I have enjoyed the “2nd Saturday Civil War Series” at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall for a number of years, originally in person and more recently virtually. When I learned that the series was returning to live presentations this month, I immediately put a note on my calendar.
As the date grew closer, my interest in the event increased significantly. The subject – “The West Virginia State Guard in the Civil War: 1863 – 1865” – was attractive enough to ensure my attendance. In addition, I learned that the presentation would be preceded by a half hour concert by “local musician Ron Messing …. playing songs of the Civil War era”. That was enough to convince me to schedule my arrival a little earlier than normal. And then I read that the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves, a local Civil War re-enactment group, would be having an encampment on the Library lawn that afternoon. Three for the price (free) of one!
Even the weather cooperated – mid-70s, bright sunshine, and a tiny breeze. My first mission after parking was to visit the 9th encampment. I have always been impressed with re-enactors and regret not getting involved myself. These folks had a recruiting table set up, hoping to enroll new members. When I approached, they gave me the once-over and quickly concluded I was not an appropriate candidate.
The original 9th Pennsylvania Reserves Regiment was mustered into federal service in Pittsburgh on July 27, 1861, assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and served in distinguished fashion through May 8, 1964. The encampment consisted of a dozen re-enactors, including two ladies in period costume.
Embarrassed at my rejection, I went in to the Music Hall where I greatly enjoyed Mr. Mesing’s music. He is an accomplished performer on the dobro (lap steel guitar), a perfectly appropriate instrument for Civil War era music. I recognized about half of his selections, including “Old Spinning Wheel”, “Wabash Cannonball”, “Amazing Grace”, “Battle Cry of Freedom”, and “The Great Speckled Bird”. The audience was duly appreciative of him.
The speaker was a Lecturer in History at West Virginia University, Dr. Zachery Cowsert. A transplant from Oklahoma and Louisiana, Dr. Cowsert is settling in nicely as a Mountaineer. A current project of his is the studying of the role of a unique organization, the West Virginia State Guard, during the Civil War in his newly adopted home state.
We are all generally familiar with the formation of the state of West Virginia during the Civil War; the speaker provided a number of relevant specifics. In the election of 1860 Virginia awarded its fifteen electoral votes to Constitutional Union candidate John Bell as a consequence of his 156 votes lead over Southern Democratic candidate John Breckinridge.
Abraham Lincoln’s total of 1,887 votes represented 1.13% of the votes cast in the state, He garnered no votes at all in 121 of the 145 Virginia counties. The few votes he got were concentrated in “the Panhandle”, the sliver between the Ohio River and Pennsylvania.
On April 17, 1861, a state convention in Richmond passed the Ordinance of Secession. Thirty of the forty-seven delegates representing counties in today’s West Virginia voted against it. On May 23, 1861, Virginia seceded despite the opposition in the west. The Union advocates there convened in Wheeling on June 19, 1861, and established the “Restored State of Virginia”. Francis Pierpont was elected Governor. He promptly authorized the creation of the State of Kanawha.
On October 24, 1861, an election was held to determine if the new state should be established. The proposal passed, by a margin of 18,048 to 781. At the time there were 70,000 eligible voters. The insecurity of the times and the presence of federal troops in much of the region created concerns about credibility. Nonetheless the statehood process continued and was finally accomplished on June 20, 1863.
Governor Pierpoint moved to Alexandria where he continued to function as governor of the portions of Virginia under federal control. Arthur Boreman was elected governor of the new state, now named West Virginia. He found himself in a difficult position. Many of his counties, especially those in the southeastern part of the state, still had numerous supporters of the Confederacy. The federal troops moved in and out and could not be relied upon to maintain order.
His solution was to establish a “State Guard”, consisting of forty-four companies, each with about fifty members. The members would be enlisted for a term of twelve months and would be immune from the federal draft. They would earn the same pay as federal troops ($13 a month for privates) and would serve locally, in their home county or the ones adjacent to it.
Their duties were to maintain order locally, to enforce the law, to protect loyal citizens against Confederate guerillas, and to regularly patrol (scout) the area within their county. Each company had a captain, a lieutenant, a sergeant, and a complement of privates.
To exemplify this process the speaker discussed Captain William Turner’s company in Raleigh County (its county seat is Beckley). Originally slightly pro-secession, the rural county was a prototype border county in a border state. His company had one significant skirmish with organized Confederate troops early in 1864, but spent most of its time hunting down guerrillas and irregular Rebel soldiers. Unofficially they enforced martial law on Raleigh County.
Dr. Cowsert’s enthusiasm for his topic was infectious and generated a large number of relevant questions from the audience, many of which suggested areas for additional research on his part.
For me, the afternoon was a very rewarding experience, enhanced, I am sure, by the contrast with the quarantine of the past many months. The Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall is a remarkable asset for the community of Carnegie, and its service to the entire Chartiers Valley area is invaluable.