Now known as Independence Hall, delegates gathered here for the Second Wheeling Convention in the summer of 1861 and formed the Restored Government of Virginia. Subsequently a proposal was passed to create a new state. The caption reads, "Custom House at Wheeling, now the Seat of the New Government of Virginia". This sketch was published in Frank Leslile's Illustrated.
Burning of the U. S. Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry
Date:
1861/04/18
Description:
Burning of the U.S. Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry on the night of April 18, 1861. From a sketch in Leslies Weekly. See West Virginia Collection Pamphlet 6610 and Boyd Stutler's 'WV in the Civil War.'
Destruction of the Harpers Ferry Highway - Railroad Bridge, Jefferson County, Va. (W. Va.)
Date:
1861/06/14
Description:
Blowing up the highway-railroad bridge at Harpers Ferry in the early morning of June 14, 1861 when Confederate Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston and his Army evacuated the town. The bridge was completely destroyed - a fate it was to suffer by fire and flood nine times during the civil war. From a sketch in Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. See West Virginia Collection Pamphlet 6610 and Boyd Stutler's 'West Virginia in the Civil War.'
Civil War ad reading: 1,010 Brave Men Wanted! I am authorized by Governor Pierpont to raide a Reigment of men to consist of TEN COMPANIES of 101 men each, including officers. When two companies are formed they will be mustered into service and a camp will be established at or near Morgantown, where they will be armed, equipped and drilled until the Regiment is full and ordered into service. July 29, 1861 James Evans.
Virginia Governor Francis H. Pierpont and Illinois Troops, Wheeling, Va. (W. Va.)
Date:
1861/08/12
Description:
A wood craving illustration published in "The New York Illustrated News", with the caption: "Governor Pierrpont (sic) in front of the Custom-House, Wheeling, Virginia., welcoming the Illinois troops to the soil of Virginia." Pierpont was the governor of the Restored Government of Virginia, loyal to the Union during the Civil War.
Second Wheeling Convention, Wheeling, Va. (West Virginia)
Date:
1861/June
Description:
Delegates, loyal to the United States, meet to establish the Restored Government of Virginia and subsequently propose a new state. The caption reads, "Constitutent Convention of Virginia Assembled in the Custom House at Wheeling Ohio County, June 1861."
