardship and privation. He believed himself created to play a more manly part in life. As to society, his private journal and even his letters show that he was by no means insensible to the amenities of fashionable life or the charms of feminine conversation. But to such a disposition as his a life of ease and nothing else would have been torture. Peril became his pleasure, and labor his indul- gence. Hence it followed that he gained respect and adniira-
History of West Virginia 311
tion from all who knew him ; and herein wc sec the force of his character.
His experience as a surveyor was, moreover, of great ad- vantage to him as giving him a minute acquaintance with the condition and character of the original settlers — especially of the backwoodsmen who were among the earliest European occupants of Washington's own section. These remarkable people constituted the pioneer circle of the expanding colonies and at this time formed a large proportion of the whole southern colonial population. The strip of emigrant occu- pancy stretching along the coast of the Atlantic consisted of two distinct parts — one the mercantile and seafaring class, occupying the narrow seaboard ; the other the exploring back- woodsmen, invaders of the primeval forest. Among the latter Washington spent most of the three years of his surveyor's life. He learned intimately their habits and manners; and when afterward he was called upon to enroll an army drafted largely from this hardy and independent race, he was the only leader thoroughly capable of commanding them.
In 1751 he was appointed adjutant general to one of the military districts of Virginia. The death of his elder brother in 1752 threw upon him large family responsibilities, and in the next year he was chosen to execute a difficult mission to the French commander, whose post w^as some five_^ or six hun- dred miles distant. The memorable struggle was beginning between the French and English for the possession of the North American continent. In 1754 Washington was second in command in the campaign against the French. In the fol- lowing year, war haA'ing been declared, he served as a volun- teer aid under General Braddock and showed a reckless bravcrv at the battle on the Monongahela. In 1758, after hav- ing succeeded in getting his militia organized as the lo}a] forces were, he resigned his commission because there seemed to be no hope of promotion for him in the royal army.
Washington married in January. 1759, and during the next fifteen years occu])icd himself chiefly with the manage- ment of his estate and other private aft^airs. For some years, however, he was a member of the House of Representati\'es, and one of the most punctual and business-like. In the dis-
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putes with the mother countr}^ about taxation, while reso- lutely controverting the right to tax, he earnestly deprecated a rupture until he saw that it could only be avoided by the sacrifice of principle. The first general Congress met in 1774 and Washington was one of its members, and in June, 1775, he was named commander-in-chief. Formidable difficulties confronted him. He had had no experience in handling large bodies of men ; he had no material of war, nor means of get- ting it, and there was no strong government to support him. Hence, progress was slow and reverses were frequent. But through all this his patience, his courage, his good sense and sagacity, and his inflexible resolution carried him to ultimate success. Boston was evacuated by the EngHsh troops in March, 1776; on the fourth of July the same year was made the Declaration of Independence. The battles of Long Island, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, followed; the French came to the aid of the Americans in 1778, and Phila- delphia was evacuated. The struggle was virtually closed by the fall of Yorktown and the capture of the English army under Lord Cornwallis in October, 1781.
Success created new dangers and difficulties, against which the commander-in-chief had strenuously to contend. At length New York was evacuated, on November 25, 1783, and on the fourth of December Washington spoke his grave fare- well to his officers. Two days before Christmas he resigned his commission and retired to his estate. Mount Vernon. In 1787 he was a member of the convention which prepared the Constitution, and in 1789 entered upon office as first President of the United States. There is something startling in the juxtaposition, in the same year, 1789, of two such memorable facts as these — the Constitution of the United States came into operation, and the States-General met at Paris ; both new beginnings, openings of courses leading to goals still un- known. As President, Washington had troubles enough w^ith his cabinet, which was sharply divided into Federalists and anti-Federalists, the two parties headed respectively by Ham- ilton and Jefferson. Foreign relations, too, were uneasy and perplexing. Washington woul 1 fain check the growth of bitter party spirit and avert fon ign war. He would willingly
History of West Virginia 313
have retired at the close of his tern, but lie could nut be spared and was unanimously re-electci.
At length, having done a good life's work, he determined in 1796 to cease from his labors, and issued (September) his memorable farewell to his country. He witnessed the installa- tion of his successor in the presidency, and then retired to his home. In little more than two years the final summons came. Washington died on December 14, 1799.
Jefferson's estimate of the first President is a splendid tribute to a great leader. "His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, though not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke ; and, as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagina- tion, but sure in conclusion. Hence, the common remark of his officers, of the advantage he derived from councils of war, where, hearing all suggestions, he selected whatever was best ; and certainly no general ever planned his battles more judi- ciously. But if deranged during the course of the action, if any member of his plan was dislocated by sudden circum- stances, he was slow in a re-adjustment. The consequence was, that he often failed in the field and rarely against an enemy in station, as at Boston and York. He was incapable of fear, meeting personal danger with the calmest unconcern. Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration was maturely weighed, refraining if he saw a doubt, but when once decided going through with his purpose, whatever obsta- cles opposed. His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible, no motives of interest or consanguinity, of friendship or hatrecf, being able to bias his decision. He was, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man. His temper was naturally irritable and high-toned ; but relic- tion and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascend- ency over it. If ever, however, it broke forth, he was most tremendous in his wrath. In his expenses he was honorable, but exact ; liberal in contributions to whatever promised utility, but frowning and unyielding in all visionar}^ projects and all unworthv calls on his charitv. His heart was not
314 History of West Virginia
warm in its affections; but he exactly calculated every man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportionate to it. His person was fine, his stature exactly what one could wish, his deportment easy, erect, and noble, the best horseman of his time, and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horse- back. Although in the circle of his friends, where he might be unreserved with safety, he took a free share in conversa- tion, his colloquial talents were not above mediocrity, pos- sessing neither copiousness of ideas nor fluency of words. In public when called upon for sudden opinion, he was unready, short and embarrassed. Yet he wrote readily, rather diffusely, in an easy and correct style. This he acquired by conversa- tion with the world, for his education was merely reading, writing, and common arithmetic, to which he added surveying at a later day. His time was employed in action chiefly, read- ing little, and that only in agriculture and English histor3^ His correspondence became necessarily extensive, and with journalizing his agricultural proceedings occupied most of his leisure within doors. On the whole, his character was in mass perfect, in nothing bad, in a few points indifferent, and it may truly be said that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance. For his was the singular destiny and merit of leading the armies of his country successfully through an arduous war for the establishment of its inde- pendence; of conducting its councils through the birth of a government new in its forms and principles, until it had set- tled down into a quiet and orderly train ; and of scrupulously obeying the laws through the whole of his career, civil and militar}^, of which the histor}^ of the world furnishes no other example."
Some extremists have regarded the liberator of the Amer- ican colonies simply as a rebel against his king, which con- ception causes the very patriotism which makes him great to become the one unpardonable crime of his misguided career. But the end to be achieved, its bearing upon the welfare of mankind, must be final and substantial tests of the value of any political revolution. Whatever may be the influence and
History of West Virginia 315
function of circumstances over the generality of mankind, it is certain that in some individual cases the current of the world's history is changed, whether for good or evil, by the mental energy of a few individual men. It is, therefore, a fact that George Washington was the controlling spirit of the great revolution known as the American War of Independ- ence. And it must be admitted by all candid and unbiased judgments that the movement was one which under the cir- cumstances could not honorably or even safely be avoided, and that the War of Independence was both necessary and just. In this light the character of Washington receives a luster and his motives assume a dignity to which no mere provincial insurgent could possibly be entitled, however pure his inten- tions or profound his personal grievances. The grandeur of the event, the vast importance of its issues, the momentous results which success or failure must entail upon the whole population of a mighty continent, have brought down upon the scene a fierce light of scrutiny, in which the figure of the calm, silent leader stands nevertheless without blemish. Fear- less of any man's censure, his course was direct and unwaver- ing, his integrity unsullied, his justice inflexible.
Wc know not whether to admire him most in the hour of defeat or in the moment of victory ; for in every important crisis the demand upon his greatest qualities as a leader was always fully answered. With each new misfortune he rose to a still higher sense of the great responsibility he had as- sumed. When he had troops, he fought. When unable to keep the field, he took an advantageous and threatening defen- sive. When the hopes of the people were at their lowest ebb, and his army had dwindled to a few ragged battalions, he rolled the tide of war back again toward fortune by the most brilliant and decisive series of combats and maneuvers that the whole history of the war has recorded. So high was Washington's bearing, so admirable his control of the most diverse elements, so serenely did he look disaster, obloquy, and sufifering in the face, that we can hardly think of him as the predestined savior of his country. The time produced no other man capable of confronting each new emergency witli the same sublime constancv to the great end and aim of the
316 History of West Virginia
Revolution. The Congress was at one time ready to declare him dictator. The army, grown desperate in its deep distress and deeper disgust with the half measures of Congress, wished to overturn the existing civil control under the lead of its idolized chief. But in every dark hour Washington's star shone out bright and unsullied by any taint of personal ambi- tion, nor could any sense of personal wrong turn him a hair's breadth from the path of duty. His was a great, a magnan- imous soul. When the long conflict was over he laid down the sword that had never been sheathed in dishonor. His old companions in arms wept like children when he bade them farewell. Compared with this, what was the tribute of senates or the applause of the multitude? Indeed it may be said of Washington that there is scarcely another great figure in his- tory whose character and services have been estimated with such unanimous, such high, approbation as his.
His mottoes were, "Deeds, not words," and "For God and my country" ; and his adherence to these has merited the everlasting verdict of history, "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
"O ripples of Potomac's stream.
Break gently where the tread Of thousands press the hallowed sod
Above our greatest dead; Mount Vernon, Freedom's dearest shrine.
Guard well thy sacred trust, Locked in thy loyal heart of hearts,
Yet keep the Patriot's dust.
"I see him glide among the huts
That dot the cheerless gorge— The Joshua of a struggling band.
The Man of Valley Forge ; Where'er he goes his smile illumes,
The shades that thickly lie. And all who hear his words resolve
With him to do or die.
History of West Virginia 317
"The pilgrim comes from lands ensla\-ed,
Beyond the restless sea, To meditate where sleeps the. man
Who taught men to be free ; The glitter of the sword he drew
Makes bright the world today, And hands unborn will crown its hilt
With laurel and with bay.
"He needs no granite shaft to tell
Of glorious actions done; His monument? — the freest land
That lies beneath the sun ! Now with honest pride we seek
His name to honor evermore. And remember him whose 'fame is far
Beyond Virginia's shore.'
"He is not thine, Mount Vernon, though Upon thy sacred breast. Wrapped in the mantle Glory weaves,
In peace he takes his rest ; The voice of Libert}^ proclaims :
'He is my honored son'. And Fame with lofty pride proclaims : 'The World's one Washington.' "
— T. C. Harbaugh.
The Washington Family in West Virginia.
More of the blood of the Washingtons flows today in the veins of the residents of Charles Town, W. Ya., and \ioinity than in any other community in the world and probably more than in all the rest of the world together. In the present generation there are great numbers of stahvart men living thereabout who bear the name of Washington, and yet other great numbers Avho are descendants of that first family through their mothers, wlio have the characteristics though not the name. The stranger dropping" into Charles Town is
318 History of West Virginia
likely to be impressed with certain peculiarities of its inhabit- ants that seem familiar to him. There are to be seen upon the streets numbers of men, tall, upstanding, stalwart, with a certain dignity of bearing that one seems to have seen before. He asks a passer-by the name of a certain man who has at- tracted his attention and is informed that is Bushwick Wash- ington. The same query brings forth the reply that another straight and athletic-looking individual is Samuel Walter Washington. It dawns upon him that these men have the qualities that he has always associated with the father of his country, that these are Washingtons of the old stock and that they retain its traits. Scores of men of Charles Town may be picked from the crowd by these peculiarities. They have left their imprint upon the whole town.
An inquiry establishes the fact that the community is overrun with the descendants of the family of Washington. And why should it not be, for further questioning calls to your mind the fact that three of the brothers of General Washing- ton lived there, bred families, some of them wondrous large, and that their descendants have Hved there and diffused the blood until the whole countryside is possessed of it and affected by it. In fact, the nearest descendants of the Wash- ingtons of the generation of Revolutionary days have their homes there today. If properly accredited one may even be invited to call upon Richard Blackburn A¥ashington himself, a venerable patriarch of 87 years, and the nearest living link to the olden days.
History records the fact that George Washington, a strip of a lad 16 years old, came into the northern neck of Virginii in 1748 to survey a vast tract of land in the wilderness which had been acquired by Lord Fairfax, the eccentric peer and idol of the court who chose to isolate himself there because a woman had denied him her favors.
The young surveyor lived there three years and ran his lines in all directions. The lines he laid down were followed by the roads that increasing civilization laid down and are a record of his work that will last forever. In the court house at Winchester are the original maps he drew, neat and precise to a marked degree. But young George Washington carried
History of West Virginia 319
the news of the wonderful country to his old home in Tide- water, Virginia, expatiating particularly to the members of his family upon it. As a result Lawrence Washington, an elder brother and a man of means, bought large tracts. Law- rence, however, died shortly afterward and the other brothers in dividing his property went to see the lands, fell in love with the country and later came there to live, taking their families with them, and there dwelt to the end of their days.
From tlic property of Charles Washington, the youngest of the brothers, was laid out Charles Town, named after him. Samuel, the eldest, a rollicking country scjuire who wedded five times during his career, laid out the historic estate of Harewood. George Avas also interested in the property and activel}' in charge of the building of the old Harewood man- sion. John Augustine throve and his descendants live today in Charles Town. George became great in war and states- manship, but returned at intervals as long as he lived to Hare- wood, of which he was executor and guardian of his brother's children after Samuel died. The estate he always regarded as his summer home.
Richard Blackburn Washington, who is a grandson of the generation of which the father of his country was a mem- ber, is a descendant of John Augustine. His wife was a de- scendant of Samuel, and because of this union of kindred blood his four sons and two daughters have as much of the old strain as had their parents and more tlian any other Washington with one possible exception. Two sons and a daughter still live with Richard Brockton in their fine modern home in Charles Town. The sons have prospered and are leading men in the community. The Washingtons direct the affairs of the town, hold the leading county offices, are independent farm- ers, country gentlemen, merchants, bankers. Some of them have likewise prospered in other sections, a notable example being George S. Washington, a commission merchant of Philadelphia. The town is also the home of Lawrence Wash- ington and his two sisters, descendants of John Augustine and representing another branch of the family. Lawrence, however, spends little of his time there, as he holds a position with the Library of Congress and lives mostly in W^ashington.
320 History of West Virginia
Of the 5000 descendants of the brothers of the father of his country it is claimed that Lawrence is the only individual holding a government position.
Washingtons In England.
In the Church of All Saints at Great Brington, North- ampton, England, lies buried one Lawrence Washington, who died in 1616. This Lawrence Washington was the grandson of the original Lawrence Washington, of Sulgrave, mayor of Northampton and founder of the Northamptonshire family of Washington, to whom the manor of Sulgrave was granted in 1538. Lawrence Washington, whose tombstone is in Great Brington Church, had eight sons and nine daughters. Tm^o of his sons, John and Lawrence, became, respectively. Sir John and the Rev. Lawrence Washington, the latter the rec- tor of Purleigh in Essex. The rector of Purleigh's eldest son, John, grandson of Lawrence Washington, and great-grandson of the original Lawrence Washington, emigrated to America in 1657, and was the great-grandfather of George Washington.
On the tombstone of Lawrence Washington is the shield bearing his arms, which is plainly seen, consisting of the five pointed stars and the alternate stripes. It is difficult to believe that the stars and stripes of the American flag were not de- rived from this coat, as there is also a brass in the church enameled showing the alternate red and white stripes.
In the hamlet of Little Brington is a small house built of sandstone which gave shelter to various members of the Washington family. It is known as Washington house and was the refuge of the Washingtons of Sulgrave after the fall of their fortunes. A stone over the door bears the inscription, "The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh awa}^ Blessed be the name of the Lord. Constructa 1606." Close to this house a stone sundial has recentl}^ been discovered bearing the Wash- ington arms and "R. W. 1617". The initials doubtless refer to Robert Washington, who was buried in Brington Church in 1622.
The old Washington manor house at Sulgrave is in a fine state of preservation. The manor of Sulgrave was granted to
History of West Virginia 321
Lawrence Washington, the founder of the family, in 1538, on the dissolution of the monasteries. Its most interesting feature is the high gabled porch over which are the stars and stripes, the family arms, embossed in plaster, which is now fast crum- bling away — Louise E. Dew, Feb. 18, 1912.
General Andrew Lewis.
From a letter to Wills De Hass, in "Indian Wars".)
"John Lewis was a native and citizen of Ireland, descend- ed from a famil}^ of Huguenots who took refuge in that king- dom from the persecutions that followed the assassination of Henry IV of France. His rank was that of an esquire, and he inherited a handsome estate, which he increased by indus- try and frugality until he became the lessee of a contiguous property of considerable value. He married Margaret Lynn, daughter of the laird of Loch Lynn, who was a descendant of the chieftains of a once powerful clan in the Scottish High- lands. By this marriage he had four sons, three of them, Thomas, Andrew, and William, born in Ireland, and Charles, the child of his old age, born a few months after their settle- ment in their mountain home."
(Note : According to Historian Thwaites, John Lewis, father of Gen. Andrew Lewis, was born in 1678, in County Donegal, Ireland, and his marriage to Margaret Lynn oc- curred about 1716; owing to some trouble with his tenancy in 1729, he fled to Portugal, whence in 1731, after strange adventures, he emigrated to America, where he was joined b}^ his family. He established himself in the Valley of Virginia, two miles east of the present site of Staunton. His house was of stone, built for defense, and in 1754 it successfully with- stood an Indian siege. He was colonel of the Augusta County militia as early as 1743, presiding justice in 1745, and high sheriff in 1748. In 1751, then 73 years of age, he assisted his son Andrew, then agent of the Lo3^al Company, to explore and survey the latter's grant on Greenbrier Rixer. It was because the old man became entangled in the thicket of greenbriers that he gave this name to tlic stream. He died at his old fort
322 History of West Virginia
homestead February 1st, 1762, aged 84 years. He was a mem- ber of the Episcopalian Church.)
"For many years after the settlement at Fort Lewis, great amity and goodwill existed between the neighboring Indians and the white settlers, whose numbers increased until they became quite a formidable colony. It was then that the jealousy of their red neighbors became aroused and a war broke out, which, for cool though desperate courage and activity on the part of the whites and ferocit}^, cunning and barbarity on the part of the Indians, was never equalled in any age or country. John Lewis was, by this time, well stricken in years, but his four sons, who were grown up, were well qualified to fill his place and to act the part of leaders to the gallant little band who so nobly battled for the protection of their homes and families .... Charles Lewis was the hero of many a gallant exploit, which is still treasured in the memories of the descendants of the border riflemen, and there are few families among the Alleghanies where the name and deeds of Charles Lewis are not familiar as household words. On one occasion he was captured by the Indians while on a hunt- ing excursion, and after traveling over two hundred miles barefooted, his arms pinioned behind, and goaded by the knives of his remorseless captors, he effected his escape. While traveling along the bank of a precipice some twenty feet in height, he suddenly, by a strong muscular exertion, burst the cords which bound him, and plunged down the steep into the bed of a mountain torrent. His persecutors hesi- tated not to follow. In a race of several hundred yards, Lewis had gained some few yards upon his pursuers, when, upon leaping a fallen tree which lay across his course, his strength suddenly failed and he fell prostrate among the weeds which had grown up in great luxuriance around the body of the tree. Three of the Indians sprang over the tree within a few feet of where their prey lay concealed ; but with a feeling of the most devout thankfulness to a kind and super- intending Providence, he saw them one by one disappear in the dark recesses of the forest. He now bethought himself of rising from his uneas}^ bed, when lo ! a new enemy appeared, in the shape of an enormous rattlesnake, which had thrown
History of West Virginia 323
itself into the deadly coil so near his face that its fangs were within a few inches of his nose; and its enormous rattle, as it waved to and fro, once rested upon his ear. A single con- traction of the eyelid — a convulsive shudder — the relaxation of a single muscle, and the deadly reptile would have sprung upon him. In this situation he lay for several minutes, when the reptile, probably supposing him dead, crawled over his body and moved slowly away. 'I had_ eaten nothing,' said Lewis to his companions, after his return, 'for many days ; I had no firearms, and I ran the risk of dying with hunger ere I could reach the settlement ; but rather would I have died than made a meal of the generous beast.' During this war, an attack was made upon the settlement of Fort Lewis, at a time when the whole force of the settlement was out on active duty. So great was the surprise that many of the women and chil- dren were captured in sight of the fort, though far the greater part escaped and concealed themselves in the woods. The fort was occupied by John Lewis, then very old and infirm, his wife, and two young women, who were so much alarmed that they scarce moved from their seats upon the ground floor of the fort. John Lewis, however, opened a port-hole, where he stationed himself, firing at the savages, while Margaret reloaded the guns. In this manner he sustained a siege of six hours, during which he killed upwards of a score of savages, when he was relieved by the appearance of his party.
"Thomas Lewis, the eldest son, labored under a defect of vision, which disabled him as a marksman, and he was, therefore, less efificient during the Indian wars than his broth- ers. He was, however, a man of learning and sound judg- ment, and represented the County of Augusta many years in the House of Burgesses; was a member of the convention which ratified the constitution of the United States and formed the constitution of Virginia, and afterwards sat for the County of Rockingham in the House of Delegates of Vir- ginia. In 1765 he was in the House of Burgesses and voted for Patrick Henry's celebrated resolutions. Thomas Lewis had four sons actively participating in the war of the Revolu- tion; the youngest of whom. Thomas, bore an ensigns com- mission when but fourteen years of age.
324 History of West- Virginia
(Note : Withers, in writing of the expedition against the Indians and Braddock's defeat on the JMonongahela, says there was a company of riflemen in Braddocl-z's army on this occa- sion from Augusta, commanded by CAPTAIN Samuel Lewis (THE ELDEST SON OF JOHN LEWIS, who, with Mackey and Sailing, had been foremost in settling that county — Augusta), who was afterwards known as Col. Samuel Lewis of Rockingham. Withers also says, that "in this company were contained the five brothers of Capt. Lewis ; Andrew, afterwards General Lewis of Botetourt ; Charles, afterwards Colonel Lewis, who was likewise killed at Point Pleasant; William, John and Thomas." It will be observed that the let- ter to De Hass mentions only four sons, namely : Thomas, Andrew, William and Charles, Thomas being the ELDEST and Charles the youngest. Samuel is not mentioned. Dodd- ridge, in commenting on Withers's version of the story of Braddock's defeat, says that Captain Lewis was not with Braddock's army on this occasion, and consequently took no part in the battle.)
"Andrew, the second son of John Lewis and Margaret Lynn, is the General Lewis who commanded at the battle of Point Pleasant.
"Charles Lewis, the youngest of the sons of John Lewis, fell at the head of his regiment, when leading on the attack at Point Pleasant. Charles was esteemed the most skilful of all the leaders of the border warfare, and was as much beloved for his noble and amiable qualities as he was admired for his military talents.
"William, the third son, was an active participator in the border wars, and was an officer of the Revolutionary army, in which one of his sons was killed and another maimed for life. When the British force under Tarleton drove the legisla- ture from Charlottesville to Staunton, the stillness of the Sabbath eve was broken in the latter town b}^ the beat of the drum and volunteers were called to prevent the passage of the British through the mountains at Rockfish Gap. The elder sons of William Lewis, who then resided at the old fort, were absent with the northern army. Three sons, however, Avere at home, whose ages were seventeen and thirteen years. Wil-
History of West Virginia 325
Ham Lewis was confined to his room by sickness, but his wife, with the firmness of a Roman matron, called them to her, and bade them fly to the defense of their native land. 'Go, my children,' said she, 'I spare not my youngest, the comfort of my declining" years. I devote you all to my country. Keep back the foot of the invader from the soil of Augusta, or see my face no more.' When this incident was related to Wash- ington, shortly after its occurrence, he enthusiastically ex- claimed. 'I^eave me but a banner to plant upon the mountains of Augusta, and I will rally around me the men who will lift our bleeding country from the dust, and set her free.'
"I have frequently heard, when a boy, an anecdote re- lated by an old settler, somewhat to this effect: The white, or wild clover, is of indigenous growth, and abounded on the banks of the rivers, etc. The red was introduced by John Lewis, and it was currently reported by their prophets and believed by the Indians generally, that the blood of the red men slain by the Lewises and their followers had dyed the trefoil to its sanguine hue. The Indians, however, always did the whites the justice to say that the red man was the aggressor in their first quarrel, and that the white men of Western Virginia had always evinced a disposition to treat their red brethren with moderation and justice."
Washington entertained a very high regard for General Lewis's ability as a military commander, and recommended him to Congress for the appointment to the position of major- general of the American arm}- and afterwards expressed his disappointment in the appointment of Stephens instead. How- ever, at Washington's solicitation, Lewis accepted the com- mission of brigadier-general and shortly thereafter took com- mand of a detachment stationed at Williamsburg. He was in command of the Virginia troops in 1776. when Dunmore was forced from Gwynn's Island.
"General Lewis resigned his command in 1780, to return home, being seized ill with a fever. He died on his way, in Bedford County, about forty miles from his home, on the Roanoke, lamented by all acquainted with his meritorious services and superior qualities."
CHAPTER XIX.
JOHN BROWN'S RAID AT HARPER'S FERRY.
In the year 1800 there was born at the Httle town of Torrington, Connecticut, of a family which claimed Pilgrim origin, a child named John Brown. When he was six years old, his family removed to Ohio, where the boy learned the tanner's and currier's trade ; and when he was a man grown, he became a wool merchant. But misfortune pursued him in all his efforts to make a living; while on the other hand he bred a family of patriarchal dimensions. But he was an earn- est though narrow thinker, and one who wished to carry his thought into action ; he had been deeply impressed by the anti- slavery teachings of "Garrison's Liberator", and emigrating to Kansas in 1855, became active against the pro-slavery part of the community. Sorrow, disappointment and hardship, as well as the old Pilgrim strain in his blood, had made him a fanatic; and the good and bad qualities of the type were strongly accented in him.
In his conflicts with the slaveholders he was helped by his sons, and saw more than one of them die ; on his part, he slew without compunction, and would drag inoffensive per- sons out of their beds and kill them, for no other crime than holding opinions which he deemed damnable. At Ossawato- mie he defeated with a small band a greatly superior force of Missouri invaders ; and the exploits of this action gained him the title of Ossawatomie Brown, by which he was afterward known. He was a very formidable personage, inconvenient to those who were in general sympathy with his anti-slavery ideas, as well as terrible to his avowed enemies. He was pre- pared for anything; and the arts of diplomacy were beneath his contempt. Perhaps he was at this time hardly in his right mind; there was abundant reason why he should not ha\e been. Death by violence had struck doAvn those nearest to
History of West Virginia oil
him, and long brooding" o\ er the wrongs of the sla\e had made him implacable to those whom he held responsible for them. He was a tall, shaggy, impressive ligure ; a great Iieai» of disordered hair piled upon his tall, narrow head; he had a long tangled beard, and a bony, athletic frame. His eyes gazed out sternly from beneath his rugged brows, and his manner was grave and harsh. But there was in him indomitable cour- age and the iron liber of the old Covenanters. His almost sav- age manhood, however, was not destitute of its tender side, which was noted and marked by his intimates and biograph- ers ; but it may be said of him, as of others, that nothing in old John Brown's troubled life so well became him as did the closing scene of it.
In 1858 he had already conceived his grotesque plan of emancipating the blacks single-handed, and by force. It is needless to say that he despised politics and politicians, lie had seen slavery talked against for many years and it was now more strongly established than ever. He understood that the moral reprobation with which the Nortli professed to regard slavery was not strong enough to induce them to lift a hand to crush it ; they would prate of the Union and the Constitu- tion, but would take no action. But Brown was Avithheld by no constitutional scruples; he had seen those he loved die, and he had slain men in cold blood with his own hand ; and he pictured to himself the slaves rising at his call, and massa- cring their masters wholesale (though he denied at his trial that he entertained such a thought), Avhile he himself led them to the slaughter and gloried in it.
The slaves, he imagined, were ready to s|)ring up like tigers at the signal, and he would be at the head of a million hghters who, should the United States government side with the South against them, would fight the government, too, and conquer them, \\\\\\ the aid of the white abolitionists who would also join him ; and a ncAv republic >\()tild be established on the ashes of the present one, in ^\•h!ch wliites and blacks would be ecjual, man for man, and before the \-,\\\ . In i)lanning thus, Brown must have imagined that all negroes antl all other white abolitionists were monomaniacs like himself, would hold their lives chea])l\-, and fight to the deatli. And if on.'.' can
328 History of West Virginia
picture an army of John Brown's, it is not difficult to surmise that all the resources of the mighty States might have been insufficient to put it down. Fanatics — monomaniacs — men who will literally die rather than yield — are more formidable than many times their number of ordinary brave soldiers, no matter how well disciplined and armed. Ordinary human courage has its well defined limits ; and after ten men have been killed out of a hundred, the ninety will generally retreat; if twenty have been killed, the retreat becomes a flight. But what should be done with a hundred men who would fight till ninet}'^ of them were slain, and then still fight till not one was left alive? With a million men of this stamp, it was not un- reasonable to believe that Brovv^a might have conquered any army or armies in the world; and were he to lose half his million, or nine-tenths, or all of it, that would make no dif- ference to him; he would have put an end to slavery. The error Brown made, then, was not in theory, wild and almost incredible though it was, but in the belief that his army, if he could raise it, would resemble him. There happened not to be a million John Browns available in the United States ; indeed, so far as we know, there never was or would be but one. But even that one was enough to shake the whole nation to its center; and had he not lived and died, it is possible that slaves would still be slaves today, notwithstanding there was an anti- slavery feeling long years before John Brown w^as born.
Brown was a practical man in ordinary respects, and he could reason out the details of his plan logically. The slaves must have arms. It would not be possible to arm them all at once ; but that was not necessary ; if he could put guns in the hands of a few thousand of them, that would do for a begin- ning ; when the army got to its work, it could obtain arms from its enemies. There was an arsenal at Harper's Ferry, a small village on the A'irginia side of the Potomac, at the point where the river breaks asunder the barriers of the Alleghanies. There was a little Virginia farmhouse near the village, Avhich Brown rented, ostensibly for farming purposes; but little work was done upon it ; only his farm wagon made frequent visits to the railway station and returned with heavy cases, which might have contained books or farming tools, but which
History of West Virginia 329
really were full of rifles. With the aid of these rifles, in the hands of himself, his sons, and a few more, he meant to cap- ture the arsenal ; and the rest would be easy. Messengers should g"o forth to notify the slaves of the rendezvous ; as fast as they came in they would receive the weapons ; and then woe to the slaveholders ! It was such a vision as might have risen before the mind of an opium eater, or perhaps a dime novelist ; but only John Brown would have attempted actuall}' to take it out of the region of insane notions and clothe it with flesh and blood.
Brown's recruits came in slowly ; and by the time a dozen or more had arrived, the old man felt he must strike.
\Vtih his sons, his army numbered eighteen all told. But that, in one sense, was already more than enough ; for the neighbors, though Brown had avoided all association Avith them as much as possible — and he was not a man easy to ap- proach at any time — were beginning to show curiosity as to why eighteen farmers who never did any farming were living in a small cottage out there in the wilds of the hills. They must show what they were there for before it was asked, or it would be too late.
Therefore, on the evening of Sunday, October 16, 1859, John Brown took his gun and ordered his men to fall in. Down to the village by the river they tramped, the eighteen men who were to put an end to slavery.
On the way they met a negro, one of the race they were going to save, and Brown bade him fall in and enjoy the dis- tinction of being the first recruit of his country in the emanci- pation army. The negro was no doubt a fool ; but he may have had brains enough to make a rapid calculation of the odds between this army and the power of the United States : and he decided on the instant that the right thing for him to do was to run. But here he showed his folly ; he had not cal- culated on John Brown. The negro was a slave, and Brown was ready to die for him ; but meanwhile he shot him down to prevent him from hindering his emancipation. It was the first blood shed in this war; and it indicated that Brown was de- termined to rescue the victims of slaverv even if, in order to
330 History of West Virginia
do so, he was obliged to kill not only their tyrants, but them- selves. He was what the English would call "thorough",
Sunday evening villagers, who have never seen a shot fired in anger, are not hkely to put up much of a fight on so brief warning; and Brown and his army succeeded in getting into the arsenal without loss, except of the one recusant re- cruit above mentioned, who was free, indeed, however ab- ruptly. He was the only slave whom Brown succeeded in freeing with his own hands.
But the first step in the great campaign was a success, and Brown fortified himself in his narrow quarters and was ready for a siege ; meanwhile he posted guards on the railway bridge, and, not to be unprovided with all supplies which an army should have, he captured a couple of prisoners.
When the train came along, he stopped it ; but presently allowed it to continue on its way to the North, possibly im- agining that it would come back filled with armed abolition- ists. No other evidence is needed to prove that he had no conception whatever of the position he occupied in the e3^es of the entire law-abiding population of the United States. The North was just as anxious to put a stop to him as the South was ; even Wendell Phillips and Lloyd Garrison did not start for Harper's Ferr3^ The inhabitants of that village, in addi- tion to keeping up a desultory firing on the arsenal, had dis- patched telegrams up and down the line, whose tenor indicated that a vast slave rebellion had broken out, and that everybody was going to be massacred out of hand ; and by the morning of the 17th of October, soldiers Avere on their way to the seat of war, not knowing how many hundred thousand desperate revolutionists they would have to encounter. The nia5^or of Harper's Ferry and a few other citizens had been killed or wounded by the fire from the arsenal before the soldiers arrived.
It was not until after dark that night that a soldier who had seen war. Col. Robert E. Lee, with a detachment of marines, appeared on the scene, and upon hearing that the entire revolution, so far as was yet known, was cooped up in that little arsenal, felt like the leader of fire-brigade which rushes to extinguish the conflagration of a city and finds only
History of West Virginia ^^i
a burning match-box. Artiller}^ was not needed, he thought, to reduce this fortification ; a scaling ladder applied as a bat- tering ram would suffice. It was desirable to take this army prisoners; and besides there were citizens of Harper's P^erry inside there, whose lives must not be endangered. So the marines, under his direction, advanced with the heavy ladder and pounded in the door; and there knelt John Brown, a ghastly spectacle, with six or seven wounds in his body, two of his sons dead on the floor beside him, and eight other men beside them. The war of emancipation was at an end; now were to follow the consequences.
Brown and the other prisoners were jailed, and they were tried and hanged with inspiring promptness. One can im- agine what a red-handed ogre of iniquity Brown must haAc appeared to the South. But. in fact the letting of blood, and the refusal of a single slave to join his banner, had cleared the brain of the old man, and he realized his mistake. Possibly, too, he believed that his defeat and death would win for his cause more than he himself could have hoped to gain. He did not assume the airs of a martyr ; sensational to the last degree though his exploit was, he was not in the least capable of conscious scenic display. He maintained his rude dignity and stoic courage until his life went out on the gallows.
Following are extracts taken from "The West A^irginia Free Press" :
(By Col. T. W. Washington.)
"About 1 :30 o'clock on Monday morning, October 17th (1859), I was aroused from my bed by having been called at my chamber door. Thinking some friend had arrived from Harper's Ferr}- on the night train and had walked up to my house, I at once arose and opened the door, when, in front of me, stood, somewhat in a circle, four armed men — three wit' Sharps rifles, presented at my son, and the fourth holding in his left hand a burning torch, and in his right a revolver.* * *
"This party who entered the house were Stevens, Cook. Tidd and the other I understood to sav he was from C;ina(la.
332 History of West Virginia
Stevens was addressed by his party as Captain, and seemed to be in command. * * *
"Stevens left me in charge of Cook, Tidd and the Canada man, and (with two others who did not enter the house) pro- ceeded to order my carriage and four-horse wagon to the front of the house. On arriving at the steps I found my carriage in front, and driven from the stable by Shields Green. * * ''^ I got in my phaeton and took a back seat, Cook by my side and Tidd on the front seat by the side of my house servant, who drove." (The party then proceeded to the residence of Mr. J. H. Aldstadt, where they stopped, and leaving Cook in charge of Mr. Washington, the rest broke open the door, and took Mr. Aldstadt prisoner. From there they proceeded to the Armory at Harper's Ferry — Mr. Washington in the phae- ton and Mr. Aldstadt in a wagon.)
"After entering the Ferry, I supposed they would halt at some house where they might have obtained a room or rooms, but to my astonishment we drove directly to the Armory gate, where Tidd said 'All's well', and was answered by the guard 'All's well'. The gate was opened and in w^e drove, when I was accosted by an elderly man, who said, 'You will find a warm fire in here, sir,' pointing to the watch house. On entering, I found some eight or ten persons, amongst them Williams, the watchman of the railroad bridge, and some others who recognized me. * * *
"About daylight many prisoners, chiefly residents of Harper's Ferry, were brought in.
'During the morning hours of Monday Brown manifeste.l an unusual degree of coolness ; he made no effort to conceal or shield his person from outward attack.
"About mid-day, Brown entered the watch-house where the prisoners were and selected one by one until hq, had num- bered ten persons: L. W. Washington, J. H. Alstadt, I>ri. Miles, A. M. Ball, J. E. P. Dangerfiefd, Terrance Byrne, George Shope, Joseph Brua, Israel Russell, John Donahoc, who were taken into the Engine House, where all rema^^^d except Messrs. Brua and Russell, who had been permitted by Brown to go out on missions of compromise. Why they were not with us on the final charge I am not informed. Touring
History of West Virginia 333
the night on Monday, the prisoners were anxious that ouw'dc firing- on the buikhng in which we were confined shoulrl >'. ..m;, as friends and foes ahke would be exposed. Mr. Sair,;:oi Strider came in with a flag of truce and manifested every dis- position to render the prisoners every service of which he was capable, and had some water furnished us. '■' * * The first military officer who visited us was Captain Thomas Sinn, commanding a company froiii Frederick City, ]\Id. He was the means of introducing Colonels Maulsby and Shriver. wio assured us that they would use every means in their power to arrest the outside firing upon the Engine House during the night. Colonel Shriver, at my request, had some water sent in. * * * Captain Sinn, whose coolness on every occasion of his visits to us I can not too highly recommend, came in~ the Engine House about daylight and said to Brown, 'The Armory is entirely surrounded by soldiers and Colonel Lee of the U. S. Army is here in command of the IMarines, and there is no possibility of your escape ; I advise you to surrender.' To which Mr. Brown replied, '1 have no leniency to expect if I surrender and I choose to sell my life as dearly as possible.' Colonel Lee sent J. E. B. Stuart, who said to Brown, 'Colonel Lee demands that you surrender.' Brown declined and imme- diately commenced his final preparations to receive the attack. In less than three minutes after the demand by Lieutenant Stuart the attack was made by the Marines."
Following from the "Baltimore American" :
"Shortly after 7 o'clock, on Tuesday morning, Lieuteant J. E. B. Stuart of the First Cavalry, who was acting as aid for Colonel Lee, advanced to parley with the besieged, Samuel Strider, Esq., bearing a flag of truce. They were received at the door by Captain Browm. Lieutenant Stuart demanded an unconditional surrender, only promising them ]^rotection from immediate violence, and trial by law. Captain Brown refused all terms but those previously demanded, Avhich were sub- stantially: 'That he should be permitted to march out with his men and arms, taking their prisoners with them ; that they should proceed unpursued to the second toll gate, when they would free their prisoners. The soldiers were then at liberty
334 History of West Virginia
to pursue and they would fight if they could not escape.' Of course this was refused and Lieutenant Stuart pressed upon Brown his desperate position and urged a surrender. At this moment the interest of the scene was intense. The volunteers were arranged all around the building, cutting oft" escape in every direction. The Alarines, divided in two squads, were ready for a dash at the door. Finally, Lieutenant Stuart, having exhausted all argument with the determined Captain Brown, walked slowly from the door. Immediately the signal for attack was given, and the Marines, headed by Colonel Harris and Lieutenant Green, advanced in two lines on each side of the door. Two powerful fellows sprang between the lines and with heavy sledge hammers attempted to batter down the door. The door swung and swayed, but appeared to be secured with a rope, the spring of which deadened the effect of the blows. Failing thus to obtain a breach, the Marines were ordered to fall back, and twenty of them took hold of a ladder some forty feet long, and advancing at a run, brought it with tremendous force against the door. At the second blow it gave way, one-half falling inward in a slant- ing position. The Marines immediately advanced to the breach. Major Russell and Lieutenant Green leading. A Marine in the front fell and the firing from the interior was rapid and sharp ; they fired with deliberate aim, and for the moment the resistance was serious and desperate enough to excite the spectators to something like a pitch of frenzy. The next moment the Marines poured in, the firing ceased, and the work was done, while the cheers rang from every side, the general feeling being that the Marines had done their part admirably."
After the battle an inventory was made of Brown's forces, as follows :
"Captain John Brown and his two sons, Oliver and Watson, both of whom are dead. They were 32 and 40 years of age, and were from Essex County, New York. A. D. Stevens, from Connecticut, age 27. He is wounded with two balls in the head, one on the breast, and a bayonet wound. He is a tall, athletic man, and of good appearance. Edward
History of West Virginia 335
Coppie, of Iowa, age 24 years, of fine appearance and striking countenance. He is unhurt and is a prisoner. He met Brown in Iowa and there enUsted last June. Albert Haslett, of Penn- sylvania, escaped. William Leeman, of Michigan, dead. Stewart Taylor, of Canada, dead. Charles Tidd, of Maine, dead, ^^'illiam and Dolph Thompson, of New York, dead. John Kagie, formerly of Virginia but late of Ohio, dead. Jerr}- Anderson, of Indiana, dead. John E. Cooke, escaped. All of these came A\-ith Brown from Chambersburg, Penna."
Examining Court.
"On Monday (October 25, 1859) last a Justices' Court was con\ened for the purpose of examining into the cases of John Brown, Aaron D. Stevens and Edwin Coppee, white per- sons, and John Copeland and Shields Green, negroes, u])on charges of conspiracy at Harper's Ferry. The Court was com- posed of Braxton Davenport, Presiding Justice ; Thomas H. Willis, Wm. F. Alexander, John J. T.ock and George ^^^. Eichelberger.
"C. B. Harding, for the Commonwealth, assisted by Andrew Hunter, Esq., for the prosecution. The prisoners not having selected counsel, C. J. Faulkner and Lawson Botts, Esqs., were appointed b_\' the Court for the defense. Brown then arose and said : —
" 'Virginians, I did not ask for an_\- (juarter or to ha\e my life spared. I have the Governor's assurance that I should have a fair trial. I do not know the object of this examination. I have applied for counsel from abroad, but I have not heard from them. There are mitigating circumstances which might be presented. If you seek my blood you can have it at any moment without the mockery of a trial. If I am to be hurried to execution, you can spare yourself the expense and trouble of an examination and trial. I have made a free admission of my acts and objects, and I hope not to be insulted as cowardly, guilty Barbarians insult those who are in their power.'
"Mr. Faulkner stated to the court that he was always ready to discharge any duty which the court assigned him. The prisoners say that they consider this examination a mock-
336 History of West Virginia
ery of justice, and he would therefore prefer to be excused from acting from that as well as for other reasons.
"Mr. Botts stated to the court that his position was not one of his seeking, nor one that he felt authorized to retire from. He would discharge his duty in the case.
"Brown then stated that he believed Mr. Botts was one who had previously declined to act as his counsel. He cared nothing about having cotuisel for his defense if he was to be hurried to execution.
"Mr. Botts said he sent the prisoner word by the Sherifif that he would defend him if appointed by the court.
"Mr. Hunter suggested that each of the prisoners be asked if he desired Messrs. Faulkner and Botts to act as their counsel.
"Brown responded that he left to them to exercise their own pleasures. The other prisoners accepted their services.
"The following witnesses were then sworn and exam- ined: Lewis W. Washington, A. M. Kitzmiller, A. M. Ball, John H. Alstadt.
"Alex. Kelley testified to the shooting of Turner. At this stage Stevens became prostrated from weakness; the court sent him a glass of water and his physicians, Drs. G. F. Mason and John A. Straith, had a mattress brought into court, upon which Stevens was laid.
"Wm. Johnson testified as to the taking of Copeland.
"Andrew E. Kennedy testified as to the confessions of Copeland.
"Joseph A. Brue was also examined generally.
"The evidence being closed and the counsel having sub- mitted the case, the presiding Justice said :
" Tt is the opinion of the court that the prisoners should be sent for further trial.'
"The prisoners were then taken to jail."
Circuit Court.
"Immediately after the adjournment of the Examining Court, the Circuit Court was convened. The Grand Jury was then assembled and witnesses taken before that body. On
History of West Virginia 337
Wednesday morning (October 26) the Grand Jury brought in a true bill against Brown, Stevens, Coppee, Copeland and Green. As the parties chose to be tried separately. Brown was brought into court. After a lapse of several hours a jury was obtained, and adjourned until today (Thursday, October 27th). Messrs. Botts and Green were appointed by the Judge as counsel for Brown. Harding" and Hunter for the prosecu- tion.
"The following gentlemen compose the jury:
"Isaac Dust, Jacob J. Miller, John C. McClure, VVm. Rightsine, John C. Wiltshire, Joseph Myers, George W. Boyer, George W. Tabb, Richard Timberlake, Thomas Watson, Jr., Thomas Osburn, and William A. Martin."
"Whilst the trial of Brown was progressing on Friday (October 28) and all the testimony on the part of the prosecu- tion had been completed, and after one or two witnesses had been examined for the defense (some others not appearing). Brown here arose from his mattress evidently excited. Start- ing upon his feet he addressed the Court as follows:
" 'May it please the Court : I discover that notwithstand- ing all the promises that I have received of a fair trial, nothing like a fair trial is to be given me, as it would seem. I gave the names, as soon as I could get them, of the persons I wished to have called as witnesses, and was assured they should be subpoenaed. I wrote down a memorandum to that effect, saying where those parties were, but it appears that they have not been summoned, so far as I can learn. And now I ask, if I am to have anything at all deserving the name of the shadow of a fair trial, that this proceeding be deferred until tomorrow morning, for I have no counsel, as I have before stated, in whom I feel that I can rely ; but I am in hopes that counsel may arrive who will attend to seeing that I get the witnesses who are necessary for my defense. I am unable myself to attend to it. I have given all attention I could to it, but I am unable to see or know about them, and can't even find out their names, and I have nobody to do an errand for me, for my money was taken from me when I was sacked and stabbed and I have now not a dime. I had two hundred and fifty or sixty dollars in gold and silver taken from my pockets, ar.d
338 History of West Virginia
now I have no possible means of getting anybody to go any errand for me, and I have not been done for, nor have all the witnesses been summoned. They are not within reach, and are not here. I ask at least until tomorrow to have something done. If not I am ready for anything that may turn up.'
"Brown then lay down again, drew his blanket over him and closed his eyes and appeared to sink into a tranquil slumber.
"Mr. Hoyt, of Boston, who had been sitting quietly all day at the side of Mr. Botts, now arose, amid great sensation, and addressed the Court as folloAvs :
" 'May it please the Court, I would add my voice to the appeal of Captain Brown, although I have not consulted with him, that a further hearing of the case be postponed until morning. I wihl state the reason for the request. I was in- formed and have reason to believe that Judge Tilden of Ohio is on the way to Charles Town, and will undoubtedly arrive at Harper's Ferry tonight at 7 o'clock. I have taken measures to assure that gentleman's arrival at this place tonight if he reaches the Ferry. For myself, I have come from Boston, traveling night and day, to volunteer my services in the de- fense of Captain Brown, but I can not take the responsibihty of undertaking his defense, as now situated. The gentlemen have defended Captain Brown in an honorable and dignified manner in all respects so far as I know. But I cannot assume the responsibility of defending him myself for man}^ reasons : First, it would be ridiculous for me to do it. I have not read the indictment through, have not, except so far as I have Hst- ened to this case and heard the counsel this morning, got any idea of the line of defense proposed. I have no knowledge of the criminal code of Virginia and have had no time to examine the questions arising in this defense, some of which are of considerable importance, especially to the jurisdiction over the Armory grounds. P'or all these reasons I ask a continuance of the case till morning.'
"Mr. Botts — Tn justice to myself, I must state that on being first assigned as counsel for Captain Brown, I conferred with him and at his instance took down a list of witnesses he desired subpoenaed. In his behalf, though late at night, I
History of West Virginia 339
called up the Sheriff and informed him that I wished subpoe- nas issued early in the morning. This was done, and they are here, Messrs. Phelps, \\'ill!ams. and Grist, \\lio have been ex- amined.'
" 'Sheriff Campbell stated that the subpoenas were placed in the hands of the officers with the request to serve them at once, and they must have served them, as some of the wit- nesses are here. The processes not returned may have been sent by private hands, and failed to arrive.'
"Mr. Botts thought they had shown, and was confident he spoke the public sentiment of the whole community when he said, they wished Captain Brown to have a fair trial.
"Mr. Hunter. — T do not rise for the purpose of protract- ing the argument or interrupting with the slightest impedi- ment, in any way, the giving of a fair trial. A fair trial, whether it was promised to Captain Brown or not, is guaran- teed by our laws to every prisoner, and so far as I am con- cerned I have studiously avoided suggesting anything to the Court which would in the slightest degree interfere with it. I beg leave to say, in reference to this application, that I sup- pose the Court, even under these circumstances, will have to be satisfied in some way though, through the counsel or other- wise, that this testimony is material testimony.
" 'So far as any of the witnesses have been examined, the evidence relates to the conduct of Brown in treating his pris- oners with leniency, respect and courtesy, and this additional matter, that his flags of truce — if you chose to regard them so — were not respected by the citizens, but some of his men were shot while bearing them. If the defense take this course, we are parfectly willing to admit these facts in any form they may desire. Unless the Court shall be satisfied with this tes- timony— every particle of which I have no doubt is here that could be got — is material in the defense. I submit that the application for delay on that score ought not to be granted. Some of these witnesses have been here and might have been asked to remain.
" 'A host of witnesses on our side have been here, and gone away, without being called to testify. I simply suggest that it is due, in justice to the Commonwealth, which has some
340 History of West Virginia
rights as well as the prisoner, that information be given to the Court showing that the additional testimony wanted is relevant to the issue. The simple statement of counsel 1 do not think would be sufficient.'
"Mr. Green arose to state that Mr. Botts and himself would both now withdraw from the case, and could no longer act in behalf of the prisoner, he having got up now and de- clared here that he had no confidence in the counsel who have been assigned him. 'Feehng conscious that I have done my whole duty so far as I have been able, after this statement of his I should feel myself an intruder upon his case were I to act for him from this time forward. I have no disposition to take the defense, but accepted the duty imposed upon me, and I do not think under these circumstances, when I feel compelled to withdraw from the case, that the Court would insist that I should remain in such an unwelcome position.'
"Mr. Harding — 'We have been delayed from time to time by similar applications in the expectation of the arrival of counsel, until we now have reached a point of time when we are ready to submit the case to the jury upon the evidence and the law, when another application arises for a continu- ance. The very witness that they now consider material, Mr. Dangerfield, came here summoned by ourselves, but deeming that we had testimony enough, we did not examine him.'
"The Court — 'The idea of waiting for counsel to study our Code through, could not be admitted. As to the other ground, I do not know whether the process has been executed or not, as no return has been made.'
"Mr. Botts — T have endeavored to do my duty in this matter, but I cannot see how, consistently with my own feel- ings, I can remain any longer in the case, when the accused whom I have been laboring to defend declares in open court that he has no confidence in his counsel.
" T make this suggestion that I now retire from the case, and the more specifically since there is now here a gentleman from Boston who has come to volunteer his services for the prisoner. I suggest to the Court to allow him this night for preparation. My notes, my office and my services shall be at his command. I will sit up with him all night to put him in
History of West Virginia 341
possession of all the law and facts in relation to this case. I cannot do more ; and in the meantime the Sheriff can be directed to have the other witnesses here tomorrow.'
"The Court would not compel the gentlemen to remain in the case, and accordingly granted the request to postpone, and at six o'clock adjourned till the next morning.
Saturday, October 29th — Court met at 10 o'clock. Judge Parker announced that he had just received a note from the new counsel of the prisoner requesting a short delay to enable them to have a short interview with him. The arrival of H. Griswold, Esq., from Cleveland, Ohio, to take part with George H. Hoyt, Esq., of Boston, in the defense, has increased the excitement.
At eleven o'clock the prisoner was brought into court. Witnesses were then examined. After the close of the testi- mony, a Mr. Chilton, for the prisoner, submitted a motion that the prosecution in his case be compelled to elect one of the counts in the indictment and abandon the others. The indict- ment consists of four counts.
Mr. Harding could not see the force of the objections made by the learned counsel on the other side. In regard to the separate offenses being charged, these were but different parts of one transaction.
Mr. Hunter followed on the same side. He replied to the argument of Mr. Chilton, saying that the discretion of the Court in compelling the prosecution to elect one count in the indictment is only exercised where great embarrassment would otherwise result to the prisoner. As applied to this particular case, it involved this point, that notwithstanding the transaction, as had been disclosed in the evidence, be one transaction — a continued, closely connected series of acts, which according to our apprehension of the law of the land, invoKe the three great offenses of treason, conspiring with and advising slaves to make insurrection, and perpetration of murder. Yet in a cause of this character it is not only right, but proper for the Court to ])ut the prosecution to election as to one of the three, and bar us from the investigation of the two others entirely, although they relate to facts involved in ■one grand fact.
342 History of West Virginia
Notwithstanding the multiphcity of duties devolved upon the prosecution, yet we have found time to be guarded and careful in regard to the mode of framing the indictment. It is my work, and I propose to defend it as right and proper. He then proceeded to quote Chitty's Criminal Law and Rob- inson's Practice to prove that the discretion of the Court there spoken of is only to be exercised in reference to the further- ance of the great object in view — the attainment of justice. Where the prisoner is not embarrassed in making his defense, this discretion is not to be exercised by the Court, and no case can be shown where it has been thus exercised, where the whole ground of the indictment referred to one and the same transaction. This very case in point would show the ab- surdity of the principle if it were as broad as contended for by his learned friend. As for the other point of objection, it was too refined and subtle for his poor intellect.
Mr. Chilton responded. In order to ascertain what a party is tried for we must go to the finding of the grand jury. II the grand jury return an indictment charging the party with murder, finding a true bill for that, and he should be indicted for manslaughter or any other defense, the court would not have jurisdiction to try him on that count in the indictment, and the whole question turns on the construction of the sec- tion of the statute which has been read, namely, whether or not advising or conspiring with slaves to rebel is a separate offense from conspiring with other persons to induce slaves to rebel.
Mr. Chilton said he would reserve the motion as a basis for a motion in arrest of judgment.
Mr. Griswold remarked that the position of all the present counsel of the prisoner was one of very great embarrassment. They had no disposition to interfere with the course of prac- tice, but it was the desire of the defendant that this case should be argued. He supposed that counsel could obtain sufficient knowledge of the evidence previously taken by read- ing the notes of it. But it was now nearly dark. He sup- posed, if it was to be argued at all, the argument for the com- monwealth would probably occup}^ the attention of the court until the usual hour of adjournment, unless it was the inten-
History of West Virginia 343
tion to continue a late evening session. From what had here- tofore transpired he felt a dcHcacy in making any request of the court ; but knowing that the case was now ended, except for mere argument, he (hd not know that it would be asking too much for the court to adjourn after the opening argument on behalf of the prosecution.
Mr. Hunter would cheerfully bear testimony to the un- exceptionable manner in which the counsel who had just taken his seat had conducted the examination of witnesses today. It would afford him ^-ery great pleasure, in all ordinary cases, to agree to the indulgence of such a request as the gentleman had just made, and which was entirely natural. But he was bound to remember, and respectfully to remind the court, that this state of things, which places counsel in a somewhat em- barrassing position in conducting the defense, is purely and entirely the act of the prisoner. His counsel will not be re- sponsible for it, the court is not responsible for it; but the unfortunate prisoner is responsible for his own act in dismiss- ing his faithful, skillful and zealous coimsel on yesterday after- noon. He would simply add that not only were the jurors kept away from their families by these delays, but there could not be a female in this county who, wdiether with good cause or not, was not trembling with anxiety and apprehension. While, then, courtesy to the counsel and humanity to the pris- oner should have due weight, yet the commonwealth has its rights, the community has its rights, the jury have their rights, and it was for his honor to weigh these in opposite scales.
Mr. Chilton said their client desired that they should argue their case. It was impossible for him to do so no\A', and he could not allow himself to make an attempt at argviment on a case about wliich he knew so little. If he were to get uj) at all it would only be for the unworthy purpose of wasting time. He had no such design, but having undertaken this man's cause he very much desired to comply with his wishes. He would be the last man in the \vorld to subject the jurors to inconvenience unnecessarily ; but although the prisoner may have been to blame, may have acted foolishly, may have had an im])ropcr pur]iose in so doing, still he could not see
344 , History of West Virginia
that he should therefore be forced to have his case submitted without argument. In a trial for life and death M^e should not be precipitate.
The court here consulted with the jurors, who expressed themselves as very anxious to get home. His honor said that he was very desirous of trying this case precisely as he would try any other, without any reference at all to outside feehng.
Mr. Hoyt remarked that he was physically incapable of speaking tonight, even if fully prepared. He worked very hard last night to get the law points until he fell unconscious from his chair from exhaustion and fatigue. For the last five days and nights he had only slept ten hours, and it seemed to him that justice to the prisoner demanded the allowance of a little time in a case so extraordinary in all its aspects as this.
The court suggested that we might have the opening argument for the prosecution tonight at any rate.
Mr. Harding would not like to open the argument now unless the case would be finished tonight.
He was willing, however, to submit the case to the jury without a single word, believing that they would do the pris- oner justice. The prosecution had been met, not only on the threshold, but at each and every step with obstructions to the progress of the case. If the case was not to be closed tonight he would like to ask the same indulgence given to the other side, that he might collect the notes of evidence he had taken.
The court inquired what length of time defense would require for argument on Monday morning. He could then de- cide whether to grant the request or not.
After consultation Mr. Chilton stated there would be only two speeches by himself and Mr. GrisAvold, not occupying more than two and a half hours in all.
Mr. Hunter again entered an earnest protest against de- lay. The court replied, "Then you can go on j^ourselves."
Mr. Harding then commenced the opening argument for the Commonwealth, and spoke only for about fort}^ minutes. He reviewed the testimony as elicited during the examination, and dwelt for some time on the absurdity of the claim or ex- pectation of the prisoner that he should have been treated ac-
History of West Virginia 345
cording to the rules of honorable warfare. He seemed to ha\c lost sight of the fact that he was in command of a band of murderers and thieves and had forfeited all title to protection .of any kind.
The court adjourned at 5 o'clock to meet again on Mon- day morning, when Mr. Chilton will deliver the opening- speech for the prisoner.
The trial was brought to a conclusion on Monday (Octo- ber 31st), the jury returning a verdict of guilty on all the counts of the indictment, charging treason, insurrection and murder. A motion for arrest of judgment was made by brown's counsel and argued on Tuesday (November 1). On Wednesday evening the Judge gave his opinion not sustain- ing the application for the arrest of judgment, and proceeded to pronounce sentence — death.
On the same day Edwin Coppee was brought to trial. Messrs. Griswold and Hoyt for the prisoner. Harding and Hunter for the commonwealth. The following persons com- prise the jury :
Joseph E. Bell, Grandison T. Licklider, Wni. A. Marshall, W'illiam P. Henson, James V. Moore, John Sn3'-der, John Cris- well, Peter Bowers, Daniel Hefiflebower, Rezin Shugart, S. L. Minghini, Wm. P. Easterday.
On Wednesday, November 2d, the jury brought in a ver- dict of guilty in the first degree on all the counts.
Brown Sentenced — Coppee Found Guilty.
"Sentence of death was passed on Captain John Bro^^■n last evening by Judge Richard Parker, and Friday, the 2d day of December, 1859, fixed for his execution. The execution is to be public, between the hours of nine o'clock A. M. and four o'clock P. M. When he was asked if he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed upon him, he spoke for several minutes, adhering to the righteousness of his course. He said that those acting with him did so voluntarily, some of them without compensation. He bore testimony to the truthfulness of most of the witnesses.
"The jury in the case of Coppee, after having retired for
346 History of West Virginia
a short time, brought in a verdict of guilty. As a motion for arrest of judgment was made b}^ his counsel, sentence will not be passed until that motion is disposed of.
"John E. Cooke was before an Examining Court yester- day. He waived a trial by that body and was remanded to jail." — "Virginia Free Press."
Charles Town, November 1st, 1859.
The court met at ten o'clock this morning, Judge Parker on the bench, and Charles B. Harding, assisted by Andrew Hunter, Esqrs., for the Commonwealth.
Edwin Coppee was brought in and placed at the bar for trial on the charge of treason against the State, conspiring and advising with slaves to rebel and wilful murder. He is a small man, not over five feet five inches in height and weigh- ing about 180 pounds. He has a stupid look, and is regarded as the least intelligent of the whole party.
Messrs. Griswold of Ohio and Hoyt of Boston appeared as counsel for the prisoners. The testimony was practically the same as in other cases. Case adjourned over until to- morrow.
Charles Town, Nov. 2d, 1859.
Messrs. Russell and Bennett of Boston reached here to- day to act as counsel for prisoners. Captain Cook was brought before the Magistrate's Court today, but Avaived an examina- tion and was committed for trial. •
Coppee's trial was resumed, but no witnesses were called for the defense.
Mr. Harding opened for the Commonwealth, and Messrs. Hoj'^t and Griswold followed for the defendants, when Mr. Hunter closed for the prosecution. The speeches were all marked by ability. Mr. Griswold asked for several instruc- tions to the jur)^, which were all granted by the Court, when the jury retired. ■
Captain Brown's Speech to the Court.
"Captain Brown was then brought in, and the Court House was immediately thronged. The court gave its decision, on the motion for arrest of judgment, overruling the objec-
History of West Virginia 347
tion made. In regard to the objection that treason cannot be committed against the State, the court ruled that wherever allegiance is due treason may be committed. Alost of the States have passed laws against treason. The objection as to the form of the indictment rendered the Court also regarded as insufficient.
The clerk now asked the prisoner if he had anything to say why sentence should not be pronounced upon him.
Brown stood up and in a clear, distinct voice said :
" 'I have, may it please the Court, a few words to say. In the first place I deny everything but what I have all along admitted, of a design on my part to free slaves. I intended certainly to make a clear thing of that matter, as I did last winter when I went into Missouri and there took slaves with- out the snapping of a gun on either side, moved them through the country and finally left them in Canada. I designed to have done the same thing again on a larger scale. That was all I intended. I never did intend murder, or treason, or the destruction of property, or to incite the slaves to rebellion, or to make insurrection.
" T have another objection, and that is it is unjust that I should suffer such a penalty. Had I interfered in the manner which I admit, and which I admit had been fairly proved (for I admire the truthfulness and candor of the greater por- tion of the witnesses who testified in this case) — had I so interfered in behalf of the rich and powerful-— the intelligent — the so-called great, or in behalf of their friends, either father or mother, brother or sister, wife or children, or an}^ other of that class, and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this in- terference— it would have been all right, and every man in this court would have deemed it an act worthy of reward rather than of punishment.
" 'This court acknowledges, too, as 1 sui)])ose. Aalidity of the law of God. I see a book kissed here which I suppose to be the Bible, or at least the New Testament. That teacher me that all things "whatsoever I would men should do to m" I should do even so to them." It teaches me further to "re- member them that are in bonds as bonded with them." I endeavored to act up to these instructions. -I say I am yet
348 History of West Virginia
too young to understand that God is any respecter of persons. I believe that to have interfered as I have done in behalf of his despised poor was no wrong, but right. Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the further- ance of the end of justice and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel and unjust enactments, I submit. So let it be.
" 'Let me say one word further. I feel entirely satisfied with the treatment I have received on my trial. Considering all the circumstances it has been more generous than I ex- pected, but I feel no consciousness of guilt. I have state L from the first what were my intentions, and what were noi. I never had any design against the life of any person, nor an.y disposition to commit treason or excite the slaves to rebel or make any general insurrection. I never encouraged any man to do so, but always discouraged any idea of that kin I. !_.et me say also in regard to the statements made by some of those connected with me, I fear it has been stated by some of them that I have induced them to join me. But the contrary is tru^ . I do not say this to injure them, but as regretting their wt C'k- ness. There is not one of them but joined me of his own accord, and the greater part at their owm expense. A number of them I never saw and never had a word of conversation with till the day they came to me, and that was for the ] air- pose I have stated. Now I have done.'
"While Brown was speaking perfect quiet prev^ailed. When he had finished the court procteeded to pronounce sen- tence."
Sentence of Brown. .
John Brown, you have been charged with three several and distinct offenses of the deepest criminality— with the at- tempt to subvert by force the institution of slavery as estab- lished in this State; with advising slaves in rebellion against the authority of their owners, and with the willful, deliberate and premeditated murder of several of our citizens who, as was their duty, opposed the execution of these unlawful pur- poses, and for so doing were shot down by the party under
History of West Virginia 349
your command. For each of these offenses tlie law provides the penalty of death, and now it only remains for me, as the minister of the law, to pronounce judgment upon you. Not a reasonable doubt can exist as to your guilt of each and every one of these off'enses. Your own repeated admissions, and all the other evidence in the case, fully sustain the verdict that has been rendered. I deem it unnecessary to recapitulate any portion of this evidence, for every part of it, that adduced b}' yourself, as well as that introduced by the prosecution, con- tributes to prove that you had come with your followers into this county determined to carry into execution by force the unlaw'ful purpose of liberating the Southern slaves.
You have been defended by counsel of marked ability, the jury gave their patient attention to every argument addressed to them in your behalf.
You have had the protection and the benefit of every prin- ciple of law and of every privilege secured to persons accused of crime and of every indulgence in making your defense that could reasonably be extended to you, and yet you have been found by an impartial jury of your countrymen to be guilty of the offenses charged against you.
In mercy to our own people — to protect them against similar invasions upon their rights — in mere}'' and by way of warning to the infatuated men of other States Avho, like you, may attempt to free our negroes by forcing weapons into their hands, the judgment of the law must be enforced against 3'ou. The execution of that judgment will be delayed a fully suffi- cient time to enable you to apply to the Supreme Appellate tribunal of the State for its decision upon the errors which are alleged by you and your counsel in the proceedings against you. This is a right secured to you by our law, and it is my duty to see you are not deprived of it.
The sentence of the law is that you, John Brown, be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and that execution of this judgment be made and done upon you by the Sheriff' of this County, on Friday, the second day of December next, be- tween the hours of nine in the forenoon and four in the after- noon of the same day. And the court being of opinion that for the sake of example the execution (and all our dealings
350 History of West Virginia
with the accused be done in open day and before all men) of this sentence should be in public, it is therefore ordered that this judgment be enforced and executed not in the jail yard, but at such public place as is used for this purpose or at such public place convenient thereto, as the said Sheriff may select. And may God have mercy on your soul.
The prisoner is remanded to jail.
After being out an hour the jury came in with a verdict that Coppee was guilty on all the counts in the indictment.
John Brown's Interview.
(By one who visited the jail.)
"About 9 o'clock on Friday morning, December 2d, Cap- tain Brown took leave of his fellow convicts. He walked actively up the steps into the second story of the jail, where Cooke, Coppee, Shields, Green and Copeland were confined. We went first into the cell occupied by Green and Copeland. In this cell also was Hazlett, between whom and Brown not the slightest token of recognition passed. Immediately upon going in Brown shook them by the hand — told them that he was there to take his farewell of them. He charged them both in bitter terms with having said things about him which were not true, and which they knew were not true, and spoke par- ticularly of their having said they were hired to come here and were deceived. He told them the}^ knew that was not so ; that they had joined him of their own accord, and knew what they were to do.
"To Copeland he spoke very harshly in regard to what he said of Kagi. Copeland, by way of excusing himself, said he 'thought it could do no harm, as Kagi was dead.' Brown replied he 'had no right to think — that they could only gain the contempt of mankind by making false statements,' and wound up by exhorting them, Tf they must die, to die like men.' He gave each of them a quarter of a dollar, telling them it would be no use to him, as his time was drawing very short, and it might be of some use to them. Shaking them by the hand, and again exhorting them to 'die like men,' which Cope- land promised to do in these words, 'Captain Brown, I promise
History of West Virginia 351
you to do so,' he took his final leave of them, paying no atten- tion to Hazlett.
"We then went into the cell occupied by Cook and Cop- pee. Brown shook them by the hand, and at once said to Cook (exhibiting a good deal of temper), 'You have made statements about me which are not true, and which you know were not true.' Cook asked, 'In what?' Brown replied, 'In saying that I sent you to Harper's Ferry; you know that is not true.' Cook said to him, 'Did not you tell Stewart Taylor and myself to go to Harper's Ferry and to report to you ?' 'No, sir ; no. You know I opposed it when first proposed at Cleveland and never consented to it.' Cook merely replied, 'Your memor_y is very different from mine.' Brown said very sharply, 'T am right, sir.' Cook dropped his head, rebuked and abashed, and evidently at the mercy of Brown, who then turned to Coppee and said to him, 'You also have made state- ments which were not true,' and referred to Coppee having said they were confined at the Kennedy house, but which he had since corrected, and commended him for it. 'No man can gain anything but the contempt of mankind by making state- ments which are not true.' He then exhorted them to die like men — gave Coppee a quarter and, shaking them both by the hand, bade them a stern 'farewell.'
"Stevens, who was downstairs, was next visited. The interview was very short. Brown said, 'I am here to bid you farewell, as I have done with the others. I have a ])iecc of money for you which is of no use to me ; it may be of some to you,' handing him a cpiarter. Shaking Brown warmly by the hand, Stevens said, T feel it in my soul, Captain, that you are going to a better world,' to which Brown replied, 'Yes, yes, but stand up like a man — no flinching now. Farewell' — turned and left the cell, and stepping into his own cell resumed his writing.
"As soon as Brown entered the cell, he was again General Brown, the prisoners his humble and devoted followers. There never was seen a greater submission than was present when Brown made his appearance. The prisoners were ready to fall at his feet, and willing to promise him anything."
352 History of West Virginia
The Execution of John Brown.
(From The Virginian Free Press.)
Charles Town, Thursday, December 8, 1859. To The Richmond Dispatch :
The North can say not one word against Virginia. Tlie South has had an example of true greatness and commanding moderation exhibited for her imitation. The honors already ours have been increased, and the sons of the Old Dominion may shout aloud anew for their loved State.
The last act in the drama of which "Old John Brown" bore the chief part came off today in this pla<.c, viz : the exe- cution. The day opened beautifully. The heavy clouds that hung along the eastern sky reflected most splendidly the rays of the rising sun. Very early the roll of the drum was heard in every part of our town, and ere long columns and squares of troops were seen moving through the streets. You could see sentinels moving in their quiet watch in almost every direction. The galloAvs was erected soon after the rising of the sun, so that long previous to the time appointed for the hanging everything connected therewith was in readiness. On the southeastern skirts of the village lay a field of about fifty acres, making part of some elevated land in that quarter. On the swell of a small hill towards the southern part of said field was placed the scaffold. A place more appropriate could not have been chosen. West and north lay Charles Town in full view. On the east and south loomed up the Blue Ridge, from whose recesses Brown had come down like the bird of prey, pouncing on its victims, carr3dng carnage and death before him. Toward the south and west stretched away one of the most beautiful districts of the far-famed Valle}^ of Virginia, while away on the extreme west loomed the lofty North Mountain.
I visited the place of execution during the erection of the scaffold, and was well paid for my trouble. Man}^ things conspired to render the scene intensely interesting. In the woods, not far off, and the fields adjoining, might be seen the scouts, on foot or mounted. At intervals, around and within
History of West Virginia 353
the large field, the sentinels were slowly moving to and fro, their burnished arms gleaming in the light of the morning sun. The workmen were busy completing the arrangement of the gallows. All around small white flags were flying near the ground, designating the position of the various bodies of troops, and of the citizen spectators. Several prominent offi- cers richly equipped were riding to and fro on restless chargers. Soon the troops began to enter.
"Not a drum was heard, nor a funeral note,"
but slowly and silently they proceeded to their various posts. About 9 o'clock Colonel Smith, of the Military Institute, appeared on the field of execution, mounted and took charge of the military arrangements. The guards, even at that early hour, were rounding the posts in the field, having in their charge a number of civilians who had been led J^y curiosity to approach without the countersign. Soon the elegant corps from Harrisonburg, Captain Gibbons, and the Alexandria Rifles, Captain Marye, entered, and stations were assigned to them as special guard, to preserve order among the anticipated crowd. They appeared as lines of sentinels parallel with the fencing. In a few moments the Cadet Battalion, under Majors Gilliam and Jackson, marched slowly in and took posi- tion in front of the scaffold at the distance of about forty yards. The infantry was flanked on either wing by a Howitzer detachment. This body of troops appeared to fine advantage, marching with astonishing precision, whether with or without music. The}'- exhibit, in addition, a power of en- durance that makes the heaviest military duties light to them. They were uniformed on this occasion in grey pants and red shirts and made a beautiful display. The right and left wings of the corps of Cadets were occupied, respectively, by Com- pany A, of the First Regiment Virginia A'^olunteers, under Captain Elliot, and Company F, under Captain Gary. Captain Ashby, of the Fauquier Horse, mounted on his splendid white charger, acted as special patrol, to see that the arrangements separating citizens and strangers were carried out. His
354 History of West Virginia
troops, scattered here and there around the field, presented with their scarlet uniforms a very picturesque appearance.
At about 9 :30 a. m.. Captain Harry Hunter took charge of the large gate at the northwest corner of the field. His command consisted of about 22 men, armed with the most elegant Minnie guns, with sword ba3^onets. Being citizens of Charles Town, the duty of separating those recognized as citi- zens from strangers was assigned them. The citizens were stationed on the eastern side of the field, the strangers on the west. The brave Lieutenant Green, of the United States ]Marine Corps, commanded the latter position, with a detach- ment of the Alexandria Artillery. This of^cer led the charge at Harper's Ferry on the Engine-House, entered at the he id of the storming party, and gave Brown the terrible blow o\ er the head that prostrated him. He had on that morning, I ain told, only a light dress sword, that was shattered by the blow. According t© his reported statement, if he had struck the blow with his own sword, he would have severed his head from his body. He has been here ever since the arrival of the Rich- mond troops, claiming the honor of leading the light ag'unst the abolition rescuers should they come. Hence the honc^r- able position assigned him this morning. General Tallafro and a numerous staff, mounted, proceeded to the place of execution at about fifteen minutes of 11 o'clock. At 11 a. m. the prisoner was brought out, attended by Captain Avis, the jailer, and Mr. Campbell, Sheriff, and placed in a light-colored spring wagon, drawn by two gray horses. He was seated on his cofiin and then driven slowly to the gallows, under the military escort mentioned in the General Order. The battal- ion was commanded b}^ Colonel August, who Avas mounted on a jet-black charger, splendidly caparisoned. The proces- sion arrived at the scaffold at about eight minutes after 11 o'clock. Captain Brown appeared in fine spirits. He came from the jail with arms pinioned behind his body. Imme- diately on appearing in view of the escort, he commenced to smile and bow to those around with Avhom he was acquainted. He was offered his choice, either to walk to the scaffold or ride. On the road he conversed freely with those riding in company with him, expressing great admiration of the sur-
History of West Virginia 355
rounding- country, saying- that it was the first opportunity he had had of \-iewing it. He said he had not any fear of death, but that to part from friends — some of them recently made — was hard. Air. George W. Sadler, undertaker, remarked to him , "Captain Brown, you are a game man." In answer. Brown said, "I ne\'er knew fear — I have been educated by thirty years' experience not to fear death." His surprise on seeing so few citizens present on the field of execution was considerable, his admiration at the magnificent military dis- play manifest.
Accompanied by Captain Avis and I\Ir. Campbell, he as- cended the scaffold with a firm tread. Immediately the cap was drawn over his eyes, and without giving evidence of the slightest emotion, he stood erect, while his feet were drawn together by a cord, and the fatal noose adjusted around his neck. Sherifl:" Campbell asked him if he had an}'thing to say. He answered, "Nothing, do not keep nie standing un- necessaril}' long." Mr. Campbell then asked him if he w^ould give the signal with a handkerchief, and his answer was, "No, I am ready and wait your convenience." He then shook hands with the three or four persons on the scafi:'old. At 15 minutes past 11 o'clock the drop fell, when the spirit of the prisoner passed from earth. The body remained suspended thirty- seven minutes.
Everything passed ofl:' in the most quiet manner. So complete were the arrangements that not the firing of a pistol or the bursting of a cap occurred to excite alarm.
The body Was conveyed to Harper's Ferry on a special train at 6:30 ]). m., to be delivered to his widow.
The Will of John Brown.
Charlestown, Jefl:'erson Co., Va.,
December 1st, 1859. I give to m\- son, John Brown, Jr., my surveyor's com- pass and other surveyor's articles, if found ; also, my old granite monument, now at North Elba, N. Y.. to receive upon its two sides a further inscription, as I will hereafter direct; said stone monunient, however, to remain at North Elba so
356 History o£ West Virginia
long as any of my children and my wife may remain there as residents.
I give to my son, Jason Brown, my silver watch with my name engraved on the inner case.
I give to my son, Owen Brown, my double-spring opera- glass and my rifle gun (if found) presented to me at Worches- ter, Mass. It is globe-sighted and new. I give, also, to the same son fifty dollars in cash, to be paid him from the pro- ceeds of my father's estate, in consideration of his terrible suffering in Kansas, and his crippled condition from childhood.
I give to my son, Solomon Brown, fifty dollars in cash, to be paid him from my father's estate, as an off-set to the first two cases above named.
I give to my daughter, Ruth Thompson, my large old Bible, containing the family records.
I give to each of my sons, and to each of my other daugh- ters, my son-in-law, Henry Thompson, and to each of my daughters-in-law, as good a copy of the Bible as can be pur- chased at some book-store in New York or Boston at a cost of five dollars each ; to be paid out of the proceeds of my father's estate.
I give each of my grandchildren that may be living when my father's estate is settled, as good a copy of the Bible as can be purchased (as above) at a cost of three dollars each.
All the Bibles to be purchased at one and the same time, for cash, on the best terms.
I desire to have ($50) fifty dollars each paid out of the final proceeds of my father's estate, to the following named persons, to-wit : to Allen Hammond, Esq., of Rockville, Tol- land County, Conn., or to George Kellogg, Esq., former agent of the New England Company at that place, for the use and benefit of that company. Also, fifty dollars to Silas Havens, formerly of Lewisburg, Summit County, Ohio, at Canton, who sued my father in his life-time, through Judge Humphrey and Mr. Upson, of Akron, to be paid by J. R. Brown to the man in person if he can be found. His name I cannot remem- ber. My father made a compromise with the man by taking our house and lot at Manneville. I desire that any remaining balance that may become due from my father's estate may be
History of West Virginia 357
paid in equal amounts to my wife, and to each of my children, and to the widows of Watson and Owen Brown, by my brother. John Brown.
The Execution of Cook, Coppee, Copeland and Green.
Charlestown, Dec. 16th, 1859.
As early as 9 o'clock A. M., in accordance with general orders issued by IMajor-Gencral Taliaferro, the military were moving- and taking the positions assigned them. The Jeffer- son Guards, Captain Rowan, marched to the field of execution and took position, supported by a portion of the Alexandria Artillery, Lieut. Israel Green, commanding, as the right wing to Captain Deane's battalion, Avhich occupied the ground im- mediately in front of the gallows. Captain Deane's command comprised the Portsmouth National Grays and the Woods Rifles, ]\Iajor Lamb ; the left wing was occupied by the \A^ythe Grays, Captain Kent, supported by a portion of the Alexandria Artillery, Major Duffy.
The Fincastle Rifles, Captain Anthony, and Clarke Guards, Captain Bowen, acted as the inner line of sentry sepa- rating the citizens from the military : the Loudoun Cavalr}', Captain Carter, served as the outer chain of sentry. Their duties were arduous as they were constantly employed in keeping the crowd from intruding beyond the limits pre- scribed. The "Black Hawk Rangers", of Fauquier County, Capt. Turner Ashby, were charged with the duty of keeping the field clear until the troops were posted and to prevent en- trance by the crowd into the square occupied jy the military. Lieut.-Col. J. R. Chambliss w^as entrusted with the disposition •of the troops on the field in accordance with general orders.
The Executive Guard, Capt. Harry Hunter, were stationed at the gate entrance of the field, and proved very efficient in the discharge of their trying duties.
At eleven minutes to 11 o'clock, Major-General Taliaferro and staff entered the field, taking position immediately in rear of Captain Deane's battalion. The staff consisted of sixteen officers, mounted. Standing near and in front of t!ie gallows v\-ere the Medical Staff", under the direction of Dr. ( ■. T'. ATason.
358 History of West Virginia
physician to the jail, and Dr. John A. Straith, assistant physi- cian. There were in attendance some twenty physicians, at- tached to the different companies now on duty here. To their left, Thomas C. Green, Esq., Mayor of the town, Andrew Hunter, Esq., assistant prosecuting attorney at the trial of the condemned, J. W. Kennedy and A. E. Kennedy, Esqs., D. S. Eichelberger, Esq., of the "Independent Democrat", D. H. Strother, Esq., so well and universally known as "Porte Crayon", late of Harper's Magazine, N. H. Gallaher, of "Free Press", and Edward A. Gallaher, reporter, were stationed ; also Major J. Newton Brown, Paymaster of the Post.
At 11 o'clock, the column and guard to the prisoners Copeland and Green appeared in sight and filed into the field, Colonel Weiseger in command.
The prisoners were conveyed from the jail to the gallows in a furniture wagon, driven by Mr. Sadler, undertaker, accom- panied by Mr. Starry, his assistant. In the wagon with the prisoners were the Sheriff", Mr. Campbell; Captain Avis, jailer, and Dr. J. J. H. Straith. Rev. Messrs. North, Waugh and Leach followed behind the wagon on foot. Upon reaching the gallows, the column was halted, and the prisoners descended from the wagon. Sheriff" Campbell took Copeland b}' the arm and Captain x\vis took Green and led them to the scaffold. As they were ascending the steps, Copeland stum- bled and was near falling.
When they had reached the platform and whilst the mili- tary were taking their positions, the Rev. Mr. North, of the Presbyterian Church, off'ered up a prayer to the throne of Grace in behalf of the condemned. His prayer, which was most affecting and appropriate, occupied about ten minutes. During the deli^'ery thereof Copeland and Green seemed much affected and humiliated ; Copeland stood with head erect and eyes closed, clasping his hands across his breast and seemed listening attentively, his lips moving as if following Mr. North in prayer ; Green stood with hands closed in front, and rocked to and fro, frequently casting his eyes toward Heaven and then dropping his head on his breast, glancing now and then to right and left ; he appeared deeply affected and evidently realized the trying situation in which he was placed.
History of West Virginia 359
At the conclusion of the pra_\cr by Mr. North, the ro])es were adjusted and the caps drawn over their faces, they were then led on the drop, when Captain Avis tied their feet. Cope- land and (jreen then bade the ministers and Mr. Campbell and Captain Axis goodbye. The Sheriil" descended from the plat- form, cut the rope, and at 14 minutes past 11 o'clock a. m. the drop fell and the souls of the poor, misguided creatures were usliered into the presence of Him whose judgment is final. 'Die struggles of Copeland \\ere really most ])ainful to look upon, and as we watched him writhing in his agony we could but feel how terrible indeed such a death must be. Green's neck was evidently broken, for he seemed to suffer much less than Copeland, as his struggles were not so violent. We judged that Green was dead in about fi\'e minutes from the time the drop fell ; Copeland appeared to have life several minutes after.
They hung for thirty minutes, when Dr. Mason, Dr. j. A. Straith and Dr. Starry made an examination of their bodies and announced to the Sheriff that they believed them to be dead. Captain Avis, jailer, and four of the guard then took them down, placed them in tlieir coffins, and they were at once conveyed to an adjacent field and buried. As soon as they were taken down, the Sheriff and Jailer returned to the jail in the same wagon for Cook and Coppee. The military accompanying Copeland and Green were to repair to town and relieve the companies detailed to guard the jail during the execution of the two negroes. /\n interval of three quar- ters of an hour passed after they were down ere the militar\- appeared in sight, guarding Cook and Coppee. During this time, the companies \\li() occupied positions to the front, right and left of the gallows were variously exercised by command of General Taliaferro in order to keep tliem warm, as the weather was very raw and cold.
.A.t twenty minutes to 1 o'clock ]). m. the military ha\ing in charge Cooke *and Coppee. were seen entering the field. Upon reaching the gallows the column was halted, and Cook and Coppee descended from the wagon, assisted by the officers in charge of them. \\'hen they had gotten out both of them commenced bidding goodbye to the jail guard who accom-
360 History of West Virginia
panied them, and to several of those standing near the gal- lows. The Sheriff led Coppee up first. Captain Avis followed after with Cooke. As Cooke was ascending the steps of the scaffold we observed tears coursing down his cheeks. The position we occupied, which was just at the side of the steps at the time, aff"orded us an excellent opportunity of seeing the prisoners. Coppee appeared very calm and collected, whilst Cook was very much agitated. On reaching the scaffold Mr. North officiated as before, off'ering up a pathetic appeal to the God of Justice and Mercy (for man had none) in behalf of the unfortunate criminals.
During the prayer, Cooke held his head down — resting on his right hand, evincing great anxiety and agitation. Coppe stood up firmly with hat on, clasping in his left hand a red silk handkerchief; not a muscle moved, gazing quietly and placidly on the scene before him. He evinced an equal degree if not a greater firmness than Brown.
When Mr. North had concluded his prayer, Captain Avis placed the rope around Cooke's neck, and Mr. Campbell offi- ciated in the same way for Coppee. The condemned then bade Messrs. Waugli, Leach and North, ministers, also Mr. Camp- bell and Captain Avis farewell. Dr. J. H. Straith, by request, then adjusted the ropes on their necks, placing them so that the knot of the noose rested under the left ear, so that the rope should pull immediately on top of the larynx or on the valve of the windpipe. This was done at the request, so we are told, of the Sheriff, to expedite death. The caps were then placed over their heads. Here, Coppee, who had taken his position on the drop, turned half around, and said to Cook, ''Goodbye, John." Stretching forth his hand, Cooke asked, "Where is Ed's hand?" Captain Avis guided their hands to- gether, when Coppee said, "Goodbye, John, God bless you." Cook replied, "Goodbye, all."
The Sheriff had taken his stand at the upright beam to which the drop rope was fastened, waiting until Dr. Straith had adjusted the rope ; all being ready, Dr. Straith left the platform and as he was descending the steps, said to the Sheriff, "Be quick as possible", and the fatal blow was given, the drop fell, and the souls of Cooke and Coppee were ushered
History of West Virginia 361
into the presence of the Supreme Being, there to be finally judged.
Thus died at ten minutes to 1 o'clock, December lOth, 1859, two of the most prominent of the insurgents under Brown. Thus in the most terrible form have the laws of the State been vindicated, and an example been afforded their deluded friends and sympathizers.
Coppee was buried by his Quaker relatives, about five miles from Salem, Ohio; but was later taken up, placed in a fine metallic casket and re-interred in the cemetery in sight of Salem, a large concourse of people following the remains to their last resting place.
The trial of Aaron O. Stevens and Albert Hazlett resulted in a verdict of murder in the first degree and both were hanged on Friday, ]\Iarch 16th, 1860. Thus again the Mosaic law of "an eye for an eye" was carried out with interest, at usury rates, for men were hanged who had not even fired a shot in self-defense. But they had been guilty of treason against the Government, and the law fixed the death penalty. Yet, but few people today will contend that John Brown's views on the slavery question were not morally right. However, in- stead of waiting and letting the Federal Government settle the matter — as it did shortly afterward — he very foolishly un- dertook to <go it alone, and his failure proved his downfall. But, had he succeeded in his designs, he would have been con- sidered the greatest man that ever lived. Even as it was, there is no doubt that this event hastened the abolition of slavery.
CHAPTER XX.
CAUSES LEADING TO THE FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.
Perhaps there is in no other State in the Union whose people have endured more extreme hardships or have labored under greater disadvantages than did the early settlers who lived within the present boundaries of West Virginia.
For nearly a half century following the earliest settle- ments by the whites, the lives of her people were never wholly immune from Indian depredations ; and during the whole time of the French and Indian and the Revolutionary Wars the pioneers suffered, not only from savage inroads, but from European invasions as well. Then, from the beginning till the formation of W^est Virginia from the mother State, there were many antagonistic elements in the way of the former's progress. These were due, mainl)^, to the unfriendly relations between eastern and western Virginia with reference to com- merce, education, politics, and the habits of the people. In these differences, all fair minded people who are familiar with the history of Virginia must concede that the people of the west were in the right, and their eastern brethren wrong. Patronizing after the fashion of the British government, the eastern part of Virginia assumed that it was the only part worthy of consideration. A mountain barrier separated the humble, frugal toilers on the west from the State capital and the aristocratic slave-holders that hovered thereabouts on the east. The latter were ambitious that Richmond should rival and surpass Baltimore as a trade center. But fortunately for western Virginia and unfortunately for eastern Virginia, the latter was stronger in political than business acumen, and in spite of the selfish purpose of the mother State to prevent the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from extending its line to Wheeling, the long-headed business men of Maryland saw the great future possibilities of the west, and built not only
History of West Virginia 363
one line, but three to the Ohio Ri\cr — one Hne going to Pitts- burgh, another to WheeUng, and still another to Parkersburg, and later on to the far west.
Politicians tell us that large sums of money were ex- pended for so-called internal impro\ements — such as turn^ pikes, canals, etc.; "but," say Miller and Maxwell in "History of W^est Virginia", "these began everywhere and ended no- where. They criss-crossed the region around and contiguous to the State capital. They reached the base of the western mountains. They afforded easy means of travel and line drive- ways on which Virginia gentlemen could exercise their blooded horses. But they opened little territory whose trade was not already tributary to A'^irginia towns on tide water. The im- provements were constructed with borrowed money. Debts were piled up far beyond the power of honest revenue to pay. Though practically none of the improvements were of value to people west of the mountains, }et long after the separation of the two sections, suits were carried to the court of last re- sort in an effort to compel West Virginia to pay for over one- third of Virginia's foolish efforts to build up a commercial center to rival Baltimore."
Previous to the Ci^•il War, Mrginia was notoriously backward in the matter of educational facilities. In the early days the Shenandoah A'alley was the western frontier. The people of this region came largely from the north, where edu- cation was popular. They were of a different type from those on tide-water Virginia — the Black belt. The rich slave own- ers south of James River were generally of aristocratic char- acter and considered themselves superior to the "poor white trash". They believed in educating their own children, but regarded the otlier whites very much as they did their own slaves, in the matter of education. Many of the \\ealthy plant- ers provided private teachers for their children, while others were sent to England and France to be educated. The poor or middle class could not afford these advantages.
Such a popular demand was made for schools that a fund was eventually pro\'ided, but was regarded as a charity fund to which the people were not entitled, and was begrudgingly doled out accordingly.
364 History of West Virginia
When settlements were made west of the Allghanies, they were composed largely of people from the Shenandoah Valley, who carried with them their educational ideas. The hostility of the eastern slaveholders to popular education pursued them thither, and but little of the educational fund found its way to the new settlements, and only those who were able to hire teachers or send their children to a "select" school were in a position to educate their children.
The habits of the people of eastern and western Virginia were never homogeneous. Their tastes and temperaments were different. They were of a different ancestry. Their hab- its, manners and modes of life were not the same. The people who first settled in the Shenandoah Valley and along its tribu- taries were largely from Mar_vland, New Jersey and Pennsyl- vania. They were of the Yankee element, and held nothing in common with the aristocratic population of eastern Virginia.
The real A^irginian is, was and always has been an aristo- crat by nature. He doted on his blood, and took as much ^jride in tracing his pedigree as did the French cavalryman his w^ar horse.
Socially, the poor whites were beneath the black slave. "Many of the notions that obtained under the old feudal sys- tem, when the baron built a castle and walled himself in from the vulgar contact of the plebeian and put on great pomp and ceremony, seemed to have been imparted to Virginia. The lordly owner of a Virginia plantation surrounded himself with slaves and established himself in a mansion that was as inac- cessible to the common herd. Nor were his personal dignity and self-esteem less exalted than that of a feudal lord's. He had a knightly chivalry that would brook no trifling with his dignity. The slightest insinuation against his dignity or honor subjected the offender to the alternative of responding to a challenge to a duel or being branded as a coward."
Yet, notwithstanding these egotistical, absurd and even foolish traits of character, this type of Virginian possessed many qualities that appealed to those moving in his social circle.
Of the Virginian, W. P. Willey has to say : "In his own home he dispensed a princely hospitality. He was fond of
History of West Virginia 365
society. He was the ideal gentleman in dress and manners ; ceremonious, but big hearted. He loved his friends, but hated his enemies. He had leisure and liked to talk. His tastes ran to blooded horses and politics, and his leisure gave him oppor- tunity to study both. He knew much of party politics and public questions, and his convictions -on such matters were as fixed and unalterable as a rule of mathematics. He was loyal to his party friends and meant extermination to his political foes. His choleric temperament and profound convictions made him a natural orator. When he went upon the hustings during a political campaign, he gave an entertaining perform- ance, even to those who disagreed with him. Few better specimens of the highest style of the orator have ever been heard than some who have growai up from the Virginia soil. It was a florid, fervid, inimitable speech that no scholarship or training could bestow. It had a touch of nature that could not be counterfeited. It appealed to a hearer's inner self as only spontaneous speech can. It was unhappily a kind of oratory not often heard in these matter-of-fact political times."
The oratorical powers of the Virginian, as described by Mr. Willey, were not characteristic of the average slave owner of that State by any means. They were the exception — not the rule. She had her orators, but only one Patrick Henry.
Happily, the aristocratic notions of the people of Virginia are dying out as new generations appear. Their children are imbibing higher and better thoughts, and that exclusive, selfish feeling is conspicuous for its absence.
But returning to" the early days : In the Uxountain region, the people were the very antithesis of the slave owners on the east. They recognized no distinction or strata in society. They were, by virtue of God's natural law, tree and equal. A man's worth was gauged by his industry and integrity ; money cut no material figure in a person's standing, socially or other- wise, in a community. They were sociable, friendly, kind and generous, but had no "exclusive sets". They were practical, plain, unpolished, fairly moral, but as a rule, not saintly peo- ple. Egotism, false pride, false modesty and silly aristocratic notions were despised by them.
366 History of West Virginia
"The western people were poor, but did not seem to know it," "The eastern men were rich and never failed to show it."
Western Virginia also had much to complain of in a po- litical way. The politicians and law makers or tiie eastern part of Virginia seemed* to think that the most effective way to keep their western brethren under their feet was by enact- ment of arbitrary laws, unfair assessment of taxes, and an unequal distribution of official positions. These unhappy con- ditions were maintained through a voting qualification elec- tion law which disfranchised a large number of voters in the west, but was not effective against the property vote of the east. Finall}^ however, conditions became so intolerable that the westerners could no longer endure the high-handed methods of the eastern politicians, and the latter, through threatening and emphatic protests by the former, relaxed, in a small measure, her tyrannical grip — just enough relaxation to afford a slight breathing spell.
It will, therefore, be seen that four special things — com- merce, education, habits and politics — afforded the cause for dissension, and were, in truth, the prime factors that eventu- ally brought about the separation of West Virginia from the mother State.
This separation was but the culmination of efforts which had been going on at intermittent stages for many j'-ears. The geographical relationship of the tv/o sections with reference to the intervening mountains was, in itself, sufficient to sug- gest the natural suitableness of a division of territory. This fact was recognized by both the French and English as far back as 1749 — as indicated by the formation of the Ohio Com- pany, and the planting of the leaden plates by Celeron under direction of the Marquis de la Galissoniere, Commandant Gen- Walpole, a London banker.
In 1770, the Ohio Company was merged in what was called The Walpole Company — so called from Mr. Thomas \A^alpole, a london banker.
After the Revolution, Mr. Walpole and his associates peti- tioned Congress respecting their lands, called then "Vandalia." This is said to have been the first real project having a definite
History of West Virginia 367
purpose of founding a state west of the Alleghanies, by divid- ing Virginia. To this proposed division England appears to have been more strongly opposed than X'irginia, but nothing ever came of it.
At another time it was proposed to cut \irginia in two along the summit of the mountains and form the State of Transylvania by uniting the western parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia and the eastern portion of Kentucky, but this movement was likewise aborti\'e.
Subsequently — about the time of the adoption of the United States Constitution — when the western extension of some of the States was under discussion, it was proposed that the Alleghany mountains should mark the Avestern boundary of Virginia; but finally the Ohio River was settled on instead.
In 1822 there was some talk of a separation, but a majority of the \\^estern A'irginians favored a more liberal State Con- stitution. They would be satisfied with lavrs guaranteeing a liberal suffrage and more equitable taxation. Finalh', in 1829, a constitutional convention was called to Richmond, but the results were so unsatisfactory to the westerners that a new State movement was given increased momentum. A proposi- tion was made to divide A'irginia by a line east and west from the mouth of the Little Kanawha Ri\er to the soutli-west cor- ner of Maryland, and annex to Penns}lvania or Maryland all north of the line, about 8,000 square miles. That south of the line miglit form a new State or remain with A'irginia. W ith reference to this moxement, the "Winchester lvei)ublican'" had this to say :
"The \ irginia legislature will convene on INIondaw To the proceedings of this body we look with intense interest. Matters of great moment will come before it. and the discus- sions will be as interesting as those of the late con\ention. The preservation of the State will, we believe, depend u]ion the legislature. Dispute the claims of the trans-Alleghany counties to what they may deem a proper share of the fund for internal improvements, and a division of the state must follow — not immediately, perhaps, but the signal will be given for the rising of the clans, and they will rise. It is not worth while now to speculate on the mode and manner in which the
368 History of West Virginia
government will be opposed. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. But a crisis is approaching. The northern coun- ties demand to be separated from the state with a view of at- taching themselves to Maryland or Pennsylvania; the south- west counties go for a division of the state into two common- wealths. Should the latter be effected, what will be our con- dition in the valley? Infinitely worse than the present. The mere dependency of a government whose interests and whose trade would all go westward, we would be taxed without re- ceiving any equivalent, and instead of being chastised with whip, we would be scourged with scorpions. Of the two pro- jects spoken of, that which would be least injurious to the val- ley and the state at large would be to part with the north- western counties. Let them go. Let us get clear of this dis- affected population. Then prosecute the improvements called for by the southwest, and that portion of our state, deprived of its northern allies, would give up its desire for a separation !'''
At the time the above article appeared, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was under way to Cumberland, which point the non-progressive politicians of eastern Virginia hoped would be its final terminus, as they were opposed to any development west of the mountains which might tend to lessen their grip on that part of the state. They feared if the railroad shoula find its way through the coal fields and vast timber lands of western Virginia, opening up both eastern and western mar- kets, the people of that section would be in a much better position to enforce their rights and desires than if th.QY were kept in an isolated condition.
The convention of 1829-30 having failed to grant the peo- ple's petition for relief, steps were again taken, in 1841-2, to secure a call for a constitutional convention and for reappor- tioning the representation, but these movements were de- feated.
In the year 1850, eastern Virginia seriously considered secession from the Union, but the people west of the moun- tains opposed it. The following extract from, the resolutions passed in Mason County, in 1850, expresses some of the rea- sons why the secession movement was unpopular in western Virginia :
History of West Virginia 369
"As a portion of the people of the fourteenth congres- sional district, a part of West Augusta on whose mountains Washington contemplated, if driven to extremities, to make his last stand and plant his last banner in defense of the liber- ties of his country, we are prepared, in conformity with the parting advice of that same Washington, to stand by the Union; and living in the line between slave-holding and non- slave-holding states, which makes it certain that in the event ^f dissolution of the Union, we should be placed in the posi- tion of borderers, exposed to the feuds and interminable broils which such a position would inevitably entail upon us, a re- gard for the safety of our firesides, not less than the high im- pulses of patriotism, the glorious recollection of the past, and the high anticipation of the future, will induce us to adhere unswervingly to this resolution."
Daniel Webster's prediction of the probable action of the Western Virginians along this line, in 1851, was as follows:
"Ye men of Western Virginia who occupy the slope from the Alleghanies to the Ohio and Kentucky, what benefit do you propose to yourselves by dis-union ? Do you look for the current of the Ohio to change and bring you and your com- merce to the tide-waters of eastern rivers? What man in his senses would suppose that you would remain a part and parcel of Virginia a month after Virginia ceased to be a part and parcel of the United States ?"
On the 20th of December, 1860, South Carolina had adopted an Ordinance of Secession, and by February 1st, 1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana had all taken similar action, and the Senators and Representatives of these states resigned their seats in the National Congress and returned to their respective homes to share the fortunes or misfortunes of their people. Three days later, delegates from six of the seceded states assembled at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new government, called the Confederate States of America. On February 8th, Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was elected Provisional President, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President.
Under the provisions of Virginia's constitution adopted in 1851, the General Assemblv held biennial sessions. The
370 History of West Virginia
period of vacation was in the winter of 1860-61. On Novem- ber 15, 1860, Governor John Letcher issued a proclamation calHng the General Assembly in extra session January 7, 1861. Upon the meeting of that body, the Governor said :
"The proposition for the call of a State Convention, to de- termine the position which Virginia shall take, in view of pass- ing events, appears to have been received with very general favor. As this subject has been much discussed by the people in their primary meetings, it is not only proper, but it is doubt- less expected, that I shall refer to it in this communication. * * * I have my convictions upon this question, and I give expression to them in declaring my opposition at this time to the call of a State Convention. I see no necessity for it at this time, nor do I now see any good practical result that can be accomplished by it. I do not consider this a propitious time to moot the question, and I apprehend from indications that have been exhibited that serious difficulties and embarrass- ments will attend the movement."
It was soon found that the views of a majority of the members did not harmonize with those of the Governor.
On January 8th, the Assembly adopted the following resolutions :
"1. Resolved by the General Assembly of Virginia, that the Union being formed by the assent of the sovereign states respectively, and being consistent only with freedom and the republican institutions guaranteed to each, cannot and ought not to be maintained by force.
"2. That the government of the Union has no power to declare or make war against any of the states which have been its constituent members.
"3. Resolved, that when any one or more of the states has determined, or shall determine, under existing circum- stances, to withdraw from the Union, we are unalterably op- posed to any attempt on the part of the federal government to coerce the same into re-union or submission, and that we will resist the same by all the means in our power."
On January 21, the following resolution was adopted:
"Resolved by the General Assembly of Virginia, That if all efiforts to reconcile the unhappy dififereir^es existing be-
History of West Virginia 371
tween the two sections of the country shall prove to be abor- tive, then, in the opinion of the General Assembly, every con- sideration of honor and interest demands that Virginia shall unite her destiny with the Slaveholding States of the South."
On February 13, 1861, a convention was held at the State House at Richmond. The number of Delegates was one hun- dred and fifty-two, of whom forty-seven were from cotmties now included in West Virginia. Some of the most prominent men of Virginia were present on that occasion, among whom were Ex-President John Tyler, Henry A. Wise, Ex-Governor of Virginia, etc.
In connection with the foregoing, the following is taken from Lewis's "How West Virginia Was Made" :
A temporary organization was effected by the election of James H. Cox, of Chesterfield County; and he was escorted to the chair by George W. Summers and Spicer Patrick, the delegates from Kanawha County — now in West Virginia. Then William F. Gordon, clerk of the House of Delegates, was appointed temporary Secretary. A permanent organiza- tion was declared to be in order, and John Janney, of Louden County, was elected President. In his address to the Con- vention, he said :
"I tender you my sincere and cordial thanks for the honor you have conferred upon me, by calling me to preside over the deliberations of the most important Convention that has been assembled in this State since the year 1776. * * * It is not my purpose to indicate the course which this body will probably pursue, or the measures it may be proper to adopt. The opinions of to-day may all be changed to-morrow. Events are thronging upon us, and we must deal with them as they present themselves.
"Gentlemen : There is a flag which for nearly a centur}^ has been borne in triumph through the battle and the breeze, and which now floats over this capital, on which there is a star representing this ancient Commonwealth, and my earnest prayer, in which I know every member of this body will cor- dially unite, is that it may remain forever; provided always that its luster is untarnished. We demand for our own citi- zens perfect equality of rights with those of the empire States
372 History of West Virginia
of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio ; but we ask for nothing that we will not cheerfully concede to those of Delaware and Rhode Island. * -^ *
"Gentlemen : This is no party Convention. It is our duty on an occasion like this to elevate ourselves into an atmo- sphere in which part}^ passion and prejudice Citnnot exist — to conduct all our deliberations Math calmness and wisdom, and to maintain with firmness whatever position we may find it necessary to assume."
When the President finished his address, John L. Eubank, of the City of Richmond, was elected permanent Secretary. A Committee on Federal Relations, consisting of twenty-one members, was appointed February 16, 1861. It consisted of Robert Y. Conrad, of Frederick County; Henry A. Wise, of Princess Anne County; Robert E. Scott, of Fauquier County; William Ballard Preston, of Montgomery County ; Lewis E. Harvey, Amelia and Nottaway Counties ; Vv^illiam H. McFar- land, Richmond City; WilHam McComas, Cabell County; Robert Montague, Matthews and Middlesex Counties ; Samuel Price, Greenbrier County; Valentine W. Southall, Albemarle County; Waitman T. Willey, Monongalia County; James C. Bruce, Halifax County; William W. Boyd, Botetourt and Craig Counties ; James Barbour, Culpepper County ; Samuel C. Williams, Shenandoah County; Timothy Rives, Prince George and Surrey Counties ; Samuel McD. Moore, Rock- bridge County; George Blow, Jr., Norfolk City; Peter C. Johnson, Lee and Scott Counties ; John B. Baldwin, Augusta County; John J. Jackson, Wood County — seventeen from what is now Virginia, and four from what became West Vir- ginia.
On the same day the President appointed the following Committee on Elections, viz : Alpheus F. Haymond, of Marion County; William L. Goggin, of Bedford County; William G. Brown, of Preston County; J. R. Chambliss, of the Greenville-Sussex Delegate District ; Allen T. Caperton, of Monroe County ; William Ambler, of Louisa County ; Algernon S. Gray, of Rockingham County ; Eppa Llutton, of Prince William County; John A. Campbell, of Wythe County;
History of West Virginia 373
William M. Tredway, of Pittsylvania Coimty ; and Addison Hall, of the Lancaster-Northumberland Delegate District.
The business of the Convention was noA' fairly begun, and resolutions were poured upon the Convention with great rapidity, far the greater number being referred to the Com- mittee on Federal Relations. They were expressive of divers sentiments and conflicting opinions. The Governor was re- quested to furnish the number of Enrolled Militia and the number and character of arms distributed to volunteer com- panies.
A select committee of five was appointed \o report speed- ily whether any movements of arms or men had been made by the Federal government to any fort or arsenal in or bor- dering on Virginia indicating a preparation for attack or coercion.
The 18th day of February was set apart for the reception of the Commissioners appointed by the States of South Caro- lina, Georgia and Mississippi, to the Convention to ask co- operation of Virginia in establishing and maintaining a gov- ernment in the seceded States. The first speaker was Hon. Fulron Anderson, the Commissioner from Mississippi. He began his remarks by a graceful adulation of Virginia, in attributing to her the honor of leadership in the struggle for independence with the crown of Great Britain. He then re- hearsed the action of his own State in her secession from the Union ; and closed by saying that Virginia held in her hands the destiny of a Southern Confederacy, and that by uniting with her Southern sisters, a revolution would be accomplished, bloodless and peaceful in its character, and no more threats of coercion would be heard. Hon. Henry L. Benning, from Georgia, was next introduced. He urged separation as the only remedy for existing evils. "What," said he, "shall influ- ence a nation to enter into a treaty with another nation? It is," he urged, "interest — material, social, political and re- ligious interest." A long array of statistics and figures were presented to show how Virginia would be benefited by join- ing her fortunes with those of the seceding States. Then came Hon. John S. Preston, the Commissioner from South Carolina, who stated that his mission was "to communicate to the
374 History of West Virginia
people of Virginia the causes which have impelled the people of South Carolina to withdraw from the United States." He beheved that the time had come when the slaveholding States should resume the powers hitherto granted to the General Government. He closed with an earnest appeal to Virginia to assume that position v/hich her past greatness indicated, and with her voice hush the storm of war and keep the ancient glory of her name. The Commissioners were representative men of their respective States, and the addresses of all were resplendent with rhetorical flourish and literary excellence. All portrayed the danger to Virginia of remaining longer in the Union, and held up to view a new government of a new nation of which Virginia, should she pass an Ordinance of Secession, would become the chief corner stone. The effect produced by this visit of the Commissioners was indeed pow- erful. By resolution, each Commissioner was requested to furnish the manuscript of his address and three thousand copies were ordered printed for the use of the Convention.
The citizens of many of the eastern counties, in conven- tion assembled, urged the Convention to immediate action. At a meeting in Bedford County, March 6, 1861, the following was adopted :
"BE IT RESOLVED, That we will resist any and every attempt at coercion, and respectfully request our delegates in the Convention to use every means in their power to dissolve the connection of Virginia with the Federal Government."
At a meeting of the citizens of Smj'-the County, at their Court House, March 9, 1861, they adopted the following:
"Resolved, That the honor, the duty, and the interest of Virginia imperatively demand that she should immediately resume all her rightful sovereignty and stand prepared for war."
On the 6th of March, Alpheus F. Haymond, Chairman of the Committee on Elections, reported to the Convention that returns from the election held on the 4th of the preceding February had been received from all the counties of the State (except Buchanan, Cabell, Elizabeth City, Greene, Logan, McDowell and Wise), and that the total number of votes cast was 145,697, of which 100,536 were in favor of referring the
History of West Virginia 375
action of the Convention to the people for ratification ; and 45,161 against referring" to the people.
On Saturday, April 13th, it was reported in Richmond that the South Carolina forces had attacked Fort Sumter, and Governor Letcher sent a telegram to Governor Pickens of that State, making inquiry as to whether the report was true. To this the latter replied, saying: "It is true, and it still con- tinues. No damage to any on our side or to our works. Great damage to Fort Sumter." Later in the day Governor Pickens sent another telegram, saying: "Fort Sumter was bombarded all day yesterday. * * * The war has commenced. Please let me know what \'irginia will do?" To this, Governor Letcher replied by saying: "The Convention now in session will determine what Virginia will do."
An Ordinance of Secession.
This determination by the Convention was soon reached, as Governor Letcher said it would be. Henceforth there was much confusion, and excited discussions continued until April 16th, when, with the Convention in secret session, William Ballard Preston reported from the Committee on Federal Relations the following Ordinance :
"AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL THE RATIFICA- TION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BY THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, AND TO RESUME ALL THE RIGHTS AND POWERS GRANTED UNDER SAID CONSTITUTION.
"The people of Virginia, in their ratification of the Con- stitution of the United States of America, adopted by them in Convention on the twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, hav- ing declared that the powers granted under the said Consti- tution were derived from the people of the L'uited States, and might be resumed whensoever the same should be perverted to their injury and oppression, and the Federal Government having perverted said powers, not only to the injur\- of the people of Virginia, but to the oppression of the Southern Slaveholding States :
376 History of West Virginia
"Now, therefore, we, the people of Virginia, do declare and ordain. That the ordinance adopted by the people of this State in Convention, on the twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty- eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified ; and all acts of .the General Assembly of this State ratifying or adopting amendments to said Consti- tution, are hereby repealed and abrogated; that the union be- tween the State of Virginia and the other States under the Constitution aforesaid is hereby dissolved, and that the State of Virginia is in full possession and exercise of all the rights of sovereignty which belong and appertain to a free and inde- pendent State.
"And thc}^ do further declare, That said Constitution of the United States of America is no longer binding on any of the citizens of this State.
"This Ordinance shall take effect and be an act of this day, when ratified by a majority of the votes of the people of this State, cast at a poll to be taken thereon on the fourth Thursda}^ in May next, in pursuance of a schedule hereinafter to be enacted."
The next day, Wednesday, April 17th, 1861, was the most eventful one in the annals of Virginia. At 1 :30 P. M. a vote v/SLS taken and the Ordinance of Secession was adopted — yeas 88; nays 55 — a majority of 33.
The crisis had been reached and passed, but the result was not known until the next day. Upon its announcement all East Virginia was wild with excitement. That evening a great mass meeting was held at the Metropolitan Hotel in the City of Richmond, and the following resolutions unanimously adopted :
"RESOLVED, UNANIMOUSLY, That the thanks of this convention be cordially tendered to the State Convention for the noble act of patriotic duty which they have just per- formed ; and forgetting all past dissensions, we will rally with united hearts and hands in defense of the honor, safety and independence of Virginia, and the Confederate States."
"Resolved,, unanimously, That the members of this con- vention do here, in the presence of the Almighty God and of
History of West Virginia 377
each other, pledge themselves and each other, their fortunes and sacred honors, in defense of their native soil."
The same evening. Col. S. Bassett French, "with a heart too full for utterance", enclosed copies of these resolutions to the President of the Convention, stating that they had been "adopted by the people under the deepest sense of their re- sponsibility to Almighty God and their beloved State." That night bonfires illuminated the public squares in Petersburg and Fredericksburg", and at interior towns the booming of cannon fired in celebration of the event, died away in pro- longed echoes along the eastern base of the Blue Ridge. From the mountains to the sea all was enthusiasm. * * *
On the 18th of April, the Convention adopted the follow- ing:
"Resolved, That the Governor of this Commonwealth be requested to communicate immediately to the President of the Confederate States the fact that this Convention, on yes- terday, adopted an Ordinance resuming the powers delegated by Virginia to the Federal Government, and to express to the said President the earnest desire of Virginia to enter into an alliance, offensive and defensive, with the said Confederate States."
The next day Governor Letcher complied with the request in this resolution, and in reply thereto, received a teleg"ram from the President of the Confederate States in relation to an alliance between them and the Commonwealth of Virginia :
"To His Excellency, John Letcher,
"Governor of the State of Virginia, &c., &c. "Sir: — In response to your communication, conveying to me on behalf of the State of Virginia, the expression of the earnest desire of that Commonwealth to enter into an alliance, offensive and defensive, with the Confederate States, and being animated by a sincere wish to unite and bind together our respective countries by friendly ties. I have appointed Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States, as special commissioner of the Confederate States to the Government of Virginia ; and I have now the honor to introduce him to you, and to ask for him a reception and
378 History of West Virginia
treatment corresponding to his station, and to the purposes for which he is sent. Those purposes he will more particularly explain to you.
"Hoping that through his agency these may be accom- plished, I avail myself of this occasion to offer to you the assurance of my distinguished consideration.
"Jefferson Davis.
"Montgomery, April 19, 1861."
Following is a copy of Alexander H. Stephens's Com- mission to Treat with Virginia :
"TO ALL WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL CON- CERN, GREETING:
"Know ye, that for the purpose of establishing friendly relations between the Confederate States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia ; and reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity, prudence and ability of Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States and Commissioner to the Commonwealth of Virginia, I have in- vested him with full and all manner of power, and authority for, and in the name of the Confederate States, to meet and confer with any person or persons authorized by the Govern- ment of Virginia, being furnished with like power and author- ity, and with him or them to agree, treat, consult and nego- tiate of, and concerning all matters and subjects interesting to both republics ; and to conclude a treaty or treaties, con- vention or conventions, touching the premises; transmitting rhe same to the President of the Confederate States for his final ratification, by and with the advice and consent of the Congress of the Confederate States.
"In testimony whereof, I have caused the. seal of the Con- federate States to be hereunto affixed.
"Given under my hand, at the City of Montgomery, this nineteenth day of April, A. D. 1861.
"By the President : JEFFERSON DAVIS.
"Robert Toombs,
."Secretary of State."
History of West Virginia il^J
In compliance with a resolution adopted on April 22nd, Ex-President John Tyler, William Ballard Preston, Samuel McD. Moore, James P. Holcombc, James C. Bruce and Lewis E. Harvie were appointed a committee to confer with Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, Commissioner from the Confederate States, to arrange with him the terms of union or alliance i e- tween Virginia and said Confederate States.
On April 24th Ex-President Tyler, Chairman of the '^v in- mittee, reported to the Convention for its consideration a "temporary convention and agreement with said States for the purpose of meeting pressing exigencies affecting the com- mon rights, interest and safety of said Commonwealth an-l said Confederacy."
This agreement was duly ratified by the Convention tiic following day, and on the same day the following or.linanco was adopted :
"An ORDINANCE for the adoption of the Constitution of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America :
"We, the delegates of the people of Virginia, in conven- tion assembled, solemnly impressed with the perils which sur- round the Commonwealth, and appealing to the searcher of hearts for the rectitude of our intentions in assuming the grave responsibility of this act, do, by this ordinance, adopt and ratify the constitution of the provisional government of the Confederate States of America, ordained and established at Montgomery, Alabama, on the eighth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-one; provided, that this ordinance shall cease to have any legal operation or cft'ect, if the people of this Commonwealth, upon the vote directed to be taken on the ordinance of secession passed by this convention on the seventeenth day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, shall reject the same."
380 History of West Virginia
Organization of Provisional Army and Capture of Government Property.
General Headquarters,
Adjutant-General's Office,
April 17, 1861. Brigadier-General James H. Carson, 16th Brigade, Frederick Count}^ Virginia. Sir : — You will issue orders to the volunteer force of 3^our brigade to hold itself in readiness for service at a moment's warning, and support any movement that may be made by the State troops upon the arsenal and works at Harper's Ferry. They will probably be joined by the volunteers of Augusta and Rockingham, &c. If necessary, you will assume the command of the entire force.
By order of the Commander-in-Chief,
V^M. H. RICHARDSON, A. G.
General Headquarters,
Adjutant-General's Office,
April 18, 1861. General Thomas Haymond, Commanding 3rd Division :
The Governor directs that you give orders to the volun- teer corps in your Division to be ready for service at a mo- ment's notice, and to the Brigadier-Generals to be prepared for service. That you take measures effectually to prevent the passage of the Federal or any other troops from the AVest, eastward on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The Brigadier-Generals of your Division are Buckner Fairfax, of Preston County, 10th Brigade; James H. Carson, Frederick County, the 16th ; James Boggs, Pendleton County, 18th; C. B. Conrad, Gilmer County, 20th; John J. Jackson, Wood County, 23rd ; and Bushrod W. Price, Marshall County, 24th ; and to them your orders should be addressed promptly.
By Command. WM. H. RICHARDSON, A. G.
April 19th, Major-General Kenton Harper, commanding at Harper's Ferry, telegraphed Adjutant-General Richardson: 'T am forwarding to Winchester, with all dispatch possible.
History of West Virginia 381
the arms and machinery at this place, retaining only such of the arms which are complete and rescued from the burning', as are thought necessary to equip the troops, imperfectly armed, as they come in. * =•'■ * There are now about thir- teen hundred men here, and I expect reinforcements to the number of five hundred in a few hours, and I have information of about a thousand now on the way."
April 21st — Flag Officer French Forest took possession of the Norfolk and Gosport Navy Yards, together with vessels, steam engines, machinery, tools, supplies, and other property valued at $2,497,130.92; together with the old and new custom houses at Norfolk, valued at $207,000.00.
The same day on which the movement was made on Harper's Ferry (April 17) the Convention provided for a State Military force. This was done by the adoption of "An Ordi- nance to call the volunteers into the service of the State and for other purposes."
April 19th, the office of Major-General of the Military and Naval forces of the State was created, and on April 22nd Governor Letcher nominated Robert E. Lee for this office, which was promptly confirmed by the Convention.
An ordinance for the Enlistment in the Provisional Army was adopted on April 27th, which provided that "all free, able- bodied, effective men between the ages of eighteen and forty- five might be enlisted, and the enlistment should be binding on minors, provided they be allowed four days to reconsider and retract their enlistment."
On the 29th of April, five Congressmen were elected to represent Virginia in the Provisional Congress of the Con- federate States, about to assemble at Montgomery, Alabama. These were Hon. R. M. T. Hunter, of Essex County; William C. Rives, of Albemarle County; Hon. John W. Brockenbor- ough, of Rockbridge County ; Walter R. Staples, of Mont- gomery County ; and Judge Gideon D. Camden, of Harrison County; but Camden never appeared to take his seat.
On May 1st the Convention adopted an ordinance to re- lease the officers, civil and military, from all obligations to support the Constitution of the late Confederacy, known as the United States of America.
382 History o£ West Virginia
A resolution adopted by the Congress of the Provisional Government ratified the terms of alliance entered into on the 24th of the preceding April, by and between Alexander H. Stephens, the Confederate Commissioner, and the Commis- sioners of Virginia, and the old Commonwealth was thus formally admitted into the Confederate States of America May 7th, 1861.
During all these movements on the part of the Eastern Virginians, looking to a separation from the Union, the West- ern Virginians, a great majority of whom were opposed to secession, were not idle. Some were in favor of taking imme- diate steps to form a new State. Others preferred to wait a while and see what the slaveholding section would do. At last, when Virginia had actually cast her lot with the South- ern Confederacy, the Western Virginians went to work with a will and in the midst of shot and shell the new State of West Virginia took her place and cast her lot with the Union on June 20th, 1863, details of which important event will appear in another chapter.
CHAPTER XXI.
FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.
A preponderance of sentiment in Western Virginia was favorable to the perpetuation of the Federal Union. The people west of the mountains generally regarded secession from the Union as ruinous, and resolved that if that part dom- inated by the slaveholders chose to go with the Confederate States, they would endeavor to preserve the western section to the Federal Union. They first desired to hold Virginia in the Union, but if the}- failed in this, then the)' would seek a division of the State, and proceeded to act accordingly.
On Xovember 12, 1860, a public meeting was held at the Court House in Preston County for the purpose of an ex- change of views on the important events then agitating the whole country, and to discuss certain questions in which Western Mrginia, in particular, was so vitally interested. .\ hotly contested election had been held six days previous, but men of all parties, irrespective of past affiliations, were present and took some part in the important matters which brought them together. It was soon ascertained that practically every one present was opposed to secession, and strong resolutions were passed to that effect.
On November 24th — four days after South Carolina adopted an Ordinance of Secession — a meeting was held in Harrison County and resolutions were adopted to the eft'ect that the people would first exhaust all constitutional remedies for redress before resorting to more heroic measures ; that the ballot box was the only Constitutional remedy and to it they would appeal ; that it was the duty of all citizens to up- hold and support the lawfully constituted authorities.
On November 26th a meeting of the people was held at the Court House in Morgantown, Monongalia County, headed bv tlic local leaders of both political parties. They resolved
384 History of West Virginia
unanimously that the election of the candidate of the Repub- lican party did not justify secession, and that the union of the States was the best guarantee for the present and future welfare of the people.
On December 3rd the people of Taylor Count}'^ met at the Court House at Grafton and passed resolutions opposing secession.
On December 14th the citizens of Ohio County assem- bled in the Atheneum in Wheeling. The meeting was a very enthusiastic one. The Mayor of the City — Hon. Andrew Wilson — was called to the chair, and Nathan Wilkinson was appointed secretary. The evils of secession were ably por- trayed by Hon. Sherrard Clem.ens, member of Congress, who was the principal speaker on the occasion. The general senti- ment of those present was strongly in favor of continued Federal union. The following resolution was adopted :
"RESOLVED, That we deplore all attempts to abolish or destroy the Constitution of the United States. We do not see that our condition would be improved if this were done ; on the contrary, we have reasons to fear that whatever evils we suffer now will be greatly increased, with manifold others 'that we know not of. Of the broken fragments of our present glorious Union, we should despair of building another in which we could have any confidence. Avowedly a league to be dissolved at pleasure or any caprice, passion, disappointment, or sup- posed interest, no stability could be expected in another Con- federacy. Virginia is bounded by the Ohio River and the State of Pennsylvania for upwards of 400 miles. A great bod of her people reside near the Ohio River and on the hills and valleys penetrated by the many streams and rivers which enter it. They have their commerce and intercourse chiefly with the great West; and are deeply interested in preserving the perfect integrity and Union of the States. We deprecate being placed in the position of a border frontier, and we think Vir- ginia should hesitate long before she aids or abets the disrup- tion of the present Constitution and places her people in such position."
Following closely after the Wheeling meeting, similar meetings were held at Bethany, in Brooke County, and at
History of West Virginia 385
Hartford City, in Alason County, each adopting resolutions against the dissolution of the American Union.
On January 1st, 1861, a large and enthusiastic meeting- was held at Parkersburg, and with but one dissenting vote, adopted the following resolution :
"RESOLVED, That the doctrine of secession of a State has no warrant in the Constitution, and that such doctrine would be fatal to the Union and all the purposes of its crea- tion; and ill the judgment of this meeting, secession is revo- lution * * '•= . We are deeply impressed with the con- viction that our national prosperity depends on preserving the Union as it is ; and we see nothing in the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency of the United States — as much as we may have desired the election of another — as affording any just or reasonable cause for the abandonment of what we regard as the best government ever yet devised by the wisdom and patriotism of men. That the result of calling a convention to consider what position Virginia shall assume in the revolutionary movements of South Carolina will be the means of precipitating the State into a connection fatal to her credit, her prosperity and the happiness of her people."
On January 5th a Workmen's Union assembled at the Atheneum Hall, in Wheeling, — about 3000 in number — and adopted the following resolutions :
"RESOLVED, That we will not be bound by the acts of any convention, no matter how called or organized, the pur- pose of which is to alter or in any manner change the relation which Virginia bears to the Government of the Union.
"RESOLVED FURTHER, That any convention which may be called should take such action to amend the Consti- tution of Virginia as to bar representation in the General Assembly upon the free, white population of the State and ultimately establish the ad valorum principle of taxation as well for slaves as for other property."
On January 5th eighty voters present at a meeting at Sand Hill, in Marshall County, passed the following resolu- tion :
"That we will stand bv the Union and resist to the utmost
386 History of West Virginia
of our ability every and all attempts to dissolve the Union ; and we further pledge ourselves not to vote for any man to hold office or represent us unless he is in favor of the Union and will give it his support."
On January 7th a "large and enthusiastic meeting of ci^ . - zens of Mason County assembled at Point Pleasant and passed a series of resolutions strongly favoring the Union and de- nouncing the policy of secession. The foremost men of the county participated in the convention."
At a mass meeting held at Clarksburg, in Harrison County, January 19th, the following resolution was unan- imously adopted :
"Resolved, That we will not support any man who believes that the convention to assemble at Richmond on the 13th of February, 1861, or any other State authority, can ab- solve the citizens of this State from their allegiance to the General Government ; and that we will support no man who believes that the Federal Government has not the right of self-preservation."
On January 19th a large number of Ohio County citizens met at West Liberty, and declared that "in view of the present alarming crisis of the Federal Relations of the State, it is the duty of each citizen of the State to stand by the Union."
On January 21st the people of Hancock County met and passed the following resolution :
"RESOLVED, That in our several capacities as citizens of the United States and of this State, we can remain loyal to both; but in the event of secession being forced upon us, we will not recognize any power claimed thereby to alter or im- pair our fidelity and allegiance to the General Government, but will resist all such assumed power to the last extremity."
On January 22nd the citizens of Triadelphia, in Ohio County, declared : "Tha-t Virginia has suffered no wrongs at the hands of the General Government that v/ill afford suffi- cient pretext for open and forcible opposition to the Federal authorities, and the election of Mr. Lincoln was in form pre- scribed by law, and we will vote for no man for a seat in the State Convention until he pledges himself to vote in that body against the secession of Virginia."
History of West Virginia 387
On January 24th a large mass meeting was held by the Tyler County people at Sistersville, who were outspoken in favor of State division, as will be shown in the following reso- lution :
"Resolved, That in case of the firm determination of Eastern Virginia to secede, we will instruct our delegate and pledge him to stand by the Union in every emergency. AND THAT IF EASTERN VIRGINL^ SECEDES, WE ARE IN FAVOR OF STRIKING WEST VIRGINIA FROM EAST- ERN VIRGINIA AND FORMING A STATE INDEPEN- DENT OF THE SOUTH AND FIRM TO THE UNION."
On January 26th a large number of voters assembled at Cameron, in Marshall County, and declared that it was "our duty as well as interest to make our sentiments "known ; and they are, that we are unfaltering in our devotion to the Union as bequeathed our fathers ; that the Union and Constitution have committed no wrong, but have secm-ed most graciously and admirably in our mission, and will continue so to do, if they are maintained."
On January 29th two conventions were held in Ohio County, each emphasizing by resolution their unalterable de- termination to stand by the Union and the Constitution.
The people in Brooke County, in a meeting held in Feb- ruary, 1861, declared: "Of all the people of these United States, we, the people of the so-called Panhandle Region of Virginia, are the most to be affected by the secession of this State. By it we would be put in an 'inferior condition to these herein mentioned', and subject only to taxation to support a government in the extreme South, in which we have no inter- est in common with the people."
While there was great rejoicing throughout the Black Belt in Virginia over the adoption of an Ordinance of Seces- sion by the Convention at Richmond, April 17, 1861, the feeling was quite the contrary in Northwestern Virginia. "There anxious thousands impatiently awaited intelligence from the capital city on the James. But none came, for at that time there was but one line of telegraph connecting the East with the West and that night — April 18th — it was broken at Harper's Ferry. On the streets of Morgantown,
388 History of West Virginia
Clarksburg, Weston, Wheeling, Wellsburg, and other towns earnest men looked each other in the face to see reflected back an expression of the feeling which agitated their own breasts. Nothing definite was known in some of the counties until the arrival home of delegates from Richmond. Then a thrill of excitement shook the country from the Alleghanies to the Ohio, and but a few days sufficed to fan into flame the sec- tional jealoiisies of other years."
Following is a list of names of those representing coun- ties in Western Virginia (now West Virginia) in the Con- vention at Richmond :
Barbour — Samuel Woods.
Berkeley — Allen C. Hammond and Edmund Pendleton.
Braxton, Nicholas, Clay and Webster — Benjamin W. Byrne. ^ .
Brooke — William McComas.
Doddridge and Tyler — Chapman J. Stuart.
Logan, Boone and Wyoming- — ^James Lawson.
Marion — Alpheus F. Raymond and Ephraim B. Hall.
Marshall — James Burley.
Mason — ^James H. Couch.
Mercer — Napoleon B. French.
Monongalia — Waitman T. Willey and Marshall M. Dent.
Fayette and Raleigh — Henry L. Gillispie.
Gilmer, Wirt and Calhoun — C. B. Conrad.
Greenbrier — Samuel Price.
Hampshire — Edward M. Armstrong and David Pugh.
Hancock — George McC. Porter.
Hardy — Thomas Maslin.
Harrison — John S. Carlile and Benjamin Wilson.
Jackson and Roane — Franklin P. Turner.
Jefferson — Alfred M. Barbour and Logan Osburn.
Kanawha — George W. Summers and Spicer Patrick.
Lewis — Caleb Boggess.
Monroe — Allen T. Capterton and John Echols.
Morgan — Johnson Orick.
Ohio — Sherrard Clemens and Chester D. Hubbard.
Pendleton — Henry M. Masters.
Pocahontas — Paul McNeil.
History of West Virginia 389
Pleasants and Ritchie — Cyrus Hall.
Preston — Wm. G. Brown and James C. McGrew.
Putnam — James W. Hoge.
Randolph and Tucker — John N. Hughes.
Taylor — John S. Burdett.
Upshur — George W. Berlin.
Wayne — BurwcU Spurlock.
Wetzel — Leonard S. Hall.
Wood — ^John J. Jackson.
Of those named, the following voted against the Ordi- nance of Secession : Edward M. Armstrong, George W. Berlin, Caleb Boggess, William G. Brown, John S. Burdett, James Burley, Benjamin AV. Byrne, John S. Carlile, Sherrard Clemens, C. B. Conrad, James H. Couch, Alpheus F. Hay- mond, Chester D. Hubbard, John J. Jackson, Wm. McComas, James C. McGrew, Henry H. Masters, Logan Osburn, Spicer Patrick, Edmund Pendleton, George McC. Porter, Samuel Price, David Pugh, Marshall M. Dent, Ephraim B. Hall, Allen C. Hammond, James W. Hoge, Burwell Spurlock, Chapman J. Stuart, George W. Summers, Campbell Tarr, and Waitman T. Willey — thirty-two in all.
Those voting for the Ordinance were : Allen T. Caperton, John Echols, Napoleon B. French, James Lawson, Johnson Orick, Henry L. Gillispie, Cyrus Hall, Leonard S. Hall, John N. Hughes, Samuel Woods, and Franklin P. Turner — eleven in all.
Those not voting upon the question were : Thomas Mas- lin, Benjamin Wilson, Alfred M. Barbour, and Paul McNeil — four in all.
Those who voted in the negative and afterward changed to the affirmative were George W. Berlin and Alpheus F. Haymond.
Those who did not vote, but afterwards signed the Ordi- nance of Secession, were Alfred M. Barbour and Paul McNeil.
As there were 88 votes cast for and 55 votes against secession, and as 13 of the Western Virginia delegates voted for and 30 against — four not voting — it will be seen that the secessionists would have won by three votes had all of the
390 History of West Virginia
forty-seven Western Virginia delegates voted against seces- sion.
Immediately following the passage of the Ordinance of Secession James Burley, Sherrard Clemens, Marshall M. Dent, Ephraim B. Hall, Chester D. Hubbard, John J. Jackson, James C. McGrew, Spicer Patrick, Chapman J. Stuart, George McC. Porter, and Campbell Tarr met at the rooms of Sherrard Clemens in the old Powhatan Hotel, where it was resolved that all should leave Richmond for their homes on the first train. Waitman T. Wllley, William G. Brown, Caleb Boggess and others followed immediately afterwards, shortly followed by George W. Summers, James H, Couch, James W. Hoge and others.
By reason of their absenting themselves for causes not agreeable to the delegates representing the secession element, the following Western delegates were expelled as members of the Richmond convention: William G. Brown and James C. McGrew, of Preston County; James Burly, of Marshall County; John S. Burdett, of Taylor County; John S. Carlile, of Harrison County; Marshall M. Dent and Waitman T. Willey, of Monongalia County; Chester D. Hubbard, of Ohio County ; George McC. Porter, of Hancock County ; Chapman J. Stuart, of Doddridge County; Campbell Tarr, of Brooke County; John J. Jackson, of Wood County, and Ephraim B. Hall, of Marion County.
James H. Couch, of Marion County, and George W. Summers, of Kanawha County, resigned their seats in the convention. John N. Hughes, delegate from Randolph Coun- ty, was killed at the Battle of Rich Mountain, July 11th, 1861. He was in the Confederate army.
News of the passing of the Secession Ordinance was carried to all parts of Western A^irginia, and within a very brief time meetings were being held in every town and village west of the mountains ; and the returned delegates urged the people to prepare for resistance of the secession movement at the ballot-box on May 23rd.
On April 22nd a large mass meeting was held in Monon- galia County, and the following resolution was passed :
"The time has come when every friend of the Union
History of West Virginia 391
should rally to the support of the flag of his country, and de- fend the same ; that the people of Monongalia County, regard- less of past afifiliations, hereby enter their solemn protest against the secession of the State; and that they owe undying fidelity to the Union ; and that they cling to it despite the efforts of the people of Eastern Virginia to precipitate them into the gulf of secession, and consequent ruin."
On April 22nd the people of Wetzel County met at New Martinsville and adopted the following resolution :
"That secession is not the remedy for the troubles so unfortunately resting upon our country and we believe it would be for the interest of Virginia to remain in the Union, believing that our rights can be maintained in the Union, but that they will certainly be endangered out of it.
"Resolved, further. That the Union sentiment of this peo- ple is such that we pledge our votes against any act of seces- sion which would sever us as a State from the Federal Gov- ernment."
A convention was held at Clarksburg on April 22nd, 1861, at which, it was estimated, there were over 1200 voters of Harrison County present. John Hursey was made President and John W. Harris, Secretary. Following resolutions were adopted by the meeting :
"WHEREAS, The Convention now in session in this State, called by the Legislature, the members of which had been elected twenty months before said call, at a time when no such action as the assemblage of a convention by legisla- tive enactment was contemplated by the people, or expected by the members they elected in May, 1859, at which time no one anticipated the troubles recently brought upon our com- mon country by the extraordinary action of the State auti- ties of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, has, contrary to the expectation of a large majority of the people of this State, adopted an ordi- nance withdrawing Virginia from the Federal Union ; and,
"WHEREAS, By the law calling said Convention, it is expressly declared that no such ordinance shall have force or effect, or be of binding obligation upon the people of this.
392 History of West Virginia
State, until the same shall be ratified by the voters at the polls; and,
"WHEREAS, We have seen with regret that demon- strations of hostility, unauthorized by law, and inconsistent with the duty of law-abiding citizens, still owing allegiance to the Federal Government, have been made by a portion of the people of this State against the said Government; and,
"WHEREAS, The Governor of this Commonwealth has, by procalamation, undertaken to decide for the people of Vir- ginia that which they have reserved to themselves the right to decide by their votes at the polls, and has called upon the volunteer soldiery of this State to report to him and hold themselves in readiness to make war upon the Federal Gov- ernment, which Government is Virginia's Government and must in law and of right continue so to be uniil the people of Virginia shall, by their votes and through the ballot-box, that great conservator of a free people's liberties, decide other- wise; and,
"WHEREAS, The peculiar situation of Northwestern Virginia, separated as it is by natural barriers from the rest of the State, precludes all hope of timely succor in the hour of danger from other portions of the State, and demands that we should look to and provide for our own safety in the fear- ful emergency in which we now find ourselves placed by the action of our State authorities, who have disregarded the great fundamental upon which our beautiful system of government is based, to-wit: 'That all governmental power is derived from the consent of the governed,' and have, without consult- ing the people, placed this State in hostility to the Federal Government by seizing upon its ships and obstructing the channel at the mouth of Elizabeth River; by wresting from the Federal officers at Norfolk and Richmond the custom houses ; by tearing from the Nation's property the Nation's flag and putting in its place a bunting, the emblem of rebellion, and by marching upon the National Armory at Harper's Ferry ; thus inaugurating a war without consulting those in whose name they profess to act.
"AND, WHEREAS, The exposed condition of North- western Virginia requires that her people should be united in
History of West Virginia 393
action, and harmonious in purpose — there being a perfect identity of interests in times of war as well as of peace —
"THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That it be and is hereby recommended to the people in each and all of the counties composing Northwestern Virginia to appoint dele- gates, not less than five in number, of their wisest, best and most discreet men, to meet in Convention on the 13th day of May next, to consult and determine upon such action as the people of Northwestern Virginia should take in the present fearful emergency.
"RESOLVED, That Hon. John S. Carlile, Waldo P. Golf, Hon. Charles S. Lewis, John J. Davis, vSolomon S. Fleming, Lot Bowen, Dr. William Duncan, William E. Lyon, Felix Sturm and James Lynch, be and are hereby appointed dele- gates to represent this county in said Convention.
"JOHN HURSEY, President."
"JOHN W. HARRIS, Secretary."
"That evening Mr. C. E. Ringler, editor and proprietor of the 'Western Virginia Guard,' published at Clarksburg, issued an extra edition of his paper in which was printed an 'Address of the Convention to the people of Northwestern Virginia.' In this the foregoing 'Preamble and Resolutions' were embodied. Messengers mounted on horseback bore copies of the 'Guard' to Weston, Kingwood, Morgantown, and to adjoining and adjacent counties. Other copies were dis- tributed along the lines of railroad westward to Wheeling and Parkersburg; eastward to Martinsburg, and even to the Lower Potomac. The time was short — but twenty days, — the emer- gency great, and from Hancock County to W^ayne and from Wood to Berkeley, the people hastened to comply with the request of the Clarksburg Convention. Public meetings were held in counties, in cities, in towns, at churches, schoolhouse^., and crossroads, and delegates appointed to tlte proposed con- vention at Wheeling. Days seemed weeks, but time passed and brought the eventful 13th day q^ May, 1861." (\'irgil A. Lewis.)
394 History of West Virginia
Proceedings of the First Convention of the People of Northwestern Virginia at Wheehng.
On May 13th, 1861, a Convention of Delegates from twenty-seven counties in Western Virginia met at Washing- ton Hall, in Wheeling. Major William B. Zinn, of Preston County, was selected temporary chairman, and George R. Latham, of Taylor County, temporary secretary. Convention was opened by prayer by Rev. Peter T. Laishley, a delegate from Monongalia County. Considerable debate arose between Mr. Carlile and Mr. Jackson on the question of representa- tion, but the matter was finally adjusted by the appointment of a committee, com.posed of one member from each count/ represented on the floor, to whom were referred the subject of representation and also the nomination of permanent officers for the Convention. After a short adjournment, the Conven- tion re-assembled, and Mr. Flesher, of Jackson County, Chair- man of the Committee on Representation and Permanent Or- ganization, submitted the report of that committee, as follows :
List of Delegates by Counties.
Barbour County — E. H. Menafee, Spencer Dayton and John H. Shuttleworth.
Berkeley County — A. R. McOuilkin, John W. Dailey and J. E. Bowers.
Brooke County — Adam Kuhn, David Hervey, Campbell Tarr, Nathaniel Wells, J. R. Burgoine, James Archer, Jesse Edgington, R. L. Jones, James A. Campbell, Robert C. Nich- olls, Joseph Gist, John G. Jacob, Eli Green, John D. Nicholls, Bazeleel Wells and Montgomery Walker.
Doddridge County — J. Chevront, S. S. Kinney, J. Smith, James A. Foley, J. P. F. Randolph.
Frederick County — George S. Senseney.
Gilmer County — S. Martin.
Hampshire County — Owen D. Downey, George W. Bro- ski, Dr. B. B. Shaw, George W. Sheets and George W. Rizer
Hancock County — George McC. Porter, W. L. Crawford, Louis R. Smith, J. C. Crawford, B. J. Smith, Thomas Ander-
History of West Virginia 395
son, William R. Freeman, W. C. IMurry, J. L. Freeman, John Gradner, George Johnston, J. S. Porter, James Stevenson, J. S. Pomeroy, R. Breneman, Daniel Donahoo, D. S. Nichol- son, Thayer Melvin, Ewing Turner, James H. Pugh, H. Farns- worth, James G. Marshall, Samuel Freeman, John Mahan, David Jenkins, William Hewitt, William Brown, A. Moore, D. C, Pugh, Jonathan Allison, John H. Atkinson and Joseph W. AHison.
Harrison County — John S. Carlile, Thomas L. Moore, John J. Davis, Solomon S. Fleming, Felix S. Sturm, James Lynch, William E. Lyon, Lot Bowen, Dr. Duncan, Waldo P. Goff, Benjamin F. Shuttleworth.
Jackson County — Andrew Flesher, David Woodruff, C. M. Rice, George Leonard, J. F. Scott, G. L. Kennedy, J. V. Rowley.
Lewis County — T. M. Chalfant, Alexander Scott Withers, J. W. Hudson, Perry M. Hale, J. Wootfer, W. L. Grant, J. Ames and J. A. J. IJghtburn.
Marion County — R. R. Brown, J. C. Beeson, Isaac Holman, Thomas H. Barnes, Hiram Haymond, Harvey ' Merrifield, G. W. Jollift'e, John Chisler, Thomas Hough, William Beatty, James G. Beatty, Aaron Hawkins, Jacob Sturm, Francis H. Pierpont, Jesse Shaw, Joshua Carter.
Marshall County — John H. Dickey, John Parkinson, Thomas JMorris, W. Alexander, John Laughlin, W. T. Head, J. S. Parriott, William J. Purdy, H. C. Kemple, Joseph Turner, Hiram McMechen, E. H. Caldwell, James Garvin, L. Gardner, H, A. Francis, Thomas Dowler, John R. ]\Iorrow, William Wasson, Nat. Wilson, Thomas Morgan, S. Dorsey, Jr., R. B. Hunter, J. W. McCarriher, J. B. Morris, R. C. Holliday, William Collins, W. R. Kimmons, G. W. Evans, AA'illiam McFarland, J. Hornbrook, John Reynolds, Remembrance Swan, J. B. Hornbrook, James Campbell, F. Clement, J. Winders, AA'illiam Baird, Dr. Marshman, Wm. Luke, J. Garvin, S. Ingram, William Phillips, Jr., A. Francis, Thomas Wilson, Lot Enix, G. Hubbs, John \Mlson, John Ritchie, J. W. Bonar, J. Alley, S. B. Stidger, Asa Browning, Samuel Wilson, J. McCondell, A. Bonar, D. Price, G. W. Evans, D. Roberts, George Hubbs, Thomas Dowler, R. Alexander, E.
396 History of West Virginia
Conner, Charles Snediker, John Winters, Nathan Fish, V. P. Gorby, Alfred Gaines, J. S. Riggs, Alexander Kemple, Joseph McCombs, W. Alexander.
Mason County — ^Joseph S. Machir, Lemuel Harpold, William E. Wetzel, John Godley, Wyatt WilHs, Wm. Wiley Harper, William Harpold, Daniel Polsley, Samuel Davis, J. N. Jones, Samuel Yeager, R. C. M. Lovell, Barney J. Rollins, David C. Sayre, Charles H. Bumgardner, John O. Butler, Timothy Russell, John Hall, A. A. Rogers, Wilham 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, John J. Weaver.
Monongalia County — Waitman T. Willey, James Evans, Leroy Kramer, William A. Hanaway, William Lazier, Elisha Coombs, George McNeeley, Henry Dering, Dr. H. N. Mackey, Evans D. Fogle, James T. M. Laskey, James T. Hess, Charles H. Burgess, John Bly, William Price, Dr. A. Brown, Dr. J. V. Boughner, D. P. Fitch, E. B. Taggart, Alpheus Garrison, Dr. John McCarl, J. A. Wiley, Joseph Snyder, Joel Bowlsby, Amos S. Bowlsby, A. Derrant, N. C. Vandervort, Daniel White, Dr. D. B. Dorsey, Jacob Miller, Dr. Isaac Scott, Marshall M. Dent, Rev. Peter T. Laishley, Edward P. St. Clair, Wilham B. Shaw, P. L. Rice, Joseph JollilTe, William Anderson.
Ohio County — John Alman, L. S. Delaplain, J. R. Stifel, Gibson Lamb Cranmar, Alfred Caldwell, John Mcl,ure, Jr., Andrew Wilson, George Forbes, A. J. Woods, Thomas H. Logan, James S. Wheat, George W. Norton, N. H. Garrison, E. Buckhannon, John Pierson, P. Witham, Perry Whitten, E. McCaslin, A. B. Caldwell, John R. Hubbard, A. F. Ross, William B. Curtis, John Steiner, Daniel Lamb, Chester D. Hubbard, H. Armstrong, S. H. Woodward, James W. Paxton, A. A. Handlan, Stephen 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., George Tingle, Samuel McCulloch, J. C. Orr.
Pleasants County — Friend Cochran, Robert Parker, R. A. Cramer, James W. Williamson.
Preston County — Harrison Hagans, R. C. Crooks, W. H.
History of West Virginia 397
King, James W. Brown, Charles Hooton, Summers AlcCrum, William B. Zinn, W. T. Brown, Reuben IMorris, D. A. Lit- zinger, John Howard, G. H. Kidd, James A. Brown, William P. Fortney.
Ritchie County — Noah Rexroad, D. Rexroad, J. P. Harris, A. S. Cole.
Roane Count}^ — Irwin C. Stump.
Taylor County — J. Means, J. M. Wilson, T. Kennedy, Thomas Cather, John S. Burdett, J. J. Allen, B. Bailey, George R. Latham, T. T. jMonroe, J. J. Warren.
Tyler County — Daniel D. Johnson, Daniel Sweeney, V. Smith, W. B. Kerr, J. C. Parker, James M. Smith, j. H. Johnston, Isaac Davis, S. H. Hawkins, D. King, William Prichard.
Upshur County — W. E. Williams, C. P. Rohrbaugh.
Wayne County — William W. Brumfield, C. Spurlock, F. Moore, William H. Copley, Walter Queen.
Wetzel County — F. 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 McCaskey, S. Stephens, R. W. Lauck, John Alley, Thomas McOuown, George W. Bier, William D. Walker, R. S. Sayers.
Wirt County — Henry Newman, E. T. Graham, B. Ball.
Wood County — S. L. A. Burche, John J. Jackson, Sr., J. D. Ingram, A. Laughlin, Wellington Vrooman, J. C. Rath- bone, G. E. Smith, D. K. Baylor, M. Woods, Andrew Alls, Joseph Dagg, Jr., N. W. Warlow, Peter Riddle, John Paugh, T. E. McPherson, Thomas Leach, S. S. Spencer, E. Deem, N. H. Colston, A. Hinckley, Bennett Cook, George W. Hender- son, George Loomis, J. L. Padgett, S. D. Compton, S. N. Peterson, G. H. Ralston, V. A. Dunbar, A. R. Dye, W. H. Baker, William Johnston, Jr., Dr. Jesse Burche, S. Ogden, Sardis Cole, P. Reed, John McKibben, W. Athe}'-, C. Hunter, W. P. Davis, R. H. Burke, George Compton, C. M. Cole, Roger Tiffins, Edward Holt, W. B. Caswell, Peter Dills, W. F. Henry, A. C. McKinsey, Rufus Kinnard, John J. Jackson, Jr., C. J. Neal, J. G. Blackford, Henry Cole, W. E. Stevenson, Jesse Murdock, J. Burche, J. Morrison, A. H. Hatcher, A.
398 History of West Virginia
Mather, Charles B. Smith, Arthur Drake, H. Rider, B. H. Bukey, John W. Moss, R. S. Smith, M. P. Amiss, T. Hunter, J. Barnett, T. S. Conley, J. J. Neal.
Dr. John W. Moss, of Wood County, was nominated President; and Colonel Charles B. Waggener, of Mason County, Marshall M. Dent, of Monongalia County, and Gibson Lamb Cranmar, of Ohio County, were named Secretaries ; James R. Ewing was appointed Sergeant- at-Arms ; and A. Clemens and R. Higgins, Doorkeepers.
On Wednesday, May 15, 1861, the following Report of the Committee on State and Federal Relations was adopted almost unanimously, only two dissenting voices being heard:
"RESOLA'ED, That in our deliberate judgment the ordinance passed by the Convention of Virginia, on the 17th day of April, 1861, known as the Ordinance of Secession, by which said Convention undertook in the name of the State of Virginia to repeal the ratification of the Constitution of the United States by this State, and to resume all the rights and powers granted under said Constitution, is unconstitu- tional, null and void.
"2. RESOLVED, That the schedule attached to the Ordinance of Secession suspending and prohibiting the elec- tion for members of Congress from this State is a manifest usurpation of power to which we ought not to submit.
"3. RESOLVED, That the agreement of the 24th of April, 1861, between the Commissioner of the Confederate States and this State, and the ordinance of the 25th of April, 1861, approving and ratifying said agreement, by which the whole military force and military operations, offensive and defensive, of this Commonwealth are placed under the chief control and direction of the President of the Confederate States, upon the same principle, basis and footing as if the Commonwealth were now a member of said Confederacy, and all the acts of the executive officers of our State in pursuance of said agreement and ordinance are plain and palpable viola- tions of the Constitution of the United States, and are utterly subversive of the rights and liberties of the people of Virginia.
"4. RESOLVED, That we earnestly urge and entreat
History of West Virginia 399
the citizens of the State everywhere, but more especially in the Western section, to be prompt at the polls on the 23rd inst., and to 'impress upon every voter the duty of voting in condemnation of the Ordinance of Secession, in the hope that we may not be involved in the ruin to be occasioned by its adoption, and with the view to demonstrate the position of the West on the question of secession.
"5. RESOLVED, That we earnestly recommend to the citizens of Western Virginia to vote for members of the Con- gress of the United States, in their several districts, in the exercise of the right secured to us b}^ the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Virginia.
"6. RESOLVED, That we also recommend to the citi- zens of the several counties to vote at said election for such persons as entertain the opinions expressed in the foregoing resolutions, for members of the Senate and the House of Dele- gates of our State.
"7. RESOLVED, That in view of the geographical, social, commercial and industrial interests of Northwestern Virginia, this Convention are constrained in giving expres- sion to the opinion of their constituents to declare that the Virginia Convention, in assuming to change the relation of the State of Virginia to the Federal Government, have not only acted unwisely and unconstitutionally, but have adopted a policy utterly ruinous to all the material interests of our section, severing all our social ties and dr3nng up all the chan- nels of our trade and prosperity.
"8. RESOLVED, That in the event of the Ordinance of Secession being ratified by a vote, we recommend to the people of the counties here represented, and all others disposed to co-operate with us, to appoint on the 4th day of June, 186L delegates to a General Convention, to meet on the 11th of that sionth, at such place as may be designated by the committee hereinafter provided, to devise such measures and take such action as the safety and welfare of the people they represent may demand,^ — each county to appoint a number of representa- tives to said Convention equal to double the number to which it will be entitled in the next House of Delegates ; and the Sen- ators and Delegates to be elected on the 23rd inst., by the
400 History of West Virginia
counties referred to, to the next Genera] Assembly of Virginia, and who concur in the views of this Convention, to be entitled to seats in the said Convention as members thereof.
"9. RESOLVED, That inasmuch as it is a conceded political axiom that government is founded on the consent of the governed and is instituted for their good, and it can not be denied that the course pursued by the ruling power in the State is utterly subversive and destructive of our interests, we believe we may rightfully and successfully appeal to the proper authorities of Virginia to permit us peacefully and law- fully to separ^ate from the residue of the State, and form our- selves into a government to give effect to the wishes, views and interests of our constituents.
"10. RESOLA/'ED, That the pubhc authorities be as- sured that the people of the Northwest will exert their utmost power to preserve the peace, which they feel satisfied they can do, until an opportunity is afforded to see if our present difficulties cannot receive a peaceful solution ; and we express the earnest hope that no troops of the Confederate States be introduced among us, as we believe it would be eminently calculated to produce civil war.
"11. RESOLVED, That in the language of Washington in his letter of the 17th of September, 1787, to the President of Congress : "In all our deliberations on this subject we have kept steadily in view that which appears to us the greatest interest of every true American, — the consolidation of our Union, — in which is involved our prosperit}^, felicity, safety, and perhaps our national existence.' And therefore we will maintain and defend the Constitution of the United States and the laws made in pursuance thereof, and all officers acting thereunder in the lawful discharge of their respective duties.
"12. RESOLVED, That John S. Carhle, James S. Wheat, Chester D. Hubbard, Francis H. Pierpont, Campbell Tarr, George R. Latham, Andrew Wilson, S H. Woodward and James W. Paxton be a Central Committee to attend to all matters connected with the objects of this Convention ; and that they have power to assemble this Convention at any time they may think necessary.
"13. RESOLVED, That the Central Committee be in-
History of West Virginia 401
structed to prepare an address to the people of Virginia in conformity with the foregoing resolutions and cause the same to be published and circulated as extensively as possible."
In response to a call for a speech, General Jackson made a warm, enthusiastic appeal to the Convention to now stand by and maintain what they had here declared.
Following is copy of the letter prepared by the Central Committee :
"TO THE PEOPLE OF NORTFIWESTERN VIRGINIA:
"In obedience to the 13th resolution of the Convention which met in this city on the 13th inst., we earnestly conjure you to enter actively and immediately upon the great work of preparing your neighbors and friends, as well as yourselves, for the firm, stern and decided stand necessary to be taken and adhered to at all hazards, and maintained at any and every cost, if we would preserve to ourselves and transmit to our posterity that unity of government which constitutes us one people, which we jvistl}^ regard as the palladium of our liberties and the main pillar in the edifice of our independence. In this way, and this way alone, we can save ourselves from the innumerable evils consequent upon secession and all the horrors of civil war.
"Why should the people of Northwestern Virginia allow themselves to be dragged into the rebellion inaugurated by ambitious and heartless men, who have banded themselves together to destroy a government formed for you by your patriotic fathers and which has secured to you all the liber- ties consistent wuth the nature of man, and has, for near three- fourths of a century, sheltered you in sunshine and in storm, made you the admiration of the civilized world, and conferred upon you a title more honored, respected and revered than that of King or Potentate — the title of an American citizen? Will you passively surrender it and submit to be used by the conspirators engaged in this effort to enslave you as their instruments by which your enslavement is to be effected?
"Freemen who would remain free must prove themselves worthv to be free and must themselves first strike the blow.
402 History of West Virginia
"What is secession? Bankruptcy, ruin, civil war, ending in a military despotism. Prior to the adoption of the Ordi- nance of Secession in Virginia and to the passage by the Legislature of the bill calling a Convention, all v\^as peace, and the great business interests of our State were uninter- rupted. From the hour that it was proclaimed the Ordinance of Secession had been passed, business of every description has been paralyzed; State, corporation and individual credit is prostrate, and bankruptcy and ruin stare us in the face ; and war, civil war, with all' its attendant horrors, is upon us. Secession, all now see, is war. It is preceded by war, accom- panied and sustained by war, ushered into being by war.
"Who are to stand the brunt of this contest? Will it be those who have clamored loudest for secession and who have done the most to bring on the present crisis? These are the first to flee from the very approach of danger. They hurr\- in every train and by every coach from the anticipated scenes of disturbance. Will the disunion majority of the Richmond Convention come into the ranks and shoulder the musket in the strife which they have inaugurated ? They will keep at a respectful distance from danger. They will fill the lucrative offices and secure the rich appointments which appertain to the new order of things. They will luxuriate on two or three or four hundred dollars per month, with horse, and servants, and rations to match, while the Union-loving people will be called upon, for the honor of Virginia and two shillings per day, to do the fighting and undergo the hardships of war. We are all Virginians, say they, the State must be sustained, and right or wrong, we must all fight for Virginia, etc.
"What is it to fight for Virginia? What is it to sustain the State? Is it to urge her upon a course which leads to visible and gaping destruction? Is this the way and the only way in which we can testify our devotion to the Common- wealth? If those feelings which actuated our Revolutionary Fathers be not all dead in us, we shall exhibit our love for Virginia by repudiating this tyrannical rule which the Rich- mond Convention has endeavored to impose, and suffer "not ourselves to be sold like sheep from the shambles. The people yet hold their destinies in their own hands — it is for them to
History of West Virginia 403
accept or reject a tyranny, worse many times, than that from which the war of '76 dehvered us — not the tyranny of one man, but of many.
"But, people of Northwestern Virginia, why should we thus permit ourselves to be tyrannized over, and made slaves of, by the haughty arrogance and wicked machinations of would-be Eastern despots? Are we submissionists, craven cowards, who will yield to daring ambition the rich legacy of Freedom which we have inherited from our fathers, or are we men who know our rights, and knowing, dare maintain them ? If we are, we will resist the usurpers and drive from our midst the rebellion sought to be forced upon us. We will, in the strength of our cause, resolutely and determinedly stand by our rights and our liberties secured to us by the struggles of our Revolutionary Fathers, and the authors of the Constitu- tion under which we have grown and prospered beyond all precedent in the world's history. We will maintain, protect and defend that Constitution and the Union with all our strength, and with all our powers, ever remembering that 'Re- sistance to tyrants is obedience to God.' We utterly repudiate the war sought to be enforced upon us without the consent and against the earnest- protestations of the people who have not produced it, but who have, we regret to say, thus far offered no resistance, but have submitted to the filling up of armies and the quartering of troops in their midst; taking for the purpose our young men who had, in a time of profound peace and with no expectation of ever being called upon to aid in a rebellion, attached themselves to the volunteer corps of our State.
"The people, stunned by the magnitude of the crime, have, for a time, offered no resistance, but as returning reason enables them to perceive distinctly the objects and purposes of the vile perpetrators of this deed, their hearts swell within them, and already the cry has gone up from our mountains and our valleys, 'Resistance to t3^rants is obedience to God.'
"Let us urge you, then, that our resistance may be effectual, to act in the spirit of the Resolutions here appended, adopted by the Convention whose Committee Ave are. Let all our ends be directed to the creation of an organized resistance
404 History of West Virginia
to the despotism of the tyrants who have been in session in Richmond and who are soon to re-assemble, that we may maintain our position in the Union under the flag of our com- mon country, which has for so many 3^ears waved gracefully and protectingly over us, and which, when we behold upon its ample folds the stripes and the stars of Freedom, causes our bosoms to glow with patriotic heat and our hearts to swell with honest love of country. That this flag, the symbol of our might, challenges our admiration, and justly claims our every effort against those who have dared to desecrate and dishonor it, we all admit. Let us then see that we take the proper measures to make effectual those efforts. The Convention to assemble on the 11th proximo is looked to to organize our action. Its importance, its necessity, will at once strike your minds ; take immediate steps for your representatives in Con- vention, your most determined, resolute, temperate and wisest men. We have already detained you too long ; the time for action, prompt, firm and decided, has come. In the hope that our section will be that of a united people, we take leave of you, confidently calculating that you will give your body, soul, strength, mind, and all the energies of your nature to the work of saving your country from becoming the theatre of a bloody war, brought upon you without your consent and against your will. Let us show Mr. Ex-Secretary Cobb, now President of the Montgomer}^ Congress, that we are not will- ing to recognize the transfer of us made by the Richmond Convention, nor do we intend to allow our borders, as he says . they will be, to be made the theatre of this war.
"Fellow citizens, we ask you to read and ponder well the passages from Mr. Cobb's speech. We recite :
" 'The people of the Gulf States need have no apprehen- sion; they may go on with their planting and their other business as usual,i the war will not come to their section ; its THEATRE WILL BE ALONG THE BORDERS OF THE OHIO RIVER AND IN VIRGINIA.'
"The Convention between Virginia and the Confederate States, by which the control of all military operations is placed in the hands of President Davis, insures this result.
"Fellow citizens, 'these are the times when we must not
History of West Virginia 405
stop to count sacrifices, where honor and character and self- preservation are put in issue.' The patriot and sage, Daniel •Webster, in a speech delivered at Washington, in 1851, at the laying of the corner stone of the addition to the Capitol, spoke as follows :
" 'Ye men of the Blue Ridge, many thousands of whom are nearer to this capitol than the seat of government of your own State, what do you think of breaking up this great asso- ciation into fragments of States and of people? I know that some of you, and I believe that you all, would be almost as much shocked at the announcement of such a catastrophe as if you were informed that the Blue Ridge itself would soon totter from its base— AND YE MEN OF WESTERN VIR- GINIA, WHO OCCUPY THE SLOPE FROM THE ALLE- GHANIES TO OHIO AND KENTUCKY, WHAT BENE- FIT DO YOU PROPOSE TO YOURSELVES BY DIS- UNION ? IF YOU SECEDE, WHAT DO YOU "SECEDE" FROM, AND WHAT DO YOU "ACCEDE" TO? DO YOU LOOK FOR THE CURRENT OF THE OHIO TO CHANGE AND TO BRING YOU AND YOUR COM- MERCE TO THE TIDE WATERS OF EASTERN RIV- ERS? WHAT MAN IN HIS SENSES CAN SUPPOSE THAT YOU WOULD REMAIN PART AND PARCEL OF VIRGINIA A MONTH AFTER VIRGINIA HAD CEASED TO BE A PART AND PARCEL OF THE UNITED STATES?'
"Fellow citizens of Northwestern Virginia, the issue is with you. Your destiny is in your own hands. If you are worthy descendants of your worthy sires you will rally to the defense of your liberties, and the Constitution which has protected and blessed you will still extend over you its pro- tecting aegis. If you hesitate or falter all is lost, and you and your children to the latest posterity are destined to perpetual slavery.
"JOHN S. CARLILE, "GEORGE R. LATHAM,
"JAMES S. WHEAT, "ANDREW WILSON,
"CHESTER D. HUBBARD, "S. H. WOODWARD. "FRANCIS H. PIERPONT. "JAMES W. PAXTON, "CAMPBELL TARR. "Committee."
406 History of West Virginia
Referring to Resolution No. 8 in Report of Committee on State and Federal Relations, it will be seen that in case of the Ordinance of Secession being ratified by a vote, the people of the counties represented in the Convention then being held and all others disposed to co-operate with them, were to appoint on the 4th day of June, 1861, delegates to a General Convention, to meet on the 11th of that month at such place as might be designated by the Committee named in Resolu- tion No. 11, to devise such measures and take such action as the safety and welfare of the people represented might de- mand,— each county to appoint a number of Representatives to said Convention equal to double the number to which it would be entitled in the next House of Delegates ; and the Senators and Delegates to be elected on the 23rd inst., by the counties referred to, to the next General Assembly of Virginia, and who concurred in the views of the present Convention, to be entitled to seats in the said Convention as members thereof.
In compliance with the provisions of the foregoing men- tioned resolutions — the Western Virginians having oeen out- voted by the Eastern Virginians on the secession question — the Convention assembled at Washington Hall, in the City of Wheeling, at two P. M., June 11, 1861, and at once pro- ceeded to organize.
Dennis B. Dorsey, Esq., of Monongalia County, was selected as temporary chairman, and Gibson Lamb Cranmar, of Wheeling, was chosen temporary secretary. Rev. Gordon Battelle opened the convention with prayer. The committees were then appointed.
Committee on Organization — Francis H. Pierpont, W. H. Copeland, E. H. Caldwell, John S. Burdett, and Chapman J. Stuart.
Committee on Rules — John S. Carlile, Daniel Polsley, Harrison Hagans, George McC. Porter, and Andrew Flesher.
Committee on Credentials — Arthur I. Boreman, Daniel Lamb, Lewis Wetzel, John J. Brown, and James Evans.
On Wednesday, June 12th, the Committee on Credentials reported that "the following gentlemen are entitled to seats in this body from the counties designated, in the capacities herein set forth, whether as members of the General A.ssembly
History of West Virginia 407
elected on the 23rd of May, 1861, or as delegates appointed to this Convention, June 4th, only :
List of Delegates by Counties.
Alexandria County — Henry S. Martin and James T. Close, delegates.
Barbour County— Nathan H. Taft and D. M. Myers, members of the House of Delegates, and John H. Shuttle- worth and Spencer Dayton, delegates.
- Brooke County — Joseph Gist, Senator; H. W. Crothers, member H. of D., and John D. Nicholls and Campbell Tarr, delegates.
Cabell County — Albert Laidley, member H. of D.
Doddridge and Tyler Counties — Chapman J. Stuart, Sen- ator; William J. Boreman, member H. of D., and Daniel D. Johnson and James A. Foreman, delegates.
Fairfax County — John Hawxhurst and P2ben E. Mason, delegates.
Gilmer County — Henry W. Withers.
Hampshire County — James R. Carskadon, Senator, and George W. Broski, James H. Trout and James J. Barricks, delegates.
Hancock County — George McC. Porter, member H. of D., and John H. Atkinson and William L. Crawford, delegates.
Hardy County — John Michael, delegate.
Harrison County- — ^John J. Davis and John C. Vance, members H. of D., and John S. Carlile, Solomon Fleming, Lot Bowen, B. F. Shuttleworth and C. S. Lewis, delegates.
Jackson County — Daniel Frost, member H. of D., and James F. Scott, Andrew Flesher and Senator James Smith, delegates.
Jefferson County — George Koontz, delegate.
Kanawha County — Lewis Ruffner, member H. of D., and Greenbury Slack, delegate.
Lewis County — Blackwell Jackson, Senator; Perry M. Hale and J. A. J. Lightburn, delegates.
Marion County — ^Richard Fast and Fountain Smith, members of H. of D., and Francis H. Pierpont, Ephraim B.
408 History of West Virginia
Hall, John S. Barnes, A. F. Ritchie and James O. Watson, delegates.
Marshall County — James Burley, Senator; Remembrance Swan, member H. of D., and E. H. Caldwell and Robert Morris, delegates.
Mason County — Lewis Wetzel, member H. of D., and Charles B. Waggener and Daniel Polsley, delegates.
Monongalia County — Leroy Kramer and Joseph Snyder, members of H. of D., and Ralph L; Berkshire, William Price, James Evans and Dennis B. Dorsey, delegates.
Ohio County — Thomas H. Logan and Andrew Wilson, members of H. of D., and Daniel Lamb, James W. Paxton, George Harrison and Chester D. Hubbard, delegates.
Pleasants and Ritchie Counties — James W. Williamson, member H. of D., and C. W. Smith and William Douglas, delegates.
Preston County — Charles Hooton and William B. Zinn, members of H. of D., and William B. Crane, John Howard, Harrison Hagans and John J. Brown, delegates.
Putnam County — George C. Bowyer, member of H. of D., and Dudley S. Montague, delegate.
Randolph and Tucker Counties — Solomon Parsons, mem- ber H. of D., and Samuel Crane, delegate.
Roane County — T. A. Roberts, delegate.
Taylor County — Thomas Gathers, Senator; Lemuel E. Davidson, member H. of D., and John S. Burdett and Samuel Todd, delegates.
Upshur County — Daniel D. T. Farnsworth, member H. of. D., and John L. Smith and John Love, delegates.
Wayne County — William Ratcliff, member H. of D., and Wm. W. Brumfield and William Copley, delegates.
Webster County — Henry C. Moore, delegate.
Wetzel County — James G. West, member H. of D., and Reuben Martin and James P. Ferrell, delegates.
Wirt County — James A. Williamson, member H. of D., and Henry Newman and E. T. Graham, delegates.
Wood Count}^ — John W. Moss, member H. of D., and Arthur I. Boreman and Peter G. Van Winkle, delegates.
The Committee on Permanent Organization frecom-
History of West Virginia 409
mended the selection of Arthur I. Borenian for President; Gibson L. Cranmar, Secretary, and Thomas Hornbrook, Ser- geant-at-Arms.
Mr. Boreman, upon being conducted to the chair, ex- pressed his acknowledgments to the Convention in a brief and pertinent speech, of which the following was a part :
" This Convention was assembled under circumstances which knew no parallel in the past history of the country since the adoption of our Constitution. Then we were but a few in the land — in these colonies of the mother country. Our fathers met with opposition, but, few as they were, they deter- mined to throw off the shackles which bound them. They did so successfully, and after a struggle of seven years, succeeded in obtaining from the world a recognition of their indepen- dence. They adopted a form of government under which we have gone on from that day to this, prospering and growing in greatness beyond anything that ever occurred in the history of any other nation, either ancient or modern. But now, in the middle of the nineteenth century, w^e are awakened by the astounding announcement in one section of our country that we have no government worthy of our support, and the an- nouncement is at once accompanied by a rebellion to throw off this government under which we have been so long happy and prosperous, and the inauguration of a system such as never would have been countenanced by our fathers. We of Western Virginia are asked to concur in this action. We are placed in a peculiar position. The Convention at Richmond, so far as they have the power, have by the passage of an Ordinance of Secession withdrawn us from the Union of our fathers. They submitted their action to a vote of the people, as they proclaimed it, but in a way that made that vote a mockery. The vote in form has ratified the Ordinance of Secession — thus in the estimation of that Convention with- drawing us from the United States of America. Under these circumstances Western Virginia is placed in a peculiar posi- tion. The States north of us and some of the slave States have made no effort by an official body to withdraw from the Union. States south of us have gone according to their opin- ions out of the Union. Elsewhere there are no efforts being
410 History of West Virginia
made in any of them by any regularly constituted bodies to retain their places in the Union, while here in Western Vir- ginia we have determined that by the help of Him who rules on high we will resist the action of that Convention, which has practiced upon us a monstrous usurpation of power, vio- lated the Constitution of the country and violated every rule of right. We have determined, I say, to resist it, and under this determination we are found here today to take definite action. If you, gentlemen, will go with me, we will take defi- nite, determined and unqualified action as to the course we will pursue. We will take such action as will result in West- ern Virginia remaining in the Union of our fathers. I am satisfied that the members of this Convention concur with me almost unanimously.
"Then in this Convention we have no ordinary political gathering. We have no ordinary task before us. We come here to carry out and execute, and, it may be, to institute, a government for ourselves. We are determined to live under a State Government in the United States of America and under the Constitution of the United States. It requires stout hearts to execute this purpose ; it requires men of courage — of unfaltering determination ; and I believe, in the gentlemen who compose this Convention, we have the stout hearts and the men who are determined in this purpose. The definite line of action to be pursued is not for me to indicate. Here are learned gentlemen, men of experience, who, no doubt, after deliberation will devise the course proper for us to pursue."
The Committee on Rules then submitted its report, em- bracing the rules and regulations adopted by the Convention held at Richmond in 1850.
The following resolutions were offered by Mr. Carlile and adopted by the Convention :
"RESOLVED, That the thanks of the loyal people of Virginia are due, and are hereby tendered, to the Federal authorities for the prompt manner in which they have re- sponded to our call for protection.
"2. That we tender our thanks to Major- General McClellan for rescuing from the destruction and spoliation inaugurated by the rebel forces in our midst the people of
History of West Virginia 411
Northwestern Virginia included within his miUtary division.
"3. That the gallant and soldierly bearing of the troops from Ohio and Indiana, who, with our gallant 1st regiment, commanded by Western Virginia's loyal son, Colonel Kelley, have scattered the rebel forces in our midst, has won our admiration, and we gladly hail them as our deliverers from the ruin and slavery provided for us by the conspirators who have temporary possession of the power of the State.
"4. That we deeply sympathize with our fellow citizen, Colonel Kelley, in his sufferings from the wound received in our service, and earnestly pray that he may be speedily re- stored to perfect health and again resume his command at the head of our 1st regiment.
"5. That we utterly repudiate the heresy sought to be inculcated by secessionists that it is an invasion of Virginia's soil for American troops to march to the defense and protec- tion of Virginia's citizens, but on the contrary, we declare Virginia soil to be American soil and free to the march of American soldiery and sojourn of American citizens from all and every portion of American territory ; and it is only by such recognition that the Federal authorities could discharge a plain Constitutional duty imposed upon them by the clause guaranteeing to each State in the Union a republican form of government."
Convention adopted a resolution that a committee of thirteen members be appointed to prepare and report business for the Convention ; and that all resolutions touching our State and Federal Relations be referred to said committee.
Following persons were named as Committee on Business :
John S. Carlile, Daniel Lamb, Francis H. Pierpont, Harrison Hagans, P. G. V^an Winkle, Ralph L. Berkshire, Daniel Polsley, William J. Boreman, E. H. Caldwell, Daniel Frost, George McC. Porter, Daniel D. T. Farnsworth, and William H. Copley. Later on James T. Close, John Hawx- hurst, James R. Carskadon and a Mr. Crane were added to the committee. It may be regarded as a peculiar circum- stance that there were four Daniels in this committee.
412 History of West Virginia
On Thursday, June 13, 1861, the Convention met in the United States Court room at the Custom House.
Among several resolutions presented was the following by Mr. Frost, of Jackson County :
"RESOLVED, That for the better preservation of the peace of the citizens of Virginia, this Convention most earn- estly requests all persons within her limits engaged in rebel- lious movements against the Federal Government, to desist from all such demonstrations and return to their allegiance ; and that this Convention does peremptorily require all sedi- tious assemblages to disperse, and all companies mustered into the service of the Southern Confederacy to be imme- diately disbanded." This was adopted the following day.
On Friday, June 14th, Mr. Carlile announced that the Central Committee, appointed by the May Convention, had taken such steps as enabled them to announce "that 2,000 stand of good arms had been procured, 500 of which arrived in the city today, and the other 1,500 to be here this evening or in the morning."
The following resolution by Mr. Hagans was adopted :
"RESOLVED, That in consideration of the peculiar cir- cumstances that have surrounded our loyal brethren of ■ Loudon County, as well as of their geographical position, this Convention now extends to them a cordial and special invita- tion to accredit and send their number of delegates as soon ^s possible, and that William F. Mercer be made the medium of this invitation."
The afternoon session was consumed principally in a dis- cussion as to the form and wording of the Declaration oi Rights as offered by Mr. Carlile on June 13th.
On Monday, June 17th, the Declaration of Rights was taken up and put upon its final passage. Mr. Dorsey called for the yeas and nays, with the understanding that as the absentees came in they be allowed to record their votes. The yeas and nays on the adoption of the Declaration were then taken, and resulted, yeas fifty-six, nays none.
"The vote taken," remarked Mr. Carlile, "exhibited a happy coincidence, and one that may be hailed as an auspi- cious omen : We have fiftv-six votes recorded in favor of our
History of West Virginia 413
Declaration, and we may remember that there were just fifty- six signers to the Declaration of Independence."
Following is the Declaration of Rights, as amended and adopted :
"The true purpose of all government is to promote the welfare and provide for the protection and security of the governed, and Avhen any form or organization of government proves inadequate for, or subversive to, 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, re-affirmed in 1830, and again in 1851, expressly reserves this right to a majority of her people. The act of the General Assembly, calling the Convention which assembled at Richmond in February last, without the previously expressed consent of such majority, was therefore a usurpation; and the Convention thus called has not only abused the powers nominall}^ entrusted 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 re- quired 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 re- public, which has conferred unexampled prosperity upon every class of citizens and upon every section of the country :
"It has attempted to transfer the allegiance of the 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 oiTensive as well as de- fensive purposes :
"It has, in conjunction with the State executive, instituted, wherever their usurped power extends, a reign of terror in-
414 History of West Virginia
tended to suppress the free expression of the will of the people, making elections a mockery and a fraud :
"The same combination, even before the passage of the pretended ordinance of secession, instituted war by seizure and appropriation of the property of the Federal Government, and by organizing and mobilizing armies, with the avowed purpose of capturing or destroying the Capital of the Union :
"They have attempted to bring the allegiance of the people of the United States into direct conflict with their sub- ordinate allegiance to the State, thereby making obedience to their pretended ordinances treason against the former.
"We, therefore, the delegates here assembled in Conven- tion to devise such measures and take such action as the safety and welfare of the loyal citizens of Virginia may demand, having maturely considered the premises, and viewing with great concern the deplorable condition to which this once happy Commonwealth must be reduced unless some regular adequate remedy is speedily adopted, and appealing to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for the rectitude of our inten- tions, do hereby, in the name and on the behalf of the good people of Virginia, solemnly declare that the preservation of their dearest rights and liberties and their security in person and property imperatively demand the reorganization of the government of the Commonwealth, and that all acts of said Convention and Executive tending to separate this Common- wealth from the United States, or to levy and carry on war against them, are without authority and void ; and that the ofifices of all who adhere to the said Convention and Executive, whether legislative, executive or judicial, are vacated."
Considerable indignation was aroused among delegates upon the reading of the Virginia Chronicle by Mr. Fisher, of Jackson Count}^, announcing the action of the County Court of that county in voting to tax the people of Jackson County $3,000 for the support of the rebel soldiers and their families during the war against the Federal Union.
Thursday, June 20th, considerable time was taken up in the discussion of certain resolutions pertaining to ordinances passed by the Convention, and the passage of a resolution
History of West Virginia • 415
concerning- the mode of signing- the Declaration heretofore recorded.
The Chair then announced that the next business before the Convention was the election of a Governor, Lieutenant- Governor, Attorney-General and Council.
On the evening previous, the members of the Convention held a private caucus at their room in the Custom House, and unanimously nominated Francis H. Pierpont for Governor ; Daniel Polsley, Lieutenant-Governor; James S. Wheat, Attorney-General ; and for members of the Council of State, William Lazier, Daniel Lamb, James W. Paxton, Peter G. Van Winkle, and William A. Harrison. Therefore the elec- tion of these officers the following day — June 20 — was but a mere matter of form, which was soon carried out.
Beginning of the Restored Government — Meeting of the General Assembly Thereunder.
(By Virgil A. Lewis.)
With the election of the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and the members of the Council of State, the executive branch of the new State Government was fairly inaugurated. At five o'clock that evening the new State officials, together with nearly all the members of the Convention, crossed over to "Camp Carlile" on Wheeling Island, where they were received by six hundred soldiers on dress parade, under the command of Captain George R. Latham. Two cannons were fired in quick succession, the echoes of which fairly shook the neigh- boring hills on both sides of the Ohio River. Governor Pierpont appointed Nathan Wilkinson, Auditor of Public Accounts ; and Samuel P. Hildreth, Treasurer of the Com- monwealth. Six days previously — ^June 22d — -he had issued a proclamation convening the General Assembly in extra ses- sion at Wheeling on the first day of July, 1861. In accordance with this, that body convened on that date and was in 'session until the 26th of that month. Eleven Senators were present, and forty-nine members of the House of Delegates represent- ing forty-eight counties were in attendance. Daniel Polsley,
416 • History of West Virginia
Lieutenant-Governor and ex-officio President of the Senate, presided over the deUberations of that body, in which WilHam W. Lewis was clerk; Jesse S. Wheat, sergeant-at-arms ; D. V. Thorp, door-keeper, and Alexander Campbell, page. In the House of Delegates, Daniel Frost, of Jackson County, was elected speaker; Gibson Lamb Cranmar was elected clerk; Evans D. Fogle, sergeant-at-arms; James O. Hawley, first door-keeper, and James Musgrave, second door-keeper.
At 7:00 P. M. of the first day, both branches received the message of Governor Pierpont, and five thousand copies were ordered printed. In this the Governor said :
"I regret that I cannot congratulate you on the peace and "prosperity of the country, in the manner in which has been customary with executives, both State and Federal. For the present, those happy days which as a nation we have so long enjoyed, and that prosperity which has smiled upon us as upon no other nation, are departed. We are passing through a period of gloom and darkness in our country's history ; but we must not despair. There is a just God who 'rides upon the whirlwind and directs the storm.' Let us look to Him with abiding confidence. You have met, gentlemen, in the midst of Civil War, but I trust 3^ou may yet be assembled under happier auspices, when the strife shall be over and peace and prosperity be restored to this once happy country."
Accompanying this message were his correspondence with President Lincoln, together with letters received by him from Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, and Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior, all showing recognition of the move- ment to restore Civil Government to Western Virginia.
On July 9th the election of State officers was the order of the day. For Secretary of the Commonwealth, William B. Zinn nominated Lucian A. Hagans, of Preston County; John W. Moss nominated George Loomis, of Wood County; L. E. Davidson nominated Ellery R. Flail, of Taylor County. Hagans was elected on the first ballot.
For Auditor of Public Accounts, Samuel Crane and Nathan Wilkinson were placed in nomination. Crane was elected on first ballot.
For Treasurer of the Commonwealth, Fontain Smith
History of West Virginia 417
nominated Campbell Tarr, of Brooke County; James H. Trout nominated Samuel P. Hildreth, of Ohio County. Tarr was elected on the first ballot.
Another joint order for the same day was the election of United States Senators. At 2 :00 P. M. the Assembl}^ pro- ceeded by joint ballot to elect a successor to R. M. T. Hunter, U. S. Senator from Virginia, who resigned his seat in that body, and John S. Carlile, of Harrison County, wes elected without opposition. Then followed the election of a successor to fill the unexpired term of James M. Mason, who, like Hunter, had resigned his seat after Virginia adopted the Ordinance of Secession. H. W. Crothers nominated Daniel Lamb, of Ohio County; Lewis RufTner nominated Peter G. , till Winkle, of Wood County; and Leroy Kramer nominated Waitman T. Willey, of Monongalia County. Willey was elected on the first ballot. * * *
Thus was completed the organization of the Restored Government of Virginia. Its origin and its operation form the most remarkable chapter in the history of the governments of the individual American States. With the General Assembly adjourned, it remained for the Second Convention of the People of Northwestern Virginia to re-assemble in Adjourned Session, and prepare the way for the division of the State and the formation of West Virginia."
Convention adjourned June 25th, to meet again on the first Tuesday in August, 1861, at 2:00 P. M., "unless other- wise ordered by the Governor, with the advice of his Council."
August 6, 1861.
Pursuant to above adjournment, the State Convention met in the United States Court Room, in the Custom House, in Wheeling, at 2 :00 P. M.
Arthur L Boreman, President, resumed the Chair and called the Convention to order. James G. West, of Wetzel County, ofifered the following preamble and resolution, which were adopted :
"WHEREAS, The members of this Convention are satis- fied that a large majority of the good and loyal citizens of Western Virginia are in favor of a division of the State, yet ffiere seems to exist a difiference of opinion as to the proper
418 History of West Virginia
feme, as well as the proper means to be used to effect the ob- ject; therefore,
"RESOLVED, by the Convention, That in order to pro- duce harmony and facilitate action, the President of the Con- vention appoint a committee consisting of one member from each county represented in this Convention, whose duty it shall be to take the whole subject of a division of this State into consideration, as a basis upon which the Convention may act, and report to this body at the earliest day possible."
On August 7th, the following gentlemen were appointed a Committee on a Division of the State, under the resolution of Mr. West :
James G. West, of Wetzel; W. L. Craw^ford, of Hancock; J. D. Nicholls, of Brooke ; Andrew Wilson, of Ohio ; James Burley, of Marshall; D. D. Johnson, of Tyler; C. J. Stuart, of Doddridge; J. W. Williamson, of Pleasants; William Doug- lass, of Ritchie ; P. G. Van Winkle, of Wood ; Andrew Flesher, of Jackson ; Lewis Wetzel, of Mason ; William W. Brumfield, of Wayne; Leroy Kramer, of Monongalia; John S. Barnes, of Marion ; Thomas Gather, of Taylor ; Wm. B. Zinn, of Preston ; Solomon Parsons, of Tucker ; Samuel Crane, of Randolph ; D. M. Myers, of Barbour ; John L. Smith, of Upshur; J. A. J. Lightburn, of Lewis; H. W. Withers, of Gilmer; John J. Davis, of Harrison; E. T. Graham, of Wirt; Greenbury Slack, of Kanawha; James H. Trout, of Hamp- shire ; John Hawxhurst, of Fairfax ; and Miner,
of Alexandria.
During the period of the session of this Convention, the weather was extremely hot and some of the delegates who were assignd on committees were loath to exert themselves in the consideration of measures before them with a rapidity sat- isfactory to some of the other members, who were anxious to do what was necessary to be done and return to their homes. Mr. West, from Wetzel, had prepared a resolution relative to State Division, which was now before the committee for con- sideration. Mr. Burley, of Marshall County, becoming some- what disgusted with the dilatoriness displayed, on August 9th offered a resolution, "That when the Convention adjourn tomorrow it will adjourn sine die."
History of West Virginia 419
He remarked that he offered the resolution in good faith. He did not think it necessary for the Convention to remain any longer. He had discovered that they w^ere not getting along as well as they might, and he thought this would aft'ord plenty of time, if they would be more industrious, to do all the work there was to do. "I was in the committee this morn- ing, and found there was nothing before it except this Division question. There is a sub-committee to draft a bill and I think they should be able \o prepare that at a very early hour in the morning, and the Convention has nothing before it but to act upon it."
As Mr. Burley sat down, Mr. West sprang up and said, "I rise for a two-fold purpose, and whether I can accomplish both or either one I do not know. My object is to give the resolution of my respected friend from Marshall County — Old Jimmy — I am Old Jimmy, too " (laughter).
The President — "Gentlemen will forbear calling one another by name."
Mr. West — "We know each other ; we do that by way of compliment to each other. (Laughter.) However, I have had a good deal of this sort of experience, and I find that a motion of this kind has never failed to clog the wheels of the progress of legislation. As certain as the sun rose this morning and will rise tomorrow morning, if that resolution is not disposed of today, it has to be disposed of at some other time ; and whenever it is, it must embarrass our action ; and I know the gentleman from Marshall does not intend to clog and impede the progress of this House. But I do know one more thing, that there will be an effort to adjourn this Convention before thrs question of Division is decided upon ; and I do know. Sir, as well as I know that, that if stich is the fact and we so adjourn, we go home to an insulted constituency. We go home to a constituency that has just cause to be insulted. Did they send us here to play and trifle with them? Did they send us here. Sir, to act as a mockery upon their expressed desires .''"
Some further exchange of views was had on the subject, and finally an adjournment was had until the next day.
On August 10th the Division question came up again. Mr, West said the Committee on Division of the State was pre-
420 History of West Virginia
pared to report. He wished the report to be received and read, so that if there should be any substitutes offered they could be offered at once, and all be printed and come up for consideration at the same time. Matters were here inter- rupted by the introduction of a question of privilege, relative to the seating of certain delegates. Then followed the adop- tion of a string of resolutions of more or less importance, but foreign to the Division question, one of which, introduced by Mr. Farnsworth, read as follows :
"RESOLVED, That the Committee on Business be in- structed to inquire into the expediency of appointing collectors on the Clarksburg, Buckhannon and French Creek Turnpike, and the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike, and the receiv- ing of the tolls already collected ; and making some provisions for the repairing of the said roads, w^hich are becoming in bad repair b}^ the increased use of the roads by the U. S. troops."
Another by Mr. Fast : "That the Committee on Business inquire into the expediency of changing the name of the county of Wise to that of Douglas, or some other name more honorable than that of Wise." (Carried amid laughter.)
On Tuesday, August 13th, after some preliminary spar- ring, the question recurred on adopting the report of the Committee on a Division of the State, and Mr. West presented that report, which was read by the Clerk. The boundaries for the proposed new State were as follows :
"Be it therefore ordained by this Convention, That the people of Virginia living North and West of a line beginning on the top of Clinch Mountain, on the line dividing Tennessee and Virginia, and running thence with the top of said moun- tain, so as to include all that part of the county of Scott lying North and West of said mountain ; thence Math the top of said mountain, including Russell County ; thence with the top of said mountain to the county line of Giles County ; thence with the county line of Giles and Tazwell to the county line of Mer- cer County; thence with the top of Wolf Creek Mountain to the top of Salt Pond Mountain ; thence to the top of Potter's Middle Mountain ; thence with the top of Rich Mountain to Alum Rock ; thence to the top of Mill Mountain ; thence with the top of said mountain to Augusta County line; thence with
History of West Virginia 421
the dividing line between Augusta and Bath Counties to the top of Shenandoah Mountain, and with the top of said moun- tain to the Hardy County line; thence with the county line between Hardy and Rockingham Counties to the Shenandoah County line ; thence with the county line between Hardy and Shenandoah to Hampshire County; thence with the county line dividing Frederick and Shenandoah to Warren County ; thence with the county line dividing Warren and Clark Counties to Fauquier County ; thence with the county line dividing Fauquier and Clark Counties to Loudon County ; thence with the county line dividing Loudon and Fauquier Counties to Fairfax County ; thence with the county Une dividing Fairfax and Prince William Counties to the Potomac River ; be authorized and directed, on the fourth Monday in November next, to open a poll at each election precinct em- braced in such boundary, to ascertain the will and wish of the people upon the question of such division, etc."
Mr. West, as Chairman of the Committee on State Division, addressed the Convention in advocacy of the report of the committee, as follows :
He did not propose to make a lengthy speech at this time ; perhaps he should have occasion to participate somewhat in the discussion that might ensue upon this question hereafter. It had been said, and very properly, that there were but two questions of real difficulty in the consideration of this subject, and they were the questions of time and boundary, for he be- lieved there were none, or at most very few, on the floor, op- posed to a division at all. If such were, he accorded to them honesty of motive, but he did not know what could be the ground of their objection to the formation of a new State.
First, then, in relation to time: He believed that nov was the time. He would set out on that ground. He had occupied that ground and he expected to continue to do sc He had never yet had, a good reason from any one why they should not proceed at once. This was the accepted time if they ever expected to complete what they had begun. He observed that all the opponents of action had different rcaso^ for their opposition, and although they might be honest, yet they had no common justifiable reason for not proceeding at
422 History of West Virginia
jnce. For himself, from the very beginning of this contro- versy in the Legislature and the former Convention, he had not swerved from his purpose of obtaining preliminary action for a division of the State. Every step he had proposed was a progressive step, as gentlemen here could testify. He ha offered a proposition in the Legislature which he still believed was the best that could have been adopted, but when it was defeated, he voted willingly for the next best. He had be- lieved, and did yet, that it was important, though not essen- tial, to have had some expression at least from the Legislature. They had no such expression, however, and a majority of the Convention had decided, he believed, that they could proceed without it, and such being the case, he was with them, and would be the last man to back from the position he had taken.
And what objection could be offered to doing so? He asked the gentlemen to say why they should not take action just now on this most important matter. It was true there might be some of the counties in the proposed boundary that might vote against immediate action or against any action at all, but if they would postpone till doomsday, and then pro- pose to act, some one would object. There was one plan of action that was always safe, and that was, never put o& what can be done now.
But it was argued that it would leave Eastern Virginia without a government; even if it did, they would only be in the same situation they left us in, and they could do as we did — go to work and make one. But they say they have a government and we have no government ; they boast of their government, and if you would go to Richmond and say they have no government your neck would pay the penalty. Let them take care of themselves as we haA^e done. We could not sympathize with those who wanted to cut their throats if they had an opportunity, and they did not ask any of this sym- pathy which some gentlemen were disposed to bestow upon them. They despised us and our government.
He used to be opposed to a division of the State, and always had, up to the time this great emergency had been forced upon our people. But now the time had come to look
History of West Virginia 423
out for our own interests, and disregard the interests of those who wage war against us.
But it was objected that we were thrusting ourselves upon the General Government. He would be the last to do this after all the government had done for us in Western A'ir- ginia, but we were not forcing ourselves upon the govern- ment, and it was not so regarded anywhere except by the gen- tlemen who raised the objection. If it could be proved he would abandon the project, but not until it was done. But he had the best authority for saying that this was not the case — but that Congress would admit the new State, was ready, willing and waiting to do so whenever application was made. He had talked with the Hon, William G. Brown, on his return from Washington a few days ago, and Mr. Browni had told him the quicker the better ; that the proposition for admission would not have lasted two days while he was there ; that a recognition w^ould have been given at once. They all know what Mr. Carlile says, that he corroborates the testi- mony of Mr. Brown. They were the best authority^ and so much for this objection. There was nothing in the way in that direction. He had never been willing to admit for a mo- ment that there was any danger of a reverse, as had been inti- mated upon this floor; but he would have them act, now that they had the power, lest by some possibility they should lose it. It might be a little selfish, but he was willing to be thus selfish — their welfare and the welfare of the people de- manded it.
As for boundary, he was not a stickler for any particular scheme. He preferred that reported by the committee, be- cause it included a neck of countr}^ lyi^'^g' down next to the Tennessee line, which was left out by other propositions, and which naturally belonged to us and should be included, not- withstanding the people might not now be quite so loyal as they should be. The ordinance also proposed, after running the main line on the top of the mountain, which the Almighty had reared as a natural boundary, to take in the counties con- tiguous to the Capital of the Country — and especially he liked it because it would take in the grave of W^ashington. He spoke of the advantages that would be apparent in running
424 History of West Virginia
the line so as to make the loyal State take in the territory op- posite and adjoining Washington, and said that proposition would cause our administration to be looked upon there with more favor than it would otherwise be.
He would like to know now why it was that gentlemen here disregard the plain wishes of their constituents. If they had instructions from them to oppose action he would like to see them. He had seen nothing of the kind, but he had seen letter after letter to members urging them to take some action.
But suppose they should make their application now to Congress, and Congress should lay it aside for a time, how much worse off would they be than before? There would be some proposition upon which they would act whenever, in their opinion, the proper time should arrive, and they would have the matter always before them until disposed of.
The people were now anxiously awaiting the action of this body, and if the word were to go out that they had refused to take any preliminary steps towards a separation, they would hang their harps upon the willows, and their lips would be mute and voiceless on the question in which they had taken so much interest.
On August 14th Mr. Farnsworth oft'ered a substitute for the report of the Committee on State Division, and on August 20th, 1861, Mr. Farnsworth, as Chairman of the Committee, appeared before the Convention and submitted the following :
"AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE FOR THE FOR- MATION OF A NEW STATE OUT OF A PORTION OF THE TERRITORY OF THIS STATE.
"WHEREAS, It is represented to be the desire of the people inhabiting the counties hereinafter mentioned to be separated from this Commonwealth, and to be erected into a separate and independent State, and admitted into the Union of States, and become a member of the Government of the United States :
"Sec. 1. The people of Virginia, b)^ their Delegates as- sembled in Convention at Wheeling, do ordain that a new State, to be called the State of Kanawha, be formed and
History of West Virginia 425
erected out of the territory included within the following de- scribed boundary :
"BEGINNING on the Tug Fork of (Big) Sandy River on the same Kentucky line where the counties of Buchanan and Logan join the same, and running thence with the divid- ing line of said counties and the dividing line of the Counties of Wyoming and McDowell to the Mercer County line, and with the dividing line of the Counties of Mercer and Wyoming to the Raleigh County line, and thence with the dividing line of the Counties of Raleigh and Mercer, Monroe and Raleigh, Greenbrier and Raleigh, Fayette and Greenbrier, Nicholas and Greenbrier, Webster, Greenbrier and Pocahontas, Randolph and Pocahontas, Randolph and Pendleton, to the southwest corner of Hardy County, thence with the dividing line of the Counties of Hardy and Tucker to the Fairfax stone, thence with the line dividing the States of Maryland and Virginia to the Pennsylvania line, thence with the line dividing the States of Pennsylvania and Virginia to the Ohio River, thence down said river, and including the same, to the dividing line be- tween Virginia and Kentucky, and with the said line to the beginning; including within the boundaries of the proposed new State the Counties of Logan, Wyoming, Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Webster, Randolph, Tucker, Preston, Monongalia, Marion, Taylor, Barbour, Upshur, Harrison, Lewis, Braxton, Clay, Kanawha, Boone, Wayne, Cabell, Putnam, Mason, Jackson, Roane, Calhoun, Wirt, Gilmer, Ritchie, Wood, Pleas- ants, Tyler, Doddridge, Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio, Brooke and Hancock.
In addition to the foregoing, it was provided that an elec- tion should be held on the fourth Thursday (the 24th) of the ensuing October, to vote upon the question of the proposed new State, and also to vote for Delegates to a Convention to frame a Constitution for the government of the new State, in case a majority of the votes cast should be in favor of its formation. The Commissioners of the Election were to certify the result of the election to the Secretary of State; and the Governor was to make proclamation thereof, fixing therein Wheeling as the place and November 26, 1861, as the date of the commencing of the Constitutional Convention. The elec-
426 History of West Virginia
tion came off, as per schedule. The total number of votes cast was 18,889, of which 18,408 were in favor of the new State and 481 against it, being nearly forty to one. Pursuant to the foregoing, Governor Pierpont issued his Proclamation calling the members just elected to the Constitutional Convention to assemble on the 26th of November ensuing, in the United States Court Room, in the Custom House, in Wheeling, for the purpose of organizing themselves into a Convention to form a Constitution to be submitted to the voters for ratifica- tion or rejection, \yithin the bounds of the proposed new State. The Proclamation was issued on November 6th — twelve days after the election.
While at this point we might digress to state that the first Thanksgiving Proclamation issued under the Restored Government of Virginia was by Governor Pierpont on November 15th, 1861, recommending the observance of Thursday, November 28th, as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessings of the year. In this he said :
"In the midst of war and its afflictions, we are more forci- bly reminded of our dependence upon Divine Providence ; and while in all we suffer we should own His chastening hand, we should be ready to acknowledge that it is of His mercy that we are not destroyed, and that so many of the blessings of life are preserved to us."
When the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention had assembled in the United States Court Room on November 28th they were called to order by Chapman J. Stuart, a Dele- gate from Doddridge County. Forty delegates had been chosen in forty counties, and thirty-four of them were present. Before the Convention finally completed its work the names of sixty-one members appeared on its rolls : . Following is the list complete :
Gordon Battelle, of Wheeling, Ohio County ;
John L. Boggs, of Franklin, Pendleton County;
James H. Brown, of Charleston, Kanawha County ;
John J. Brown, Kingwood, Preston County ;
Richard L. Brooks, Rock Cave, Upshur County ;
William W. Brumfield, Ceredo, Wayne County ;
Elbert H. Caldwell, Moundsville, Marshall County;
History of West Virginia 427
Thos. R. Carskadon, New Creek Sta., Hampshire County ;
James S. Cassady, Fayetteville, Fayette County ;
Henry D. Chapman, Spencer, Roane County;
Richard M. Cook, Princeton, Mercer County ;
Henry Bering, Morgantown, Monongalia County ;
John A. Dille, Kingwood, Preston County ;
Abijah Dolly, Greenland, Hardy County;
Daniel W. Gibson, Greenbank, Pocahontas County ;
Samuel T. Griffith, W. Columbia, Mason County ;
Robert Hagar, Boone C. H., Boone County ;
Ephraim B. Hall, Fairmont, Marion County;
John Hall, Point Pleasant, Mason County ;
Stephen M. Hansley, Marshall, Raleigh County;
Thomas W. Harrison, Clarksburg, Plarrison County ;
Hiram Haymond, Palatine (now Fairmont), Marion County.
James Hervey, Wellsburg, Brooke County;
J. P. Hoback, Perryville, McDowell County;
Joseph Hubbs, St. Marys, Pleasants County;
Robert Irvine, Weston, Lewis County;
Daniel Lamb, Wheeling, Ohio County ;
R. W. Lauck, Martinsville (now New Martinsville), Wetzel County;
E. S. Mahon, Ravenswdod, Jackson County ;
Andrew Mann, Falling Springs, Greenbrier County ;
John R. McCutchen, Summersville, Nicholas County ;
Dudley S. Montague, Red House Sh'ls, Putnam County ;
Emmett J. O'Brien, Burnersville, Barbour County;
Granville Parker, Guyandotte, Cabell County ;
James W. Parsons, St. George, Tucker County ;
James W. Paxton, Wheeling, Ohio County ;
David S. Pinnell, , Upshur County ;
Joseph S. Pomeroy, Fairview, Hancock County;
John M. Powell, West Milford, Harrison County;
Job Robinson, , Calhoun County ;
A. F. Ross, West Liberty, Ohio County ;
Lewis Ruffner, Kan. Salines, Kanawha County ;
Edward W. Ryan, Fayetteville, Fayette County;
George W. Sheetz, Piedmont, Hampshire County ;
428 History of West Virginia
Josiah Simmons, Leedsville, Randolph County;
Harmon Sinsel, Pruntytown, Taylor County ;
Benjamin H. Smith, Charleston, Logan County;
Abram D. Soper, Sistersville, Tyler County;
Benjamin L. Stephenson, Clay C. H., Clay County;
William E. Stevenson, Parkersburg, Wood County ;
Benjamin F. Stewart, Newark, Wirt County;
Gustavus F. Taylor, Braxton C. H., Braxton County;
Chapman J. Stuart, West Union, Doddridge County;
Moses Titchenel, Fairmont, Marion County ;
Thomas H. Trainer, Cameron, Marshall County ;
Peter G. Van Winkle, Parkersburg, Wood County ;
William Walker, Oceana, Wyoming County;
William W. Warder, Troy, Gilmer County;
Joseph S. Wheat, Berkeley Springs, Morgan County ;
Waitman T. Willey, Morgantown, Monongalia County;
Andrew J. Wilson, Pennsboro, Ritchie County.
Of these, nineteen were farmers ; eighteen, lawyers ; eight, ministers ; three, physicians ; three, merchants ; two, school teachers ; two, carpenters ; one, hotel keeper ; one, salt manu- facturer; one, mechanic; and three, not given.
Hon. John Hall, of Mason County, was elected President ; Ellery R. Hall, of Taylor County, Secretary ; and James C. Orr, of Ohio Count}^ Sergeant-at-Arms. The organization was completed the first day, and the Convention proceeded to the business before it. The Convention adjourned on Feb- ruary 18th, 1862, having framed a Constitution for the pro- posed new State of West Virginia, the name having been changed from that of "Kanawha" as named in the Ordinance. April 3d, 1862, was the day fixed for the vote on the question of the adoption of the Constitution for the new State of West Virginia. The . election came ofif, with the following result : For adoption, 18,862; for rejection, 514 — nearly thirty-seven to one in favor of the Constitution.
The first General Assembly under the Restored Govern- ment of Virginia commenced its first regular session on De- cember 2d, 1861, in the Linsly Institute building in Wheeling. The same organization was retained that was in effect at the extra session in the preceding July. Daniel Polsley, Lieuten-
History of West Virginia 429
ant Governor and ex-officio President of the Senate, presided over that body ; WilHam Lewis, clerk ; Jesse S. Wheat, ser- geant-at-arms ; D. V. Thorp, door-keeper; and Alexander Campbell, page.
In the House of Delegates, Daniel Frost was speaker ; Gibson Lamb Cranmer, clerk; Evans D. Fogle, sergeant-at- arms; James O. Hawley, first door-keeper; and James Mus- grave, second door-keeper. The session closed February 13, 1862.
In pursuance of Governor Pierpont's Proclamation of the 18th of April, 1862, the General Assembly convened in its second extra session at Wheeling, May 6th following. The follow^ing is a part of the Governor's message on that occasion :
"I have convened you in extra session, the principal ob- ject of which is to take final action in the proposed division of the State of Virginia as far as the Legislature is concerned." He reviewed the history of the Convention which framed the Constitution, and added : "The Constitution of the United States provides that no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State, without the con- sent of the Legislature of the State concerned, as well as of the Congress. Therefore to complete the work which has been commenced, of the division of the State, requires the consent of the Legislature of Virginia and the assent of Con- gress. Of course your honorable body will take such action in the premises as shall seem meet to you.
"Perhaps I have performed my duty in submitting the matter to you without saying more. But I am not willing to leave the question here. It is urged by some that the move- ment is revolutionary. Those who urge this objection do not understand the history and geography and social relations of our State. Geographically, the East is separated from the West by mountains which form an almost impassable barrier, as far as trade is concerned. The barrier is so great that no artificial means of intercourse has ever been made beyond a mud turnpike road. All the trade and commerce of the W^est is with other States, and not with Eastern Virginia. The two sections are entirely dissimilar in their social relations and institutions. While the East is largely interested in slaves,
430 History of West Virginia
the West has none and all the labor is performed by free men. The mode and subjects of taxation in the State have been a source of irritation, and indeed of strife and vexation, between the two sections for many years past, as well as that of repre- sentation in the Legislature. The subject of the division of the State has been agitated at one time and another ever since I can remember."
The Assembly got down to business and on May 13th passed an Act giving the assent of the Legislature of Virginia to the "Formation and Erection of a new State within the jurisdiction of this State," a part of which enactment reads as follows :
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the con- sent of the Legislature of Virginia be, and the same is hereby given, to the formation and erection of the State of West Vir- ginia within the jurisdiction of this State, to include the counties of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Taylor, Tyler, Pleasants, Ritchie, Dod- dridge, Harrison, Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Roane, Calhoun, Gil- mer, Barbour, Tucker, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur, Randolph, Mason, Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, Nicholas, Cabell, W^ayne, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, Mercer, McDowell, Webster, Poca- hontas, Fayette, Raleigh, Greenbrier, Monroe, Pendleton, Hardy, Hampshire and Morgan, according to the boundaries and under the provisions set forth in the Constitution for the said State of West Virginia, and the Schedule thereto annexed, proposed by the Convention which assembled at Wheeling on the 26th day of November, 186L"
It was also provided that the counties of Berkeley, Jeffer- son and Frederick might, upon their ratifying the Constitu- tion, form a part of West Virginia. It was further provided that copies of this Act, with a certified original of the Consti- tution and Schedule, should be transmitted to the Senators and Representatives in Congress from the Restored Govern- ment of Virginia, with the request that they use their en- deavors to obtain the consent of Congress to the admission of the State of West Virginia into the Union.
On May 22d, 1862, John Hall, James W. Paxton, Peter G. Van Winkle, Elbert H. Caldwell and Ephraim B. Hall, the
History of West Virginia 431
Commissioners named in the Schedule of the Constitution, in company with Harrison Hagans, Granville Parker, Daniel Polsley and othe prominent new State men, arrived at the National Capitol, at Washington, where they were introduced by Hon. Ralph Leets, of Lawrence County, Ohio, to the Sena- tors and Representatives of that State.
The Thirty-seventh Congress was then in its second ses- sion. Hons. Waitman T. Willey and John S. Carlile repre- sented the Restored Government of Virginia in the Senate, and Kellian V. Whaley, William G. Brown and Jacob Blair in the House.
On May 29th Senator Willey presented to the Senate a certified original of the Constitution, together with a copy of the Act of the General Assembly of the Restored Government of Virginia giving its permission to the formation of a new State within the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Memorial of that body, requesting the Congress to admit the said new State of West Virginia into the Union.
On June 3d, duplicates of the same documents were pre- sented in the House of Representatives by Hon. William G. Brown. The documents presented by Senator Willey were, on June 23d, referred to the Committee on Territories, of which Benjamin F. Wade, of Ohio, was Chairman. He, on this date, reported "Senate Bill No. 365, providing for the ad- mission of West Virginia into the Union and for other pur- poses." The Bill read as follows :
CHAPTER VI— AN ACT FOR THE ADMISSION OF THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA INTO THE . UNION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, The people inhabiting that portion of Vir- ginia known as West Virginia did, by the Convention in the city of Wheeling on the 26th of November, 1861, frame for themselves a Constitution with a view of becoming a sepa- rate and independent State ; and
WHEREAS, At a general election held in 'the counties composing the territory aforesaid on the third day of May
432 History of West Virginia
last, the said Constitution was approved and adopted by the quaHfied voters of the proposed State ; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature of Virginia by an act passed on the thirteenth day of May, 1862, did give its con- sent to the formation of a new State Mdthin the jurisdiction of the State of Virginia, to be known by the name of V/est Vir- ginia, and to embrace the following named counties, to-wit : Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Marion, Mononga- lia, Preston, Taylor, Pleasants, Tyler, Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, Bar- bour, Tucker, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur, Randolph, Mason, Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, Nicholas, Cabell, Wayne, Boone, Logan, Wyoming, Mercer, McDowell, Webster, Pocahontas, Fayette, Raleigh, Greenbrier, Monroe, Pendleton, Hardy, Hampshire, and Morgan ; and
WHEREAS, Both the Convention and the Legislature aforesaid have requested that the new State should be ad- mitted into the Union, and the Constitution aforesaid being republican in form, Congress does hereby consent that the said forty-eight counties may be formed into a separate and independent State. Therefore —
Sec. L Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the United States of America in Congress assem- bled. That the State of West Virginia be, and is hereby de- clared to be, one of the United States of America, and ad- mitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever, and until the next general census shall be entitled to three members in the House of Representatives of the United States; Provided, always, that this act shall not take effect until after the proclamation of the President of the United States hereinafter provided for.
It being represented to Congress that since the Conven- tion of the twenty-sixth of November, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, that framed and proposed the Constitution for the said State of West Virginia, the people thereof have expressed a wish to change the seventh section of the eleventh article of said Constitution by striking out the same and inserting the following in its place, viz. : "The children of slaves born within the limits of this State after the fourth day of July,
History of West Virginia 433
eighteen hundred and sixty-three, shall be free; and all slaves within the said State who shall, at the time aforesaid, be under the age of ten years shall be free when they arrive at the age of tw^enty-one years ; and all slaves over ten and under twenty-one years shall be free when they arrive at the age of twenty-five years ; and no slave shall be permitted to come into the State for permanent residence therein." There- fore—
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted. That whenever the people of West Virginia shall, through their said Convention, and by a vote to be taken at an election to be held within the limits of the said State, at such time as the Convention may provide, make and ratify the change aforesaid, and properly certify the same under the hand of the President of the Convention, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to issue his proclamation stating the fact, and thereupon this act shall take effect and be in force from and after sixty days from the date of said proclamation.
"Senate Bill No. 365" was put to vote on July 14th, re- sulting in 23 yeas and 17 nays; eight members not voting. John S. Carlile of Virginia was one of those voting nay.
On the following day William Hickey, chief clerk of the Senate, "appeared at the bar of the House of Representatives, and informed that body that the Senate had passed Senate Bill No. 365, and requested the concurrence of the House therein." But the Bill was held up in the House until De- cember 10th, at which time it was put to a vote, resulting in ninety-six yeas and fifty-five nays. The news of the action of the House was officially conveyed to the Senate by Emerson Ethridge, of Tennessee, clerk of the House of Representa- tives, on December 11th.
The Bill was signed by President Lincoln on December 31st, 1862.
The Constitutional Convention was re-asscmbled in the Custom House, in Wheeling, February 12th, 1863, for the purpose of making certain changes in the Constitution of the new State required by Congress. On February 20th the Con- vention completed the work for which it was assembled and adjourned sine die.
434 History of West Virginia
On March 26th the people voted upon the adoption of the amended Constitution, the vote resulting : For Ratification, 27,749; for Rejection, 572, which result was duly certified to the President of the United States on April 17th, and on April 20th the following Proclamation was issued :
A PROCLAMATION.
WHEREAS, By the act of Congress approved the 31st day of December last, the State of West Virginia was de- clared to be one of the United States of America, and was admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever, upon the condition that cer- tain changes should be duly made in the proposed constitution for that State ; and
WHEREAS, proof of a compliance with that condition, as required by the second section of the act aforesaid, has been submitted to me :
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby, in pursuance of the act of Congress aforesaid, declare and proclaim that the said act shall take effect and be in force from and after sixty days from the date hereof.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of April, A. D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President :
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State.
On May 28th, 1863, an election was held, and the follow- ing officers elected : Arthur I. Boreman, Governor ; Jacob Edgar Boyers, Secretary of State ; Campbell Tarr, State Treasurer; Samuel Crane, State Auditor; Aquilla B. Cald-
History of West Virginia 435
well, Attorney-General; for Judges of Supreme Court of Ap- peals, Ralph L. Berkshire, William A. Harrison and James H, Brown.
The following from the Daily Intelligencer of Wheeling, June 22, 1863:
"Saturday, June 20. That day the period of sixty days mentioned in the proclamation of the President, April 20, 1863, expired and West Virginia entered upon her career as a mem- ber of the Federal Union.
"It was a remarkable one in the history of the Virginias. In Wheeling a vast multitude thronged the streets ; thousands of flags fluttered in the breeze; the display of bunting was the most attractive ever seen in the 'Western Metropolis.' It threatened rain — June showers ; now all the beauties of a clear sunlight were shown, then a cloud chased all away. There were June showers — little ones — not enough to drive the peo- ple from the streets. A procession marched through the prin- cipal streets and then halted in front of the Linsly Institute. It was filled with people ; the streets were filled with men, women and children, and the yards, windows and roofs were full of eager faces. A large platform had been erected in front of the Institute, and thither the officers — officials of two State Governments — were conducted as they arrived. Hon. Chester D. Hubbard called the multitude to order. Thirty-five taste- fully attired and beautiful little girls, representing the Ameri- can States — all of them — sang the 'Star Spangled Banner.' Rev. J. T. McClure addressed the Throne of Grace. Then came two Governors — Francis H. Pierpont, the head of the Restored Government, and Arthur I. Boreman, Chief Execu- tive of a State just then beginning to be. The first delivered a Valedictory, the second an Inaugural Address.
The sovereignty of the Restored Government of Virginia was terminated on the soil of West Virginia. Governor Pier- pont retired with the Restored Government to Alexandria on the Potomac, nine miles below Washington City. Three cheers were given for West Virginia ; the little girls sang E Pluribus Unum, the band played the 'Star Spangled Banner,' and thus terminated the ceremonies of the inauguration of West Virginia as a free and independent State."
436 History of West Virginia
(The Restored Government of Virginia which left Wheel- ing on June 20th, 1863, for Alexandria, and in May, 1865, re- moved to Richmond, is the present Government of Virginia ; the Government organized at Wheeling, June 20th, continued to be the Government of the State of West Virginia. — V. A. L.)
CHAPTER XXII.
THE SOUTHERN VERSION OF THE CAUSES LEAD- ING TO THE CIVIL WAR.
In a former chapter we gave a brief history of the forma- tion of West Virginia out of Virginia, showing some of the principal causes which brought about that very important event. In doing so, we did not handle the story with velvet gloves, but aimed to tell the naked truth, regardless of the feelings of any section or party, and Virginia received her full share of criticism for the unenviable position she played in the performance of the great political drama in which was lost to the Mother State what has since proven to be the richest and best part of her once great domain.
In the beginning, the writer wants it to be distinctly understood that he never was in sympathy with secession — nor is he in favor of slavery in any form whatsoever. He believes that the Constitution of the United States and of the States is the safe-guard to all our liberties ; that the Union is necessary for the protection and preservation of our repub- lican form of government, and that the republican form of government is the only real, fair and true government in the world, and that is covering quite a bit of territory.
We propose now to give the Southern version of the causes leading to the Civil War. Part of the information was taken from a standard United States History and part from a book written by a Southerner, entitled "The Unwritten South."
Many of us Northerners were taught in our youth that "Old Jefif Davis" was a very close relative of "Old Horny," and looked very much as that gentleman is pictured in books ; that all Rebels were devils, too, only not quite so bad as "Old Horny." The prevailing opinion in those days was that
438 History of West Virginia
Mason and Dixon's Line marked the boundary between a heavenly land and the infernal regions.
Since the writer has grown up he has been told that the people of the South held very much the same views concern- ing "Abe Lincoln" and the "Yankees."
But now, after nearly a half century, the Mason and Dixon's Line, which once marked the division line between hostile sections, has entirely disappeared and perfect tran- quillity and lasting friendship reign supreme among a re- united people.
The "Southern Version of the Causes Leading up to the Civil War" is not intended to revive any bitter feelings. Far from that. It is only done in fairness to the memory of those who have long since departed across the Great Divide.
Viewing the past from a perspective unobstructed b}^ po- litical or sectional bias, we must, in all fairness," concede that the people of the South were not altogether to blame, nor the people of the North altogether blameless, for the Civil War.
We have a pardonable pride in our republican form of government and the Constitution upon which it is based, but if it had not been for the Southern people the probability is that we would be living under some form of monarchial gov- ernment today.
Henry, Lee, Peyton and Randolph were among the very first to register a protest against the Stamp Act. When Pat- rick Henry's voice echoed the principles which have made our nation great, treason was yelled in his face from the House of Burgesses, and the resolutions framed upon the occasion carried by a majority of only one. But Henry's sentiments M^ere popular with the masses, and soon the colonies were banded together in determined resistance to further oppres- sion. Then followed the Boston "Tea Party." It was at a Convention held at Richmond that Patrick Henry proposed that the citizens be formed into military companies and drilled. Some of the more timid were at first slow to respond, but the great speech of Henry so fired the Convention that they went home resolved to "do or die" in the defense of their rights.
Then came Thomas Jefferson, a rising young Virginian,
History of West Virginia 439
and prepared and presented to the House a paper declaring the right of Virginians to expend their money as they pleased.
The colonists were now alert and discovered many plots formed by the British ; and while her soldiers were battling with Dunmore's troops her statesmen were carving out a last- ing government.
Five days previous to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, a State Constitution, written b}^ George Mason, was passed by a Convention held at Williamsburg, Virginia. A Bill of Rights was at the same time drawn by Mr. Mason, and from these were taken the Declaration of the Independ- ence of the United Colonies and the Constitution of the United States, as the same sentiments were expressed in the two — - Thomas Jefferson writing one and James Madison the other.
The experience of a monarchial form of government was distasteful to the majority of the people, and they were deter- mined on having a government in which no office was held for life. Also that each State should have a separate govern- ment. Here were encountered some difficulties hard to over- come ; and matters were in a very unsatisfactory condition until 1787, when in the month of May of that year a conven- tion met at Philadelphia and a Constitution was prepared and presented to each State for its discussion. Some of the great- est orators and statesmen of that time were present, and many heated debates ensued before a conclusion was finally reached. Patrick Henry was one of those who most vigorously op- posed certain provisions of the Constitution. He believed the instrument, as then written, was needlessly depriving the States of rights which properly belonged to them. But INIadi- son, Randolph and others took a different view, and thought the States did not confer upon the Federal government any rights necessary to the existence of the State government. The Constitution was finally adopted by a majority of only ten votes. Now that the Constitution had been given birth, and had in fact become a living system of fundamental laws, there lived not a man who more energetically defended it than did Patrick Henry, but there was a strong sentiment in the North to defeat its aims, as we shall see later on.
In 1791 Alexander Hamilton persuaded Congress to es-
440 History of West Virginia
tablish the first Bank of the United States at Philadelphia, The discussion in Congress over the question of establishing the Bank of the United States gave rise to the first two regu- larly organized political parties — the Federalist and the Re- publican. The members of the last named party called them- selves Democratic Republicans, but finally took the name Democrat, which name they still retain. The Republican party of the present day did not come into existence until nearly sixty years after the death of Washington.
Alexander Hamilton led the Federal party and Thomas Jefferson the Republican, or as we say, the Democratic party. These parties were also sometimes designated as the Hamil- tonian and Jeffersonian parties. The former party beJieved that the government should be the master of the people; the latter that the people should be the masters of the govern- ment. Every school child who reads history knows some- thing of the traitorous acts of Hamilton, even while he was Secretary in Washington's Cabinet. It is inconceivable that any considerable number of people — people who had so long endured untold hardships and suffering under British mis- rule— would entertain for even one moment a thought of em- bracing a form of government that oft"ered even the faintest tendency toward monarchial rule, yet there were enough of this class to elect John Adams, the Federalist candidate, to succeed Washington in 1797. There is no doubt, however, that a large number of Adams's supporters were misled in the matter, and that they did not know the real character of his political backers.
Washington, in commenting on the Hamiltonian doctrine, said : "Those who lean to a monarchial form of government have either not consulted the public mind or they live in a region which is much more productive of monarchial ideas than is the case with the Southern States."
In writing Mr. Morris, February 27, 1802, concerning the National Constitution, Mr. Hamilton said : 'T am laboring to prop the frail and worthless fabric a while. I do not publish it in Dun and Beersheba, but I am thoroughly convinced that we shall have to return to the English form of government." He sought hard to inject his monarchial principles into the
History of West Virginia 441
Constitution. Failing in this, he tried a monarchial interpreta- tion of the Democratic Constitution. He was more traitorous than Arnold or Burr. He aspired to the Presidency, and might have become king had not Jeffersonian principles prevailed.
Washington served two terms as President, and was suc- ceeded in 1797 by John Adams. The latter was elected by the Federalists by only three electoral votes over Thomas Jefferson, the Democratic candidate. The wealthy class in the North were generally in favor of Hamiltonian principles, but owing to Washington's popularity the Constitution's ene- mies were not permitted to make much headway ; but as soon as Adams assumed the President's chair, notwithstanding he had formerly been a Democrat and had won renown for ser- vices rendered in the Revolution, he was surrounded by mon- archial Federalists who persuaded him to believe the people were ready and anxious to embrace a monarchial government. Fortunately, however, the most unpopular thing he succeeded in doing was causing the enactment of the "Alien and Sedi- tion Laws." In spite of all Adams's shortcomings, Washing- ton had this to say of him: "I have a cordial esteem for Mr. Adams, increased by long habits of consensus of opinion, and even since his apostasy to hereditary nobility. We differ as friends."
"Adams was succeeded by Thomas Jefferson, who served two successive terms — from 1801 to 1809. This period marks the downfall of the Federalists as a controlling political power; for the next forty years the Democrats held control. Jefferson took the oath of office in the new capitol, which was ridiculed as a 'palace in the woods.' It stood on a hill in the 'city of Washington,' then nothing but a struggling village of a few hundred inhabitants. Washington, for whom it was named, had himself chosen the ground for the city.
"Jefferson prided himself on taking his stand with the people. In dress, manners and ideas he was quite different from the former Federal President, Adams, who thought it proper for the head of the nation to stand a little apart from the people, and kept up something of the dignity and cere- mony of a king. Jeft'erson preferred, on the contrary, republi- can simplicity in all things, and was ready to receive and
442 History of West Virginia
shake hands with any one and every one that wanted to shake hands with him. When he entered office he found only Feder- aHsts in the employ of the government. He naturally wished that men of his own party should hold such offices, and when opportunities came he appointed Democrats to fill them."
We have said that after the election of Jefferson to the Presidency the Democratic party held power for a period of forty years. Notwithstanding this fact, however, the Feder- alists were not deprived entirely of their monarchial influ- ences, as will develop later on.
The following resolution passed by the House of Repre- sentatives of Kentucky, November 10, 1798, thoroughly covers the grounds of complaint of the South at that time :
"RESOLVED, That the several States comprising the United States of America are not united on the principles of unlimited submission to the general government, but that by compact, under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States and of amendments thereto, they constitute a general government for special purposes, delegated to that government certain definite powers, reserving, each State to itself, the residuary mass of right to their own self-govern- ment; and, that whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void and of no force ; that to this compact each State acceded as a State, and is an integral party ; that this government, created by this compact, was not made the exclusive or final judge of the ex- tent of the powers delegated to itself, since that would have made its discretion, and not the constitution, the measure of its powers ; but that, as in all other cases of compact among parties having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself as well of infraction as of the mode of redress.
"2. Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States having delegated to Congress a power to punish treason, coun- terfeiting securities and current coin of the United States, piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the laws of nations, and no other crimes whatever ; and it being true, as a general principle, and one of the amend- ments to the Constitution having also declared, 'that the pow-
History of West Virginia 443
ers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,' therefore also the same act of Congress, passed on the 14th day of July, 1798, and entitled 'an act in addition to the act entitled an act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States,' as also the act passed by them on the 27th of June, 1798, entitled 'an act to punish frauds committed on the bank of the United States,' and all other their acts which assume to create, define or punish crimes other than those enumerated in the Constitu- tion, are altogether void and of no force and that the power to create, define and punish such other crimes is reserved, and of right appertains solely and exclusively, to the respective States, each within its own territory.
"3. Resolved, That it is true, as a general principle, and is also expressly declared by one of the amendments to the Constitution, that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to, the States respectively, or to the people ; and that no power over the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of the press being delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, all lawful powers respecting same did of right remain, and were reserved to the States or to the people ; that thus was mani- fested their determination to retain to themselves the right of judging how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged without lessening their useful freedom, and how far those abuses which cannot be separated from their use should be tolerated rather than the use destroyed ; and thus also they guarded against all abridgement by the United States of the freedom of religious principles and exercises, and retained to themselves the right of protecting the same as this, stated by a law passed on the general demand of its citi- zens, had already protected them from all human restraint or interference ; and that in addition to this general principle and express declaration another and more special provision has been made by one of the amendments to the Constitution, which expressly declares that 'Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
444 History of West Virginia
free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,' thereby guarding, in the same sentence and under the same words, the freedom of religion, of speech and of the press, insomuch that whatever violates either throws down the sanctuaries which cover the others ; and that libels, falsehoods and defamation, equally with heresy and false re- ligion, are withheld from the cognizance of federal tribunals. That therefore the act of the Congress of the United States, passed on the 14th of July, 1798, entitled 'An act in addition to the act entitled an act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States,' which does abridge the freedom of the press, is not law, but is altogether void and of no force.
"4. Resolved, That alien friends are under the jurisdic- tion and protection of the laws of the State wherein they are ; that no power over them has been delegated to the United States, nor prohibited to the individual States distinct from their power over citizens ; and it being true, as a general prin- ciple, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared that 'the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,' the Act of the Congress of the United States passed the 22d of June, 1798, entitled 'an Act concerning aliens,' which assumes power over alien friends not delegated to the Constitution, is not law, but is altogether void and of no force.
"5. Resolved, That in addition to the general principle as well as the express declaration that powers not delegated are reserved, another and more special provision inferred in the Constitution, from abundant caution has declared, 'that the migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1808.' That this Commonwealth does admit the migration of alien friends de- scribed as the subject of the said Act concerning aliens; that a provision against prohibiting their migration is a provision against all Acts equivalent thereto, or it would be nugatory ; that to remove them when migrated is equivalent to a prohibi- tion of their migration and is, therefore, contrary to the said provision of the Constitution and void.
History of West Virginia 445
___^ «
"8. Resolved, That the preceding resolutions be trans- mitted to the Senators and Representatives in Congress from this Commonwealth, who are enjoined to present the same to their respective Houses, and to use their best endeavors to procure at the next session of Congress a repeal of the afore- said unconstitutional and obnoxious Acts.
"9. Resolved, Lastly, that the government of this Com- monwealth be, and is hereby, authorized and requested to communicate the preceding resolutions to the legislatures of the several States, to assure them that this Common wealt'i CONSIDERS UNION FOR SPECIAL NATIONAL PUR- POSES, AND PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE SPECI- FIED IN THEIR LATE FEDERAL COMPACT, TO BE FRIENDLY TO THE PEACE, HAPPINESS AND PROS- PERITY OF ALL THE STATES— THAT FAITHFUL TO THAT COMPACT, ACCORDING TO THE PLAIN IN- TENT AND MEANING IN WHICH IT WAS UNDER- STOOD AND ACCEDED TO BY THE SEVERAL PAR- TIES, IT IS SINCERELY ANXIOUS FOR ITS PRESER- VATION ; and it does also believe that to take from the States all the power of self-government, without regard to the special delegations and reservations solemnly agreed to in that com- pact, is NOT for the peace, happiness or prosperity of these States; and that therefore this Commonwealth is determined, as it doubts not its co-States are, to submit to undelegated and consequently unlimited powers in no man, or body of men on earth; THAT IF THE ACTS BEFORE SPECI- FIED SHOULD STAND THESE CONCLUSIONS WOULD FLOW FROM THEM:
"That the general government may place any act they think proper on the list of crime and punish it themselves, whether enumerated or not enumerated by the Constitution as recognized by them ; that they may transfer its cognizance to the President or any other person, who may be the evidence, his order sentence, his officer the executioner, and his breast the sole record of the transaction; that a very numerous and valuable description of the inhabitants of these States, being by this precedent reduced as outlaws, to the absolute domin- ion of ONE MAN, and the barriers of the Constitution thus
446 History of West Virginia
swept from us all, no rampart now remains against the pas- sions and the power of a majority of Congress to protect from a like exportation or other grievous punishment the majority of the same body, the legislature, judges, governors and coun- cilors of the States, nor their other peaceable inhabitants who may venture to reclaim the Constitutional rights and liberties of the States and people, or who for other causes, good or bad, may be obnoxious to the views or marked by the suspicions of the President, or be thought dangerous to his or their elec- tion or other interests, public or personal; that the friendless alien has been selected as the safest subject of a first experi- ment ; but the citizen will soon follow, or rather has already followed; for, already has a Sedition Act marked him as a prey; that these and successive Acts of the same character, unless arrested on the threshold, may tend to drive these States into revolution and blood, and will furnish new calum- nies against republican governments, and new pretexts for those who wish to be believed, that man cannot be governed but by a rod of iron ; that it would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights; that confidence is everywhere the parent of despotism; free government is found in jealousy, and not in confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power; that our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no farther, our confidence may go ; and let the truest advo- cate of confidence read the Alien and Sedition Acts and say if the Constitution has not been wise in fixing limits to the gov- ernment it created, and whether we should be wise in destroy- ing those limits. * * * Jn question of power then let no more be said of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." * * *
Virginia Resolutions, drawn by Mr. Madison, in the Virginia House of Delegates, Friday, December 21, 1798:
"Resolved, That the General Assembly of Virginia doth unequivocally express a firm resolution to maintain and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of this State, against every aggression, either foreign or do- mestic; and that they will support the government of the
History of West Virginia 447
United States in all measures warranted by the former. That this Assembly most solemnly declares a warm attachment to the Union of the States, to maintain which it pledges its powers ; and that for this end, it is their duty to watch over and oppose every infraction of those principles which consti- tute the only basis of that Union, because a faithful observ- ance of them can alone secure its existence and the public happiness. * * *
"That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare that it views the powers of the Federal Government as resulting" from the compact to which the States are parties, as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument con- stituting that compact, as no further valid than they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact ; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the States, who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil and for maintaining within their respective limits the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining thereto.
"That the General Assembly doth also express its deep regret that a spirit has, in sundry instances, been manifested by the Federal Government, to enlarge its powers by forced construction of the Constitutional charters which define them ; and, that indications have appeared of a design to ex- pound certain general phrases which, having been copied from the very limited grant of powers in the former Articles of Confederation, were the less liable to be misconstrued, so as to destroy the meaning and effect of the particular enumer- ation which necessarily explains and limits the general phrases, and so as to consolidate the States by degrees with one sovereignty, the obvious tendency and inevitable result of which would be to transform the present republican system of the United States into an absolute, or at best a mixed, mon- archy. * * *
"That the good people of this Commonwealth, having ever felt and continuing to feci the most sincere affection for their brethren of the other States, the truest anxiety for estab- lishing and perpetuating the Union of all, and the most scrupu-
448 History of West Virginia
lous fidelity to that Constitution which is the pledge of mutual friendship and the instrument of mutual happiness, the General Assembly doth solemnly appeal to the like disposi- tions in the other States, in confidence that they will concur with this Commonwealth in declaring, as it does hereby de- clare, that the Acts aforesaid (Alien and Sedition Laws, etc.) are unconstitutional, and that the necessary and proper meas- ures will be taken by each for co-operation with this State in preserving unimpaired the authorities, rights and liberties re- served to the States respectively or to the people."
In reply to the foregoing resolutions, the State of Dela- ware, in its House of Representatives, on February 1, 1799, resolved as follows: "That we consider the. resolutions from the State of Virginia as a very unjustifiable interference with the general government and constituted authority of the United States, and of DANGEROUS tendency, and therefore not fit subjects for the further consideration of the General Assembly."
Rhode Island's reply was to the eft'ect that the question of unconstitutionality of Acts passed by the Congress could only be determined by the Courts. Virginia contended that the action of legislative or judicial powers upon a case plainly unconstitutional did not make it a lawful act; that the Consti- tution was not subject to any tribunal, for it had none except the people who made it.
Vermont's arguments were practically the same as those of Rhode Island. She appeared to be more interested in the "interpretation of the courts" than in the Constitution itself. Legislative enactments were all right, regardless of their con- stitutionality, so long as those Acts suited the purpose of the enemies of the Constitution.
Going back to the adoption of the famous resolutions and election of Jefferson to the Presidency : The people of the North, particularly the Monarchical politicians, possessed anything but a friendly feeling for the people of the South. This feeling did not die with the generation, for the children had been taught to hate Jefferson and his southern friends with a degree of bitterness nearly equal to their antipathy for "Jeff" Davis and the Southern Confederacy in later years.
History of West Virginia 449
Jefferson, in writing to a friend, said: "Our political situation is prodigiously changed. Instead of noble love of liberty and that republican government which carried us through the war, an Anglo-Monarchic aristocratic party has arisen. Their a\-owed object is to impose upon us the form of the British Government, but the principal body of our citi- zens remain faithful to the republican principles. They would wrest from us that libert}- which we have obtained by so much labor and peril."
Again he said : "The alien and sedition law is but an experiment, and if this goes down \\ith the people, we shall see Congress attempting to declare that the President shall continue in office for life, and finally the transfer of succession to his heirs."
There was a conspiracy in New England as early as 1796 to break up the Republic. A Northern Confederacy had been contemplated for a number of years. "To sow discord, jeal- ousy, and hostility was the first step tow^ards this object," says Mathew Carey in the "Olive Branch." "In the famous Pelham papers," says J. C. Stonebraker, "it was stated that the 'Northern States can subsist as a nation without the South. It can not be contested that if the Southern States were pos- sessed of the same political ideas, our union would be more close, but when it becomes a serious question w^hether we shall give up our government or part with the States south of the Potomac River, no man north of that river. Avhose heart is not thoroughly Democratic, can hesitate what decision to make.' This was in 1796, and it proves that democratic form of government (being obnoxious to the Monarchial Federalists) was the cause of all the trouble between the sections, though it embodied a coini)act entered into by all of the States only eight years before. You will ob- serve, of course, that the Northern section contemplated seceding, not in defense of the existing Constitution, but in opposition to it. The difference between the North and the South in the the question of secession was only a matter of ner.ve. It is admitted that the North wished to sever the Union at the Mason and Dixon Tine." *
450 History of West Virginia
Following is taken from the ''Unwritten South", giving the viewpoint of a Southerner on the slave question :
"In conjunction with the British spy Henry, the Federal leaders settled upon the negro question as the best to bring about the object they sought. Now, the North had no love for the negro, as all know, for they had just gotten rid of all of theirs, the climate being too severe for them. Let it be remembered here as true, that the slave trade was looked upon, as it existed in the early years of our nation, as a real blessing to the negroes.
"In Africa they were all slaves to heathen masters and lived upon snakes and toads. Thousands were butchered as sacrifices to negro divinities. Their own offspring were eaten for food, and were gladly sold when an opportunity was offered. Washington, Teff'erson, Madison and all the leading men of the land owned slaves, and were considered benefac- tors. Before the birth of Christ slavery existed and their pos- terity was inherited by their sons and daughters. So you see the simple inheritance of slaves did not become such a hideous crime all at once, especially in a land whose government pro- vided against its being a crime. In Solomon's time it was legal to marry a dozen wives, but the system was not abol- ished by the ba3^onet.
"The South was the first to issue Acts against bringing more slaves into the country, and imposed a tax upon them in some of the States. So at the time of the agitation of the slave question there were no slaves being brought into the South, excepting such as could be smuggled.
"There were almost as many free negroes in the South at the time of the war as slaves. Some of the negroes them- selves owned slaves.
"The leading slave-holders were liberating their slaves at the age of twenty-one and seeing after them. Very few men sold slaves at this time, but many of them kept themselves poor feeding and caring for the negroes in their charge. It became an adage, 'that the pigs ate the corn and the negroes ate the pigs.' It was conceded b}^ all that a negro with a master was superior to a free one ; in fact, the slaves looked with scorn upon a free negro. There were many collections
History of West Virginia 451
of free negroes in the South at the time of the breaking- out of the war, and they hved upon the hen roosts of the community principally. Without questioning the feasibility of freeing the negro, the most reasonable plan surely would have been to free the worthy ones at a certain age and thus have the best ones as a nucleus for a development. It was plainly against all order of evolution to rise so suddenly to such a position as full citizenship.
"You remember that only in 1787 the Northern States voted against the abolition of slavery, the Southern States voting for it. Had the Northern cities anticipated that the negroes would take advantage of the amendments to the Con- stitution and flock to their States as citizens, their actions had been different, as is regretfully stated by the inhabitants of those cities now. They are getting a dose of their own medicine in the North now with regard to the negro."
Continuing, the writer says : "The movement against slavery began in 1820, when Missouri was added to the Union. Jefferson said, in a letter to Lafayette, 'On the eclipse of Fed- eration with us, but not its extinction, its leaders have set up the false front of lessening the measure of slavery by the Missouri question, but with the real view of producing a geo- graphical division of parties which might insure them the next President'. The Federalists knew they could not alter the Constitution to manage the matter of citizenship, but showed their disposition to break the solemn compact contained in the Constitution. As the two parties existed at the time of framing the Constitution they understood each other, and were honorably bound to defend it as construed at the time; hence any attempt to distort it to their sectional advantage meant treason and false dealing. The status of the Federalists was now to array the one section against the other and they were assisted by one Henry, who was sent here by the Gov- ernor of Canada, whose name was Craig. Craig's instructions to Henry, dated Quebec, February, 1809, were the following:
" T request you to proceed with the earliest convenience to Boston. The known intelligence and ability of several of its leading men must give it a considerable influence over the other States and will probably lead them in the part they are
452 History of West Virginia
to take. It has been supposed that if the FederaHsts of the Eastern States should be successful and obtain the decided influence which may enable them to direct public opinion, it is not impossible that rather than submit they will exert their influence to bring about a separation from the general Union. I enclose a credential, but you must not use it unless you are satisfied it will lead to more confidential communication.'
"This conspiracy between the agents of Canada and the leading Federalists of New England came to the knowledge of Madison, who was President, and he laid all the proofs be- fore Congress. The President said to Congress, '1 lay before you copies of certain documents Avhich remain in the Depart- ment of State. They prove that at a recent period, on the part of British Government through its public minister here, a secret agent of that government was employed in certain States in fomenting disaft'ection to the constitutional authori- ties of the country, and intrigued with the disaifected for the purpose of bringing about resistance to the laws, and eventu- ally in concert with a British force, of destroying the Union and forming the eastern part thereof into a political connec- tion with Great Britain.'
"Henry wrote back to the authorities who had employed him in Canada, that, although he found the leaders of the Federalists of New England ripe for any measure which could sever the Union, yet the masses of the people held so strongly to the sentiment of Union that he doubted it could be imme- diately dissolved. He suggested that the best way to further this scheme of disunion would be to get up some sectional domestic question on which the prejudices and passions of the people could be permanently divided. This, he was sure, would in time accomplish disunion. The sectional question he spoke of was slavery. He did not miscalculate; it did its work."
The writer from whom we quoted the above goes on to say :
"A great flurr}^ was caused in the North by dissatisfac- tion of South Carolina, but they overlooked the fact that the Act in relation to the return of 'fugitives from service' was openly and distinctly nullified by nearh^ every Northern State.
History of West Virginia 453
Lloyd Garrison, who was called the father of abolitionism, inaugurated his movement by burning the Constitution of the United States. He declared, *No act of ours do we regard with so much conscientious approval, or with higher satisfaction, than when we, on the 4th of July, in the i)resence of a great assembly, committed to the flames the Constitution of the United States.' He said, 'This Union is a lie, I am for its overthrow. Up with the flag of disunion.' If such men had been hanged, there had been no violation of and disrespect for the Constitution later, and hence there had been no war, Wendell Phillips said, 'The Constitution of our fathers was a mistake; tear it to pieces.' It has been torn to pieces, and the advocates of the destruction have become so docile as to say : Oh, don't stir up the difference between the North and the South ; since it is settled, let it rest. Yes, for shame's sake let it rest, but for the sake of the truth, and the hope of ultimate redemption from the stigma of error, let it not rest."
CHAPTER XXIII.
CIVIL WAR IN WEST VIRGINIA.
The South fought for their homes, and for slavery — yet slavery was not the primary cause of the war. The South had complained of unfair treatment from the hands of the Federal Government as far back as the time of Alexander Hamilton. They complained incessantly of the encroachment of the General Government upon State Rights, as has been shown in a former chapter. An anti-slavery sentiment had also long existed in the North. The interests of the two sections were not mutual. There was nothing in common between them. The political leaders and the newspapers of both factions were constantly and persistently nagging and threatening each other.
The South had frequently threatened withdrawal from the Union and forming an independent government. As late as the early part of 1861 there was a strong feeling in the North that it would be a good thing for all concerned if the two sections were divided. They reasoned that, so long as South and North were tied together as one country, there would be danger of contamination from slavery, and that Southern influence might eventually force slavery in the Northern States and thereby offer cheap colored labor in com- petition with the whites ; but, if they were politically foreign to each other, no such contingency would exist. Why, then, not let the South go? Their trade relations would remain the same, and they would be safe from a repugnant labor traffic. ^rt, a majority of the Northern people took a different view. While they were opposed to slavery, yet they were not so much concerned about that so long as it was confined to its present limits ; but they set their foot squarely down on se- cession. They believed a division of the government would render each section weaker in defense from European attack,
History of West Virginia 455
and that it would afford a precedent for other divisions and ultimately lead to a number of small principalities, similar to those in some of the tropical regions. Our forefathers had sacrificed life, limb and property that we might enjoy the precious inheritance of a republican form of government of united states ; and nov^, to sacrifice all this as a compromise with a dissatisfied faction or section would never do. No, the Union must stand at all hazards.
This was all very well and proper. Yet, as we have seen, the North was not entirely blameless for the unfortunate con- ditions in which the country found itself. She had been selfish and impatient for her own ends ; and the punishment she brought upon herself was not, by any means, undeserved. Had the people of both sides paid less attention to the ram- pant harangue of hot-headed political speakers and jingo journalism, and had shown that the sons of the Revolutionary fathers were, by natural ties, duty-bound to treat one another with a spirit of fairness, they would have discovered some honorable means of adjusting" their difficulties without re- sorting to war.
What a pity that thousands upon thousands of the very cream of American manhood were so cruelly and so needlessly sacrificed !
Aside from its humane features, how useful might have been all these men had their efforts been directed in other channels of honest human endeavor. And the heartaches and tears it would have saved !
It is not a pleasant duty to record the stories of bloody battles fought on any field or for whatever cause ; and it be- comes more unpleasant when the scenes one describes hap- pened in our own country and State, and in some cases, on ground familiar to the writer, and by men or boys from his own neighborhood — in many instances one neighbor against another, family against family, and in some cases, brother against brother, or father against son.
But the fates decreed that the war must come, and war it was indeed — for four long years — years of hardships, anxiety, turmoil, destruction of life and property, and count- less homes made desolate; and during the enactment of these
456 History of West Virginia
terrible scenes, the great majority of those responsible for the trouble were either dodging the muster roll, or comfortably housed at a safe distance, and drawing a government salary.
As this is a State history, we will confine ourselves to engagements in West Virginia as nearly as possible, occasion- ally going outside as circumstances may require.
In presenting the story of engagements between the Federal and Confederate soldiers in West Virginia, we will quote freely from "History of West Virginia and Its People," by Miller and Maxwell.
On April 24, 1861, Lieutenant Jones, U. S. A., anticipating an attack upon Harper's Ferry that night by Confederate troops, fired the factories and blew up the government arsenal at that place at 10 o'clock at night, and made his escape with his men. The garrison consisted of forty-eight or fifty men under Lieutenant Jones. They at once commenced planning for the destruction of the place, by order of the government at Washington. With their own swords they cut Kindling with which to fire the buildings. They emptied their bed mat- tresses and filled them with powder and then carried them into the arsenal, so that no suspicion was aroused among the resi- dents of the town. Fifteen thousand stand of arms were then placed in the best position to be destroyed by an explosion. Splints of boards and straw were thrown up in different parts of the shops, so all could be destroyed at once. At 9 o'clock in the evening Lieutenant Jones was advised that no less than 2,000 Confederates would be there by midnight, so he at once proceeded to destroy the government property. The windows and doors were thrown wide open in all the main buildings, so'the flames would have free course; fires were lighted in the carpenter's shop ; the trains leading to the powder were ignited, and the men m'^rched out. The fire alarm aroused the citizens, and just as Lieutenant Jones and his men had entered the lodge to escape, an excited crowd gathered and pursued them, threatening vengeance upon tliem for destroy- ing the works. He suddenly wheeled his men and declared that unless they retreated he would fire upon them. This dispersed the most of the crowd. As they fled, he with his men took to the woods. Within fifteen minutes after he left he heard
History of West Virginia AS7
the first loud report of the explosion. By the light of the fire thus made, which illuminated the night, he was enabled to make his way out of the country to the north. All of his men escaped but four, who it is believed were captured and killed. He made straight for Hagerstown, wading streams and swamps, reaching that place at 7 in the morning. There he secured omnibus transportation over to Chambersburg in time to take a train for the east.
January 11, 1861, the 2d Kentucky Infantry landed at Guyandotte. On the night of the 13th, four companies marched out on the road leading to Barboursville, in Cabell Count}', and in the early morning reached Alud River bridge, within a few hundred rods of the town. On the ridge, in the rear of the court house, were about 350 Confederates under Col. James Ferguson, and a detachment of Border Rangers under Capt. (later General) A. G. Jenkins. The Federals approached the bridge and received the first fire, which they answered and, crossing the bridge, carried the ridge and took possession of the town. The Federals lost five killed and eighteen wounded ; the Confederates had one killed and one wounded, the former being James Reynolds and the latter xA.bsalom Ballinger.
On May 20, 1861, seventy "soldiers of the State troops came into Clarksburg for the purpose of recruiting for the Confederate Army. They had come in from Romine's ]\Iills, and marched up the main streets with rifles in hand. In a short time they were joined by another similar band from the surrounding country, commanded by N. M. Turner, Norvil Lewis. Hugh H. Lee and W. P. Cooper. The loyal citizens of Clarksburg were incensed at this act, and at 6 o'clock the bell of the court house rang out as a warning, and the two liome military companies were soon in line. These \Aere com- manded by Capt. A. C. Moore and Capt. J. C. Vance. A column was at once formed, with flags unfurled and bands ot music playing. This display frightened the "green" Confed- erate troops, who, after a time, asked if they might be allowed to leave in peace, when they were told that they could remain until morning providing they would stack their arms, which, after 8 o'clock, they concluded to do.
458 History of West Virginia
Another version of this event is related by Henry Ray- mond in his "History of Harrison County", as follows :
"On the afternoon of May 23rd, 1861, the residents of the town were startled by the appearance of several squads of men coming in on different roads, a portion of them being armed with squirrel rifles and shotguns.
"The court house bell was rung, long and loud, and the Union Guard, with a large number of other citizens, assem- bled in the court room and amid great excitement it was pro- posed that the new arrivals and all others who gave them aid and comfort should be forthwith captured. But the arrival of some of the older citizens upon the scene undoubtedly pre- vented a collision between the two bodies. It was proposed by a cool-headed speaker that a committee should wait upon the secession body and ascertain their intentions in marching into town under arms. This was very reluctantly agreed to and the committee retired, and after some time reported that the new arrivals had no hostile intentions, but were there for the night and intended on the following day to march peace- ably to Grafton to join Colonel Porterfield.
"After a good deal of discussion it was finally agreed that the Secessionists should surrender their arms, which would be placed in the jail, locked up, and the key given into the pos- session of Waldo P. Goff, a prominent Union man, and that they should be delivered to their owners on the following morning, and that they should then leave town. This was done and a collision happily avoided. On the next day their arms were restored to them and the company marched down Pike Street on their way to Grafton.
"A large crowd gathered on the pavement at the Old Walker House at the corner of Second and Pike Street to see them march away. It was a pathetic scene. Every one seemed impressed with the solemnity of the occasion. There were no loud hurrahs nor waving of flags as generally takes place when men leave to go to war. Some quiet good-b3^es were said between those leaving and those remaining, and as they crossed Elk bridge and rounded the bend in the street near the Catholic Church they M^ere lost to sight. A'ery few of them ever saw their native town again, about twenty of
History of West Virginia 459
them were killed in battle and ten died from disease and only six surrendered at Appomattox."
The same writer also relates what he terms "The Affair at Righter's" :
"Peter B. Righter, a well-to-do farmer and grazier, lived in a handsome residence on Coon's Run, about four miles from Shinnston, just over the Marion County line. He was a pro- nounced Secessionist and his house was a headquarters for those of like faith in the neighborhood.
"He was reported to the military authorities and a detach- ment of Company I of the 20th Ohio, under Captain Cable from Mannington, was ordered to the Righter farm on June 21st, 1861. They were fired upon from the house, one of his men was killed and three or four wounded, and John Nay, the guide, was also wounded.
"Captain Cable's command fell back to Shinnston and, receiving re-enforcements on the 22nd, returned to Righter's and found the premises deserted. The house, barns and out- buildings were burned and all the horses taken and moved to Mannington.
"Banks Corbin, a resident of the neighborhood, while held a prisoner by the troops, attempted to escape, was fired upon and killed.
"This incident caused great excitement in the neighbor- hood and brought the realities of war home to the people."
On May 6, 1861, Gen. George B. McClellan took com- mand of the Department of West Virginia, while General Garnett held a similar position in the Confederate Army. The latter was at Beverly, Randolph County, and McClellan en- deavored to force him to the east side of the mountains. He divided his troops into two wings ; the one on the left began at Grafton to march, via Philippi, under the command of General Morris, while his right went by the way of Clarks- burg and Buckhannon.
The first regiment of Federal troops organized in what is West Virginia Avas mustered in for three months, and ren- dezvoused on Wheeling Island, at the City of Wheeling, under command of Col. B. F. Kelley, having been mustered May 15, 1861, as the First Virginia Federal Volunteer Infantry Regi-
460 History of West Virginia
nient. This command was joined by the first Union troops to cross the Ohio River — an Ohio regiment, commanded by Colonel Lander. About the same date a Confederate force ■was organized under Colonel Parterfield, near Grafton. The Federal troops went via the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, while the Confederates went back to Philippi, being followed up by the Federals, and on June 3, 1861, occurred the first engage- ment on West Virginia soil.
The Confederates were compelled to retreat, but neither side lost many men. Colonel Kelley was wounded in the breast, but recovered, and later was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. This was the first military engagement west of the Alleghany Mountains in the Civil \A^ar.
A celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the first land engagement of the Ci\il War was held at Philippi, W. \sl., in June, 1911.
The following is taken from the Wheeling Sunday News of June 4, 1911:
"PhiHppi. W. Va., June 3, 1911.
"Philippi"s first home-coming week ended successfully to-day. As a closing feature of the aft"air the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the first land engagement of the Civil War was indeed all that could be expected. The quiet little village of Philippi was filled to overflowing with visitors from near and far. The crowd was variousl}^ estimated at from 10,000 to 15,000. or at least 10 visitors to one inhabitant.
"The program of the day was one entirely of speech- making, and there was not a dull moment from the time the festivities opened until they closed. Among the notables present who delivered addresses were : Governor W. E. Glasscock; United States Senator "Fiddling Bob" Taylor, of Tennessee; Uncle Henr}^ G. Davis ; Col. J. M. Schoonmaker, of Pittsburgh ; Judge Frank Cox, of Morgantown ; Col. John T. McGraw, of Grafton. United States Senator C W. Watson and Hon. Lewis Bennett, of Weston, former Democrat can- didate for Governor, were also present but did not speak, the master of ceremonies explaining at their own request that they were not speechmakers.
"GraY-haired veterans, bent with age, swarmed the streets
History of West Virginia 4ol
all day long, exchanging reminiscences of war days and listen- ing to the stories of the war as told by the speakers. As nearly as could be ascertained from the registry of visiting veterans, there were about an e(|ual number of tlic blues and grays present.
The committee in charge of the celebration gave away as souvenirs small battle flags, both of the Federals and Confed- erates. It was no uncommon sight during the day to see crowds of Confederate and Union soldiers mingling together, proudly unfurling to the breeze the battle flags of both sides. Very few Union veterans left the grounds without taking along as a souvenir the stars and bars of the Confederacy. \\'hate\'er may have been the differences of the North and South during the days of '61 to '65, it is certain that no ill feeling exists among the old boys who attended the celebra- tion at Philippi.
The celebration today was devoted entirely to a memo- rial to the first land battle of the war fought on the hill just north of Philippi on the morning of June 3rd, 1861. In this en- gagement, led b}^ Colonel Lander of the Seventh Indiana Vol- unteers, the Confederates were routed from Philippi, where they had taken quarters, and forced to flee for dear life. One of the distince features of the battle was Coloeel Lander"s sen- sational ride down the steep declivity of Talbot's Hill, now known as Battle Hill. As a feat of horsemanship it is proba- ble that this ride has never been surpassed.
"In this engagement Colonel Kelley, commanding the First A'irginia A'olunteers, was shot through the breast by W^illiam Simms, a Confederate quartermaster, and was seriously, but not fatally wounded. Only a few days ago Colonel Kelley died at his home in California. Otherwise he would have been present at yesterday's celebration. Colonel Kelley was the first and only Union soldier wounded in this battle. In this battle Company E, Seventh Indiana Regi- ment, captured the first Confederate flag.
"At the break of day this morning the boom of cannon from 'Battle Hill' announced to the sleeping inhabitants in the valley below that the fiftieth anniversary of the first land engagement of the Civil War Avas on. From that time on until
462 History of West Virginia
the evening sun had faded behind the hills there was a rapid succession of events of the most interesting nature.
"A military street demonstration in honor of Governor W. E. Glasscock was held at 9 :45 and at 10 the visitors gath- ered on the lawn surrounding the court house to listen to address by Governor Glasscock and 'Uncle' Henry G. Davis, West Virginia's grand old man. Both speakers were introduced by Senator S. V. Woods.
"Governor Glasscock spoke for nearly two hours. In his opening remarks the Governor referred to the Civil War as the only way of settling differences existing at that time. 'A compromise was impossible,' he said. 'Slavery was either right or wrong and there was no way to arbitrate the question. The right of a State to secede from the Union was another question which could not be settled by arbitration or compro- mise, because there was no halfway place.
" 'The boys of 1861-65, whether they wore the blue or gray, believed they fought for a righteous cause, and what- ever may be our differences of opinion, with one accord and with unanimity of opinion, we are agreed that they are all patriots, and their acts of valor and self-sacrifice make up the most interesting pages of our nation's history.'
"Declaring his pride that he had been a life-long native of West Virginia, Governor Glasscock then digressed into a rather extensive description of West Virginia's great wealth and natural resources, etc.
"The Governor closed his speech with the following burst of patriotic oratory :
" 'We are now standing upon the ground where the first battle of the great Civil War was fought, but as we look out before us we behold a beautiful city inhabited by people who yield to none in their education and intelligence. x\ll honor to the men who fought through the Civil War and preserved to us through turmoil and strife the liberties guaranteed by the constitution.'
"Immediately after Governor Glasscock's address, Uncle Henry G. Davis was introduced to the throng. The Grand Old Man told of a number of reminiscences of Civil War times. He spoke very briefly, and in addition to paying tribute to the
History of West Virginia 463
veterans of both sides, Mr. Davis dwelt upon the great indus- trial development of the State, and in a very clear manner pointed out the wonderful progress made along this line since the war. * * *
"Judge Frank Cox, the noted Morgantown jurist and orator, was next introduced. His speech was 'short but sweet'. He was not on the program, but he delivered a very stirring and interesting address. He deplored the tendency of the American people to drift away from the spirit that actuated the soldiers in the war, toward selfish and mad races for worldly wealth.
"At the conclusion of his address. Judge Cox introduced Col. J. M. Schoomaker, of Pittsburgh, Vice-President of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad.
"Colonel Schoomaker in his opening remarks told of his first visit to West Virginia, when he led his regiment of cav- alry down through Philippi to the Shenandoah Valley and finally to Gettysburg. It was upon this visit, he said, that he became impressed with the wonderful possibilities of the country, in the development of the coal, lumber and other industries.
"Colonel Schoonmaker's company is now building a rail- road up the Tygart's Valley River, and hopes to have it fin- ished within the next year or so. The war of the rebellion, said the speaker, was a war of principle, and not one of race prejudice. No nation, he said, could stand with half free and half slave labor. He spoke briefly of the cost of the war in its hundreds of thousands of lives, and monetary loss as well. A beautiful tribute was paid to the women who attended and cared for the sick and wounded during the awful struggle.
"Senator Woods then introduced U. S. Senator 'Fiddling Bob' Taylor, of Tennessee. The Senator delivered one of the best addresses ever heard in West Virginia, if not the very best. He is a scholar and a man of culture, and his address was truly a classic. Punctured at frequent intervals with rare gems of genuine American humor, the speaker's address held the attention of every person in the vast audience.
"Among other things he said : 'Ours is the greatest coun-
464 History of West Virginia
try in the world. Our inventions and discoveries have ad- vanced the world a thousand years in a century.'
"Senator Taylor then took up the important discoveries and accomplishments of history, detailing the men and mat- ters that figured in them. Taking up American heroes, he went through the list from Benjamin Franklin down to U. S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee, extolling each in the most beautiful language.
"He declared that modern politics is the most exquisite art that the devil himself ever invented. The Anierican peo- ple, politicians included, had gone money mad, and while we have outstripped all other nations in the accumulation of worldly wealth, he declared his belief that other nations out- stripped us in the things that really make a nation great. 'Lust for gold,' he said, 'has dug the grave of every nation that has fallen, and I wonder if it is not digging our grave.'
"In closing. Senator Taylor said : 'May God grant that we have many more of these peace reunions for both the Blue and the Gray until the cr}^ shall ring out from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, a united nation with one God.'
"Col. J. T. McGraw, peer of all the Democratic silver- tongued orators of West Virginia, was then introduced. He delivered one of his characteristic, witty and interesting ad- dresses. He was the last speaker of the day. In a flowery flow of oratory he praised the war time deeds of the veterans, showing equal interest in both sides.
"A responsive chord was struck b}^ the speaker when he pointed out two of the preceding speakers in the persons of Colonel Schoomaker and Senator Taylor as living examples of the feeling and spirit which now exist between Confederate and Union veterans. At the time Messrs. Schoomaker and Taylor were sitting side by side in the speakers' stand. Schoomaker was a colonel in the Union Army and Taylor held a similar commission in the Confederate ranks. At the close of Colonel McGraw's address. King Kelley went skyward in his balloon, and while the band played 'Dixie' and the crowd cheered, the celebration passed into history."
The writer is in receipt of a communication from Mr. S. F. Hofifman, clerk of the county court at Philippi, in which he
History of West Virginia 465
recites the following incident in connection with the engage- ment at that place in June, 1861 :
"On June 2nd, 1861, while the Federals were marching on this town, which was at that time occupied by the Confed- erates, one of the infantrymen, a man by name of Charles Degner, of Company I, Seventh Indiana Regiment, while crossing a small stream of water on a foot-log, lost his balance, and falling accidentally discharged his gun, the ball pene- trating his leg. He was taken into the house of Simon Switzer, who lived nearby, and a physician summoned, but before the ph3'^sician's arrival the wounded man died from loss of blood.
"He was buried on the hill above where he was shot and left there until the Federals returned, when they took charge of those who had been wounded. They also took up the re- mains of Degner and transferred them to the National Ceme- tery at Grafton, W. Va., where he was buried along with the others ; but there is no monument there by which his grave can be identified."
Broaddus Institute at Philippi marks the spot where the cannon were planted from which belched forth the first shot of the first land engagement of the Civil War.
The writer has a clipping from a Wheeling paper dated June 17, 1911, announcing that George W. McBride, aged 71, who in April, 1861, had enlisted in the Twenty-fifth O. V. I. and took part in the first fighting of the war at Philippi, had been instantly killed by falling from a tree at Barnesville, Ohio, and breaking his neck. He ascended the tree to replace a young robin in its nest, and in seeking to get his footing on a steep ladder on the way down he lost his balance.
The oldest military organization in the famous Kanawha Valley of Virginia when the Civil W^ar came on was the Kanawha Sharpshooters of Charleston, a company organized January 9, 1861, really in anticipation of a civil conflict. Sub- sequently, this company was a part of the Confederate Army. The two armies — the one at the north and the one from the south — saw in the fertile valley of the Kanawha, with its grain and salt fields, valuable elements needed to maintain an army and carry on a successful warfare, and each lost no time
466 History of West Virginia
in trying to secure and keep possession of the valley. In June, 1861, Ex-Governor Henry A. Wise entered the valley with a force of Confederate soldiers estimated at 2,700 men, and established his headquarters at "Two Mile", just below Charleston. At Gallipolis, Ohio, a force of Federals was gathered for the same object. This command consisted of the 21st Ohio Infantry, the 2nd Kentucky, 1st Kentucky, and Battery A, 1st Ohio Light Artillery. Col. J. D. Cox was in command. By July 17th he had reached Scary Creek, Put- nam County, where he met a body of Confederates under Captain Barbee : the Kanawha Riflemen, Captain George S. Patten; Captain John S. Swan's rifle company; Major Sweeney, with a small bod)^ of infantry; Captain Thomas Jackson's battery of light artillery; and Captain J. M. Corn and Colonel A. G. Jenkins with cavalry forces.
The battle began, and Lieutenant Colonel Allen, of the 21st Ohio, fell mortally wounded, while Colonel Norton re- ceived a severe wound. Late in the day Colonel De Villiers, Colonel Woodruff and Lieutenant-Colonel Neff rode upon the field, and mistaking a body of Confederates for their own men, entered their lines and were taken prisoners of war. Night came on and the Federals fell back to the mouth of the Poca- taligo River, leaving 21 dead and 30 wounded. The Confed- erate loss was not so great. A few days later General Wise abandoned the valley and General Cox occupied Charleston. In passing, it may be added that General Cox was, at the time the war broke out, a brigadier-general; was Governor of Ohio in 1866-67; was Secretary of the Interior under President Grant's last administration, and wrote much valuable history concerning the civil conflict.
During the war railroads within the fighting zone suf- fered greatly. In West Virginia and Maryland the Confed- erates tore up miles of track and burned or blew up a large number of bridges ; rolling stock and passenger equipment suffered too, and traffic between Baltimore and Wheeling was practically closed to the public from May, 1861, until April 2nd, 1862. During this time, the company, under guard of Federal troops commanded by General Kelley, was engaged in repairing the damage. It was estimated that the loss of the
History of West Virginia 467
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company was not less than $2,000,000.
The question of the government allowing mail service to be continued in the Southern States was brought up in May, 1861, and an order was issued by the Post Office Department at Washington to the effect that postal service within the se- ceding States would be suspended from May 21 of that year. "Mails sent to offices closed by this order will be sent to the Dead Letter Office, except those in West Virginia, which will be sent to Wheeling. It is not intended by this order to de- prive the Union men of West Virginia of their postal service."
In June, 1861, General Johnston concentrated a Confed- erate force of 15,000 men at Harper's Ferry. General Robert Patterson lay on the Maryland side of the Potomac River with about an equal number of Union troops. On the 30th he moved as to attack Johnston ; but the latter held his posi- tion, and on July 2nd Patterson's advance crossed the Potomac at Williamsport and was fired upon b}^ the Berkeley County Border Guards. With the whole army across and General Abercrombie's brigade in advance, the march com- menced by the pike roads to Martinsburg. Five miles distant from Williamsport, at Falling Waters, the Confederates had outposts. A mile farther and the battle commenced in earn- est. Abercrombie's brigade, made up of the 11th Pennsyl- vania and the 1st Wisconsin, McMullen's Rangers, a detach- ment of Philadelphia cavalry and Perkins's artillery of six guns, constituted the Federal force ; while the Confederates had what was to become famous as the "Stonewall Brigade". The firing kept up two hours, with little loss to either side. This was "Stonewall" Jackson's first battle. He withdrew to Harper's Ferry, and Patterson marched to Martinsburg. Johnston, having destroyed the public property at Harper's Ferry, marched up the valley and over the Blue Ridge, and then quietly stole away from Patterson and was present at the battle of Bull Run.
In August, 1861, 300 Confederates lying at Bethesda Church moved to Mud River Church (now Blue Sulphur Springs) in Cabell County, and when near Pore's Hill (now Ona Station), five and a half miles from Barboursville, were
468 History of West Virginia
fired upon by a body of 400 Federals, a detachment of the 5th West Virginia Infantry
The Confederates returned the fire, but retreated, losing one man killed and two prisoners taken, while the Federals returned to Barboursville without loss.
Early in September, 1861, General Floyd with a large force of Confederates advanced into Western Virginia, taking his stand near Carnifex Ferry on Gauley River, where on the 10th of that month he was attacked by General W. S. Rose- crans with a Federal force made up largely of the 10th, 11th and 12th Ohio Infantry, with Snyder's and McMullen's bat- teries. The 10th Ohio led the advance, and the Confederates received the assault. The curtain of night covered the scene and both armies rested on the field, but before daybreak the Confederates had left, and the most important battle in Vir- ginia west of the mountains was ended. The Federal loss was 225 killed and wounded, including Colonel Lowe, of the 12th Ohio Regiment. The Federals held possession of the valley more than a year, when they were compelled to abandon it, and Lightburn's retreat is well known as an historic event worth mentioning.
In the Spring of 1862, General Cox marched eastward from Charleston and occupied a position at Flat Top Moun- tain. In August he moved on to join General Shields in the Shenandoah Valley, leaving General Lightburn in command, with headquarters at Gauley's Bridge, Fayette County. His eastern outpost was at Fayetteville, occupied by the 27th Ohio, Colonel Sibert. The Federal force in the valley was then 3500 men. About September 7th General Loring, with a Confed- erate force, was sent into the valley. On the morning of the 9th he attacked the Federals at Fayetteville, when Colonel Sibert hastily retreated. He was closely pursued, and made a short stand at Cotton Hill, but was unable to maintain his position and retreated, finally joining General Lightburn at Gauley Bridge. From that point the entire force fell back to Camp Piatt, where at noon on the 11th a stand was made, but the Confederates came in force and at daybreak on the 12th the Federal advance reached Charleston, where in the next
History of West Virginia 469
twenty-four hours the entire army of occupation was con- centrated.
Early on the 13th the Confederates appeared in large numbers on Cox's Hill, from the opposite side of the Kanawha. A Federal council of war determined upon a retreat to the Ohio River. Accordingly the government stores which could not be removed were burned, and the retreating columns, with a train of more than eleven hundred army wagons, crossed Elk River under heavy fire and burned the bridge behind them. The artillery fire continued until noon, when firing ceased, and the Federal forces were marching toward the Ohio.
Fearing that the enemy's cavalry on the south side of the river might cut off the retreat toward Point Pleasant, when two miles out the column turned north to the Charles- ton and Ravcnswood pike, and in three days had reached the Ohio River. Transports conveyed the troops from Ravens- wood to Point Pleasant, while the wagon train passed the river at Portland, moving thence by way of Chester and Pomeroy to the same place. At Point Pleasant, Milroy's brigade from Washington City was added to the Federal forces. General Cox with his brigade hurried on from the Shenandoah Valley, via Flarper's Ferry, to Point Pleasant, where the army then had increased to 12,000 men. Re then began the march u]) the Kanawha Valley, but before he reached Charleston the Confederate Army, which had been transferred to the command of General John Echols, aban- doned the valley.
On September 14, 1861, the Federals, under command of Generals Rosecrans and Reynolds were, early in the morning, attacked at Camp Barteau by the Confederates. The battle lasted all day; and late in the evening the Federals withdrew to Rich Mountain, in Randolph County. Their loss is not recorded, but that of the enemy was thirty-six killed.
Shortly after the above occurrence, the Confederates marched to Camp Allegheny, in east Pocahontas County. Here they were joined by two other regiments, and at once proceeded to fortify themselves, and on December 12th they were again attacked by the Federals, who Avere again defeated.
470 History of West Virginia
after a hard day's battle and heavy loss on both sides. Captain J. C. Whitmer, of the Pocahontas Rifles, and Captain Ander- son, of the Lynchburg Artillery, were among the killed.
Thirteen days after the battle at Camp Barteau, a body of Confederates in ambush attacked a body of Federal troops under Isaac Hill, at High Log Run bridge, in Wirt County, the Federals retreating with the loss of one nian wounded.
A short time after the above event. Major K. V. Whaley recruited a company at Guyandotte for the 9th West Virginia Infantry. On the evening of' November 10th, 1861, the 8th Virginia Confederate Cavalry suddenly appeared and opened fire on the Union men's position at the southern end of the suspension bridge. The result was disastrous to the Federals, all being killed, wounded or captured excepting a few who effected their escape through the lines in the confusion of bat- tle. The Confederates lost two killed and a few wounded.
At the commencement. Colonel Zeigler, with the 5th West Virginia Infantry, was stationed at Ceredo, eight miles below, and, learning of this attack, with a force of men went aboard the steamer Ohio, ascended the river, disembarked on the Ohio side at the mouth o^ the Indian Guyan, a mile below the scene of conflict. From there they marched to Proctors- ville, and at daylight on the 11th began crossing the river. As the Federals entered the town the Confederates were leaving. The Federals applied the torch to two-thirds of the buildings. A few days later a few men came over from the Ohio side and set fire to the extensive flouring mills of Dr. Thomas Buffing- ton, and then went a mile up stream and fired the handsome residence of Robert E. Stewart.
In May, 1862, the Greenbrier Riflemen, commanded by Captain B. F. Eakle, and Company E, under Captain Wm. H. Heffner, of Edgar's Battalion, occupied Lewisburg.
On the 12th of this month. Colonel Elliott, of Crook's brigade, commanding 800 cavalry and 120 infantry, proceeded to Lewisburg. The Confederates, not caring to risk a fight at this time, fell back to the Greenbrier River, and the Federals occupied the grounds just vacated by the enemy; and a few days later were reinforced by Colonel Gilbert with a large de- tachment of Crook's brigade. Early on the morning of May
History of West Virginia 471
23rd, General Henry H. Heath, with a force of 2500 men, attacked the Federal position. After an hour's fighting, the Federals succeeded in gaining an advantageous position over the enemy, from which they were enabled to do greater exe- cution, in consequence of which the Confederates were com- pelled to fall back, leaving the field in full possession of the Federals. The Confederate loss was sixty killed and that of the Federals twenty-five killed.
The Kanawha Valley remained in the possession of the Federals until September 6, 1862, the troops occupying Camp Piatt, at Charleston, opposite Brownstown, with their most eastern post at Fayetteville. Scouting parties operated south and east through this territory. One of the detachments from the 4th West Virginia Infantry, under Major John T. Hall, August 6th, 1861, was attacked by the Confederate cavalry at Kenneth's Hill, in Logan County. The Federals were routed with a loss of three killed and eight wounded, among the num- ber being Major Hall, who was killed. The Major was a son of Hon. John Hall, who framed the first constitution of West Virginia.
In the month of August, 1862, General George B. AlcClel- lan ordered General D. H. Miles to occupy Harper's Ferry until further orders. Meanwhile General Robert E. Lee began the invasion of Maryland. On September 8th a Confederate division consisting of the brigades of Generals Walker, Hill, Pender, Archer and McLaws, all commanded by Stonewall Jackson, appeared before the place. On the 11th a heavy artiller}^ was opened upon the Federals, and the next day witnessed the surrender of the entire Federal forces, 18,583 men, 47 pieces of artillery, 13,000 stand of small arms, and other war material. The night before the surrender, the 8th New York Cavalry Regiment cut its v.-ay through the linos and escaped into Maryland.
General Miles was mortally wounded -by a bursting shell. General Jackson left the place in charge of General A. P. Hill, and hastened on to meet Lee on the eve of the battle of South Mountain. This was among the most important events that occurred in West Virginia during the Civil War.
General Jenkins, commanding a cavalry brigade in the
472 History of West Virginia
Confederate service at Dublin Depot, on the Virginia & Ten- nessee Railroad, having received information that a large amount of Federal Army supplies was at Point Pleasant, in Mason County, determined upon its capture; and on March 20th, 1863, a detachment of 800 men, partly made up from the 8th and 16th Virginia Cavalry Regiments, commanded by himself in person, with Dr. Charles Timms, of Putnam County, as surgeon, began the 200 miles' march over the mountains. After one week's hard traveling over bad roads and through inclement weather, they reached Hurricane Bridge, in Putnam County, where was stationed a Federal force : Company A, Captain Johnson; B, Captain Milton Stewart; D, Captain Simon Williams, of the 13th West Virginia Infantry; and Company G of the 11th West Virginia.
Early the following morning, March 28th, Major James Nowling, of the Confederate forces, under a flag of truce, reached the headquarters of Captain Stewart, the Senior Federal officer, and demanded an unconditional surrender. Stewart refused to comply, and Major Nowling left, remark- ing that "within thirty minutes an attack will be made," and he made good his threat, and the sound of musketry was heard within that time. It was returned with much effectiveness, and for five hours the engagement continued. The Confed- erates then withdrew and continued their march toward the mouth of the Kanawha. The loss to the Federals is not exactly known, but there were several killed and wounded, Ultmas Young and Jesse Hart being among the killed. The Confederates reached Hall's Landing, on the Kanawha, the following day, just as the steamer "Victress'% Captain Fred Ford, of Gallipolis, Ohio, in command, was descending the river. On board was a United States paymaster with a con- siderable amount of government funds. At a point nearly opposite the landing, the boat was hailed from the bank by a man seemingly alone. The pilot recognized the signal and turned toward shore, when the boat was met by a storm of bullets. Captain Ford at once backed the steamer to the mid- dle of the stream, but not until she had been riddled with shot. Luckily, no one was injured, and she continued her voyage, arriving at Point Pleasant. From Hall's' Landing the Con-
History of West Virginia 473
federates marched to Point Pleasant, where Captain Carter, with Company E of the 12th West Virginia Infantry, was camped between Main and Viand streets, two blocks from the court house, to which he took his men when firing began. For four hours they were closely besieged. The citizens fled to the opposite of the river and spread the news ; and rein- forcements soon arrived, including a battery of artillery. Preparations were made to bombard the town, in the belief that the Confederates, instead of the Federals, were the occu- pants of the court house ; but before firing could begin, the error was discovered. They made it so hot for the Confed- erates that the latter withdrew, crossed the Kanawha, and that night camped at the headwaters of Ohio Eighteen, in south Mason County, and the next day were at a point in Tazwell County, Virginia.
While this skirmish was in progress, one of the most shocking deeds of the Civil War was being enacted, in the outright killing of the venerable Colonel Andrew Waggener, then almost eighty-four years of age, by a Confederate soldier. The published account runs thus :
"The Colonel had heard firing, and was leisurely riding his favorite saddle horse into the town, carrying with him his cane, a heavy stick which always accompanied him. He was on the Crooked Creek road when met by a soldier, \\'ho halted him and demanded his horse. He, of course, refused to give the animal up, whereupon the soldier (not a brave ou'^) sought to grasp the reins of the bridle, when the Colonel struck him with his cane; whereupon the soldier drew his gun and shot him, the old veteran falling from his horse; thus he who had faced shot and shell fifty years before, in the war of 1812-14, died on a battle field and in an action in which he was not engaged. Colonel Waggener had won distinction at Carney's Island ; his father was a major in Washington's army during the Revolution, and he, with a brother, was at Braddock's defeat, and stood high in military circles."
CHAPTER XXIV.
CIVIL WAR IN WEST VIRGINIA— CONTINUED.
Burning of Oil Tanks at Burning Springs.
On May 9th, 1863, General Jones, with a large body of Confederate cavalry, arrived at Burning Springs, Wirt County, where on that night they set fire to some oil tanks, containing about 100,000 barrels of oil. It is said the light from the fire was seen at Parkersburg — 42 miles distant.
Engagement at White Sulphur Springs.
On August 26, 1863, General Averill in command of the Federal troops composed of Cotter's Battery B of the 5th Ohio Artillery, and General Echols in command of Chapman's Battery, met at White Sulphur Springs, two miles from White Sulphur, where they engaged in an all day's battle. The Federal loss was 150; the Confederate 60 men.
Battle at Headwaters of Sandy Lick, Lincoln County.
In the fall of 1863, the Confederates, commanded by Captain Peter Carpenter, were marching through Union Dis- trict, Lincoln County, and on reaching the headwaters of the Sandy Lick, a branch of Sugar Tree Creek, information was received that Company G, Third West Virginia Cavalary, commanded by Major J. S. Witcher, was coming that way. The Confederates thereupon proceeded to obstruct the road with trees and brush, and when the Federals approached opened upon them so vigorously with shot and shell that the latter were forced to retreat. John Insco and Wm. Smith were killed and three others severely wounded, while the Con- federates escaped with the loss of one man killed and another wounded.
History of West Virginia 475
Battle at Droop Mountain.
A very hotly contested engagement occurred on Droop Mountain, November 6, 1863, between the Federal forces con- sisting- of the 14th Pennsylvania, the 23rd and 28th Ohio Infantry, the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 10th West Virginia Infantry Regiments, and a West Virginia battery on the one side ; and 22nd Virginia Cavalry, under Colonel George Patton, the 19th Virginia, under Colonel W. P. Thompson, 20th Virginia, un- der Colonel W. W. Arnett, 14th Virginia Cavalry, under Colonel James Cochrane, Jackson's and Chapman's batteries, and Edgar's and Derrick's battalions, the whole in command of Major John Echols, on the Confederate side. The former had marched from Meadow Bluffs, Greenbrier County, and the latter from Beverly, Randolph County, both armies meet- ing at the extreme point of Droop Mountain, about 10 o'clock a. m. The fight immediately began, and continued until about 4 o'clock p. m., when the Confederates retreated beyond Lewisburg, the Federals pursuing them several miles. We are not informed as to the loss in killed and wounded, but both sides lost heavily.
Battle at Fairmont.
We quote the following from "West Virginia and Its People" :
In April, 1863, the Confederates, having driven a small force of Federals from Beverly and Philippi back to Grafton, crossed the railroad at several points between Grafton and Rowlesburg, and went on to Kingwood, thence to INIorgan- town, which place they reached on Monday, the last week in April. The following day they went down the east bank of the river (probably means UP the east bank of the river^ — Author) to within eight miles of Fairmont, where they w^ere met by another body of troops, which later crossed the rail- road. The whole force then went back to Morgantown, where they greatly alarmed the citizens, destroying property and plundering the place. They took every available horse they could find en route. They then marched on to Fairmont.
476 History of West Virginia
where they were to concentrate Wednesday morning, crossing Buffalo Creek, approaching the town of Barracksviile on the Mannington pike. Their forces numbered about five thou- sand strong. In the meantime, many weak-kneed citizens (jf Fairmont, fearing being taken prisoners and forced into the Southern army, had left for Wheehng and points in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Two companies of militia came from Mannington and brought all the guns they could find. Not to exceed three hundred men could be counted upon in an assault — these were four companies of the 106th New York Regiment; two com- panies of Virginia militia, consisting of 175 men; thirty-eight men from Company A, Sixth Virginia, and a few from Com- pany N, of the 6th Virginia Regiment, together with about forty or fifty citizens.
The Confederates were in command of General William E. Jones, who later declared his force consisted of seven regi- ments of cavalry, one of mounted infantry, three hundred mounted sharpshooters — in all about six thousand men, many of whom were of the famous Ashby's Cavalry,
Wednesday morning dawned in a wet, foggy atmosphere. The Federal scouts came darting into the town, reporting that the enemy was out about three miles. One company of militia and most of the citizens around the place went out to meet them. Pickets commenced firing at each other about 8 o'clock. The Confederates, finding the Federals well pro- tected, prepared to attack them as they came down Coal Run. This had the desired effect, and the Federals fell back. The men from the hillsides retreated, some of the main force near the railroad bridge, a mile above town, and some to the Pala- tine end of the bridge. The latter made a gallant stand and resisted the enemy's crossing for nearly an hour. They took shelter in a foundry and fired from the windows upon the Confederates, who were mostly sharpshooters at that point. They dismounted and took their shelter in vacant buildings, stables and behind trees. A soldier from Bingamon was fatally wounded, and soon all but a dozen had straggled away. The remainder ceased firing, and each one took to looking after his own safety. As soon as the firing ceased a white
History of West Virginia 477
flag" was seen rising from a house. It had been set up by the Confederates, who sent a man with it to treat for surrender, but to their utter astonishment they found no one there to receive it. The enemy then hastily replaced the planks on the bridge, over which a full thousand men soon crossed and pushed their way to get in the rear of the Federals at the rail- road bridge.
While the fight at the suspension bridge had been going on the Confederates had disposed of their main force for attack at the upper bridge. The Federal force, 275 men, were at the bridge, and had taken position a half mile or so to the north, but within gunshot of the roadway leading to Pruntytown. As the Confederate cavalry dashed along the road to reach the bridge they were exposed to a raking fire, which unhorsed about a dozen. Having got across the south bridge and occu- pied the heights at the eastern end of the railroad bridge and gained the river above, the Confederates had the Federals completely surrounded. General Jones, observing the situa- tion, called out: "Why don't you fellows surrender?" The Federals sent back the yell to their own men to "rall}'^". Then began one of the most desperate unequal contests known in all the four years' warfare. The Federals were in open meadows, protected somewhat, however, by small ravines, but exposed to the Confederate sharp-shooters behind rocks and trees on the bank of the river. Inch by inch they were forced back to within two hundred yards of the bridge, all the time coolly loading and firing at concealed Confederates. Finally they saw their case was hopeless, and just as the Con- federate cavalry were ready for a charge which would have destroyed the Federals, a white flag was raised from one of the houses near by, and the firing ceased. Scarcely had the formality of capitulation been completed when two pieces of ordnance from Colonel Mulligan's command at Grafton opened upon them from the opposite side of the river. Then they "double-quicked" their prisoners to the court house, where they were kept until that evening, when they were paroled. The Confederates on the left bank of the river were soon shelled out of range, but those on the same side as the battery made a desperate effort to tear up the railroad, on
478 History of West Virginia
which stood MulHgan's car with the battery upon it. They took up a few rails and piled several cords of wood on the track, but after a short engagement they were driven off by eighty men of Company B, 106th New York Regiment, and a few rounds from the Federal cannon. While the train bear- ing this battery was behind the hill, protected from being cut off and captured, the Confederates completed the destruction of the railroad bridge, then said to be the finest in the United States, its cost being half a million dollars, and its length nine hundred feet. It was an iron structure supported by four piers of massive masonry. The iron work was supported by tubular columns of cast iron. In these columns kegs of pow- der, brought for the express purpose, were placed, and thus the immense structure was thrown into the river below, caus- ing the greatest single loss sustained by the Baltimore & Ohio road during the Civil War. This battle was fought Wednes- day, April 29th, 1863. The great odds in the contending forces, the time fighting was going on and the few Federals kille;d, were almost unheard-of in war — only one man was kelled and four wounded on the Federal side, while the enemy lost about sixty men killed and as many more wounded, as stated by General Jones himself soon after the engagement.
The Confederates pursued the retreating Federals and had a running fight till they were in sight of Grafton. Having plundered, and destroyed the bridge, the main object of the raid, the enemy left Fairmont and proceeded to Philippi and so on to Beverly, Randolph County.
Governor Pierpont telegraphed General Lightburn from Wheeling to Fairmont, asking what, the loss had been in the raid at Fairmont in May, 1863, and was answered as follows : "Your public and private library was destroyed; eleven horses taken from Mr. Watson ; John S. Barnes was vv^ounded ; young Coffman was killed ; no property burned except your library and Coffman's saw mills. Money taken from N. S. Barnes, $500; Fleming, $400; A. Fleming, $300 in boots and shoes; Mrs. Sterling, $100 ; Jackson in flour and feed, loss great ; Ma- jor Parrish lost all of his goods; every one who had good horses lost them ; NATIONAL newspaper office destro)^ed and type all in 'pi' ; United States property destroyed, $500 ;
History of West Virginia 479
Monongahela river railroad bridge of the Baltimore & Ohio road destroyed, piers only left standing, bridge in river. Coal Run, Buffalo and Barricksville bridges all destroyed. It was Lieutenant Zane of Wheeling who destroyed your library by burning it in front of your office."
On May 29th, 1864, an engagement took place on the Curry farm, a quarter of a mile from Hamlin, in Lincoln County, between the 3rd W. Va. Cavalry and a body of Con- federates commanded by Major John Chapman, in which ]\Ia- thias Kayler, a Federalist, was killed. He was from Raleigh County.
In the same year and in the same county, at the mouth of Coon Creek, another skirmish was had between Captain Car- penter's Company K, 3rd W. Va. Cavalry, and the Confed- erates. The former retreated with the loss of Lieutenant Henry A. Wolf, who vv^as shot at the first firing.
In the autumn of 1864, General John H. Oley, of the Fed- eral forces, in command of the Kanawha district, sent Captain John M. Reynolds with Company D, 7th West Virginia Cav- alry, to occupy Winfield, for protection of river transportation on the Kanawha. There it constructed rifle-pits, traces of which were still recently visible. Late in October that year Colonel John Witcher, of the Confederate service, had regi- ments along the Mud River country, and hearing that the Federals had fortified at Winfield, decided to attack them, which was done at night time with 400 men divided into two divisions, one commanded by Colonel Thurman, who reached the center of the works first, at Ferry and Front streets, when, firing began at once. Colonel Thurman received a mortal wound and was taken to the rear to die. The firing continued, and after capturing several horses, the Confederates withdrew to Mud River bridge, leaving the Federals in possession of the town.
As Generals George Crook and B. F. Kelley have figured so conspicuously in the history of the Civil War in A\''est Vir- ginia, it may be interesting to our readers to read tlic particu- lars of the account of their capture, along with Captain Thayer, by the Confederates, while in their sleeping rooms at
480 History of West Virginia
hotels in Cumberland, Md., on the night of February 21st, 1865.
We give the account as recorded in Maxwell and Swisher's History of Hampshire County, as follows :
Capture of Crook and Kelley.
The capture of General George Crook and General B. F. Kelley, at Cumberland, Maryland, February 21st, 1865, by the McNeill Rangers, was a remarkable performance, and at- tracted much attention. That sixty men could carry away two generals, surrounded by an army of eight thousand, was a subject for much wonder. The names of those who took part in the raid, so far as are now remembered, are J. G. Lynn, G. S. Harness, J. W. Mason, R. G. Lobb, H. P. Tabb, John Tay- lor, J. C. McNeill, L. S. Welton, William H. Haye, William H. Poole, J. W. Duffey, L. S. Judj% Sergeants C. J. Dailey and John Cunningham, John Aker, J. W. Markwood, D. E. Hopkins, Charles Nichols, Joseph A. Parker, Isaac Parsons, I. E. Oats, J. G, Showalter, J. W. Kuykendall, Benjamin E. Wotring, G. F. Cunningham, I. H. Welton, John Mace, Mr. Tucker, F. W. Bean, J. W. Crawford, George H. Johnson, C. R. Hallar, W. H. Maloney, Jacob Gassman, 1. L. Harvey.
"To enable the reader to form a correct idea of the mili- tary situation at the time, February 21st, 1865, a slight retro- spect at the outset is necessary," says J. B. Fa}^, one of the par- ticipants. "The debatable ground between the two opposing armies in Northern Virginia ran parallel with the Potomac, and embraced, sometimes, the length of two or more counties southward. During the latter part of the war this region was dominated by three famous Confederate leaders — Mosby, Gil- mor and McNeill. Their forces sometimes intermingled; but ordinarily the operations of Mosby were confined to the coun- try east of the Shenandoah; those of Gilmor to the valley cf Virginia; while McNeill's special field of action lay to the westward, along the upper Potomac and South Branch. Mc- Neill's command was composed principally of volunteers from Virginia and Maryland, though nearly every southern and
History of West Virginia 481
not a few of the northern states had representatives in the ranks.
"Moorefield, on the South Branch, was the principal head- quarters of this command. In a daybreak attack on a company of Pennsylvania Cavalry, who were guarding a bridge over the Shenandoah, near Mount Jackson, in the fall of 1864, Captain McNeill met his death. His son, Lieutenant Jesse C. AIcNeill, was next in command!
"In February, 1865, Lieutenant McNeill consulted me about the feasibility of going into Cumberland and capturing Generals Kelley and Crook. After giving McNeill every as- sistance that his design could be successfully carried out, he determined to make the attempt. I was commissioned to pro- ceed at once to Cumberland, or its vicinity, and prepare the way for our entry by learning the number and position of the picket posts, the exact location of the sleeping apartments of both generals, and any other information deemed necessary. Selecting C. R. Hallar as a comrade, I started. A few nights after we left Moorefield found us upon the north bank of the Potomac, a few miles west of Cumberland. At this point the desired information was procured, and we retraced our steps.
"Hallar was dispatched to intercept Lieutenant McNeill, who, during our absence, was to have twenty-five well- mounted men prepared to move leisurely in the direction of Cumberland, ready to act on my report. At the time of which I write, six or eight thousand troops occupied the city. On the night of our entry, in addition to the resident commander (Major-General Kelley), General Crook, General Hayes (since President of the United States), General Lightburn and Gen- eral Duvall were temporarily in the city. A great harvest of generals might have been reaped had we been aware of the fact. At that time General Sheridan's army lay at Winches- ter, and a considerable force of Federal troops was en- trenched at New Creek, now Keyscr. Both of these points are nearer Moorefield than Cumberland is. This shows the haz- ard of a trip from our headquarters to Cumberland and the probability of being cut ofi". .
"When McNeill and party arrived at the rendezvous, in addition to those of our own command there \vere witli him
482 History of West Virginia
a number, probably a dozen, belonging to Company F of the Seventh and D of the Eleventh Virginia Cavalry, of Rosser's brigade. The men and horses were fed and rested. The shades of that evening saw us upon our ride. Our route lay over Middle Ridge, across the valley of Patterson's Creek, through the ridges beyond the base of Knobly Mountain, where, taking a northerly course yve came to a narrow gap leading up to open fields on the mountain top. Passing up this gap, over an icy road, we found the fields above covered with snow drifts of uncertain depth, which forced us to dis- mount and lead our struggling horses. Having reached the road through a lower gap to the Seymour farm, we quickly descended the mountain into the valley and crossed the Po- tomac into Maryland.
"At this juncture Lieutenant McNeill held a council of war with some of us, and after saying that there was not time to reach Cumberland before daylight by the route laid down by me, the Lieutenant proposed that that part of the expedi- tion be abandoned. But to prevent the trip from being an en- tire failure, he suggested that we should surprise and capture the pickets at the railroad station near by, at Brady's Mills. The prizes for which we had come so far were estimated by quality, not quantity, and a company of infantry was not con- sidered a fair exchange for two major-generals. His proposi- tion met with an emphatic and almost unanimous dissent. It is proper here to say that my route contemplated flanking the neighboring village of Cresaptown, moving on to the well- known National road and taking that thoroughfare, which was not picketed, to enter Cumberland from the northwest by way of the Narrows, a pass through Will's Mountain. This would have doubled the distance to be traveled from the point where we passed the river, but it was the only prudent and reasonably safe route, and but for several unnecessary de- lays already made, for which Lieutenant McNeill himself was responsible, ample time had been left to pursue it. The fact then remained, however, as McNeill declared, that we could not then get to Cumberland by that route in the re- quired time ; and if we were to proceed further on our expedi- tion we must take the shorter route, the New Creek road, and
History of West Virginia 483
try our chances by surprising and capturing the pickets on that road, and ^et into the city without giving the alarm. The attempt to pass quietly through two Hnes of pickets promised but doubtful results, but we determined to try it. McNeill and Vandiver, followed by Kuykendall and myself, rode ahead -'s an advance guard, the rest of the troops, under Lieutenant I. S. Welton, keeping close behind. A layer of thin, crusty snow was on the ground, and although it was an hour and a half till dawn, we could see very well for a short distance. The New Creek road skirts the base of Will's Mountain, running al- most parallel with the railroad and river, and all three come close together at the mouth of a deep ravine. About two miles from Cumberland the road deflects to the left and winds up through a ravine and over the hill to the city. A cavalry picket was stationed at the mouth of the ravine, and as we neared this post a solitary vidette was observed standing on the roadside, and who, upon noticing our approach, gave the challenge: 'Halt, who comes there?' 'Friends from New Creek,' was the response. He then : 'Dismount one, come for- ward and give the countersign.' Without a word Lieutenant McNeill put spurs to his horse, dashed forward, and as he passed, being unable to check his horse, fired his pistol in the man's face. We followed rapidly and secured the picket, whom we found terribly startled at the peculiar conduct of his alleged friends. Two comrades, acting as a reserve, had been making themselves cosy before a few embers under a temporary shelter in a fence corner about one hundred yards in the rear. Hearing the commotion in front they hastily de- camped toward the river. They got no farther than the rail- road, however, for we were close upon them, and in response to our threats of shooting, they halted and surrendered. Ex- amining them apart, and under threats of instant annihilation at the end of a halter, they gave the countersign for the night, which was 'Bull's Gap.' Mounting these men upon their horses, which we found hitched nearby, we took them into Cumberland and out again, when one was turned loose, with- out a horse, but richer in experience.
"The imprudent action of Lieutenant McNeill in firing a shot which might have caused a general alarm and forced us to
484 History of West Virginia
abandon our design^ created some displeasure among the men. Sharing in this feehng, I insisted that Kiykendall and myself should take the advance in the approach to the next in- ner post. This was assented to, and we moved on with the determination that no more unnecessary firing should be in- dulged in on our part. The second post was fully a mile away, over the high intervening hill and located at the junction of the road we were on with the old Frostburg pike. This post consisted of five men belonging to the First West Virginia In- fantry, who were comfortably ensconced in a shed behind a blazing log fire, and all busily engaged at cards. - As we drew near the circle of light one of"the number was observed to get up, reach for his musket and advance in front of the fire to halt us. To his formal challenge Ku3^kendall answered : 'Friends, with the countersign." We kept moving up in the meantime, and when the command was given for one of us to dismount and give the countersign, I noticed an impatient movement among our men in the rear ; and to mislead the picket and enable us to get as near as possible before our in- tended dash was made, I shouted back in a loud voice: 'Don't crowd up, men ! Wait until we give the countersign.' We did not find it necessary to give it, however. There was an open space around the picket post which allowed no chance of escape, and we were close upon them. The next instant a swift dash was made, and, without a single shot, they were surrounded and captured. Their guns and ammunition were taken and destroyed, and they were left unguarded at their post, with strict instructions to remain until our return.
"On its face this would appear to have been a ver}^ unwise thing, but it was the best that we could do. We had no inten- tion of returning that way; but we rightly trusted that before the men could realize the situation and get to M^here an alarm could be given, our work in the city would have been done. We were now inside the picket lines, and before us lay the slumbering city. The troop was halted here for a short time while McNeill hastily told off two squads of ten men each, who were directly charged with the capture of the generals. Sergeant Joseph W. Kuykendall, Company F, Seventh Vir- ginia Cavalry, a special scout for General Early, and a sol-
History of West Virginia 4cS5
dier of great courage and coolness, who had once been a prisoner in Kelley's hands and had a personal acquaintance with him, was placed in command of the men detailed to secure that general. To Sergeant Joseph L. Vandiver, a man of imposing figure and style, was given the charge of cap- turing General Crook.
"An interesting fact in connection with this affair is that among the number detailed to capture General Crook was Ja- cob Gassman, a former clerk in the hotel where General Crook lodged, and whose uncle then owned the building, and Sergeant Charles James Dailey, whose father was landlord at the time and whose sister, Mary, afterwards became Mrs. Crook, and was probably then Crook's fiancee. The duty of destroying the telegraph lines was intrusted to me, while Hallar and others were detailed as my assistants. These pre- liminaries being arranged, we moved on dowit the pike, rode into Green street and around the court house hill ; then over the chain bridge across Will's Creek and up Baltimore street, the principal thoroughfare of the city. Taking in the situa- tion as they rode along, the men occupied themsehes whistling such Yankee tunes as they knew, and bandying words with isolated patrols and guards that occasionally passed. Some of our men were disguised in Federal overcoats, but in the dim light no difference could be noticed in the shades of liglit blue and gray.
"Part of the men were halted in front of the Barnuin house, afterwards the Windsor hotel, where General Kelley slept, and the others rode on to the Rex ere house, where Gen- eral Crook reposed in fancied security. A sentry paced ui) and down in front of the respective headquarters, but took little notice of our movements, cxidently taking us lor a scouting i)arty coming in to report. J. (i. I.) -iU, of Ku}kcn- dall's squad, was the first the reach the i)avement. where he captured and disarmed the sentry, who directed the party lo the sleeping apartments of General Kelley. Entering the ho- tel the party first invaded a room on the second lloor. wliicli proved to be that of the adjutant-general, ^lehin. Arousing him, they asked where General Kelly was, and were told that he was in the adjoining apartment, a communicating room, the
486 History of West Virginia
door of which was open, and they entered at once. When General Kelley was awakened, he was told that he was a prisoner, and was requested to make his toilet as speedily as possible. With some degree of nervousness the old general comphed, inquiring as he did so, to whom he was surrender- ing. Kuykendall replied : 'To Captain McNeill, by order of General Rosser.' He had Httle more to say after this, and in a very short space of time both he and Adjutant Melvin were taken down into the street and mounted on horses, the owners of which courteously gave the prisoners the saddle and rode behind. In this manner they were taken out of Cumberland, but as soon thereafter as separate horses could be procured they were given them.
"At the Revere house an almost identical scene took place. The sentry having been taken and disarmed, the capturing party ascended the stone steps of the hotel and found the outside door locked. The door was opened by a small col- ored boy and the party entered. The boy was greatly alarmed at the brusque manner of the unexpected guests, whom he evi- dently suspected of improper intentions. When asked if Gen- eral Crook was in the hotel, he said : 'Yes, sah, "but don't tell 'em I told you,' and he afterwards made the inquiry: 'What kind o' men are you all, anyhow?' While Vandiver and Dailey were getting a light in the office below, Gassman went to No. 46, General Crook's apartment, and thinking the door was locked, knocked at it several times. A voice within asked : 'Who's there?' Gassman replied: 'A friend,' and was told to come in. Vandiver, Tucker and Dailey arrived by this time and all four entered the room. Approaching tHe bed where the general lay, Vandiver said in a pompous manner, 'Genera! Crook, you are my prisoner.' 'What authority have you for this?' inquired the general. 'The authority of General Rosser, of Fitzhugh Lee's division of cavalry,' said Vandiver in re- sponse. Crook then rose up in bed and asked : 'Is General Rosser here?' 'Yes,' replied Vandiver, 'I am General Rosser. We have surprised and captured the town.' That settled the matter as far as the bona fide general was concerned. He was immensely surprised at the bold announcement, but know- ing nothing to the contrary, accepted Vandiver's assertion
History of West Virginia 487
as the truth. He submitted to his fate with as much grace and chcerfuhiess as he could muster. Speaking to me after- wards of his sensations at the time, the general said : 'X'andi- ver was just such a looking person as I supposed Rosser to be, and I had no reason to doubt the truth of his statement. I was very much relieved, however, when I learned the real sit- uation and that the city and garrison had not been taken.'
"When the sidewalk was reached a clerk in the hotel, who had evidently been asleep and had just awakened, came out on the sidewalk with a lantern, and holding" it up to get a good look, asked: 'How many Johnnies have you got, boys?' He quickly realized that he had made a mistake. John Taylor snatched his hat off his head ; John Cunningham ran through his pockets ; while W. H. Maloney caught him by the back and jerked his overcoat over his head. They left him standing dumbfounded.
"General Kelley and his adjutant were taken some time before General Crook w^as brought out and mounted ; but when this was finally done, and headquarters and other flags were finally secured, the entire party rode down Baltimore street in a quiet and orderly manner to the chain bridge. A large stable was located here, and from this several fine horses were taken, among them Thilippi,' General Kelley's charger, which had been given him by the West Virginia soldiers in honor of his victory over Colonel Porterfield at Philippi. The taking of the horses caused some delay, which greatly excited lieutenant McNeill, who, calling for me, ordered that I should lead them out of the city at once. Turning the column to the left, 1 led it down Canal street and on to the canal bank, where, a few hundred yards below% we came unexpectedly upon a dozen or more guards, whom we surrounded and captured. A\ e de- stroyed their guns and ammunition, but did not encumber our selves with more prisoners. From this point the column wert at a gallop down the tow path until halted by the picket posted at the canal bridge, a mile below town, on the road to W iley's ford. The column not halting, one of the pickets was heard to say: 'Sergeant, shall I fire?' when Vandiver, who was in front, shouted ; Tf you do, I'll place you under arrest. This is Gen- eral Crook's bodyguard, and we have no time to w^aste. 'I'he
488 History of West Virginia
rebels are coming, and we are going out to meet them.' Fliis explanation seemed satisfactory. We passed under the bridge, beyond the picket post, which was the enemy's outmost guard, and crossed the Potomac. A\'e were four or five miles away before the boom of a cannon was heard, giving the alarm.
"General Crook was riding bareback. When they were well across the Potomac, he called to W. H. Maloney and asked him to ride ahead and get a saddle, remarking that he was very tired. Maloney said he did not know where to get one. To this General Crook replied: 'Take one from the first man you meet, and tell him that General Crook ordered you to do it.' Maloney dashed ahead to Jacob Kyle's, and, waking him, told him he wanted a saddle for General Crook. Mr. Kyle answered : 'Your men took the only saddle I had yes- terday.' 'We are not Yankees,' said Mr. Maloney. 'General Crook is a prisoner. I will search your house, and if I find you are lying to me, I will burn your house.' 'The saddle is on the porch in a flour barrel,' replied Mr. Kyle. Mr. Maloney got it and General Crook had to ride bareback no longer.
"Sixty rugged miles intervened between us and safety, but I doubt if there w^as a man in the troop but now felt at ease. Elated, proud and happy, all rode back that morning over the snow-clad Virginia hills. Our expedition had been a grand success, and every wish was realized. A mounted force from Cumberland, in pursuit, came in sight on Patterson's Creek, but kept at a respectful distance in the rear until after we had passed Romney, when they pressed upon our guard, but upon the exchange of a few shots they retired. On reach- ing the Moorefield valley a detachment of the Ringgold Cav- alry, sent from New Creek to intercept us, came in sight. V\"e were on opposite sides of the river, in full view of each other, and soon our tired horses w^ere being urged to their utmost speed, the Federals endeavoring to reach Moorefield and ci'.t off our retreat, while our great desire was to pass througli the town with our prisoners and captured flags, and exhibit to our friends and sweethearts the fruits of our expedition and the trophies of our success.
"It soon became evident, hoAvever, that-the fresher horses of the other side would win the dav. Convinced that the town
History of West Virginia 489
could not be reached and safely passed, McNeill suddenly icd his men into the woods skirting the road, and taking a well- known trail, passed through the ridges east of Aloorcficld to a point of security seven miles above, where we camped for the night. In the preceding twenty-four hours we had rMdeu ninety miles over hill and valley, mountain and stream, with very little rest or food for men or horses. Our prisoners received the best possible care and attention, and early the next morning pursued their enforced march to Richmond by wa}^ of General Early's headquarters at Staunton."
On February 24, 1865, General Robert E. Lee sent the following dispatch to the war department of the Southern Confederacy. :
"General Early reports that Lieutenant McNeill, with thirty men, on the morning of the twenty-first, entered Cum- berland, captured and brought out Generals Crook and Kelley, the adjutant-general of the department, two privates and the headquarters' flags without firing a gun, though a considerable force is in the vicinity."
The following dispatch was sent from Cumberland by Major Kennedy to General Sheridan, at Winchester, within a few hours after McNeill's men had left the city : "About three o'clock this morning a party of rebel horsemen came up on the New Creek road, about sixty in number. They cap- tured the pickets and quietly rode into town, A\ent directly to the headquarters of Generals Crook and Kelley, sending a couple of men to each place to overpower the headquarters' guard, when they went directly to the room of General Crook, and, without disturbing anybody else in the house, ordered him to dress, and took him down stairs and placed him on a horse, saddled and waiting. The same was done to General Kelley. While this was being done, a few of them, without creating an}- disturbance, opened one or two stores, but they left without waiting to take anything. It was done so quietly that others of us who were sleeping in adjoining rooms to General Crook were not disturbed. The alarm was given in ten minutes by a darkey watchman at the hotel, who escajjcd from them, and in an hour we had a party of fifty cavalry after them. They tore up the telegraph lines, and it required
490 « History of West Virginia
more than an hour to get them in working order. As soon as New Creek could be called, I ordered a force to be sent to Romney, and it started without any unnecessary, delay. A second force has gone from New Creek to Moorefield, and a regiment of infantry has gone to supply the place of cavalry. They rode good horses, and left at a very rapid rate, evidently fearful of being overtaken. They did not remain in Cumber- land over ten minutes. From all information, I am inclined to believe that instead of Rosser, it is McNeill's company. Most of the men of that company are from this place."
General Sheridan sent four hundred cavalry across the mountains from Winchester in the direction of Moorefield, in hope of capturing McNeill and releasing the prisoners ; but no success attended the expedition. McNeill was in the mountains and eluded his pursuers, who were trying to close in on him from four directions.
McNeill's men surrendered soon after General Lee. 'Tt was arranged that they should lay down their arms on the South Branch above Romney," say Maxwell and Swisher in History of Hampshire County. "A company of Federals from New Creek met them for that purpose. Two or three ofKcers and a half dozen men crossed the river where McNeill's men were, while the main body of the compan}'- remained on the north side. There was no unnecessary ceremony. The Con- federates threw down their arms and were paroled. The im- plements of war piled on the ground looked as if they had come out of a museum a hundred years old. They were flint-locks, broken stocks, bent barrels, no ramrods, triggerless, rusty, big, little, horse pistols, deringers, pepperboxes, choke-bores, bell- mouthed, antiquated shot guns and old English blunderbusses, and others beyond description. The Federal officers were aware that these were not the guns with which McNeill's men had done their fighting. They had hidden their good guns and had gathered up these superannuated, pre-revolutionary traps in junk-shops and garrets and were surrendering them for form's sake. A competent judge who saw the arms piled on the ground declared they were not worth ten dollars a ton. However, the Yankees hauled them to New Creek.
"After they had thrown down their worthless guns, one of
History of West Virginia 491
McNeill's men asked the Union officers : 'What would be the result if I would keep a Httle powder to shoot coons and such things, and it should be found in my house, and an old shot- gun or something?' The officer told him it would go hard with him if he went to bushwhacking. To this the soldier re- piled : T won't hurt any of you fellows, but the Swamp Dra- gons from North Fork better not come fooling around me.' The Swamp Dragons were the Union guerillas who infested the mountain fastnesses around the headwaters of the South Branch and Cheat River. Between them and McNeill's men there was war to the death. Neither side asked nor gave quarter."
In passing, it might be said that "Swamp Dragons" were not confined alone to the waters of the Potomac. They were to be found in nearly every community in the State dur- ing the Civil War. In Marion County, where the writer lived, there was a band of this character. They pretended to be members of the "Home Guard," but their actions behed that name. They were home wreckers. It was said that they were "too cowardly to join the regular army, and too lazy to work at home," and that they made their living by preying upon and harassing their neighbors who they thought might be in sympathy with the South. Numerous cold- blooded murders were committed by these guerillas, under the cloak of Unionism, to satisfy some old grudge or an im- aginary wrong. They deemed it an opportune time to settle old scores and they took advantage of it. Two of such mur- ders were committed within three miles of^ Glover Gap, the victims being old, gray-headed men.
West Virginia had in the field thirty-two companies of State troops, known as Home Guards. Their duty was to de- fend against invasion the counties to which they belonged. If the perpetrators of these crimes were really members of these organizations, it can not be doubted they exceeded their au- thority in many, many instances.
492 History of West Virginia
Rosser's Raid to Keyser.
In November, 1864, General Rosser led 2,000 Confederates to Keyser where he surprised 800 Federals under George R. Latham, and dispersed them, capturing- many prisoners and much property.
Rosser's Raid to Beverly.
In January, 1865, General Rosser and 300 Confederates at- tacked Beverly, in Randolph County, defeating Colonel Youart and taking 580 prisoners. These prisoners were marched, many of them with barefeet, through snow to Staunton. Some of them fell and died from cold and exhaustion. Shortly after that time the outlying Confederate bands were ordered to Richmond to fight Grant, whose grip could not be shaken loose.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE CIVIL WAR.
(By Montgomery).
Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, in the Field, Smithfield, North Carolina, April 12, 1865. The General commanding announces to the army that he has ofificial notice from General Grant that General Lee sur- rendered to him his entire army, on the 9th inst., at Appo- mattox Court House, Virginia.
Glory to God and our country, and all honor to our com- rade, in arms, toward whom we are marching !
A little more labor, a little more toil on our part, and the great race is won and our Government stands regenerated, after four long years of war.
W. T. SHERMAN,
Major-General Commanding.
The above order was issued while the Union army was marching from Goldsboro, N. C, in pursuit of Johnston's BLtmy. Johnston did not make a stand, but surrendered near
History of West Virginia 493
Durham Station, about t\vent}-tive miles northwest of Ra- leigh, N. C, April 26, 1865.
When Sherman's men learned that Lee had surrendered they went wild with excitement. They shouted, they flung up their caps, they turned somersaults in their delight.
The whole land seemed full of rejoicing that the long, ter- rible struggle was practically over. Confederate as well as Union soldiers were glad to see peace at hand ; an"d a Southern woman who heard the hurrahs of Sherman's "boys in blue" as they marched past her house, looked upon her wondering chil- dren and said, while tears streamed down her cheeks, "Now father will come home."
On April 26, 1865, Johnston surrendered to Sherman near Raleigh, N. C.
When Lee surrendered to Grant, the latter showed a very generous disposition toward the former and his men. "The only conditions he demanded were that the men should lay down their arms and return to their homes. Those who had horses were permitted to take them with them ; for, as General Grant remarked, they 'would need them for the ploughing.' Finally, the victorious general issued an order to serve out twenty-five thousand rations of food to Lee's half-starved men. That meant that the strife was over, and that peace and brotherhood were restored."
On April, 14th, 1865, General xAnderson hoisted the identi- cal flag over Fort Sumter under whose starry folds he had fought against Beauregard. On the evening of the same day, President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Thus a day of gladness was suddenly transformed into one of national sorrow. Many of those who fought against him in the South wept at his death. We will never know a more unselfish or a truer man than \\'as Abraham Lincoln.
The war was over — the Union saved ; but at what a terri- ble cost in life and property ! Thousands upon thousands of the very cream of American manhood had been sacrificed upon the gory fields of battle. Other thousands had died from ex- posure, while still thousands more were either crippled for life or carried to an untimely grave from exposure. Then, the days, weeks, months and years of untold heartaches, anxie-
494 History of West Virginia
ties and hardships endured by those at home. Much as our brave soldiers of the North and the South must have suf- fered, the wives, mothers and sisters were to be pitied most, for they endured — they suffered most.
God forbid that the American people shall ever take up arms against each other again, but grant that the present feel- ing of good fellowship of a re-united people shall remain for all time.
The following information is taken from History o£ West Virginia and Its People.
The population of what is now West Virginia, when the war broke out, was, approximately, 360,000 men, w-omen and children. Of this number about nine and two-thirds per cent, served in the armies — 28,000 in the Federal cause and 7,000 in the Confederate army. The Federals lost 3,200 men and the Confederates 824, or a total loss of 4,024 men during the war.
West Virginia paid out approximately $2,000,000 in the way of bounties and for caring for her soldiers and their fami- lies.
Following is the roster of West Virginia troops :
First Regiment, three months' service. Organized at Wheeling, May, 1861, from volunteer companies from Han- cock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshall Counties, at Camp Carlile, Wheeling Island; participated in battle of Philippi, June 3rd, 1861 ; mustered out of service at Wheeling, August 28, 1861.
First Regiment, three years' service. Organized in the Northern Panhandle in the fall of 1861 ; served three years ; non-veterans mustered out of service at Wheeling, November 26, 1864. The veterans, or re-enlisted men, were consolidated with the veterans of 4th Infantry, to form 2d Veteran Infantry regiment.
Second Regiment, three years' service. Organized at Beverly, in August, 1861 ; consisted of companies from Wood, Taylor and other counties. Company G was transferred to 1st P^egiment Light Artillery. By order of June 26, 1864, regiment was changed to Mounted Infantry, but is known thereafter as 5th Regiment Volunteer Cavalry, but never equipped as such. The non-veterans were mustered out of service in August, 1863, and the re-enlisted, 200 in number,
History of West Virginia 495
consolidated with veterans of the 6th Mounted Infantry (then known as the 6th Regiment Volunteer Cavalry) to form 6th A^eteran Cavalry.
Third Regiment, three years' service. Formed at Clarks- burg, July, 1861. January 26, 1864, regiment was changed to' mounted infantry, but henceforth known as 6th Regiment Volunteer Cavalry. The non-veterans were mustered out of service at Beverly, August, 1864, wdiile the re-enlisted men were organized into six companies, consolidated with re-en- listed men of 5th Regiment Cavalry — the mounted infantry of the 2nd Regiment — and thus formed the 6th Regiment Vet- eran Cavalry, which should have been designated in the mili- tary establishment as the 1st Regiment Veteran Cavalry.
Fourth Regiment, three years' service. Organized at Point Pleasant, June to September, 1861. Non- veterans mus- tered out of service when time expired in summer of 1864; re- enlisted men consolidated with re-enlisted men of the 1st Regi- ment Volunteer Infantry, to form 2nd Regiment Veteran In- fantry.
Fifth Regiment, three years' service. Organized at Cere- do, July and August, 1861. Non-veterans mustered out of ser- vice at the expiration of term of service, summer of 1864; re- enlisted men consolidated with re-enlisted men of 9th Regi- ment Infantry, to form 1st Regiment Veteran Infantry.
Sixth Regiment, three years' service. Organized in Au- gust, 1861, and by special authority recruited to fifteen com- panies. Non-veterans mustered out at the end of their term ; while the re-enlisted men, together with a large number of re- cruits, preserved the regimentad organization until June 10, 1865, when it was mustered out at Wheeling.
Seventh Regiment, three years' service. Organized at Wheeling and Grafton, in July, August, September and Octo- ber, 1861. No regiment from West Virginia saw harder ser- vice. The non-veterans were mustered out at the end of their term of service, but the re-enlisted men, together with recruits, continued the regiment in the field unti it was mustered out of service at Munson's Hill, V^irginia, July 1st, 1S65.
Eighth Regiment, three years' service. Organized in Great Kanawha A'alley in autumn of 1861. June 13, 1863, by
496 History of West Virginia
order of War department, mounted and drilled as mounted in- fantry. By a second order the 8th Mounted Infantry was changed to 7th Regiment Cavalry. The non-veterans w^ere discharged, but nearly 400 re-enlisted as veterans, and v\ath about 250 recruits, preserved the regimental organization until mustered out of service in 1865.
Ninth Regiment, three years' service. Organized at Guy- andotte, February 28th, 1862, of companies from Cabell, Wood, Jackson, Mason and Roane ; the men in this regiment repre- sented tv^enty-four counties. In 1864 the non-veterans were discharged, term of service expired, and 357 men re-enlisted, and with the veterans of the 5th Regiment were consolidated and formed the 1st Veteran Infantry Regiment.
Tenth Regiment, three years' service. Organization be- gun in March, 1862 ; mustered out of service at Richmond, Vir- ginia, August 9th, 1865.
Eleventh Regiment, three years' service. Organization begun in December, 1861, but not completed until September, 1862; mustered out of service at Richmond, Virginia, June, 17, 1865.
Twelfth Regiment, three years' service. Organized at Camp Wiley, Wheeling Island, November 30th, 1862, com- posed of companies recruited from Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Marion, Taylor and Harrison Counties ; mustered out of service at Richmond, Virginia, June 16, 1865.
Thirteenth Regiment, three years' service. Organized with eight companies at Point Pleasant, October 10th, 1862; mustered out at Wheeling, June 22, 1865.
Fourteenth Regiment, three years' service. Organized at Camp Wiley, Wheehng Island, August and September, 1862; mustered out at Cumberland, Maryland, June 27, 1865.
Fifteenth Regiment, three years' service. Organized with nine companies at Wheeling, and ordered to held Octo- ber 16, 1862 ; the tenth company was organized in February, 1864. Mustered out of service at Richmond, Virginia, Jruie 14, 1865.
Sixteenth Regiment. This regiment has an unique his- tory. It was organized at the old town of Alexandria, on the Potomac River, nine miles below Washington City, and was
History of West Virginia 497
the only regiment in the Federal service from that part of Vir- ginia cast of the Blue Ridge. It was largely composed of men from the counties of Alexandria, Fairfax, Fauquier and Prince William, with quite a number from the vicinity of Nor- folk. The recorded history of this regiment is very incom- plete, hence nothing appears in connected form concerning it in the adjutant-general's reports.
Seventeenth Regiment, one year's service. Organized at Wheeling in August and September, 1864; nearly all the men enlisted for one year; mustered out of service at Wheeling, June 30, 1865.
First Regiment, Veteran Infantry. Regiments were formed by consolidation of re-enlisted men of 5th and 9th Regi- ments Infantry ; mustered out of service at Cumberland, Md., July 21st, 1865.
Second Regiment Veteran Infantry. Formed by consoli- dation of re-enlisted men of 1st and 4th Regiments Infantry; mustered out of service at Clarksburg, July 16th, 1865.
Cavalry.
First Regiment, three years' service. Organized in sum- mer of 1861 ; non-veterans mustered out when term ex- pired, summer of 1864; re-enlisted men, with 232 recruits, pre- served regimental organization vnitil July 8, 1865, when it was mustered out at Wheeling.
Second Regiment, three years' service. Recruited in sum- mer of 1861 ; mustered into service with ten full companies, November 8th; mustered out June 30th, 1865.
Third Regiment, three years' service. Enlisted in. sum- mer of 1864, composed of companies brought together, but which had been privately recruited to other commands. Com- pany A was mustered at A\'heeling, December 23, 1861 ; Com- pany C was organized at Brandonsville, October 1, 1861, and the two constituted a battalion ; Companies B and D were mus- tered at Wheeling, October 21st, 1862; Company H, at Park- ersburg, November 2, 1862; Company I, at Bridgeport, May 16, 1863; Company M, at Buckhannon, April 4. 1864; and Company G was recruited and mustered into service at Point
498 History of West Virginia
Pleasant. The re-enlisted men, with 115 recruits, kept the regiment in the field until June 30, 1865, when it v/as mustered out.
Fourth Regiment. Enlisted in autumn of 1863, for six months, composed of companies from the northern part of the State, in which were men from Doddridge, Tyler, Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio, Marion, Monongalia, Harrison, Wood and other Counties. It was mustered out of service March 15, 1864.
Fifth Regiment, three years' service. (See 2nd Regiment Infantry Vols.). Organized in July, 1861, as 2nd Regiment Infantry Vols., and served as such until January 26, 1864, when it was mounted and designated as 5th Cavalry. How- ever, it was never armed or fully equipped as cavalry, but con- tinued to serve as mounted infantry. December 1, 1864, it was consolidated with the re-enlisted men of the 6th Cavalry (mounted infantry) to form the 6th Veteran Cavalry, while the non-veterans were mustered out as their terms of enlistment expired.
Sixth Regiment, three years' service (See 3d Regiment Infantry Vols.). This regiment was organized at Clarksburg in July, 1861, as 3d Regiment Infantry Vols., and served as such until January 26, 1864, when it was mounted and designa- tion changed to 6th Regiment Cavalry, but still continued to serve as mounted infantry. It was never ecjuipped as cavalr}^ Its non-veterans were mustered out September 7th, 1864, and its re-enlisted men were consolidated with the re-enlisted men of 5th Regiment Veteran Cavalry.
Seventh Regiment, three years' service (See 8th Regiment Infantry A^ols.). Organized in Great Kanawha Valley in the fall of 1861, as 8th- Regiment Infantry Vols., and served as such until June 13, 1863, when it was ordered to Bridgeport, where it was mounted and drilled as mounted infantry. As such it was known until January 27, 1864, when it was changed to 7th Regiment Cavalry. Its non-veterans were mustered out in 1864; but its re-enlisted men, nearly 400, to gether with 250 recruits, continued the regimental organiza- tion until it was mustered out at Charleston, August 1, 1865.
Sixth Regiment Veteran Cavalry. This regiment, which
History of West Virginia 499
should have been known as the 1st Regiment Veteran Cavalry, was formed by consolidation of 200 re-enlisted men of the 5th Regiment Cavalry (or originally 2nd Regiment Infantry), and the re-enlisted men of 6th Regiment Cavalry '(originally 3rd Regiment Infantry). Organized at North Branch Bridge, W. Va., September 77 , 1864, whence it removed to Keyser, W. \'a. January and February, 1865, kere spent at Camp Remount, Pleasant \'alley, Aid. In March it was sent to Washington City, where it was engaged in the performance of provost duty until June 16, when it was ordered to Louisville, Ky., thence to Fort LcaA'enworth, Kan., and thence across the plains into Colorado and Dakota. Its headquarters in the winter of 1865- 66 was Fort Laramie. The regiment was several times en- gaged with the Indians, and was highly commended for it gal- lantry. It was mustered out of service at Fort Leavenworth. May 22, 1866, and arrived at Wheeling the 25th, where, on the 29th, the men recei\'ed their final ])ay and were discharged.
Artillery Volunteers.
First Regiment Light Artillery Vols., three years' service. This was the onh' artillery regiment in the service of the U. S. from W. Va. It consisted of eight batteries, as follows : Bat- tery A, the first battery organized under the Restored Gov- ernment of \'irginia. Its non-veterans were mustered out of service August 8, 1864, its re-enlisted men being added to Battery F. Battery B was mustered out October 23, 1864; its re-enlisted men were added to Battery E. Batteries C and D continued in service until the close of the war. Battery E was recruited at Buckhannon, August, 1862. Battery F was or- ganized in 1861 as Company C of the 6th Regiment Infantry, and was transferred to the artillery regiment. It was mus- tered out of service September 14, 1864; its re-enlisted men, with those previously transferred from Battery A, now reor- ganized a veteran battery called Battery A. Battery G was organized in 1861 as Company G of the 2nd Regiment Infantry Vols., but was transferred to the artillery regiment; it was mustered out of service August 8th, 1864. Battery H re-
500
History of West Virginia
mained in the service until the end of the war. The regiment was mustered out at WheeHng.
The WheeHng Independent Exempt Infantry was a body c .' infantry consisting of two organizations styled Company A and Company B, which had no regimental connection. They were made up of men enlisted in the Northern Panhandle, who were stationed at AVheeling throughout the war as city guar^ or, more strictly speaking, Capitol Guards, for Wheeling was not only the seat of the Restored Government, but the capital of AA^'est Virginia after the admission of the State into the Union. These two companies were on duty during the entire Civil War period, and were not required to perform other mili- tary service.
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ROUND BARN, NEAR ELKINS
CHAPTER XXV.
CAPITALS AND CAPITOLS, AND OTHER PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF WEST VIRGINIA.
As we have stated in a former chapter, the first conven- tion of the peoi)le of Northwestern Virginia assembled in Washington Hall, in Wheeling, ]\Iay 13, 1861 ; and the second convention at the same place the 11th of the ensuing June.. It was also indicated that the General Assembly, under the Restored Government, held four sessions — one regular and three extra, the first and fourth sessions being held in the U. S. Court room in the Custom House ; while the second and third convened in the Linsly Institute building". It was this latter building that became the first capitol of ^Vcst A'irginia and in front of which, on June 20, 1863, Arthur 1. Boreman, the first Governor of the new State, delivered his inaugural address; and within which building, on the same day, convened the first Legislature of West Virginia.
On the evening of the same day (June 20), the Governor, in his message to the Legislature, recommended, among other things, that "s])eedy action be taken for the establishment of a permanent scat of government. I know it is said b_\- some that it would be best to wait until the war is over, but I fear if the question is not settled by the present Legislature, it will, in a short time, enter into contests for office throughout the State, and thus l)ecome a matter of contention for years to come; and until it is settled, the Legislature will not be jus- tified in expending the money necessary to prepare the ac- commodations for themselves and the other officers wliich are demanded, not only as a matter of comftirt and convenience, but for the reasonable dispatch of the ])ublic business. When the location is made and the iniblic grounds selected in such manner as ^•ou mav provide, \ou will then be warrant(nl in
502 History of West Virginia
making appropriations for the public buildings, and they may soon be in process of construction."
The Legislature, however, did not deem it expedient to take action along the lines indicated in the Governor's mes- sage with reference to a permanent seat of government; but, on December 9, 1863, by Joint Resolution, authorized him to secure the Linsly Institute building for a State Capitol, which the Governor proceeded to do. From that time on for a period of six years, the Governor brought up the matter of perman- ent seat of government before every sitting of the Legislature, but without receiving any encouragement. But on January 20, 1869, Andrew Mann, a member of the House of Delegates from Greenbrier-Monroe delegate district, offered the follow- ing Preamble and Joint Resolution:
WHEREAS, The location of the State Capitol has been deferred from time to time without any good reason for such delay; and
WHEREAS, The failure to locate the State Capitol has created great dissatisfaction on the part of the people, deter- ring enterprising parties abroad from locating in the State, rendering ourselves an unsettled people in the estimation of the public; therefore
RESOLVED, By the Legislature of W^est Alrginia : That we use our utmost endeavors to locate the State Capitol during the present session of the Legislature, by such conces- sions and deferences to the different desires of membrs of the Legislature and the people we represent, as will finally settle this vexed question harmoraiously, placing the capitol where it will develop the natural resources of the State the niost, and accommodate the largest number of inhabitantr." On January 21st, James T. AlcClaskey, a delegate from MonongaHa County, introduced House Bill No. 4, entitled "A Bill permanently locating the seat of Government of this State." This passed the House February 17th, and the Senate February 26th. The Act, which was to take effect April 1st, 1870. provided that the seat of Government of this State should be located at Charleston.
Of course this news was very gratifying to the Charles- ton people, who at once took steps to provide accommodations
History of West Virginia 503
for the officers, records and archives of the State ; and on May 27th, 1809, a stock company, known as the State House Com- pany, was formed by a few of the enterprising citizens for the purpose of erecting" a temporary home for the State Govern- ment, pending the erection of a permanent structure. 'J lie contract for the erection of the building was let to Dr. John T. Haley, of Charleston, who prosecuted the worlv as rapidly as possible, but the btiilding could not be completed by April 1, 1870, the time fixed by law for the removal of the seat of government. But the Charleston people were not worried over trifles like that, and arrangements were made with the Bank of the West to make room for a number of the state offi- cers; the Merchants Bank to furnish a portion of its building to the state treasurer; and the state library was provided for by the trustees of St. John's P. E. Church, who gave free use of its school room. Arrangements having thus been effected for the reception of the new State Government, the citizens of Charleston chartered a Kanawha River packet, known as the "Muntain Boy," Monday morning, March 28, 1870. Ac- companying the boat was a reception committee, composed of Dr. Albert E. Summers and Dr. Spicer Patrick, of Charles- ton; Colonel J. T. Bowyer, of Winfield, Putnam County; and Colonel Hiram R. Howard and Hon. John M. Phelps, of Point Pleasant, Mason County.
The committee at once called upon Governor Wm. E. Stevenson and the other State of^ficials, and informed them that a vessel was in ^vaiting at the wharf to transport them, their personal belongings and the public papers, state archives, etc., to the new capitol home in the city of Charleston. Pre- parations having already been made for the removal, the work of loading up the State property and the personal effects of the State officers was commenced without delay, and 1)y midnight the steamer, enveloped in a mass of bunting, cast oft' her moor- ings and steamed down the Ohio, "having on board the State offfcials, archives and i)araphernalia of the government of the newest State east of the Mississippi."
The first landing was at Parkersburg — the home of C Gov- ernor Stevenson. After an exchange of greetings wdth a num- ber of the citizens of that place, the voyage down the river
504 History of West Virginia
was resumed. As the "Mountain Boy" was going up the Kanawha on the morning of March 30th, it was met by the "Kanawha Bill," having on board a Committee on Arrange- ments, accompanied by the Charleston brass band. About 11 o'clock the "floating capitol" steamed slowly up to the landing, while the United States artillery, then stationed at Charleston, fired a salute from the head of the wharf.
This marked an important epoch in the history of Char- leston, and everybody turned out for a holiday.
A procession was formed on Front street, with the left resting on the corner of Central avenue, half an hour before the arrival of the steamer at the wharf. It was under com- mand of Colonel A. B. Jones, marshal of the day. The proces- sion was composed of United States artillery; Arrangement and Reception committees ; Governor and all other State offi- cers, mounted ; Mayor and Council of Charleston ; Mayor and Council from other cities, and other representatives ; the Judges of the Court of Appeals and the Circuit courts ; members of Charleston Fire Department ; Odd FelloAvs, Masons, and other orders; school children, and citizens generally, all led by the Charleston brass band. After the Mayor of Charleston, -with members of the Cit}' gov- ernment, had received the State officials, the Mayor de- livered an address of welcome, at the conclusion of which the procession moved up Front street to Dunbar street; thence by Dunbar street to Church street; thence down Church street to Central a\'enue ; thence up Central avenue to the residences provided for the Governor and other State officials.
On December 20, 1870, the "State House Committee" made formal delivery of the Capitol to the Governor, and it was immediately occupied by the State officials. The build- ing cost $79,000.00.
Although Wheeling had lost the capitol to Charleston, she did not entirely give up hope of its ultimate return to the place of its birth. After the lapse of nearly five years, she 1" lieved the opportune time had come. The Legislature con- vened on January 13th, 1875, and five days later Hon. Jona- than ]M. Bennett, of Lewis County, a senator from the Nintli
History of West Virginia 505
Senatorial District, introduced a Bill to remove the seat ot government temporarily to Wheeling. It passed the Senate on Februar}- 13th and the House the 18th, and became a law on the 20th of February, \\ithout Go\ernor Jacob's signature.
The Preamble and Act read as follows:
"WHEREAS, Henry K. List, Michael Reilly, John Mc- Clure, Cieorge W. Franzheim, and Simon Horkheimer, citizens of Wheeling, have agreed to furnish the State, without cost thereto, suitable accommodations in said city for the legisla- tive, executive and judicial departments of the State, including the State library, should the seat of government of the State be removed temporarily to said city ; and
"WHEREAS, It appears to the Legislature that the capitol of the State should be located at a more accessible and convenient point ; therefore
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia, That on and after the passage of this Act, until hereafter otherwise provided by the law, the seat of government of the State of West A'irginia shall be at the City of W^heeling."
It was now up to the ]K^ople of Wheeling to erect a new State House at that place, and for this ])urpose a committee was appointed. Captain John McClure being its chairman. On the 17th of March. 1875, the city council adopted an ordinance providing for $100,000 city bonds, the proceeds to be used for the erection of a Public Building ; it being understood, though not incorporated In the Ordinance, that the State Government was to occupy it as long as Wheeling remained the capital city.
The Ordinance was approved by a vote of the people on the first Monday in April following. The bonds were sold aDove par on July 19th, and on the same day the contract for the erection of the capitol was let to A. R. Sheppard, of ]\Iead- ville. Pa., on his bid of $82,940.00, and work was begun July 21, 1875, but the structure was not read}' for occui)ancy until December, 1876.
In the meantime the peo]de of Charleston resolved to test the constitutionality of the Act providing for the removal of the seat of government; and on March 30th, 1875, John Slack, Sr., lohn T. Cotton, Edward C. Stolle, John C. Ruby, John
506 History of West Virginia
T. White, Alexander H. Wilson, and Gustave Stolle, represent- ing Charleston's interests, applied to Evermont Ward, judge of the Ninth Judicial District, for an injunction restraining the State officials from removing the State archives and other pub- lic property from Charleston to Wheeling or elsewhere. Ihe injunction was granted and the date of hearing set for the 21st day of May ensuing.
On the 18th of May, John L. Cole, the State Librarian, ap- peared in the circuit court of Kanawha County and asked that the injunction be dissolved. James H. Ferguson and Wra. A. Ouarrier made able arguments in favor of its perpetuation, but Joseph Smith, the presiding Judge, ordered its dissolution. The latter decree was, however, suspended until the 27th, in order to give the plaintiffs time in which to apply to the Su- preme Court for an appeal ; and they were not slow to avail themselves of this opportunity, and the appeal was granted by Judge Charles P. T. Moore, at Point Pleasant, on Alay 20th.
As we have seen, the date on which the removal was to have been made as fixed by law, was May 21st— -six da3's be- fore the expiration of the time extended the plaintiffs b}^ Judge Smith.
Previous to this time, on April 24th, the Auditor and other State officials received notice from the Governor to pre- pare for the removal of the archives and paraphernalia of their offices to Wheeling on May 21st. The men who were em- ployed to do the packing and draymen to convey the property to the wharfboat, were arrested and taken into court, where they were held to answer the charge of disregarding the in- junction. Writs Avere also served upon the State officials, all of whom made answer except the Governor, who gave the matter no attention, but he was not arrested.
The people of Wheeling, how^ever, "had taken no stock" in these proceedings, and the council of that city, on May 12th, appropriated $1,500.00 Avith which to defray the removal ex- penses. The steamer "Emma Graham" was chartered for $1,000.00, and at 10:00 a. m., May 21, 1875, landed at the wharf at Charleston, ready to receive the officials and State property for transportation to Wheeling. Capt. John McClure, chair- man of the "AAHieeling Removal Company," was on board, and
History of West Virginia 507
he at once notified the government officials of the presence and purpose of the steamer. These gentlemen lost no time in repairing- to the waiting \essel, which at 12:30 p. m. let go her line and steamed down the Great Kanawha, leaving all the public property behind in the custody of Judge Smith. Point Pleasant was passed that evening at 7:00 o'clock; at Parkers- burg all passengers were transferred to the steamer "Chesa- peake," bound for Wheeling. An escort of twenty gentlemen came down from Wheeling on the steamer "Hudson," and joined the State House party near Sistersville. The "Chesa- peake" arrived at Wheeling at 8:30 p. m., Sunday, May 23rd.
The Capitol building not having yet been constructed for their reception, the State officials established their offices in the Linsly Institute building.
So, we find the State officials in \\'heeling and the State property — library, archives, etc., in Charleston. The State's business was therefore now at a standstill, pending the decis- ion of the Supreme Court of Appeals, then composed of three members : John S. Hoffman, Alpheus F. Haymond and Chas. P. T. T. Moore. The case was argued August 23d by E. W. Wilson, W. A. Ouarrier and J. H. Ferguson, for Charleston, and by W. W. Arnett, H. M. Mathews, and Daniel Lamb, in behalf of Wheeling. The decision, A\hich was handed down September 13th, was favorable to Wheeling. Judge Haymond wrote the opinion — a very exhaustive one. Shortly afterward. State Auditor E. A. Bennett and the Governor's private sec- retary, Benj. Daley, proceeded to Charleston, where they loaded the State property on two barges, and the steamer "Iron Valley" left Charleston with these in tow at 3 :00 p. m., Thurs- day, September 22, and at the same hour arrived in Wheeling, Saturday the 25th. On Alonday all the State property was de- livered to the various State officials; and on the 28th, Gov- ernor Jacob issued a proclamation declaring the Linsly Insti- tute Building to be, for the time, the capitol, and Wheeling the capital of West Mrginia.
The Legislature, which met on the 10th of November, as- sembled in Washington Hall. It was not until December 4. 1876, that the new Public Building, erected by the City, was
508 History of West Virginia
occupied by the State. On that day, the Governor made pro- clamation thereof.
So, we find that West Virginia's capitol was a thing of nomadic character in its early days ; and it had not yet ceased its roaming disposition when it landed at Wheeling on May 25, 1875, as we shall soon see.
As yet our State Government had no home that it could call its very own. It was as a derelict cast upon the waters of jealousy and at the mercy of the waves of sectional feeling. West Virginia's first Governor — Arthur I. Boreman — foresaw this when he pleaded with the Legislature from time to time during his administration. He recognized the fact that so long as the State Government had no permanent place of abode, the State's business, as well as the business affairs of the State, would be more or less unsettled and unsatisfactory. The people had grown weary of having the capitol on steamers plying between Charleston and Wheeling. Our "floating capi- tol" was regarded as a huge joke by outsiders, but it was not so considered by our own people. It was a serious matter with them. They therefore determined to bring matters to a focus ; and when the Legislature convened at Wheeling in January, 1877, such a strong, general pressure was brought to bear by the members' constituents that on the 16th of that month Peregrine Hays, a member of the House of Delegates from Gilmer County, submitted "House Bill No. 35," entitled "A Bill providing for the location of a permanent Seat of Gov- ernment for this State, and the erection thereat of the neces- sary Public Buildings for the use of the State." This passed the House February 5th by a vote of 40 yeas to 16 nays ; and on the 19th of that month it passed the Senate; yeas 112, nays 9.
In compliance with one of the provisions of the x\ct, the question of a permanent location of the Seat of Government was submitted to the people at an election held on the first Tuesday in August, 1877, the places voted on being Charles- ton, in Kanawha County ; Martinsburg, in Berkeley County ; and Clarksburg, in Harrison County. The one receiving a majority of the votes cast was to be the permanent capital of the State, after May 1, 1885.
History of West Virginia
509
The result of the election bv counties was as follows
be
t-l .
Counties tn
u vi
U
Barbour .... 1,415 Berkeley .... 48
Boone
Braxton 293
Brooke 656
Cabell 6
Calhoun 160
Clay
Doddridge . . 1,587
Fayette
Gilmer 653
Grant 310
Greenbrier . . 5
Hampshire .. 160 Hancock .... 414
Hardy 226
Harrison .... 3,875
Jackson 68
Jefiferson .... 41 Kanawha .... 42
Lewis 1,426
Lincoln
Logan 1
McDowell
Marion 2,431
Marshall 1,473
Mason 18
Mercer
be u
.B
4 4 3,569 1 960
11 951 40 34
1,832
2 587
479
2 39
1,760
1 225
87 116
1,902
149 573
8 95
187 594
13
1 2,169 1,340 328
2 6,140 29 261
1,167
1 885 308
12 140 28 206
3 3,004 1,017
|
bD |
bo u |
||
|
c |
u |
3 |
|
|
o in |
Counties |
3 |
J3 en C |
|
u |
u |
■*— t |
|
|
a! |
ca |
||
|
J3 U |
U |
^ |
Mineral 561 160
Monongalia.. 1,188 4
Monroe 8 7
Morgan 40 573
Nicholas .... 15
Ohio 2,165 1,193
Pendleton .. 189 146
Pleasants . . . 446 8
Pocahontas.. 259
Preston 1,798 32
Putnam 5
Raleigh 2
Randolph . . . 859 2
Ritchie 1,572 2
Roane 2
Summers .... 3 1
Taylor 1,086 172
Tucker 363 1
c o
*-»
en <u
1h
u
155
626
1,404
5
965
218
280
93
241
42
1,654
1,034
31
145
1,995
1,410
141
6
Tyler.
Upshur 843
Wayne 2
Webster 79
Wetzel 1,226
Wirt 238
Wood 1,253
Wyoming ... 2
(no returns)
60 1
2
24 186
163 2,011
362 51
612 1,302
566
Totals ....29,942 8,046 41,243
Charleston having received a majority of all the votes cast, was declared by the Governor as the permanent capital of the State, after the expiration of eight years.
The Act further provided that when the permanent loca- tion had been decided by the people, the Board of Public Works should select and procure a suitable site on wliich to erect the necessary Public Buildings, and to receive any dona- tions in land or money that might be offered. To bcjiin with, $50,000 was appropriated from the State treasury. The State House Company, who still owned the ca])itol building at Charleston, conveyed that property to the Board of Public Works by deed dated August 13, 1878.
510 History of West Virginia
The building, which had cost the Company $71,000, was mostly torn down to make room for a more suitable structure. The contract for the new building was let on May 27, 1880. The building when completed cost $389,923.58. It was for- mally accepted by the Board July 7, 1888.
Subsequently it was necessary to erect an annex, which is located directly across the street and to the south of the capitol. This is a large, fine building, modern in construction and up-to-date in all its departments. It was completed in 1902, at a cost of $225,000.00, and is now the home of the State "Department of Archives and History ; also the State Auditor and Treasurer have offices on its first floor at this time — 1914.
As previously stated, the date fixed by law for the removal of the seat of government from Wheeling to Charleston was May 1, 1885.
"For days prior to this," says Lewis, "the State officials had been busy packing the public archives and paraphernalia in the capitol at Wheeling, and having it transferred to the river, where much of it was placed upon the model barge 'Nick Crawley.' Tw^o steamers, the 'Chesapeake,' Captain William Prince, and the 'Belle Prince,' Captain Kugler, were chartered, and early in the morning of May 2d, 1885, the former having on board the State officials and their effects, and the latter having the barge in tow, left the wharf at Wheeling and be- gan the descent of the Ohio. Large canvas banners decorated the sides of the barge and steamers, and legends thereon in- formed the populace along the river that the State Capitol of West Virginia was again 'in transitu.'
"At 7 :00 P. M., Sunday, May 3rd, the steamers hove in sight of Charleston. A cannon on the deck of the 'Belle Prince' was fired every few seconds ; and all the steamers in port kept up a continuous blowing of whistles. This was the only demonstration, but almost the entire population lined the banks of the river."
Thus the people's capitol finally found a permanent home in the city of Charleston, where the mountain waters of the Elk add their quota to those of the famous Great Kanawha.
History of West Virginia 511
State Institutions.
The following state institutions are entirely under the management and direction of the State Board of Control :
Charitable and Penal Institutions of West Virginia :
West Virginia Hospital for insane, Weston.
Second Hospital for Insane, Spencer.
West Virginia Asylum, Huntington.
Miners' Hospital, No. 1, Welch,
Miners' Hospital, No. 2, McKendree,
Miners' Hospital, No. 3, Fairmont. ,
West Virginia Penitentiary, Moundsville.
West Virginia Reform School, Grafton.
West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls, Salem.
West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind, Romney.
The following institutions are under the management and direction of the State Board of Control in all matters pertain- ing to their financial and business afifairs :
W^est Virginia University, Morgantown.
West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Mor- gantown.
Preparatory Branch AW-st A'irginia University, Mont- gomery.
Preparatory Branch West X'irginia University, Keyser.
Marshall College State Normal School, Huntington.
Fairmont State Normal School, Fairmont.
West Liberty State Normal School, West Liberty.
Glenville State Normal School, Glenville.
Shepherd College State Normal School, Shepherdstown.
Concord State Normal School, x\thens.
West Virginia Colored Institute, Institute.
Bluefield Colored Institute, Bluefield.
The West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, while in reality a branch of West Virginia University, is mainly supported by the LTnited States Government.
The State Board of Control, eonsisting of three mem- bers appointed by the Governor, was organized July 1st, 1909.
512 History of West Virginia
The Board was composed of James S. Lakin, John A. Shep- herd and Thomas E. Hodges, the former being chosen as Presi- dent, and the latter as Treasurer.
Asylums for the Insane.
The State has three asylums for the care of the insane. The West Virginia Hospital for the Insane, at Weston ; Sec- ond Hospital for the Insane, at Spencer, and the West Vir- ginia Asylum, at Huntington. The first two were created as asylums for the insane, and the last named as a home for in- curables. Finally the demand for additional room to care for our insane became so much greater than for a home for incur- ables that the Legislature of 1907 so amended the law as to admit the insane to this asylum.
West Virginia Hospital, at Weston.
This was West Virginia's first public institution. Its con- struction was begun by the State of Virginia before the sepa- ration of West Virginia from the mother State, the appropria- tion having been made by the Legislature of Virginia, March 22, 1858. The institution was not opened until October 22, 1864, with nine patients brought from Ohio, where they had been in temporary care awaiting the completion of the hospi- tal. Dr. R. Hills, of the Central Ohio Insane Asylum, was made Superintendent, and Dr. N. B. Narns, assistant.
The first years of its history the institution was encom- passed with many difficulties. Not only were there financial troubles, but a raid of Confederate soldiers in Weston appro- priated the blankets for the patients, and a second ward was destroyed by the soldiers in a raid on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. People of Weston very generously came to the rescue and contributed blankets to fill the temporary need, public acknowledgment of which was made by the Superin- tendent in his report.
In 1868 the population of the hospital was forty: from that time on there has been a continual increase in the num- ber of inmates, and a corresponding increase in the appropria-
History of West Virginia 513
tions for running expenses, inilil July 1, 1910, the inmates of the institution numbered 1,023. The increase of the population of the institution, however, we are glad to say, docs not keep pace with the increase of the population of the State. \\'e have not the figures at hand of similar institutions of other states, but we dare say that there are as few of such unfor- tunates in West Virginia, considering our population, as in any other State in the Union.
The grounds belonging to the Hospital at Weston con- tain about 335 acres ; the property fronts about 2,000 feet on the West Fork River, opposite the town of Weston, and ex- tends back over the hills to the north to a depth sufficient for this acreage. There are two producing gas wells upon the property, supplying abundant gas for all needs of the institu- tion. This gas was discovered in an effort to secure water by boring deep wells. The water supply is furnished mainly from the West Fork River. It is ]nimpcd into a large reservoir upon a high point of the hill in rear of the buildings and piped from the reservoir to such points as required.
The general hospital building has a frontage of 1,290 feet, consisting of a central portion — the Administration Building — with wings extending on either side, north and south. The corridors connect all the walls with each other and with the central building.
In the rear of the main building are a number of other buildings, used for various purposes, such as the electric power-house, laundry, bakeshop, store-room, morgue, hose house, green-houses, etc.
The grounds in front of the Administration Building gi\ e evidence of much care ; the drive-ways present a nice a])]icar- ance ; the numerous fountains near the front entrance, to- gether with the great banks of beautiful llowers along side of the broad walk leading u]) to the main entrance, ])resent a pleasing sight in the summer time. Then 'round a!)()ut on every hand are numerous handsome shade trees, under many of which are rustic seats where tractable inmates are permitted to sit or recline during certain hours, when the condition of the weather iX'rmits. At other times, those patients sulTering
514 History of West Virginia
from a mild form of insanity are taken out for walks about the grounds, but always accompanied by an attendant.
Dr. S. M. Steel ( 1910) is Superintendent; Drs. Cecil Den- ham and J. G. Pettit, ward physicians ; Charles "B. Goodwin, clerk; Xora W. Fitzhugh, matron; Jennie Sutton, female su- pervisor; N. B. Carpenter, male supervisor; Gertrude McCoy, stenographer; N. F. Proudfoot, engineer; Ralph Flagans, Charles F. Elliott and John Twyman, assistant engineers ; James F. Furr, store-keeper; James Ray, baker; W. R. Bond, farmer ; John R. Steele, florist. In addition to the foregoing there are about 84 attendants, three watchmen and 24 other employees, making a total of 127 employees in all.
Second Hospital for the Insane, at Spencer.
This institution was erected by authority of an Act passed by the Legislature May 7, 1887.. The grounds consist of a tract of 184 acres of land. About twenty acres of this is con- tained in a front lawn which contains a large number of flow- ers, shrubbery, shade trees, a fountain and a small green- house. The flowers and green-house are looked after by the patients. The lawn is becoming more attractive each year. About fifteen acres of Avoodland are used for raising and fat- tening hogs ; about three acres for poultry yards ; and twenty acres for truck gardening. The remainder of the farm, being very hilly, is used for grazing purposes.
The Administration Building has a 60-foot front and is 130 feet deep. It is four stories high and ^s constructed of brick and trimmed with native stone ; the roof is of slate, and there is a basement under the entire building. On the first floor are located the offices, drug room, operating room, pool room, reception room, diet kitchen and laboratory. The second floor of the Administration Building is used as a living apartment for the Superintendent and family. The third floor is occu- pied by the assistant physician, clerk and stenographers. There is also a chapel 53x60 feet. The fourth floor is used for sleeping rooms for kitchen employees.
Extending northeast from the Administration Building and connected with it by three connections twenty feet long.
History of West Virginia 515
is section one of the male ward buildings. Extending on, and connected to section one by three connections, twenty feet long, is section two of the male ward. Each of these sections is 200 feet long and 45 feet wide. A corridor thirteen feet wide extends the entire length of each section and story ; the wards of each story are numbered consecutively as wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Extending southeast from the Administration Building and connected to it by three connections twenty feet long is section "A," of the female ward buildings. Extending on and connected to section A by three connections twenty feet long is section "B," of the female ward building; all con- structed the same as the male ward buildings, with each ward lettered A, B, C, D, E and F.
There are a number of other buildings on the premises, such as the laundry, power house, dining room annex, morgue, isolated ward, farm house, barn, poultry houses, paint house, etc., most of which are up-to-date in construction.
Situated about 2,000 feet east of the main building, with an elevation of 230 feet, is located the hospital reservoir, with a capacity of 2,500,000 gallons. The water is pumped into this from Spring Creek and from seven drilled wells, five on the State's property and two on an adjoining property, with a ninety-nine year lease on them. The total capacity of these wells is between forty and fifty thousand gallons daily. The sewerage of the hospital is disposed of by a filtration system. Suitable employment is given all able to work on the farm, garden, lawn, sewing-roonl, kitchen and laundry.
Valuation of produce of farm for year 1909, $8,327.61 ; and from October 1, 1909 to September 30, 1910, $5,889.50.
During the same period several thousand pieces of wear- ing apparel, bed clothing, towels, scarfs, rugs, etc., were made. A. J. Lyons, M.D., is Superintendent. E. H. Dodson, M.D., Assistant Physician. A. W. Brown, Clerk and Storekeeper. Mrs. M. M. Lyons, Matron. Nella R. Smith, Stenographer.
In addition to the foregoing arc the following employees: Seven night watchmen ; twenty attendants ; one barber ; two supervisors; two house girls; one dining room girl; one lirad
516 History of West Virginia
cook ; three cooks ; one baker ; supervisor of dining room ; one seamstress ; one chaplain ; one musician ; one laundry boss ; five laundry helps ; one chief engineer ; one electrician ; two foremen ; one carpenter ; one upholsterer ; one farmer ; two farm hands; making sixty-two employees in all.
West Virginia Asylum, at Huntington.
This institution, formerly known as the "Home for In- curables," was created by an Act of the Legislature of- 1897. The Legislature of 1901 changed its name to its present title and also changed the class of patients to be admitted thereto.
A site consisting of thirty acres of land was donated to the State by the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Hunting- ton, and is on the foot hills in the eastern edge of the city, high above the thickly settled portion. An electric street car line passes the entrance to the grounds. The contour of the ground affords a natural drainage and suitable sites for the buildings, which are surrounded by natural forests of more than a thousand magnificent trees.
Buildings.
Building No. 1, for male patients, cost $45,000 and has a normal capacity of 150 patients; No. 2, cost $22,000, has capa- city of 103 ; and No. 3 will accommodate 150 patients, and cost $45,000. Building No. 4, temporary Administration Building, used for employees' quarters, store rooms, etc., cost $50,000. These buildings, with the exception of No. 2, are constructed of pressed brick, with tile roof and native stone foundation ; building No. 2 being constructed of common brick and native stone foundation. The kitchen, laundry and power house are all brick structures. The kitchen building is equipped with a ten-ton refrigerator ice plant, the whole costing $21,000. The laundr}^ building and equipment cost $10,000. The pov" house is equipped with a battery of boilers of 250 horse power, has a duplicate system of electric generators, and one pump which will furnish 1,000 gallons of water per minute, under high pressure. Cost of power house and equipment $12,000.
History of West Virginia 517
The water sui)ply of the institution is obtained ironi two wells located 1,400 feet north of the power house and is pumped by deep A\ell electric pumps. Capacity 200,000 gallons each twenty-four hours. The sewerage empties into the city sewers. A ward building, recently constructed, accommodates 600 pa- tients. There were 454 inmates in the institution in 1910, at which time only the following persons were admitted to the institution : Epileptics, idiots and insane.
L. Y. Guthrie, M.D., is Superintendent.
James A. Bloss, M.D., Physician.
L. S. English, Bookkeeper.
Alice Neal, Stenographer.
J. S. Gibson, Chaplain ; Margaret L. (iuthrie, Matron ; \'ir- ginia Hayhurst and C. H. Sayre, Su])er\isors. In addition to these are the following: Fourteen attendants; three female night watch ; two male night watch ; one seamstress ; three dining room girls ; three cooks ; seven laundresses ; three en- gineers; one fireman and two teamsters, a total of forty-seven emj)loyees.
MINERS' HOSPITALS.
There are three public Miners' Hospitals in W est \'ir- ginia, under the super\ision and support of the State. Not onlv are unfortunate miners cared for at these hospitals, but all persons accidentally injured in this State while engaged in their usual employment or occupation are entitled, under the law, to free treatment at one of these institutions.
Miners' Hospital No. 1
Is located at Welch, in McDowell County. This hospital is located on a level i)lat of 3^4 acres. Ixing northwest of the junction of Brown Creek with Tug River and bordering ui>on these streams." The land composing the site was donated to the State at the time of the establishment of the hospital in 1899. A portion of the ground is swamp}', 'ilie walks and driveways are made of cinder. The premises are anything but inviting, and exhibit bad taste or indifference in selection of a
518 History of West Virginia
location. The Hospital building, however, is a very good structure, and suitably arranged for the purpose for which it is intended. There are twenty people on the pay roll : Chas. F. Hicks, M.D., is Superintendent; J. H. McCulloch, M.D., House Physician ; Imo McClaren, Secretary ; Airs. T. Woodward, Ma- tron, and Bertha Rappold, Clinic Nurse, in addition to fifteen other persons employed in various capacities. There were fifty-six patients in the hospital October 1st, 1910.
During the year ending September 30th, 1910, 791 per- sons were admitted, 713 discharged, and JZ died. Of those ad- mitted 594 were Americans, 63 Hungarians, 67 Italians, 21 Slavish, 17 Polish, 29 Russians, etc., 421 being coal miners, 57 railroaders, 216 laborers and 97 private patients. 503 were white and 288 colored.
Miners' Hospital No. 2.
Is located at McKendree, in Fayette County, which is in the center of the New River region, w^here there are about 6,000 miners. It was perhaps mainly due to the efforts and liber- ality of the late Colonel Joseph C. Beury that the hospital was located here. He contributed six and one-half acres of land for a site, and also furnished the hospital its coal supply for five years, and in other ways rendered material assistance.
The institution is located on a bench of the mountain overlooking the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, and is in the midst of some of the most charming scenery to be found along the New River. Its location affords a natural drainage ; there is a nearby mountain spring whose crystal stream furnishes not only an abundance of cold, healthful water to supply all domestic purposes, but supplies sufficient quantity and pres- sure for fire protection. A large, well built, two and a half story brick and stone structure, and a few out houses con- stitute the buildings. In the main building are located the offices, superintendent's and staff's homes, Avards (white and colored separate), supply rooms, kitchen, employees' rooms, etc.
The building has a capacity of forty-two beds.
B. B. Wheeler, M.D., is Superintendent and Surgeon ; F.
History of West Virginia 519
W. Bilger, M.D., House Surgeon; Mrs. B. B. Wheeler, Mat- ron; Hassie M. Straire, Superintendent of Nurses. There are also thirteen other employees.
Miners' Hospital No. j
Is located at Fairmont, in Alarion County. The site was the gift of citizens of that city. The hospital was opened October 1st, 1901, with a capacity of abouty thirty patients, which has been increased so that in 1910 there was room for fifty.
The grounds comprise an area of one acre, fronting on Guffey street, in the first ward of the city, easy of access, about four blocks from the Baltimore &: Ohio Railroad station, with water, gas, electric lights and an excellent sewerage svstem. The grounds have perfect drainage, paved walks and roadwavs that are lighted with electricity. While the buildings are not noted for architectural beauty, they present a rather neat, home-like appearance and answer the purpose for which they are used in a very satisfactory manner.
J. W. McDonald, M.D., is Superintendent (1910) ; W. C. Jamison, M.D., Assistant Supt. ; Emma Vernon, Matron. In addition to the above, there are eight nurses, two cooks, three house girls, two engineers, and one stableman, a total of nine- teen employees.
THE WEST VIRGINIA PENITENTIARY
Is located at ]\Ioundsville, in ^Marshall County, on the Ohio River, and near the famous Mound. It was established h\ the State in 1866. The site ui)on which the buildings are located contains ten acres of ground, fronting on Jefferson a\enue, ex- tending eastward between Eighth and Tenth streets to Wash- ington avenue. In addition to the ground of the site of the institution, there is a farm of 212 acres, well improved, tillable and pasture land, belonging to the institution. A large part of this land is under cultivation for the benefit of the pris- oners.
The Administration Building, together with the north and south cell hall buildings, takes up tlic entire Jefi^erson a\"cnuc
520 History of West Virginia
front, 682 feet. The buildings are of cut sandstone, formidable in appearance.
The Administration Building", four stories in height, is occupied by the various officers, guards' rooms, warden's apart- ment, etc. The north and south cell hall buildings contain a total of 840 modernly equipped steel cells. The enclosure is entirely surrounded by a solid wall of masonry, twenty-five feet high, five feet at the base, tapering somewhat toward the top, each of the four corners being surmounted by a guard tower. AA^ithin the enclosure are five roomy work-shops, built of brick, all but one of which are three stories in height. These work-shops are all well ventilated and lighted and steam-heated. A large pressed brick building, 78x140 feet, two stories in height, is used as the dining hall and chapel. Also v,'ithin the enclosure is a new building, devoted exclu- sively to the use of female prisoners ; a hospital building, car- penter shop, blacksmith shop, greenhouse and bakery.
Prisoners who are not disabled or sick work nine hours a day in the shops, except Sundays and holidays. The dining hall and chapel, built in 1902, is well suited to its purpose. The first floor is used exclusively as a kitchen and dining room, seating 1,200 with comfort. The kitchen is equipped with im- mense pots and ranges and with modern labor-saving appli- ances. The chapel on the second floor, accessible by means of commodious stairways on each side, is roomy and well adapted, being furnished with opera chairs, with a seating capacit}^ of twelve hundred. A large pipe organ is built in the south end of the chapel. There is also a piano for use at entertainments. Religious services are held every Sunday morning by the chap- lain. The basement of this building" contains the cold storage plant, ice factory, refrigerators, laundry, bathrooms, etc.
The hospital building is a two-story brick structure, situ- ated in the northwest corner of the enclosure, on the first floor of which is situated the printing office, State tailor and shoe shop, death cell apartment and the gallows. The second floor is given over to the ph^^sicians' offices, dispensary wards, hos- pital, kitchen, baths, etc. The bakery is situated adjacent to the north end of the dining room and is equipped with up-to-
History of West Virginia 521
date fixtures, haxing- ani[)le eapacity for the needs ol the insti- tution.
All the bread and pastr}- consumed b}- the prisoners is furnished by this department, and it is operated entirely by prisoners. The blacksmith and carpenter shops are situated near the center of the north side of the enclosure, and are both equipped with the necessary tools and implements for doing the repair work of the institution.
The prison is equipped with modern machinery for gen- erating the electric power and lights, steam for heating pur- poses, which is furnished the shops, halls and all buildings connected with the institution. A modern water system sui)- plies the prison \vith pure water from wells drilled to a dej)tli of about ninety feet, all cells being equipped with running water for toilet and closet, the i)Ower plant supplying electric light for all cells and buildings within the enclosure.
At the corner, isolated from the main enclosure, is the female department, a modern brick building, two stories in height. In this building are kept all female prisoners, now numbering thirty-two (1910).
In connection with the foregoing, it may be interesting to give some extracts from the \\'arden's report for the bien- nial period ending September 30, 1910.
"Out of an average of 1,117 prisoners for this biennial period, over 900 have been employed in the various shops on contract work; an average of 150 on State work, farm, etc., leaving a smaller percentage than usual of sick and idle pris- oners, l^hose on the idle list are either old and infirm, or incapacitated for contract work through the loss of some mem- ber of the body. At present there are employed in the tailor shop an average of four hundred and fifteen men at 65c ])er da_v ; skirt shop, two hundred and twenty-five at 52c ; whi]) sho]!, one hundred and fifteen at 52c ; broom shop, seventy-five at 52c ; bed sho]i, ninety at 52c. There are employed on State work, farm, etc., one hundred and fifty-fi\'e, leaving a total of fifty-six out of the population of 1,131 (today) not working. The number given as not working represents the sick in Iiis- l^ital, insane, condemned men and old and infirm."
In his report to the Board of Public Works, for tlio bien-
522 History of West Virginia
nial period ending September 30, 1910, the Warden, under head of Recommendations, says in part : "During the biennial period covered by this report, the Parole Board has carefully considered one hundred and forty-seven applications for pa- role, of w^hich number fifty-eight men have been paroled by the Governor. In passing upon the applications for parole the Board has found numerous cases where, in their opinion, if based upon good behavior of the apphcant, the parole should be granted; but under the rules prescribed by the Governor could not be recommended with propriety because of the expressed opposition of the Prosecuting Attorney and Trial Judge. I am in favor of a parole law, but believe it should be based upon the conduct of the prisoner, or his reformation, rather than the recommendation of the Prosecuting Attorney and Trial Judge. The parole system and laws have come to be regarded as humane, in the interest of sound policy, and highly bene- ficial to the welfare of society. Statistics upon the subject show that only five per cent, of those released upon parole have violated the conditions thereof — ninety-five per cent, proving the wisdom of such a measure. The parole law af- fords a humane and effective means of reaching and bring- ing out the better elements of the prisoners; statistics show fifty per cent, less solitary punishment cases during the four years of the operation of the parole law than the four preced- ing years."
The foregoing statements of the Warden have the ring of reason and common sense. We know that many persons have been "railroaded" to prison through mere force of cir* cumstances over which they had no control ; others, not bad at heart, but weak, were led into violations of law by getting into bad company. Such as these are apt to be well-behaved prisoners. Yet, the Prosecuting Attorney may have, through his zeal to convict, unconsciously formed the belief that the defendant was a very bad citizen and deserved the full penalty of law. Under such circumstances, it is scarcely probable that an application for parole by such prisoner would have favorable consideration by that Prosecuting Attorney
The prison farm consists of nearly one hundred acres suitable for trucking, and ninety-seven acres for pasture land,
History of West Virginia 523
the value of the products from which amounted to $24,220.10 the last fiscal year, based upon Wheeling wholesale prices, the work being- performed by prisoners.
During the biennial period ending September 30th, 1910, there were 919 prisoners received at the penitentiary — 869 be- ing State prisoners, and 50 United States prisoners.
Of the above total number, 528 were white, 391 black ; 894 were males, 25 females; 331 were married; 553 were sin- gle ; 35 were widowed ; 242 had no education ; 614 had meager education ; 61 had moderate education ; 2 had college educa- tion ; 209 were temperate, and 710 were intemperate.
Table showing number of State prisoners by Counties confined in Penitentiary September 30th, 1910.
Barbour 2 Monongalia 10
Berkeley 12 Monroe 1
Boone 7 Morgan 1
Braxton 9 VcDowell 199
Brooke 2 Nicholas 9
Cabell 75 Ohio Zl
Calhoun 5 Pocahontas 25
Clay 11 Pleasants 1
Doddridge 2 Pohahontas 25
Fayette 142 Preston 10
Gilmer 4 Putnam ]
Grant 5 Raleigh 28
Greenbrier 8 Randolph 10
Hampshire 6 Ritchie 4
Hancock 3 Roane 2
Hardy 1 Summers 28
Harrison 48 Taylor 5
Jackson 2 Tucker 11
Jefferson 5 Tyler 4
Kanawha 106 Upshur 3
Lewis 4 Wayne 13
Lincoln 16 WeJaster 1
Logan Z1 Wetzel 14
Marion 19 Wirt 6
Marshall 14 Wood 21
Alason 12 Wyoming 5
Mercer 43 From other States 26
Mineral r
Mingo 43 Total 1,131
Former Occupation of Prisoners :
2 Attorneys, 1 Agent, 1 Actress, 1 Banker, 2 Bakers, 13 Barbers. 6 Bartenders, 7 Blacksmiths, 1 Bookkeeper, 4 Brake- men, 2 Brickmasons, 1 Broker, 3 Butchers, 1 Bottlemaker, 11
524 History of West Virginia
Carpenters, 1 Chambermaid, 19 Clerks, 1 Coachman, 2 Con- tractors, 24 Cooks, 1 Civil Engineer, 1 Driller, 2 Drivers, 8 Electricians, 11 Engineers, 1 Engraver, 131 Farmers, 6 Fire- men, 4 Glassworkers, 3 Hod Carriers, 3 Hostlers, 4 Hotel Por- ters, 15 Housekeepers, 1 Iron Worker, 3 Jockeys, 179 Labor- ers, 1 Loafer, 2 Lumbermen, 1 Moulder, 10 Merchants, 5 Mil- lers, 229 Miners, 1 Musician, 1 Organ Builder, 5 Oil Pumpers, 14 Painters, 1 Paper Hanger, 1 Policeman, 2 Plasterers, 2 Plumbers, 2 Preachers, 4 Printers, 14 Porters, 2 Potters, 53 Railroaders, 5 Salesmen, 2 Saloon Keepers, 2 Saw Mill Work- ers, 11 Servants, 3 Shoemakers, 1 Steeplejack, 2 Stonemasons, 1 Sailor, 1 Sailmaker, 3 Tailors, 1 Teacher, 27 Teamsters, 2 Telegraph Operators, 4 Tin M/'orkers, 1 Tanner, 12 Waiters and 3 Steamboatmen.
About 25% of those sentenced to this institution are il- literates, and over 60% have very little education ; but the present educational system introduced in the prison, which was available to about six hundred inmates during the last biennial period, has shown a marked improvement in the dis- cipline of the institution, both morally and intellectually. Con- siderable interest is also manifested by a large majority in re- ligious services. This was especially noticeable when "Billy" Sunday and his evangelistic party visited the institution a cer- tain Monday in March, 1912, during the noted six weeks' re- vival held at the immense tabernacle at Wheeling.
The following report of Rev. A. B. Riker, chaplain, is Avell worth quoting ;
"I have preached to the prisoners every Sabbath morning, excepting a few times when I have been absent from the city, or visitors from abroad have preached. The experience has been inspiring to me, and I believe my labors have been profit- able to the prisoners. W^ithout exception they have listened to my messages with such intensity of eager attention as I have never witnessed elsewhere. Throughout the year not a single misdemeanor of any character has occurred in these services. I most thoroughly believe in the power of the Gos- pel to reach and inspire these men to stronger thinking, cleaner morals and, indeed, genuine Christian character. The song features of the services, under the splendid leadership of
History of West Virginia 525
Mr. Blanchard E. Hiatt, have been inspiring. I found the volunteer prison league in existence, with a small number of faithful members. To this League I ha\c given every en- couragement, meeting them in special services on Sunday afternoon each month. The enrollment is over 500 members. They gave a most enthusiastic welcome to Mrs. Maude Bal- lington Booth when she visited them in January. The inilu- ence of this League, together with the very humane adminis- tration of the Listitution, has a pronounced effect upon the moral tone of the prisoners, the number of prisoners reported to the police court being less than one-fourth of the number formerly reported. To Mrs. Weaver, the mother of Mrs. Mat- thews, who has been the very efficient President of the League, much of its success is due.
"With my wife and Mrs. W^eaver, I have visited the women in their apartments several times, and conducted ser- vices of song, instruction and prayer.
"The Sunday School has been well attended. It is offi- cered and conducted by the prisoners, with the counsel and assistance of Mrs. Weaver and Mrs. Emma Moore Scott, the very efficient organist, who teaches very large classes. The average voluntary attendance is over two hundred.
"I have visited many of the prisoners in their cells and sought to assist them as far as possible. I have also visited the patients in the hospital, counseling" them, comforting them in praying for them."
List of Employees at Penitentiary, 1910.
J. E. Mathews, Warden; J. E. Bloyd, Captain Guards; R. M. Ayers, Clerk ; Rev. A. B. Riker. Chaplain ; Dr. J. C. Peck, Physician ; U. G. Echols, Engineer ; ]\Irs. Pearl Stultz, Sten- ographer ; Mrs. Sophia Horn, Matron ; Elizabeth Ernest, As- sistant Matron ; O. W. Matthews, Postmaster ; A. L. Boggs, Commissary; Emma Moore Scott, Organist; B. E. Hiatt, Chorist ; \A^illiam Bryson, Band Leader; the last named three being employed on Svniday, only.
Following is a list of Guards: F. W. H. Baldwin, M. C. Barker, F. K. Burgy, Green Burks, G. E. Beckett, J. H. Camp-
526 History of West Virginia
bell, G. L. Carpenter, A. J. Coleman, C. C. Core, W. E. Doyle, G. W. Drake, J. M. Gray, Howard Hare, S. R. Harshbarger, G. A. Hickle, F. M. Howard, Charles Humphreys, T. E. John- son, C. R. Knight, J. A. Layfield, M. E. Leftwich, H. C. Love, A. P. McConnell, M. M. McGee, Church Marsh, E. P. Mat- thews, J. VV. Maxwell,. G. W. Miller, M. C. Morrison, J. A. Morrison, S. C. Pitchford, S. M. Sheets, Ben Stephenson, R. L. Thompson, J. R. Underdonk, H. O. Whitworth, H. F. Wil- liams, W. W. Woodford, Frank Baker, William Charlton, T. C. Cochran, Lee Gatts, Roy C. Louden, J. A. Mitchell and M. Sawyers.
The Warden receives $250.00 per month and apartments and board for self and family free ; Captain of Guards receives $100.00; Clerk $100.00; Chaplain, $50.00; Physician $100.00; Stenographer, $60.00 ; and Matron $50.00 per month ; the guards and other employees receive from $2.00 to $2.50 per day. Salaries and wages paid out amount to over $63,000 per annum. The average monthly income of the Institution from all sources is about $13,500.00. Apart from the receipts from the United States Government for board of Federal prisoners and sale of miscellaneous items from the prison and the farm, the entire income of the Institution is derived from contract labor.
Financial Condition of the Institution for Year Ending
September 30th, 1910.
Balance, July 1, 1909 $ 1,176.89
Receipts for 15 months:
General fund 217,020.19
Souvenir sales. 277.15
Contract labor 195,886.00
Light and powder 4,539.94
Barber tickets 135.26
Photo Gallery sales 283.91
Visitors' tickets ' , 939.25
Dental receipts 520.99
Live stock 595.97
Beef hides 1,046.06
History of West Virginia 527
Parole postage 141 .89
Transportation of convicts 1,431.60
Board of Federal prisoners 8,538.06
Fire protection 968.75
Miscellaneous 1,715.36— $218,197.08
Outstanding- debts July 1, 1909 $ 2,791.30
Disbursements 182,647.15
Balance September 30/10 32,758.63
$218,197.08 WEST VIRGINIA INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS.
This Institution, under the name of West Mrginia Re- form School, came into existence by virtue of an Act of the Legislature passed in 1889. By an Act passed February 8, 1913, the name of the institution was chan^ged to "West Vir- ginia Industrial School for Boys."
It is located at Pruntytown, formerly the county seat of Taylor County, four miles west of Grafton. The old court house and site were given by Taylor County to the Institution, and $5,000 was contributed by the County for the purchase of additional grounds. The entire acreage of the grounds of the Institution is about 175. The ground is mostly hilly and un- suited to farming purposes. In 1909 the Legislature made an appropriation of $30,000 for a farm, but as late as September 30, 1910, the Board of Public Works had not been able to pur- chase a suitable one. In addition to H. E. Flesher, Superin- tendent of the Institution, there are about 29 employees. The monthly pay roll amounts to about $1,235.00. The average number of boy inmates is about 267. A majority of them arc able to work.
The plant consists of Administration Building, Central Dining Hall, three or four cottages, .Shop building, Power house. Tailor shop, Hospital building, barns and a few lesser buildings.
Five teachers are employed at the Institution during the fall and winter months. The white boys are taught in one
528 History of West Virginia
building; the colored boys in another. The branches taught consist of reading, writing, arithmetic and spelling.
Opportunities for practical experience in mechanics and arts are open to the boys, but more attention is given to gar- dening and farming. As a diversion from study and work, holidays, Saturday afternoons, noon hours and evenings after supper until bed time, are set apart for play.
As the former name, "Reform School," would imply, the population of this Institution is not made up of "Sunday School" boys. They are a class of youngsters whose parents or guardians could not manage them, and as a last resort they are sent to this Institution to undergo a term of systematic training and discipline, where they may be given an oppor- tunity to obtain a common school education and learn some useful trade.
The Institution is maintained at the expense of the State at a cost of, approximately, $50,000 a year. It is believed that if a farm of suitable size and fertility could be purchased and properly managed in connection with the Institution the latter might eventuall}^ become self-supporting.
WEST VIRGINIA INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR GIRLS.
The West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls was estab- lished by an Act of the Legislature passed February 18, 1897, and was opened for the reception of girls May 5, 1899, since which time 303 girls have been received (1910).
It is exclusively charged with the reformation and care of girls between the ages of seven and eighteen years, who may be committed by the proper authorities. The Home is located on a beautiful elevated plateau, one mile west of Salem, in Harrison County, on the Parkersburg branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The citizens of Salem gave a farm of thirty- eight acres for the establishment of the Home, and the State purchased nine acres more, making a farm of 47 acres, 16 of which are under cultivation.
The work of the home is divided into two departments, the educational and the industrial, and each of these depart- ments to suit the requirements.
History of West Virginia 529
On September 30, 1910, tlie Home eontaincd /<S inmates. Average age of inmates when admitted, 13y^ years. They arc from 29 different counties of the State. Of this number WOod furnished 10; Ohio, 9; Braxton and Fayette, 6 each; Mingo and Randolph, 4 each; Harrison, Marshall, Marion, Kitcliie and Taylor, 3 each ; Berkeley, Cabell, Gilmer, Kanawha, Pres- ton and Tyler, 12 each ; Grant, Hancock, Hampshire, Jackson, Jefferson, Monongalia, Mason, Roane, Summers, Upshur. Wayne and Webster, 1 each. Average time of detention of the girls in the Home is one year, eleven months and sixteen days.
The Institution is maintained by the State, and cost $14,- 188.11 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1910.
Miss Hilda M. Dungan is Superintendent, and there are ten other employees in the Institution, the combined salary be- ing about $420.00 per month.
WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND THE
BLIND
Established at Romney, in 1870, consists of four sei)arate buiklings, all except one of brick, and three stories high, and conveniently arranged for the purposes for w^hich they are used.
The State owns 63 acres of land, part of which is now be- ing made into an athletic field and already contains a small grand stand, a good base ball diamond and a race track equip- ped for both blind and deaf boys. In addition to the above, the State owais a good farm of 140 acres, one mile from the Institution, on wdiich is an apple orchard in good bearing.
The educational department of the Institution is meeting with fairly good results, considering the natural difficulties to be met and overcome in the training of the deaf and blind. For the school year ending in 1910, there w^ere 73 deaf males and 66 deaf females ; 28 blind males and 21 blind females at- tending this school. There are 54 employees in the Institu- tion (including R. Gary Montague, Superintendent), eighteen of whom are teachers ; one matron ; one clerk ; one watchman ; three engineers; one carpenter; one foreman of shoe sho]K
530 History of West Virginia
one printer; one baker; one housekeeper; five assistant ma- trons ; one assistant supervisor ; four v^^aiters ; one barber ; one teamster; one dairyman; five laundry workers; two janitors; three maids ; two cooks.
The monthly pay roll of employees amounts to about $1,900. The cost of running expenses and repairs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1910, was $42,069.91.
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY, MORGANTOWN,
WEST VIRGINIA.
D. B. Purinton, Ph.D., LL.D., President.
This is the chief educational institution of the State. It was established in 1867. It has an endowment fund of about $115,000.00. From a faculty of six members it has grown to about seventy-five.
In the beginning there were three departments : Classi- cal, scientific and preparatory, including seventy courses of instruction. Now there are over fort}'' departments, schools and colleges, and between five and six hundred courses of in- struction.
The University Campus, containing about fifty acres, ex- tends from the Monongahela River, along three dift'erent ele- vations to a maximum height of about 300 feet above the level of the river bed. Nearby is the Experiment Station farm, con- taining about 100 acres.
The collegiate courses are taught here : arts and sciences, including the department of military science ; engineering and mechanical arts ; agriculture ; law ; medicine.
Connected with the University are the following schools : JNIusic, fine arts, summer school and preparatory school.
The Agricultural Experiment Station is a department of the Universit}!- and is supported principally by the United States Government.
I
Number of Students Attending University 1909 and 1910.
College of Arts and Sciences 233
College of Agriculture 56
College of Engineering 90
History of West Virginia 531
College of Law 120
College of Medicine 29 528
Preparatory School ■. .135
Commercial School 48
School of Fine Arts 15
Physical Training 57
School of Music 157
Choral Society 21
Summer School 302
Agricultural Extension School 126
School of Sunday School :\Tcthods 47— 906
Total : 1,434
The preparatory school at Morgantown will soon be abol- ished. This work is now being done principally at the various high schools in the State. Commencing September 1st, 1911, nine high school units will be required for entrance to the West Virginia University.
The average running expenses of the Institution are ap- proximately $176,000 a year, of which sum about $99,000 con- sists of endowments, fees, etc., and the balance of legislative appropriations. The above mentioned expense does not in- clude appropriations for new buildings.
The Experiment Station is a very important adjunct to the University, and has been in operation since 1888. It is under the supervision of James 'H. Stewart. The running ex- penses of the Station for the fifteen months ending September 30, 1910, were $51,584.48. The income for the same period was $61,712.31, of which sum $8,526.87 was realized on farm products; $17,474.64 from State fund cr. by fertilizer, tax and tags; $210.30 interest on deposits, and remainder from the Hatch and Adams Government funds.
Preparatory Branch of West Virginia University at
Montgomery, Fayette Count}-, came into existence February 15, 1895, by an Act of the Legislature.
L. W. Burns is Principal, and he has had charge of the
532 History of West Virginia
school since July 31, 1910, having succeeded former Princi]ial G. W. Conley.
There are five teachers in addition to the Principal. The annual pay roll, including janitor's salary, is about $5,850. The total expense of the Institution from July 1, 1909 to Sep- tember 30, 1910, was $10,749.05.
Preparatory Branch of West Virginia University at
Keyser, Mineral County, was created b}^ Act of the Legisla- ture passed February 15, 1901. The school was opened Octo- ber 1, 1902, with F. L. Friend, Principal, and two assistants. In 1910 there were eight assistants and a principal employed, and an enrollment of 193. J. D. IMuldoon, Principal.
The annual pay roll is about $7,350.00. Total expense of the Institution for fiiteen months ending September 30, 1910, including improvements, $13,167.90.
MARSHALL COLLEGE— STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
AT HUNTINGTON.
The first State Normal School to be established in West Virginia was located at Guyandotte, in Cabell County, before Huntington became a city. The grounds belonging to the Institution comprise about sixteen acres, and the school build- ings are located in the center on an elevation of twenty feet above the streets, overlooking the entire campus and a large part of the ci^y. The Institution is well equipped for the pur- poses for which it is intended and is a credit to the State as well as the community in Avhich it is located.
The following is taken from President Lawrence J. Cor- bly's report of attendance for 1909-10: Fall Winter Spring
Term Term Term
Normal and Academic ' 424 410 517
Preparatory 39 40 33
Music 32 40 43
Elocution 10 10 9
Total 505 500 602
Model School 125 111 124
History of West Virginia 533
'J'hc pay roll of the President and twenty teachers for the same period amounted to $21,100. Alodel School (paid from
fees) supervisor and three teachers ! $ 2,200.00
Music department (paid from fees) 'supervisor, three
teachers and janitors, about 2,000.00
Night w^atchman and other expenses, about 3,500.00
Repairs, etc 13,300.00
Total cost of institution $42,000.00
THE FAIRMONT STATE NORMAL SCHOOL BUILDING was constructed in 1867, through the joint efforts of the State and the town of Fairmont, and was for a long time used jointly by the Normal School and the Fairmont public schools. Dr. J. B. Blair served as its first president until 1878. In 1893 the school was moved into its present grounds and building". The grounds consist of a single block, fronting on Fairmont avenue. There are now two buildings for the use of this school. They are up-to-date in e\"ery detail, and present an imposing appearance.
President O. I. W'oodley is at the head of the institution, having succeeded former President C". J. C. Bennett Septem- ber 1. 1910.
The attendance for 1909-'10 was as follows:
Fall Winter S])ring Term Term Term
Normal 282 288 491
Model Scliool 40 40 85
Tlie annual cost of the institvilion is aI)out $29,000.00, of which amount $21,000 is for teachers.
\VES1^ LIBERTY STATE NORMAL SC"HOOL was first known as the "\\'est Liberty Academy." which was founded under the laws of Virginia in 1838, and was destroyed b\- fire there years later, the work being continued in i)ri\ate dwelHngs until in 1857, when tlu' older j^art of the ])resent building was erected by pri\-ate enteri)rise.
In 1870 the West Virginia Legislature purchased the pr()])ertv for a small sum and established a branch ol the State
534 History of West Virginia
Normal School, and on May 2d of that year the school was opened, with F. H. Crago, A.M., as Principal. During the years 1872-73 a model school was conducted in connection with the regular work. A new building was completed and occupied by the school in January, 1895, but was destroyed by fire in February, 1896. The present building was completed in May, 1897.
West Liberty Normal is located at West Liberty, Ohio County, on the Wheeling, West Liberty and Bethany Pike, twelve miles northeast of Wheeling and four miles southwest of Bethany, Brooke County.
The attendance for 1909-10 was as follows :
Fall Winter Spring Term Term Term
Normal 87 100 139
Academic 2 2 2
Preparator}^ 33 35 32
Music 15 20 23
Art . . . -.
Elocution . . 25
James C. Shaw, Principal.
Annual salary for Principal, eight teachers and janitor, about $8,795.
GLENVILLE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL is located in the town of Glenville, Gilmer County, on the Little Kana- wha River and the L. K. V. Railroad. It was authorized by the Legislature in 1872, but the citizens of the town had to provide school rooms until the year 1885,when the Legislature provided money for the erection of a new brick building, which was built upon the site of the old dwelling house which had been formerly used for school purposes. In 1893 the building was enlarged, but by 1909 the attendance had so greatly increased that it was found necessary to make further provisions ; so an appropriation of $35,000 was made for a new building. The present structure is located on a four-acre lot on the hillside, north of and within the corporate limits of the town.
Attendance for the school vear 1909-10:
History of West Virginia 533
Fall Winter Spring- Term Term Term
Normal 102 99 245
Academie 5 5 10
Preparatory 24 22 3S
Model School 34 35 41
Annual pay roll for principal, nine teachers and janitor, $8,150. E. G. Rohrbough, Principal.
SHEPHERD COLLEGE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL is located at ShepherdstOAvn, Jefferson County, on the Norfolk and Western Railroad. It was authorized by an act of the State Legislature February 27, 1872. It was formerly a pri- vate school, known as "Shepherd College," the trustees of which offered it to the State free of charge for use as a State Normal School, which offer was promptly accepted, and work under State control began here in September, 1873. From that time until 1909 the State made use of the private property. In 1909 the former Board of Regents, for the sum of $1,400, purchased a lease of the property for twenty-five years, under which lease the State now holds the original Shepherd Col- lege property. The school has now three buildings in which to carry on its work. The new Shepherd College building was completed and first occupied in the S])ring of 1904. It is an up-to-date structure in every particular.
Attendance for 1909-10 was as follows:
Fall \\'inter Spring- Term Term Term
Normal 122 121 157
Academic 19 18 18
Preparatory 18 15 15
Music 13 11 16
Elocution 6 4 15
Model School 13 17
Annual salary ])rincipal, eight teachers and janitor, $8,850. Thomas C. Miller, Principal (1910).
CONCORD STATE NORMAL SCHOOL is located at Athens, in Mercer Countv. It was created b\- an act of the
536 History of West Virginia
Legislature P"^ebruary 28th, 1872, located March 18th, 1874, and opened for work in a rough, unfinished building on May 10, 1875.
The grounds of this institution consist of two parcels, one of about six acres, fronting westward on the principal street of the village, sloping gently to the rear, where there is a beau- tiful natural grove, on which is situated the school building. The other is about one acre in extent, on the same street and about one-fourth mile from the school building, on which the girls' dormitory is located.
Attendance 1909-10 as follo\^•s :
"Fall Winter Spring Term Term Term
Normal ....' 127 109 123
Preparatory 126 146 175
Music 40 62
Model School 49 38 53
Annual salary principal, teachers and janitor, $10,400. Charles L. Bemis, Principal.
THE WEST VIRGIxVIA COLORED INSTITUTE is located near the village of Institute, Kanawha County, eight miles below Charleston, on the Great Kanawha River and the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad.
In order that the State might a\'ail itself of the benefit of an appropriation made by Congress August 30, 1890, known as "The Morrill iVct," and which provided that no state should enjoy the benefit of said act unless adequate provisions were made for the education of colored youth of the State, the Leg- islature passed an act in 1891 establishing the West Virginia Colored Institute. Accordingly the State Board of Public Works purchased thirty-one acres of ground in "The Cabbie Settlement," and in 1892 erected the first academic building, now known as Fleming Hall. The State since acquired addi- tional ground, bringing the total acreage up to 67, on which is located the following school property: Fleming Hall, Mac- Corkle Hall, President's Hall, West Hall, Atkinson Hall, A. B. \A^hite Trades Building, Dawson Hall, greenhouse and barn. The buildings are generally large and commodious and
History of West Virginia 537
|
Males .... |
,. 105 |
|
Females . . |
,. 146 |
|
Total . . . . |
.. 251 |
present a handsome appearance, particularly so I'kniini; Tlall and the White Trades School building's. Most ot the build- ings are fairly well equipped for the various ])urposes for which they are used. The Trade School has a good su])|)l\ of machinery and apparatus necessary for instruction in the vari- ous mechanical and industrial arts that arc taught.
Attendance in 1909-10:
Males Females Preparatory classes... 39 46
Normal classes (in- cluding students in Normal Training of
Teachers) 62 88
Special Course 2 5
Number of students in
Agriculture 10 Plastering 13
Carpentry 17 Sewing 92
Blacksmithing 13 Cooking 74
W'heelwrighting 8 Laundering 5
Bricklaying 13 Millinery 6
Painting 3 Commercial 9
Printing 6 Military Drill 93
1
The institution has adopted three literary courses of study — English, Academic and Normal. The English Course is es])ecially designed for students taking a trade who wish only an English education. The Academic Course for thf)se who ma\- wish to prepare for college or the professions. 1 he Normal Course for the training of teachers. Hie first two courses cover four \-ears, and the last course h\v \ears.
The cost of the institution in salaries ])er year is about $18,270. I'esiik'S the President there were nineteen instruc- tors, 1 matron, 1 stenogra])her, 1 bookkeeper, 1 assistant book- keeper. 2 farmers, 1 greenhouse worker, 1 engineer and 1 phy- sician;— 28 eni]ilo\ees in all. Ryrd Prillerman, Prt-sident (1910).
BLUEFIELD COLORED INSTITUTE was ^
lished by an act of the Legislature in 1895. School oiH'iied
538 History of West Virginia
December 6, 1896. The grounds of this institution are in the western portion of the city, and consist of about 10 acres, fronting the Norfolk & Western Railroad. To facilitate the carrying on of the work to the best advantage three buildings have been constructed on the grounds, namely, Mayhood Hall, erected in 1896, the first one constructed, and enlarged in 1902. This is the principal building of the school ; Lewis Hall, a dormitory for girls, erected in 1897; West Hall, a dormi- tory for boys, built in 1900. These buildings are all large, commodious and present an attractive appearance. The con- tour of the premises is very irregular, being generally rough in character; yet the proximit}^ of the native forests gives the place a sort of romantic touch not unpleasant to the eye.
Attendance 1909-10:
Fall Winter Spring Term Term Term
Normal 58 47 . 54
Academic 1 1 1
Preparatory 44 27 27
Music 10 13 14
Annual salaries paid Principal, eight teachers and two janitors about $5,256. R. P. Sims. Principal (1910).
DR. H. D. HATFIELD Governor of West Virginia
HON. J. S. DARST State Auditor
E. L. LONG State Treasurer, 1915
*,* *
■^
STUART F. REED
Secretary of State
FRED O. BLUE State Tax Commissioner
CHAPTER XXVI.
NAMES OF ALL STATE OFFICIALS FROM THE FOR- MATION OF THE STATE TO THE PRESENT TIME, WITH DATE OF SERVICE.
|
From |
|
|
June 20, |
1863 |
|
Feb. 27, |
1869 |
|
March 4, |
1869 |
|
March 4, |
1871 |
|
March 4, |
1877 |
|
March 4, |
1881 |
|
March 4, |
1885 |
|
Feb. 6, |
1890 |
|
March 4, |
1893 |
|
March 4, |
1897 |
|
March 4, |
1901 |
|
March 4, |
1905 |
|
March 4, |
1909 |
|
March 4, |
1913 |
|
June 20, |
1863 |
|
March 4, |
1865 |
|
March 4, |
1869 |
|
March 4, |
1871 |
|
March 4, |
1877 |
|
March 4, |
1885 |
|
March 4, |
1893 |
|
March 4, |
1897 |
|
March 4, |
1901 |
|
March 4, |
1909 |
|
March 4, |
1913 |
|
June 20, |
1863 |
|
March 4, |
1867 |
|
March 4, |
1869 |
|
March 4, |
1871 |
|
Jan. 31, |
1876 |
|
March 4, |
1877 |
|
March 4, |
1881 |
|
March 4, |
1885 |
|
March 4, |
1893 |
|
March 4, |
1897 |
|
March 4, |
1901 |
Governors.
To
Arthur Ingraham Boreman Feb. 26, 1869
Daniel D. T. Farnsworth March 3, 1869
William Erskine Stevenson March 3, 1871
John Jeremiah Jacob March 3, 1877
Henry Mason Mathews March 3, 1881
Jacob Beeson Jackson March 3, 1885
Emanuel Willis Wilson Feb. 5, 1890
Aretus Brooks Fleming March 3, 1893
William Alex. MacCorkle March 3, 1897
George Wesley Atkinson : . . . . March 3, 1901
Albert B. White March 3, 1905
William M. O. Dawson March 3, 1909
William E. Glasscock March 3, 1913
Henry D. Hatfield
State Auditors.
Samuel Crane March 3, 1865
Joseph Marcellus McWhorter.. March 3, 1869
Thomas Boggess March 3, 1871
Edward A. Bennett March 3, 1877
Joseph S. Miller March 3, 1885
Patrick Fee Duffey March 3, 1893
Isaac V. Johnson March 3, 1897
Latelle M. LaFollette March 3, 1901
Arnold C. Scherr March 3, 1909
John S. Darst ~ March 3, 1913
John S. Darst
State Treasurers.
Campbell Tarr March 3, 1867
Jacob H. Bristor March 3, 1869
James A. Macauley Alarch 3, 1871
John S. Burdett Jan. 30, 1876
Sobieski Brady March 3, 1877
Thomas J. West March 3, 1881
Thomas O'Brien March 3, 1885
Wilham T. Thompson March 3, 1893
John M. Rowan March 3, 1S97
M. A. Kendall March 3, 1901
Peter Silman Alarch 3, 1905
History of West Virginia 545
March 4, 1905 Ncwlon Ugdcn Marcli 3, \'A)'>
March 4, 1909 E. Lesley Long .' March 3, 1913
March 4, 1<)13 E. Lesley Long
Attorney Generals.
[line 20,1863 Aquilla Bolton Caldwell Dec. 31,1864
Ian. 1,1865 Ephraim B. Hall Dec. 31,1865
Ian. 1,1866 Edwin Maxwell Dec. 31,1866
Ian. 1, 1867 Thaver Melvin Julv 1, 1869
Inly 2,1869 Aqnilla Bolton Caldwell Dec. 31,1870
Jan. 1, 1871 Joseph Sprigg Dec. 31, 1872
Jan. 1, 1873 Henry Alason Mathews Alarcli 3, 1877
.\. arch 4, 1877 Robert White March 3, 1881
March 4, 1881 Cornelius C. Watts March 3, 1885
March 4, 1885 Alfred Caldwell March 3, 1893
March 4, 1893 Thomas S. Riley March 3, 1897
March 4, 1897 Edgar P. Rucker March 3, 1901
March 4, 1901 Romeo H. Freer March 3, 1905
March 4, 1905 Clark W. May (died) April 25, 1908
May 9, 1908 William G. Conley March 3, 1913
March 4, 1913 A. A. Lilly
State Superintendents of Free Schools.
June 20, 1863 William R. White March 3, 1869
March 4, 1869 H. A. G. Ziegler Feb. 17, 1870
Feb. 19, 1870 Alvin D. Williams March 3, 1871
March 4, 1871 Charles S. Lewis Dec. 31, 1872
Jan. 1, 1873 William K. Pendleton March 3, 1873
.\i arch 4, 1873 Benjamin \V. Byrne March 3, 1877
March 4, 1877 William K. Pendleton March 4, 1881
March 4, 1881 Bernard L. Butcher March 3, 1885
March 4, 1885 Benjamin S. Morgan March 3, 1893
March 4, 1893 Virgil A. Lewis March 3, 1897
March 4, 1897 James Russell Trotter March 3, 1901
March 4, 1901 Thomas C. Miller March 3, 1909
March 4, 1909 Morris P. Sha\ykey March 3, 1913
March 4, i i3 Morris P. Shawkey
Secretaries of State.
June 20, 1863 [acob Edgar Boyers March 3, 1865
March 4, l8o5 Granyille Dayison Hall March 4, 1867
March 4, 1867 John H. Witcher March 3, 1869
March 4, 1869 James M. Pipes March 3, 1871
March 4, 1871 John .M. Phelps March 3, 1873
March 4, 1873 Charles Hedrick iMarch 3, 1877
March 4, 1877 Sobieski Brady March 3, 1881
March 4, 1881 Randolph Stalnaker March 3, 188^
March 4, 1885 Henry S. Walker April 21, 1890
April 22, 1890 William A. Ohley March 24, 1893
March 25, 1893 \Villiam E. Chilton March 3, 1897
March 4, 1897 William M. O. Dawson March 3, 1905
March 4, 1905 Charles Wesley Swisher March 3, 1909
Alarch 4, 1909 Stuart F. Reed March 3, 1913
March 4, 1913 Stuart F. Rec<l
546
History of West Virginia
Judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
Ralph J. Berkshire.. 1863 to James H. Brown ... 1863 to Wm. H. Harrison. . .1863 to
Edwin Maxwell 1867 to
Ralph L. Berkshire . . 1869 to Chas. P. T. Moore. .1871 to
James Paull 1873 to
John S. Hofifman . . . 1873 to
A. F. Haymond 1873 to
Thomas C. Green ... 1876 to Matthew Edmiston . . 1876 to
Okey Johnson 1877 to
James F. Patton . . . . 1881 to Adam C. Snyder.. . .1882 to Samuel Woods 1883 to
1866 Henry Brannon....
1870 John W. EngUsh. . .
1870 Homer A. Holt....
1872 Daniel B. Lucas...
1872 M. H. Dent
1881 H. C. McWhorter..
1875 Geo. Poffenbarger. .
1876 Warren- Miller
1882 *Frank Cox
1880 *Jos. M. Saunders.
1876 tWm. N. Miller....
1889 tira E. Robinson.. 1882 L. Judson Williams
1890 Charles W. Lynch. 1888
. 1889 to . 1889 to .1890 to .1891 to .1893 to .1897 to .1901 to .1902 to .1905 to .1905 to .1907 to .1909 to .1909 to .1912 to
1912 1901 1897 1893 1905
i9i2 1905 1907 1907
*Resigned. tSuccessor to Cox. tSuccessor to Saunders. United States Senators from V/est Virginia.
Peter G. Van Winkle. 1863 to Waitman T. Vi/illey . . 1863 to Arthur L Boreman. . . 1869 to
Henrv G. Davis 1871 to
Allen T. Caperton . . . . 1875 to
Samuel Price 1876 to
Frank Hereford 1877 to
Johnson N. Camden. . 1881 to John E. Kenna 1883 to
1869 Charles J. Faulkner. . 1887 1«/1 Johnson N. Camden.. 1893 18/^ ^Stephen B. Elkins. . .1895 1883 Nathan B. Scott 1899
1876 *Davis Elkins 1911
1877 Clarence W. Watson. 1911 1881 William E. Chilton ... 1911
1887 Nathan Gofif 1913
1893
to 1899 to 1895 to 1911 to 1911 to 1911 to 1913
to
to
^Stephen B. Elkins died at 12 o'clock Wednesday night, January 4, 1911, while a member of the United States Senate, and on the 9th ensuing Governor Glasscock appointed his son, Davis Elkins, to fill the vacancy, and he served until the 2d of February following, when he was succeeded by Clarence W. Watson.
CHAPTER XXVII.
LIST OF STATE AND COUNTY OFFICIALS IN THE
YEAR 1913.
STATE GOVERNMENT. State Capitol, Charleston, Kanawha County.
Governor H. D. Hatfield .. .Eckman, McDowell Co.
Secretary of State Stuart F. Reed .. Clarksburg, Harrison Co.
Supt. of Free Schools. .. .M. P. Shawkey . .Charleston, Kanawha Co.
.Auditor John S. Darsl . . Cottageville, Jackson Co.
.Attorney General A. A. Lilly Beckley, Raleigh Co.
Treasurer E. L. Long Welch, McDowell Co.
Comr. of Agriculture H. E. Williams .. Trout, Greenbrier Co.
State Tax Commissioner .. Fred O. Blue. . . .Philippi, Barbour Co.
Librarian J. C. Gilmer Charleston, Kanawha Co.
Commissioner of Banking. S. Y. Mathews .. .Charleston, Kanawha Co.
Adjutant General C. D. Elliott Parkersburg, Wood Co.
Commissioner of Labor. ..1. V. Barton Wheeling, Ohio Co.
Chief Mine Inspector ... .John Laing Charleston, Kanawha Co.
Game and Fish Warden.. J. A. Visqueny. . . Belington, Barbour Co.
Pardon Attorney E. G. Pierson .... Fayetteville, Fayette Co.
Archivest and Historian
State.Board of Control.
James S. Lakin, President Kingwood, Preston County
Dr. E. B. Stephenson Charleston, Kanawha County
W. M. O. Dawson Charleston, Kanawha County
United States Senators.
William E. Chilton Charleston, Kanawha County
Nathan Goff Clarksburg, Harrison County
Representatives in Congress.
District. Name. Post-Office. County. Term Expires.
First Mansfield M. Neely. Fairmont. . . .^farion March 4, 1915
Second . . . William G. Brown . . Kingwood . . .Preston March 4, 1915
Third S. B. Avis Charleston. . Kanawha. . ..March 4, 191.S
Fourth .. .Hunter H. Moss .... Parkersburg. Wood March 4, 1915
Fifth James A. Hughes ... Huntington . .Cabell March 4, 1915
.At-Large. Howard Sutherland Elkins Randolph. . .March 4, 1915
548 History o£ West Virginia
THE JUDICIARY.
United States Courts.
Circuit Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, Richmond, Ya. Commencement of Terms — First Tuesday in February, May and November.
Edward D. White, Chief Justice, Washington, D. C.
Woods, Circuit Judge of South Carolina.
Peter C. Pritchard, Circuit Judge, Asheville, N. C. John C. Rose, District Judge, Baltimore, Md. Henry Groves Connor, District Judge, Wilson, N. C. James Edmond Boyd, District Judge, Greensboro, N. C. Harry A. M. Smith, District Judge, Charleston, S. C. Edmund Waddill, Jr., District Judge, Richmond, Va. H. Clay McDowell, District Judge, Lynchburg, Va. Alston G. Dayton, District Judge, Philippi, W. Va. Benjamin F. Kellar, District Judge, Charleston, W. Va. Henry T. Maloney, Clerk, Richmond, Va.
District Courts of West Virginia.
NORTHERN DISTRICT.
Commencement of Terms.
Parkersburg — Second Tuesday of January and second Tuesday of June.
Wheeling — First Tuesday of May and third Tuesday of October.
Clarksburg — Second Tuesday of April and first Tuesday of October.
Martinsburg — First Tuesday of April and third Tuesday of Sep- tember.
Philippi — Fourth Tuesday of May and second Tuesday of No- vember.
Alston G. Dayton District Judge Philippi
Charles B. Kefauver . . . Clerk Parkersburg
Edward B. Neal Deputy Clerk Parkersburg
L. V. G. Morris Deputy Clerk Philippi
Geo. E. Boyd, Jr Deputy Clerk Wheeling
A. C. Nadenbousch .... Deputy Clerk Martinsburg
H. Roy Waugh United States Attorney Buckhannon
John Marshall Asst. U. S. Attorney Parkersburg
Howard J. Wilcox. .. .Asst. U. S. Attorney Philippi
James E. Doyle United States Marshal Parkersburg
A. T. Barrett Chief Deputy Parkersburg
H. M. Rapp Office Deputy Parkersburg
F. D. Hupp Field Deputy Clarksburg
C. E. Williams Field Deputy Wheeling
W. D. Brown Field Deputy Martinsburg
L. V. G. Morris U. S. Commissioner Philippi
Edward B. Neal U. S. Commissioner Parkersburg
John W. Mason U. S. Commissioner Fairmont
Glen Hunter U. S. Commissioner Morgantown
F. L. Blackmar U. S. Commissioner Sistersville
Dorr Casto U. S. Commissioner Parkersburg
John T. Cooper U. S. Commissioner Parkersburg
History of West Virginia
549
J.
H.
T.
W,
c.
B. M.
H. Siler.... A. Downs.
A. Brown Referee
Frank Stoiil Referee
E. VVyckoff Referee
L. Butcher Referee
H. King Referee
J. Ben Brady Referee
W " '
.U. S. Commissioner Berkeley Springs
.U. S. Commissioner Marlinsburg
in BankruiMcy Parkersburg
in Bankruptcy Clarksburg
in Bankruptcy (Grafton
in Bankruptcy Fairmont
in Bankruptcy Elkins
in Bankruptcy Kingwood
H. Thomas Referee in Bankruptcy Martinsburg
J. W. Cummins Referee in Bankru])tcy Wheeling
H. A. Nolle Referee in Bankruptcy Wheeling
Counties composing the Northern District — i5arl)our, Berkeley, Brooke, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Grant, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Mineral, Mor- gan, Monongalia, Ohio, Pendleton, Pleasants, Preston, Randolph, Ritchie, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wetzel, Wirt and Wood.
SOUTHERN DISTRICT. Commencement of Terms.
Charleston — First Tuesday in June and third Tuesday- in No- vember.
Huntington — First Tuesdaj' in April and first Tuesday after the third Monday in September.
Bluefield — First Tuesday in May and third Tuesday in October.
Addison — First Tuesday in September.
Lewisburg — Second Tuesday in July.
Benjamin F. Kellar. . .District Judge Charleston
Edwin M. Keatley .... Clerk Charleston
A. V. Fitzwater Deputy Clerk Charleston
Ceres K. Adkins Deputy Clerk Huntington
R. L. Gosling Deputy Clerk Bluefield
Finley M. Arbuckle. .. Deputy Clerk Lewisburg
R. M. Doddrill Deputy Clerk Addison
H. A. Ritz United States Attorney Bluefield
H. Delbert Rummel . . . Asst. U. S. Attorney. Charleston
Austin M. Sikes Clerk Huntington
Frank H. Tyree LTnited States Marshal Huntington
William H. Lyons ... .Office Deputy Huntington
H. B. Tyree Office Deputy Huntington
Walter C. Summers . . . Field Deputy Gauley Bridge
J. S. Porter Field Deputy Huntington
A. D. Beavers Field Deputy Pinevillc
Howard C. Smith Field Deputy Charleston
E. M. Stewart h'ield Deputy . . Welch
V. C. Champe U. S. Commissioner Montgomery
John R. Dillard V. S. Commissioner Bluefield
O. O. Sutton U. S. Commissioner Suiton
Joseph Ruffner U. S. Commissioner Charleston
John A. Thayer U. S. Commissioner Charleston
E. C. Eagle U. S. Commissioner Hinton
John W. AlcCreary . . . .1'. S. Commissioner Becklcy
L. V. Ketter U. S. Commissioner Welch
Paris D. Yeager l^. S. Commissioner Marlinton
F. H. Scott U. S. Commissioner Pineville
B. H. Oxley U. S. Commissioner GrilTillisville
550 History of West Virginia
J. P. Douglas U. S. Commissioner Huntington
John L. VVhitten Referee in Bankruptcy Point Pleasant
W. G. Mathews Referee in Bankruptcy Charleston
R. M. Baker Referee in Bankruptcy Huntington
John W. Arbuckle .... Referee in Bankruptcy Lewisburg
H. B. Lee Referee in Bankruptcy Bluefield
E. C. Rider Referee in Bankruptcy Sutton
A. R. Heflin Referee in Bankruptcy Hinton
Counties composing the Southern District — Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mason, Mercer, Mingo, Alonroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Wayne, Webster and Wyoming.
State Courts.
SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS.
Judges. Residence. County. Term Expires.
Geo. Poffenbarger Point Pleasant. .. Mason Dec. 31, 1924
Ira E. Robinson Grafton Taylor Dec. 31, 1916
Wm. N. Miller . Parkersburg Wood Dec. 31, 1916
L. Judson Williams ... Lewisburg Greenbrier ...Dec. 31, 1921
Charles W. Lynch Clarksburg Harrison Dec. 31, 1924
Circuit Courts
FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— H. C. Hervey, Wellsburg, and Charles C. Newman, Moundsville, Judges.
Hancock — Second Alonday in A; arch, third Monday in June and first Monday in November.
Brooke — Third Monday in February, first Monday in June and second Monday in October.
Marshall — Second Tuesday in February, last Tuesday in May and second Tuesday in October.
Ohio — Last Alonday in March, first Monday in September and fourth Monday in November.
SECO'nD judicial CIRCUIT— p. D. Morris, Judge, New Martinsville.
Wetzel — Second Tuesda}^ in January, first Tuesday in May and third Tuesday in September.
Tyler — Fourth Tuesday in February, third Tuesday in June and first Tuesday in November.
Doddridge — Third Tuesday in March, second Tuesday in July and fourth Tuesday in September.
THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Homer B. Woods, Judge, Har- risville.
Ritchie — Second Tuesday in February, second Tuesday in June and second Tuesday in October.
Pleasants — Second Tuesday in January, fourth Tuesday in April and second Tuesday in September.
Gilmer — First Tuesday in April, first Tuesday in August and fourth Tuesday in November.
FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Walter E. McDougle, Judge, Parkersburg.
Wood — First Monday in March, first Monday in July, first Mon- day in October and first Monday in December.
History of West Virginia 551
Wirt — Second Monday in January, second Monday in May and second Monday in September.
FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— W. H. O'Brien, Judge, Ripley.
Roane— Third Tuesday in January, tliird Tuesday in May and third Tuesday in September.
Jackson — First Tuesday in April, first Tuesday in August and first Tuesday in November.
Calhoun — Third Tuesday in April, third Tuesday in August and third Tuesday in November.
Mason — First Tuesday in February, first Tuesday in June and first Tuesday in October.
SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— John T. Graham, Judge, Hunt- ington.
Cabell — First Alonday in January, first Monday in April, first Monday in July and first Monday in October.
Lincoln — First Monday in March, first Monday in June, first Mon- day in September and first Monday in December.
Putnam — Third Tuesday in March, third Tuesday in Jul\- and third Tuesday in November.
SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— John B. Wilkinson, Judge, Logan.
Boone — -Second Monday in March, second Mondaj' in June, second Monday in September and second Monday in December. ,
Logan — Second Monday in January, second Monday in April, second Monday in July and second Monday in October.
Wayne — Second Alonday in February, second Monday in May, second Monday in August and second Monday in November.
EIGHTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Isaiah C. Herndon, Judge, Welch.
Mercer — Second Tuesday in May, second Tuesday in August ami fourth Tuesday in November.
McDowell — Second Tuesday in February, second Tuesday in June and second Tuesday in September.
Alonroe — Second Tuesday in April, second Tuesday in July and second Tuesday in November.
NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— James H. ^/iller, Judge, Hinton.
Raleigh — Third Monday' in February, first Monday in May, fourth Monday in August and first Monday in December.
Wj'oming — First Monday in Alarch, fourth Monday in May, third Monday in September and third Monday in November.
■Summers — First Monday in January, second Monday in March, second Monday in June and first Monday in October.
TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Sanuul D. Liltlepage, Judge, Charleston.
Clay — First Monday in January, first Monday in April, third Mon- day in June and second Monday in October.
Kanawha — Second Monday in February, second Alonday in .M;>.y, second Monday in September and fourth Monday in November.
ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— \\illiam L. Lee, Judge, Fayetteville.
Fayette — Second Tuesday in February, second Tuesday in ' .
and third Tuesday in September.
552 History of West Virginia
TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Wm. D. O'Brien, Judge, Buckhannon.
Webster — Third Tuesday in January, fourth Tuesday in May and third Tuesday in September.
Upshur — Second Monday in March, first Monday in July and second Monday in November.
THIRTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Haymond Maxwell, Judge, Clarksburg.
Lewis — First Monday in March, first Monday in July and first Monday in November.
Harrison — First Monday in January, first Mondaj^ in May and first Monday in September.
FOURTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— William S. Haymond, Judge, Fairmont.
Marion — First Thursday after the first Monday in February, the first daj' of May and the first Thursday after the first Monday in October.
FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Neil J. Fortney, Judge, Kingwood.
Taylor — Second Tuesda}^ in January, fourth Tuesday in April and second Tuesdaj^ in September.
Preston — Second Tuesdaj^ in March, second Tuesday in June and third Tuesday in November.
SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— F. M. Reynolds, Judge, Keyser.
Grant— First Tuesday in April, second Tuesday in July and third Tuesdaj' in November.
Mineral — Third Tuesday in January, third Tuesdaj' in April, fourth Tuesday in July and third Tuesday in October.
Tucker — Second Tuesday in March, first Tuesday in June, first Tuesday in September and first Tuesday in December.
SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— R. W. Dailey, Judge, Romney.
HaniDshire — First Tuesday in January, first Tuesday in March, first Tuesday in July and third Tuesday in September.
Hard}^ — Third Tuesday in February, third Tuesda}' in June and third Tuesday in October.
Pendleton — Third Monday in March, fourth Monda}^ in July and first Mondaj^ in December.
EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— J. A'l. Woods, Judge, Martinsburg.
Morgan — First Tuesday in January, first Tuesday in April ar.d first Tuesday in September.
Berkeley — Second Tuesday in January, third Tuesday in April and second Tuesday in September.
Jefferson — Second Tuesday in February, third Tuesday in May and third Tuesday in October.
NINETEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Warren B. Kittle, Judge, Philippi.
Barbour — Second Tuesday in January, second Thursday in April and second Tuesday in September.
Randolph — Second Tuesdaj^ in February, second Tuesday in Yay and second Tuesday in October.
History of West Virginia 553
TWENTIETH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Charles S. Dice, Judge, Lewisbiirg.
Greenbrier — Tliird Tuesday in April, fourth Tuesda}' in June and third Tuesday in November.
Pocahontas — First Tuesday in April, fourth Tuesday in July, i'nsl Tuesday in December.
TWENTY-FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— Jake Fisher, Judge, Sutton.
Braxton — Third Monday in March, second Alondaj' in July and third Monday in November.
Nicholas — Fourth Tuesday in January, second Tuesday' in June and first Tuesday in October.
TWENTY-SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— James Damcrc.n, Judge, Williamson.
Mingo — First Monday in February, first Monday in May, first Monday in August and first Monday in November.
Wj^oming — First Monday in April, first Monday in July and first Monday in October.
TWENTY-THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT— George C. Sturgiss, Judge, Morgantown.
Monongalia — First Monday in January, first Monday in April, first Monday in July and first Monday in October.
JUDGES OF INTERMEDIATE AND CRIMINAL COURTS.
County. Name. Address.
Cabell Thomas W. Tajdor . . . Huntington
Fayette J. T. Simms Fayetteville
Harrison James W . Robinson . . Clarksburg
Kanawha Henry K. Black Charleston
Marion G. A. Vincent Fairmont
Mercer J. F. Maynard Bluefield
McDowell James F. Strother... .Welch
Ohio A. H. Robinson. . . . V\'heeling
Raleigh T. J. McGinnis B«ckley
\\'ood F. "H. McGregor J'arkersbur.^
COUNTY OFFICERS.
Prosecuting Attorneys. .
County. Name. Address.
Barbour Albert C. Jenkins Philippi
Berkeley W. W. Downey Martinsburg.
Boone John B. Hager Madison.
Braxton James E. Cutlip Sutton.
Brooke William M. Werkman . Wellsburg.
Cabell Henry Simms Huntington.
Calho.'.n Albert Smith Grantsville.
Clay . . . T. O. Horan Clay.
Doddridge A. F. McCue West I'nion.
Fayette C. R. Summerfield Fayetteville.
Gilmer T^. H. Barnett Glenville.
Grant E. M. Johnson Petersburg.
Greenbrier Mark L. Jarrett Lewisburg.
Hampshire Robert \\'hitc Romney.
554 History of West Virginia
County. Name. Address.
Hancock Frank L. Bradley New Cumberland.
Hardy J. Ed. Chipley Moorefield.
Harrison A. Judson Findley Clarksburg.
Jackson N. C. Prickett Ravenswood.
Jefferson George D. Moore Charles Town.
Kanawha T. C. Townsend Charleston.
Lewis Henry F. Rymer Weston
Lincoln E. E. Young Hamlin
Logan John Chafin Logan
Marion Tusca Morris Fairmont
Marshall J. D. Parriott Moundsville
Mason F. G. Musgrave Point Pleasant
Mercer A. M. Sutton Princeton
Mineral Emory L. Tyler Keyser
Mingo J. L. Stafford Williamson
Monongalia Chas. A. Goodwin Morgantown
Monroe W. H. Copeland Union
Morgan H. W. Bayer Berkeley Springs
McDowell F. C. Cook Welch
Nicholas J. M. Wolverton Richwood
Ohio R. M. Addleman Wheeling
Pendleton William McCoy Franklin
Pleasants M. L. Barron Maxwell
Pocahontas S. H. Sharp Marlinton
Preston A. G. Hughes Kingwood
Putnam C. C. Knapp Winfield
Raleigh J. L. Hutchinson Beckley
Randolph H. G. Kump Elkins
Ritchie Thomas J. Davis Harrisville
Roane H. C. Ferguson Spencer
Summers T. N. Read Hinton
Taylor Gene W. Ford Grafton
Tucker Wayne K. Pritt Parsons
Tyler O. B. Conaway Aliddlebourne
Upshur . Jerome Dailey Buckhannon
Wayne .' . . D. B. Hardwick Wayne
Webster ..W. L. Wooddell Webster Springs
Wetzel Glen Snodgrass New Martinsville
Wirt S. W. Cain Elizabeth
Wood H. O. Hiteshew Parkersburg
Wyoming J. Albert Toler Pineville
Clerks of Circuit Courts.
Counts^ Name. Address.
Barbour" C. W. Brandon Philippi
Berkeley L. DeW. Gerhardt Martinsburg
Boone F. T. Miller Madison
Braxton C. H. Bland Sutton
Brooke Frank E. Foster Wellsburg
Cabell R. W. McWilliams .... Hundngton
Calhoun C. C. Starcher Gran i sville
Clav H. M. Young Clay
Doddridge J- O. Wilcox West Union
Fayette Floyd Keller Fayetteville
Gilmer I- N. Hardman Glenville
Grant I^- P- Hendrickson .... Pet-ersburg
History of West Virginia 555
County. Name. Address.
Greenbrier H. C. Skaggs Lew isburg
Hampshire V. M. Poling Romney
Hancock Thos. M. Cochran Now Cunibcrlaiui
Hardy C. B. \V elton Al ooretield
Harrison I. Wade Coffman Clarksburg
J ackson M. C. Archer Ripley
Jefferson John M. Daniel Charles Town
Kanawha .Ira Mottsheard Charleston
Lewis John H. Conrad Weston
Lincoln W. H. F. Curry Hamlin
Logan Scott Justice Logan
Marion Wm. S. Black Fairmont
Marshall \'ictor E. Myers Mounib\iile
Mason Charles Burton Point i^.-asant
Mercer W. B. Honaker Princeicn
Mineral J. V. Bell Keyser
iVJingo Guy White Willi '.; ,son
Monongalia John Shriver Morgan town
Monroe R. P. Boyd Union
Morgan W. H. Webster Berke'e, .Spring,
McDowell W. B. Payne Welch
Nicholas Jennings J. Summers . .Summersville
Ohio John L. Kinghorn Wheeling
Pendleton L E. Batton Franklin
Pleasants W. R. Carson St. Marys
Pocahontas Geo. W. Sharp Marlinton
Preston J. W. Watson Kingwood
Putnam W. E. Hodges Winfield
Raleigh Jackson Smith Beckley
Randolph G. N. Wilson Elkins
Ritchie H. E. McGinnis Harrisville
Roane L. O. Curtis Spencer
Summers W. H. Boude Hinton
Taylor M. D. Allender Grafton
Tucker Lawrence Lipscomb .Parsons
Tyler J. G. Mayfield Middlebourne
Upshur A. J. Zickefoose Buckiiannon
Wayne G. \V. Frazier Wayne
Webster John R. Dyer Webster Springs
Wetzel W. J. Postlethwait ... New Martinsville
Wirt . .Walter Hoffman Elizabeth
Wood Walter E. Stout Parkersburg
Wyoming E. M. Senter Pineville
Clerks of County Courts.
County. Name. .Address.
Barbour ....S. F. Hoffman Philippi
Berkeley E. A. Hobbs Marlinsburg
Boone Wm. Osborne Madison
Braxton E. W. Hefner Sutton
Brooke K. C. Brashear Wcllsburg
Cabell F. F. AfcCullough Huntin.uton
Calhoun S. W. McClung Grantsville
Clay James Reed .Clay
Doddridge L^. G. Summers W^est L'nion
Favette S. T. Carter Fayetteville
556 History of West Virginia
County. Name. Address.
Gilmer N. E. Rymer Glenville
Grant D. P. Hendrickson ... Peter.'iburg
Greenbrier John S. Crawford Lewisburg
Hampshire C. W. Haines Romney
Hancock Armour S. Cooper... New Cumberland
Hardy C. B. Welton Moorefield
Harrison W. Guy Tetrick Clarksburg
Jackson C. C. Staats Ripley
Jefferson Charles A. Johnson . . . Charles Town
Kanawha L. C. Massey Charleston
Lewis H. W. Lightburn Weston
Lincoln W. C. Holstein. - Hamlia
Logan W. L Campbell Logan
Marion John F. Phillips Fairmont
Marshall John E. Chase jMoundsville
Mason R. E. M itchell Point Pleasant
Mercer E. L. Bowman Princeton
Mineral J. V. Bell Key.ser
A ingo James Damron Williamson
Monongalia John M. Gregg Morgantown
Monroe ° E. S. McNeer Union
Morgan M. S. Harmison Berkeley Springs
McDowell Robert B. Bernheim.. Welch
Nicholas P. N. Wiseman Summersville
Ohio John H. Wells Wheeling
Pendleton L E. Batfon Franklin
Pleasants R. L. Griffin St. Marys
Pocahontas C. J. McCarty Marlinton
Preston E. C. Everly Kingwood
Putnam J. M. Henson Winfield
Raleigh M. J. Meadows Beckley
Randolph F. A. Rowan Elkins
Ritchie W. R. Meservie Harrisville
Roane W. A. Cai-penter Spencer
Summers W. P. Bowling Hinton
Taylor Howard Fleming Grafton
Tucker S. O. Billings Parsons
Tyler ]. W. Duty ^-^ iddlebourne
Upshur Ernest Phillips Buckhannon
Wayne John G. Lambert Wayne
Webster S. P. Allen Webster Springs
Wetzel Sylvester Myers New Martinsyille
Wirt L' p. Thorn'. Elizabeth
Wood William Dudley Parkersburg
Wyoming B. H. E. Stewart Pineville
Sheriffs.
County. Names. Address.
Barbour Arthur F. Bennett Philippi
Berkeley .E. H. Tabler Martinsburg
Boone Walter W. Smoot Danville
Braxton Russell N. Rolyson. .. Sutton
Brooke George H. Patterson. .Wellsburg
Cabell P. C. Buffington Huntington
Calhoun Robert J. Knotts Frozen
Clay C. U. .Summers Ivydale •
History of West Virginia ?^7
County. Name. Address.
Doddridge Kli Nutter West Lnion
Fayette T. J. Davis Montgomery
Gilmer J. R. Garrett .Sand Fork
Grant Dr. VV. T. Highberger . .\f aysville
Greenbrier Wm. A. Boone Organ Cave
Hampshire J. N. Sirbaugh Capon Bridge
Hancock J. S. D. Mercer New Cumberland
Hardy "O. S. Fisher Mooreheld
Harrison Ross F Stout Clarksburg
Jackson R. P. Shinn Ripley
Jefferson J. VV. Gardner Shepherd.stown
Kanawha feonner H. Hill Cheylan
Lewis John A. Chittum Weston
Lincoln Henry Miller GrifTithsville
Logan Don Chafin Logan
Alarion C. D. Conaway I'airmont
Marshall C. E. Hutchinson Aloundsville
Mason F. E. Blemci- Mason
Mercer W. W. Hamilton Bramweli
Mineral C. E Ncthkin Keyser
Mingo G. \Y Hatfield Williamson
Monongalia John B. Wallace Morgantown
Monroe C. T. Sibold Dorr
Morgan H. M. Ruppenthal Berkeley Sprinp,.>
McDowell T. Frank Johnson Welch
Nicholas lettes IVlollohan Summersville
Ohio \. T. Svveeney Wheeling
Pendleton L. D. Trumbo Brandy wine
Pleasant? S. V. Riggs St. ]\f arys
Pocahontas L. S. Cochran Marlinton
Preston H. Foster Hartman .. .Terra Alta
Putnam E. W. Wick Winfield
Raleigh George W. Thompson . Odd
Randolph A. J. Crickard Valley Bend
Ritchie Creed C. McKinley .... Harrisville
Roane J . P. Price Spencer
Summers D. M. Meador T^Iinton
Taylor Lee Bennett Grafton
Tucker Albert C. Minear Parsons
Tyler Lloyd H. Morris Aliddlebourne
LTpshur H. A. Zickefoose Buckhannon
Wayne J. S. Billups Wayne
Webster O. C. Terrell Cleveland
Wetzel Clarence M. Stone .... New Martinsville
Wirt F. E. Badger Elizal>eth
W^ood Wm. Devore Parkersburg
Wyoming Charley Short Baileysville
County Superintendents of Free Schools
County. Name. Address.
Barbour Clerphas Afarsch Pliilippi
Berkeli;y W. W. Nelson Turtle Creek
Boone E. N. Zeilor Inwood
Braxton W. B. Golden Flatwoods
Brooke S. C. Underwood A\'ellsburg
Cabell J. C. Petit Ona
558 History of West Virginia
County. Name. Address.
Calhoun Wheeler Chenowith . . .ErcUi
Clay J. F. Wilson Clay
Doddridge L. L. Sadler West Union
Fayette J. T. Peters Dothan
Gilmer j. E. Hays Troy
Grant H. F. Groves Maysville
Greenbrier Charles Tabscott Richlands
Hampshire Ira V. Cowgill Romney
Hancock H. O. Iv'Jiller... ... Pughtown
Hardy L. S. H?lterman Lost River
Harrison A. P. I\Iorrison Clarksburg
Jackson P. H. Rardin Sherman
Jefferson James Grantham. ... .Kearney.sville
Kanawha N. W. Cavender Charleston
Lewis M. L. B. Linger Weston
Lincoln Henry F. White Easy
Logan L. E. Browning Logan
Marion VV. M. Kennedy Fairniont
Marshall H. W. McDowell Glen Faston
Alason C. D. Ball Letan-
Mercer James F. Holroyd. . . Athen.^
Alineral Richard W. Th rush. . . Key.ier
iVIingo Hi Maynard Myrtle
Monongalia H. E. Brookove/ AJ orfyantown
Monroe Wheeler R. Fallen. Sal- sulphur Sprii't::.
Morgan x\. D. H. Alichael Berkeley Spring.-;
AlcDowell W. C. Cook Wel.rS
Nicholas Harrison Groves Summersville
Ohio J. H. Lazear Fulton Sta., Wheehrr;
Pendleton . Flick Warner Franklin
Pleasants G. C. McTaggart Eureka
Pocahontas B. B. Williams . .- Cass
Preston W^illis Fortney I ndependence
Putnam J. C. Fish Red House
Raleigh U. S. Dickens Beckley
Randolph W. J. Long Valley Bend
Ritchie R. B. Cokeley Harrisville
Roane A. L. Thrash.... Reedy
Summers . .~ W. T. Ball Hinton
Taylor , Dellet Newlon Grafton
Tucker C. R. Parsons Porterwood
Tyler A. L. Gregg Middlebourne
Upshur J. H. Ashworth Buckhannon
Wayne O. J. Rife Wayne
Webster George R. Morton. . . .Lanes Bottom
Wetzel Charles KisHg New Martinsville
Wirt Ross Wilson Hartley
Wood Edgar B. Sims WilHamstown
Wyoming Chester H. Cook Pineville
County Surveyors.
County. Name. Address.
Barbour Ellsworth Wilson Belington
Berkeley Henry H. Hess Martinsburg
Boone B. F. Hall Ramage
Braxton G. H. Cunningham .... BulltOAvn
History of West Virginia 559
County. Name. Address.
Brooke AT. E. Boyd Wellsburg
Cabell J. M. Oliver Huntington
Calhoun D. W. Shock Doddrill
Clay P. N. King Boniont
Doddridge C. C. Freeman Big Isaac
Fayette Earl McVey .Victor
Gilmer J. E. Bell Glenville
Grant S A. Stonestreet Streby
Greenbrier James W. Rader... . Lewisburg
Hampshire E. J. Loy Ford Hill
Hancock E. C. Grafton New Cumberland
Hardy J. W. KuykenduU . . . Moorefield
Harrison C. A. Osijorn Clarksburg
Jackson Herbert Skeen Kentuck
Jefferson .J. K. Kendricks Charles Town
Kanawha A. E. Price Blue Creek
Lewis P. F. Flesher Freemansburg
Lincoln Delmer Hill Caldona
Logan C. G. Curry Coalmer
Marion Frank J. Wilfong . . Fairmont
Marshall R. C. Yolio Aloundsville
Mason George E. Cliihls Point Plea.sant
Mercer F. E. \\ alker Matoaka
Mineral J. L. Hott Keyser
Mingo J. L. Ferrell Williamson
Monongalia A. L. Hea.lley Fairview
Monroe C. P. Lewis Sweet Springs
Morgan . T. N. Fries Berkeley .Springs
McDowell Harr\' J. Brook Welch
Nicholas R. O'. Odell Pearl
Ohio O. S. Koller Wheeling
Pendleton Z. AL Nelson Nome
Pleasants John Triplett Willow
Pocahontas E. H. Williams Marlinton
Preston S. R. Guesman Reedsville
Putnam .J. T. Lanhani Lanliam
Raleigli W. J. Scarboroug" . ..Beckley
Randolph A. W. Schoonover . Alontrose
Ritchie Tohn A. Pew Cairo
Roane P. T. Radabaugh . . . . Spencer
.Summers H. L. Batten. .... Pence Spring
Taylor R. A. Marrow Bridgeport
Tucker Joe K. Grubb Parsons
Tyler Charles P. Clar): .... Sistersville
L^pshur Claude Burr Buckhannon
Wayne Basil S. Burgess Wayne
Webster I'. B. Cogar Webster Springs
Wetzel I. M. Cochran Reader
Wirt H. F. Pell •. Creston
W^ood H. J. Ross Parkerslnirg
Wyoming L. R. Hash Rockview
County Assessors.
County. Name. Address.
Barbour E. E. Alusick \'arney
Berkelej' ..John W. Dodd Martinsburg
560 History of West Virginia
Countjr. Name. Address.
Boone C. C. Hopkins Danville
Braxton . C. G. Perkins Gassaway
Brooke Ed M. Smith Wellsburg
Cabell Homer Melrose Huntington
Calhoun , Wm. J. Sturm Hur
Clay Alex. Summers Valley Fork
Doddridge C. H. Pigott Central Station
Fayette C. H. Settle Fayette ville
Gilmer Sam E. West Auburn
Grant George E. Ours Dorcas
Greenbrier James W. McClung. . . Lewisburg
Hampshire E. H. Blue Romney
Hancock Robert C. Evans New Cumberland
Hardy J. W. F. Combs Needmore
Harrison Howard Robinson Rosebud
Jackson J. M. Staats Gay
Jefferson Floyd I-. Watson Kearney sville
Kanawha Henry A. Walker. . . . Charleston
Lewis W. O. Lunsford W^eston
Lincoln June C. Messenger. . . .Sheridan
Logan George Justice Logan
Marion James W. Davis Worthington
Marshall W. L. Nolte Benwood
Mason W. W. Rowsey Ruby
Mercer J. J. Via Via
Mineral F. C. Patton Elk Garden
Mingo Conej' E. Corder Williamson
Monongalia Norman Garrison Core
Monroe H. T. Neel Gap Mills
Morgan Perkins Courtney Berkeley Springs
AdicDowell Charles E. Rusmisell . McDowell
Nicholas W.S.Henderson Delphi
Ohio William Hankey Wheeling
Pendleton Elmer Lambert Riverton
Pleasants W. H. Myers Finch
Pocahontas William Gibson Marlinton
Preston Ezra B. Hanger Terra Alta
Putnam R. A. Raynes Buffalo
Raleigh John x\nderson Beckley
Randolph Jasper N. Phares Gilman
Ritchie "W. M. Nutter Iris
Roane B. S. Ray Spencer
-Summers Carry N. Vass Marie
Taylor Melvin Newlon Grafton
Tucker S. C. Simpson Parsons
Upshur N. C. Cutright Bnckhannon
Wayne P. Frazier Wayne
Weisster Walter Cool Diana
Wetzel David H. McMillen . . . 'M^w ^'rartinsville
Wirt Carl E. McCoy Palestine
Wood T. W. Fiinn Parkersburg
Wyoming W. B. Belcher Pineville
INDEX
\OLUAIE ONK.
CHAPTER I
Page America Anterior to Columbus — Prehistoric Races
CHAPTER II
America's Destiny — Her Past and Future. — The Average Alan
(A Poem) 12
CHAPTER III
Explorations in America by French and English. — Their Base of
Contention for Ownership 21
CHAPTER IV
The Founding of Virginia. — \irginia Company of London — Set- tlement of Jamestown — Captain Smith Captured by the Indians — His Life Saved bj- Pocahontas — Recontre with Paspahegh and What Followed — Additional Colonists — Anarchy — Meeting at West's Settlement — Smith Returns to England — Arrival of Lord Delaware — Tobacco Culture — In- tro(luction of Negro Slavery— Death of Powhatan — Ope- chananough's Conspiracy and Subsequent Attack LTpon the Settlement — Beginning of the Evolution of American Liberty — Continued Trouble with the Indians — Death of. Opechananough — Sketch of John Smith — Pocahontas 30
CHAPTER V
Exploration and Early Settlements in West Virginia. — First Dis- coveries by While Men^The First White Settlers — Memo- randum by Jolin Stuart 51
CHAPTER VI
Manners and Customs of the Early Pioneers in West Virginia.
The Fort — Tlic Wedding — House A\ arming — Early Trials and Hardships — A I'ioneer Wedding 74
CHAPTER VII
The French and Indian War. — Kxi)e(liiic)n of General Braddock — March of the Britisli Army — The Battle on the Mononga- hcla — Braddock's Defeat — Braddock's Monument 100
ii Index
CHAPTER VIII
Page French and Indian War (Continued). — Attack Upon Fort Duquesne — Its Surrender — Peace Declared — The Leaden Plates 115
CHAPTER IX
Lord Dunmore's War. — Building of Fort Fincastle — McDonald's Expedition Against the Ohio Indians — Battle of Point Pleasant — Death of Cornstalk — History of Erection of Monu- ment at Point Pleasant 122
CHAPTER X
The Revolutionary War. — Resolutions of Thanks to Lord Dun- more — A Change of Sentiment — Lord Dunmore's Abdication of Office as Governor of Virginia — Unrest of American Colo- nists— Patrick Henry — A Letter from Washington — Capture of Ticonderoga — -Battle of Bunker's Hill — Equipment of Virginia Troops — Declaration of Bill of Rights — Declaration of Independence 146
CHAPTER XI
Revolutionary War (Continued). — Battle at Fort Henry, Wheel- ing— The Powder Incident and Betty Zane 153
CHAPTER XII
Names, Location and Date of Establishment of Forts in West
Virginia 159
CHAPTER XIII
Wrongs by Whites. — Murder of Cornstalk, the Great Indian Chief; and Adam Stroud, Captain Bull and Their Families by the Whites 182
CHAPTER XIV
Murder of the Moravian Indians. — The Greatest Crime Ever
Perpetrated in the Annals of W^arfare 188
CHAPTER XV
Indian Wars and Massacres. — Attack on Fort Seybert — Battle of the Trough — Capture of Mrs. Neff — Her Escape to Fort Pleasant — Pursuit by the Indians — The Fight — Battle with Shawnees near Edward's Fort — Bingamon's Adventure with Indians near Petersburg, Hardy County — Other Indian Depredations on the South Branch — Indian Troubles on the Monongahela — Attack on the Brains and Powells on Snowy Creek, in Preston County — Capture of Leonard Schoolcraft in Buchannon Settlement — Death of Captain Booth and Capture of Nathaniel Cochran on Booth's Creek — Famous Adventure of David Morgan and Children, near Prickett's Fort — Death of John Owens and John Juggins — Escape of Owen Owens and Son of John Owens — Death of John Ice
Index
111
Page
and James Snodgrass, in Wetzel County — The Story of Crow's Run — Murder of Edward Doolin — Story of the Dragoos, or The Two Half-Indians — Murder of the School- craft Family in Buchannon Settlement — Indians Attack Samuel Cottrails at Clarksburg — Invasion of Tygart's Val- ley Attack on the Bozarth Home on Dunkirk Creek — Fate
of Nathaniel Davisson on Ten Mile — Killing of Lieutenant White on Tygart's Valley — Another Attack on Martins Fort. 195
CHAPTER XVI
Indian Wars (Continued). — Attack on Thomas Family, on Booth's Creek — Removal from Booth's Creek to Simpson's Creek — Pursuit of the Indians — Murder of Settlers on Crooked Run — Another Invasion of Tygart's \'alley— Attack on West's Fort and Removal of People to Buchannon — Adventure of Jeremiah Curl, Henry Fink and Others — Pursuit of the Indians by the Whites, and the Running Fight and Recapture of Stolen Property — Murder of the Mclntires, and Pursuit of the Indians — First Siege of Fort Henry at Wheeling — Ambuscade of Captain Goreman and Men at Grave Creek Narrows, in Marshall County — Removal of Remains to Moundsville Cemetery 225
CHAPTER XVII
Indian Wars (Continued). — Fate of Inhabitants at Harbert's Fort — Appearance of Savages near West's Fort — Incidents near Coburn and Stradler's Forts — Attack on Fort Ran- dolph— Troubles at Clark's Fort, in Marshall County — The Johnson Boys' Adventure with Indians — Captivity of Mrs. Glass — The Jolley Family — Death of Captain Van Buskirk — The Tush Episode — Attack on Mr. Armstrong at Blenner- hassett's Island, in Wood County 241
CHAPTER XVIII
Biographic Sketches and Personal Adventure. — Lewis Wetzel — Andrew Poe and His Fight with "Big Foot" — Col. William Crawford — Col. Ebenezer Zane and Brothers — Major Samuel McColloch — Isaac Williams — George Washington — The Washington Family in West Virginia — Washingtons in England — Gen. Andrew Lewis 261
CHAPTER XIX
John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry. — Capture, Trial and
Execution of Brown and Companions 326
CHAPTER XX
Causes Leading to the Formation of West Virginia. — An Ordi- nance of Secession — Correspondence of Jefferson Davis — Organization of Army and Capture of Government Property. 362
iv Index
CHAPTER XXI
Page Formation of West Virginia. — Proceedings of First Convention of the People of Northwestern Virginia, at Wheeling — List of Delegates by Counties — Letter to the People of North- western Virginia — Beginning of the Restored Government — Meeting of the General Assembly — An Ordinance to Provide for Formation of New State — Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. 383
CHAPTER XXII
The Southern Version of the Causes Leading to the Civil War.. 437
CHAPTER XXIII
The Civil War in West Virginia. — Firing of Factories and Blowing Up of Arsenal at Harper's Ferry — Battle in Cabell County — Gathering of Confederate Troops at Clarksburg — The Affair at Righter's — Gen. George B. McClellan of the Federal and General Garnett of the Confederates Take Command — Mus- tering in of Troops — Death of George W. McBride, late of Twenty-fifth O. V. I., the Kanawha Sharp-shooters — Battle on Scary Creek — General Kelly — Suspension of U. S. Mail Services — General Johnson at Harper's Ferry — Battle near Falling Waters — "Stonewall" Jackson's First Battle — Skir- mish at Blue Sulphur Springs — Battle near Carnifax Ferry- Fight at Fayetteville — Federals Retreat to Cotton Hill — Camp Piatt — Charleston — Battle at Camp Barteau and With- drawal of Federals to Rich Alountain — Federals Again Defeated at Camp Allegheny — Federals Ambush at High Log Run, in Wirt County — Federals Attack at Guyandotte Bridge — Federals Fire Proctorville — Battle at Lewisburg — Skirmish at Kenneth's Hill — Surrender of Federals at Har- I per's Ferry — Engagement at Hurricane Bridge — Steamer '; Victor Fired Upon — Another Hot Engagement at Point Pleasant, and Account of the Killing of Col. Andrew Wag- gener — Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Land Engagement of the Civil War, at Philippi 454
CHAPTER XXIV
The Civil War in West Virginia (Continued). — Burning of Oil Tanks at Burning Springs — Engagement at White Sulphur Springs — Battle at Headwaters of Sandy Lick — Battle at Droop Mountain — Engagement at Fairmont — Capture of Crook and Kelley — Rosser's Raids at Keyser and Beverly — The Conclusion of the Civil War — Roster of West Virginia Troops 474
CHAPTER XXV.
Capitals and Capitols, and Other Public Buildings of West Virginia. — The "Floating Capitol" — Election Returns — List and Description of State Institutions 501
CHAPTER XXVI
Names of All State Officials from the Formation of the State to
1914 544
Index V
CHAPTER XXVII
Page
List of County and State Officials 1913 547
Note. — For Chapters 28 to 41, see Volume 2.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Representatives from Western \'irginia on Their Way to Rich- mond in the Early Days 73
Plan of Battle at Point Pleasant 145
Elizabeth Zane 156
Edward Doolin's Grave 216
Site of File's Cabin 224
John Wetzel's Grave 265
McColloch's Leap 301
Round Barn, near Elkins , 500
Governor Hatfield 539
State Auditor Darst 540
State Treasurer Long 541
Secretary of State Reed 542
State Tax Commissioner Blue 543
k NEW WEST VIRGINIA
HISTORY By t MYERS
Valuable Data of State Con- tained in Two Interesting Volumes.
Wit>i the compliments of the author, Sylve^ ter Myers of New iviaruusviile, a new history of West Virginia reaches the Re- porter office, and a casual ex- amination of the work indicates the condensation of much very valuable and highly interesting data of the state in the two volumes.
This history differs from, many others, in that the author has ^; 'begun with the begining." There are chapters dealing with ' the first settlement of this coun- try and leading on down through the formation of the
state and up to happenings as late as June 1915. The author is a very pleasing writer, he has the ability to put his data in such shape as to make it highly entertaining, and he does not SDoil his work with t( o much of "dry facts, " as do so many historians.
Myers' History of West Vir- ginia is in two volumes, 6x9. substantially and neatly bound in silk cloth and contains 1039 pages. It contains much val- uable information not of a his- torical character, and is a book suitable for all classes of people Your West Virginia library will be greatly enhanced in value by the addition of these volumes. George W. King, of Wanego, W Va.,isi -^ Rome County age./, for the history. The price is $3.50.
\
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