Tag: First Wheeling Convention

May 13, 1861: Political Leaders from Northwestern Virginia Gather in Wheeling

On May 13, 1861, political leaders, mostly from northwestern Virginia, gathered in Wheeling to address Virginia’s recent secession from the Union. At the start of the Civil War in April, delegates to the Virginia secession convention in Richmond had voted to leave the Union and join the Confederacy. However, the measure wouldn’t become official until voters approved it later in May.

Some delegates at the First Wheeling Convention, as it’s known, pushed to form a pro-Union government of Virginia—separate from the one in Richmond. Others, led by John Carlile of Clarksburg, wanted to press on and create a separate state.

Some of the more moderate delegates were alarmed by how quickly things were moving, particularly since voters hadn’t yet officially approved Virginia’s secession. Delegate Waitman Willey went so far as to charge Carlile with “triple treason”—against Virginia, the United States, and the Confederacy. Calmer heads prevailed, and the First Wheeling Convention adjourned two days later without accomplishing much of anything.

Virginia voters did choose to secede, and the delegates met back a month later at the Second Wheeling Convention to start West Virginia’s path to statehood.

June 20, 1863: West Virginia Enters the Union

On June 20, 1863, West Virginia entered the Union as the nation’s 35th state. It was the end of an unprecedented ladder to statehood that began with the outbreak of the Civil War.

Although some Western Virginians had been frustrated with the Virginia state government in Richmond for decades, it took Virginia’s secession from the Union in April 1861 to get the West Virginia statehood process moving.

Crafty politicians—now remembered as our founders—used Virginia’s secession as an excuse to create a separate government of Virginia—one that remained loyal to the Union.

They elected their own representatives and senators to Congress and established their own state government of Virginia, with its capital in Wheeling. It was this Restored, or Reorganized, Government of Virginia that gave its constitutional consent for West Virginia to break from Virginia and form a new state.

When Arthur Boreman became West Virginia’s first governor on June 20, 1863, he referred to our state as a “child of the rebellion.” When the Civil War ended nearly two years later, West Virginia was the only permanent change in territory resulting directly from the war.

June 20, 1863: West Virginia Enters the Union

On June 20, 1863, West Virginia entered the Union as the nation’s 35th state. It was the end of an unprecedented ladder to statehood that began with the outbreak of the Civil War.

Although some Western Virginians had been frustrated with the Virginia state government in Richmond for decades, it took Virginia’s secession from the Union in April 1861 to get the West Virginia statehood process moving.

Crafty politicians—now remembered as our founders—used Virginia’s secession as an excuse to create a separate government of Virginia—one that remained loyal to the Union.

They elected their own representatives and senators to Congress and established their own state government of Virginia, with its capital in Wheeling. It was this Restored, or Reorganized, Government of Virginia that gave its constitutional consent for West Virginia to break from Virginia and form a new state.

When Arthur Boreman became West Virginia’s first governor on June 20, 1863, he referred to our state as a “child of the rebellion.” When the Civil War ended nearly two years later, West Virginia was the only permanent change in territory resulting directly from the war.

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