Browsing All posts tagged under »Jefferson County West Virginia«

“a runaway… a negro man who calls himself PHIL”, OTD, 1814

September 28, 2016 by

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From the front page of the Sept. 28, 1814 edition of the Maryland Herald and Hagers-town Weekly Advertiser, we have a listing announcing the runaway of a slave (out of the lower Shenandoah Valley) owned by Ferdinand (aka Ferdinando) Fairfax: While this may just appear to be yet another listing for another runaway slave, give it […]

“Perfidious Wretch!” – The developing story of Mr. Dorsey horsewhipping Dr. Gordon, OTD, 1840

September 10, 2016 by

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I came across a number of articles in the Virginia Free Press pertaining to an altercation between one A.G. Gordon and Dr. H. Dorsey, both… I think… were from Charles Town, (West) Va. There’s a lot going on in the exchanges I’ve found in the various clippings (spanning about four issues, so far), so, I’ll […]

Faulkner explains his Confederate service

April 30, 2016 by

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150 years ago this past week, a letter (though dated April 13) from Charles J. Faulkner (he appears in a few of my blog posts from the past) appeared in the Charles Town, West Virginia newspaper, detailing his “connexion” with the Confederate army. At first I thought, perhaps, he was replying to those who doubted any […]

The “battle” for the eastern panhandle of West Virginia

February 29, 2016 by

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I posed a question yesterday, via Facebook, asking if it was only historians who wondered what Berkeley and Jefferson counties would be like if they were returned to Virginia in the years immediately after the Civil War. Of course, I have my doubts that it is only historians that wonder about such things, but I suspect, […]

Confederate deserters… gone bad: Shenandoah, January, 1864.

January 30, 2014 by

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A little something to consider, regarding how some Confederates had turned lawless, even by this time, 150 years ago, in the Shenandoah Valley. From the Daily Dispatch (Richmond), January 25, 1864: Along the Shenandoah river, in Jefferson and Clarke counties, a regular band of robbers has been organized, composed of deserters from our army. This […]

“Poor deluded African, he leaves his kind Master…”

January 29, 2014 by

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Note: The post got ahead of me, just a bit. Prior to posting this I planned to add one more comment… which I’ve since added at the end of this post. From page 1, column 2 of Staunton’s Republican Vindicator, January 29, 1864: We have been informed by a gentleman who has lately returned from Winchester […]

“I would much like a guide” – Shenandoah Sesqui, December 12, 1863

December 12, 2013 by

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By the morning of December 12, Col. Wells’ reported that his command had reached Winchester, on the night prior… I have the honor to report my command here last night. All well. Eighteen miles from here to Strasburg, making the whole distance 48 miles. Have not seen Colonel Boyd, but learn that he is ahead. […]

Immersing oneself in the early 19th century… Middleway, Jefferson Co., WV

September 29, 2013 by

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There’s this little village, off the beaten path, back in Jefferson County. To reach this place, I prefer taking Rt. 51 from Inwood, toward Charles Town… the old Middleway Pike. Now, there are a lot of places in the Shenandoah Valley where one can see buildings that predate the Civil War… lots. Yet, I don’t […]

Literacy rates in the antebellum Shenandoah Valley

September 12, 2013 by

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*UPDATE: Actually, though they weren’t part of the 1860 census, the numbers of those who could not read and/or write were tallied in the census for both 1840 and 1850. I will probably tally the numbers from that census to compare with the numbers shown in the 1870 census. I’m sorry to say, there are […]

146 years ago, this month

August 15, 2013 by

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Yes, that would make it… 1867. Not quite a Sesqui event, at least not yet. Sometimes it just feels right to get back to some more simple curiosities of history, as they impacted the Shenandoah Valley… So, scrolling through the newspapers in the area (lower Shenandoah) for the latter part of August, 1867, I ran […]

Rolling the clock back just a little further

July 12, 2013 by

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Alright, let’s depart the Sesqui train just for a bit. Forget “150 years ago” for the moment. Let’s think something more along the lines of… 212 years. Let’s even be specific… November 10, 1801. So far, this year (1801), John Marshall was appointed US chief justice; the electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr […]

White House Farm and the death of Capt. Summers

July 7, 2013 by

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Just the other day, I was driving in search of a location which has significance in relation to the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg. I found it, and then (being who I am) ventured… or strayed… along the old Charles Town Pike, toward Summit Point and Charles Town. I think my curiosity proved rewarding, as I […]

Did West Virginia know what it was doing?

June 20, 2013 by

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Yesterday, on Harper’s Ferry’s Facebook page, I saw a comment in response to a post about the following day (today) being the 150th anniversary of the birth of West Virginia. The response was simply… “Traitors!!!” Obviously, it wasn’t a comment that involved much thought, to say nothing of the evident lack of knowledge when it […]

Logan Osburn throws in the towel… but later tries to backtrack

March 1, 2013 by

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The measure of conditional Unionism varied from person to person. Jefferson County’s Logan Osburn provides an excellent example of that, and I’ll show how in just a minute. Ultimately, in measuring Unionists… and yes, even some “eventual Confederates”… Unionism is the common thread from which “conditionals” broke. Going back even further, there is a valid […]

Not in the claims, and not in blue, but… some of the other Southern Unionists of Harpers Ferry

February 9, 2013 by

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Though I often focus on the stories tucked-away in Southern Claims Commission applications, there were more Southern Unionists than those identified in the claims, or even in those who wore Union blue. There are also those Unionists who appear merely as a name in passing, in between the pages of a couple of books that […]

The “wafflers” (a rebel today; a yank tomorrow)

February 6, 2013 by

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From time to time, we see this sort on the big screen… a reb when the Confederate soldiers are present, and a yank when the Union soldiers are present. Take for example, the ferry boat man (“Sim Carstairs”), in the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales… So, encountering (by happenstance) what may be the “real deal” […]

A former slave vouches for the Unionism of his former owner

July 9, 2012 by

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Seeing what I do in discussions among folks regarding Civil War era studies, there can be extreme views regarding slavery. Some lean hard in one direction, talking about how the cruelties of slavery were all fabrications, or very rare. Some lean hard in another direction and talk about the cruelties of slavery, and that, no matter the case, […]

“Did people call him a Union man?” “Yes, sir, and a great many called him a damn Yankee all the time.”

July 7, 2012 by

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My attention to the details of his life just weren’t there… it seemed they didn’t need to be… as a father-in-law to one of my distant uncles, John William Neer was an indirect link in the family tree… and, at one time, I knew nothing of his life, other than that indirect connection. Over time, […]

Despite what you say, your claim as a loyal Union man is disallowed…

May 20, 2012 by

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I’ve got a post coming about John W. Neer, a Union man from Harper’s Ferry. While no blood relative of mine, one of his daughters married my third great granduncle, James Draden Moore (1859-1899). Neer’s story is an interesting one, and I look forward to telling it, but I wanted to break-out one small portion […]

“Pressed”, drafted, and conscripted – a quick note

March 15, 2012 by

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Yesterday, I posted a piece about Thomas C. Suter, and his change from gray (Confederate service) to blue (Union service). I also posted a link to the piece on Western Maryland’s Historical Library’s Facebook page, as a response to their having posted the brief newspaper clip. In response, Tom Clemens, Professor of History at Hagerstown […]

The legend of “Wizard Clip” (Smithfield/Middleway), Jefferson County, West Virginia

October 31, 2011 by

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Laid out ca. 1794, and better known as Smithfield or Middleway, Wizard Clip has a peculiar story, related by Confederate veteran, clerk, and author Thomas Kemp Cartmell (1838-1930), in his book, Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and their Descendants (1909)… One of the newcomers was Adam Livingston, who purchased desirable property in the vicinity of this village, […]

Shenandoah Valley African-Americans in the Civil War… a sampling

October 30, 2011 by

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You might recall a post from this past July, in which I briefly mentioned Shenandoah Valley African-Americans in the USCT. I haven’t had as much time to work with that project as I would like, but it’s one that is always on my mind. Perhaps, over winter, I’ll be able to wrap it up. Anyway, […]

Pardon me, Genl. Sheridan, but did you mean “Lucy” when you called her “Susie”?

September 10, 2011 by

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I just posted the story of Rebecca Wright over at Southern Unionists Chronicles (please take some time to “stroll” over there and read it, as it’s pretty interesting… and that includes time spent looking critically at Col. Bean’s efforts to… it seemed at points… add unnecessary drama in his postwar version of the story), but […]

Identifying more unknowns: Blazer’s Scouts killed in the Kabletown fight against Mosby’s Rangers

September 4, 2011 by

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I’ve come into some more good stuff while sifting through information about Winchester National Cemetery… especially as one interested in the history of counter-guerilla operations in the Civil War. Perhaps I should set the stage for the story… The date, November 18, 1864; the place, between Kabletown and Myerstown, Jefferson County, West Virginia; the unit, […]

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