And just make up some stuff because jonerik cups to us from West Virginia and hes done some fantastic scholarship for us at the blog about those early months and the early year of the war in 1861, which really set the stage for what happens in 1861 and onward. A lot of people forget about how formative the action in West Virginia was and hes in there with his sleeves rolled up. Really working the material in a way that ive been impressed with. But now im going to read this really nice introduction. From mount pleasant, ohio. He studied history at Bethany College and received a masters of library and Information Science at kent state university. Where he focused his studies on archives and preservation. He started his career in the preservation at the library of copping and later worked for a congress and later worked for a pittsburghbased preservation firm, where he developed Preservation Strategies for libraries, archives and museums. In 2012 he was named director of archives and records for the diocese of wielding charleston, where he works today. He serves as a historic landmarks commissioner for the city of wheelie, West Virginia and has contributed to numerous books and publications. He joined emerging civil war in 2018, which has made it easier for him to justify all his book purchases to his wife. [laughter] he is a lifelong cleveland sports fan, and looks forward to the browns winning the super bowl this season. [laughter] thats where were getting into speculative history, right . Ladies and gentlemen, its my pleasure to introduce jonerik gilot. [applause] good morning, everyone. Before we get started, i have to tell you a little story. A few days ago i was talking to my oldest daughter, and i told her, i had to go away for a few days, i wouldnt be home, she asked where i was going, are you going away for work, i said, no im going to go talk to a group of people. Oh, its the civil war, isnt it . [laughter] am i transparent . I told her i was a little nervous, like chris said im a late edition and i didnt have long to prepare and told her i was kind of nervous, she said, daddy, just tell them a joke, she gave me one and i cant go home to her if i dont tell you this joke. The joke is, what did the ocean say to the beach . Nothing, it just waved. [laughter] so, well try to find some humor in this talk. I like these early battles of the war because, as much as you can, you can find some humor in this. When you get down here to spotsylvania, the campaign is just throwing men into a meat grinder but with these early battles you still have some pomp and pageantry and humor, so hopefully youll continue laughing a little bit today. For the next 45 minutes were going to talk about the battle of philippi. As it ranks as one of the first battles of the civil war, how about for the rest of the day, well call at this time war for West Virginias independence. Thats what we call it in the mountains. To even call philippi is generous. It lasted all of a few minutes. My talk today will last longer than the battle for philippi lasted. To be honest, every battle that youve heard or hear about this weekend, they look like gettysburg compared to philippi. This was a very small engagement, literally only a handful of shots fired but just because it was small does not make it insignificant. There were some important implications from this small battle and well talk about what those were and whats really a benefit to civil war historians and enthusiasts like us, is that for nearly 4,000 men north and south, philippi was their First Experience of the civil war. It was the first time seeing the elephant, and, you know, later in the war, Something Like philippi may not have even registered on their radars to record on their diary or to write home a letter to their family or local newspaper but for these guys in june 1861 this was a big deal and so they were all too happy to record their experiences. So we have a lot of really good one liners that ill throw in here. So to set the stage for how and why philippi happened we need to look briefly. Virginia was very much a divided state but not divide north and south like the country, virginia was divided east and west and many of the issues between these two sections were a microcosm of the larger issues that was facing the country. One of the biggest issues facing virginia were the allegheny mountains, separating virginia essentially in half. These mountains were a natural barrier for transportation and communication. They affected trade. The farmers in this burgeoning industry that you have in western virginia they found it much easier to get their goods to market on the ohio valley and take them west to ohio or up to pittsburgh in western pennsylvania. As such, western virginia felt much more closely aligned to the north add to the west than it did to tidewater, virginia. As an example, im from wheeling, which is up here in the northern panhandle. Were about 50 miles south of pittsburgh, and more than 300 miles away from richmond. Another major issue facing the two sections was slavery. The 1860 virginia census counted nearly 1. 6 Million People living in the state. And of that number, nearly 500,000 were slaves. Thats about 31 of the population. But if we break that number down, of that 500,000, only about 18,000 of those enslaved people were living in the we were counties of the state and most of them were concentrated down here in the valley around charleston. This is a newspaper rendering of what they thought the state of West Virginia might look like. We know, it goes over here to Harpers Ferry in the eastern panhandle and includes some of the potomac valley. This is an area that well kind of focus on over here. So that 18,000 number, the 18,000 slaves in West Virginia, that was only 4 of the population of those western counties. And because slaves in virginia were taxed at only 1 3 their market value, the rest of the property was taxed at full market value the western county saw this as an unfair advantage to the slave holders in tidewater, virginia. So we had differing economies between the two sections. We have agrarian in the east and tidewater, compared to more industrial in the west. You have a different ethnic makeup. Much more of the tidewater area is of english descent where as in the east you have a big number of Scottish Irish and in the 1840s and 1850s you see this influx of german immigrants. Also, a lack of foreign internal improvements, were talking roads, bridges, railroads, canals, this has frustrated the western counties for decades leading up to the were and as a as a to the war and West Virginia resident i think i can tell you that 160 years later our roads are still terrible. [laughter] the loudest voices that were arguing for this change were the northwestern politicians and this triangle between wheeling down to parkersburg and over to morgantown. Names like john carlisle, francis people had been clambering for some time for some better judgment in western virginia. Wheeling actually was the center of this. It was one of the largest cities in virginia at the outbreak of the civil war and i would argue second only to richmond in importance. It was a transportation hub. You had the ohio river sits on the national road, the railroad, a burgeoning Manufacturing Center but wheeling was also home to one of the most prominent newspapers in the state, the wheeling intelligence. It had championed lincoln in the 1860 president ial election and after South Carolinas succession the intelligence ran an editorial stating, there is very widespread and spreading sentiment in western virginia in favor of a division of the state at the blue ridge. The people of West Virginia know very well and its useless for demagogues to try to blind them or reconcile them to the fact that they have been used as so many vassals by eastern virginia. Weve been treated and regard as separate people and such indeed we are. There is no affinity between eastern and western virginia. There never was and while geography and climate hold sway there never can be. Geography and climate hold sway, i dont care what you say, thats poetry. Thats beautiful. So in april 1861, when the Virginia Convention passed the ordinance of succession, 55 votes, 48 came from the northwest counties and these guys risked their lives to cast these votes. They were not popular after the votes were cast. Guys tracked them down in hotels. They would go around reading the guests at the hotels. They had to leave for their lives. They would go up to wheeling and stage the First Convention where they determined if the referendum passed they would reconvene in wheeling and consider forming a provisional government loyal to washington and to lincoln. Im sorry, missed that slide. Thats the custom house in wheeling, Independence Hall today. Im on the Foundation Board there. Wonderful museum. If youre ever in wheeling please make a point to stop there the West Virginia battle flag exhibit is on display. An amazing building. So following the succession ordinance, robert lee would assume command of all the Virginia State forces and with the confederate capital on the move lee had began recruiting in earn. To shore up these potential avenues of invasion that. Would be norfolk to the eastsoutheast, washington, and the Shenandoah Valley to the north and the northwest from pennsylvania and ohio. So on may 4, robert e. Lee would dispatch colonel George Porterfield where he was taxed with establishing a recruitment camp and keeping an eye on the railroad. Porterfield was a bmi graduate, was a vmi graduate, a veteran of the mexican war. He had been in hampers ferry helping to organize the virginia troops there. He might not have been your first team guy, but he was no slouch but even still i like this quote from one of his men who would describe porter field as ale polished virginia gentlemen but is ignorant of war as a mule is of the 10 commandments. [laughter] im glad youre liking these. Ive got a bunch of them. So when he arrived, he had no one there to meet him on the railroad so they told him essentially, buddy, you better get out of here. If you go a few miles down the road there might be some confederate troops there but you need to leave. It was an Important Railroad hub with lots of irish immigrant workers, Irish Catholic who were much more loyal to the union. He went down to fedderman, he found a few companies this, he couldnt believe that this was all he had. Now, i dont want to make it out as though there was no cessation no secession sentiments in the northwest. That wasnt the case. Confederate companies had been forming in wheeling, fairmont and charleston, but that was also part of the problem. Lee was only recruiting enough men to fill companies where he needed to fill regiments. We have a tendency to idolize lee and rightfully so but its one area where lee kind of i got it wrong. He was anticipating, he was counting on much more support than he had received. Porterfield was begging on multiple occasions for more reinforcements, and lee was not inclined to provide those. Lee was quoted with saying that he didnt believe that any citizen of the state would betray his interests. But both lee and the governor had been receiving intelligence for weeks from the northwest about this kind of growing unrest. Lees own recruiting agent, wheeling, had sent a letter saying this area is on the verge of rebellion. I need to get out of here and that was right before they through in jail. What should have been a telltell sign, on april 20, the mayor was wired asking him to take possession of the custom house and post office, and all public buildings and documents in the name of virginia. The mayor shot the governor a wire back saying, i have taken possession of the custom house, the post office, and all public buildings and documents in the name of abraham lincoln, president of the united states, whose property they are. [laughter] i feel like i should go back and explain a little bit. When i say lee got it wrong, i dont mean he should have been sending he should have sent more force he shouldnt have sent more forces, mcclellan would eventually bring about 20,000 troops to bear in West Virginia. Those were troops the confederates just did not have at that point and lees more urgent concern was the north coming down from washington. Where i say he got it wrong, it was just in anticipating the kind of support that he had. So federal troops were also organizing on both sides of the ohio river. George mcclellan, who we all know and love, had been named major volunteer of the volunteers in april 1861. But he was tasked not only with organizing all of the hires and raw kreutz but with shoring up the borders of the state against invasion. The responsibility in ohio was just outstanding. Ohio in very short order, mcclellan mustered in 22 full regiments, thats more than they had arms or equipment for. And on may 3 mcclellan was given command of the department of ohio, including ohio, indiana, illinois, and a little later, western pennsylvania, western virginia and missouri. This was all done by the age of 34. He was second in command, to Winfield Scott, and, you know, im older than that, and i have to think what am i doing with my life if this guy at 34 has done all of that. But, you know, ohios governor denison was pushing mcclellan, pushing him to defend ohio beyond, rather than on her border, and mcclellan had attempted, he had contacted Winfield Scott in late april of 1861, and he propose add few different kinds of advances into s real interesting guy. I do not think he has gotten his due. Most of us studying the civil war, what do we know about him. He was captioned captured in bed. February 1865. He was captured in bed in cumberland had for much of the war he had an absolutely vital and thankless job of keeping the bno line open. That was links lifeline to the west for troops and supplies. He also up it advises the family troubles that would define the civil war. His fatherinlaw was a slave owner. His fatherinlaws family would be identified on the big ofadside list of traders wielding that work printed and pasted all over the city. Kellys brotherinlaw made National News when in october 1861 of the slaves would escape and go to cleveland. Her brotherinlaw or tracker to cleveland and her court case would have to return to slavery. Lucy would be the last slave returned to slavery under the fugitive slave act. That same brotherinlaw would spend much of the war at camp chase. Kelly had to grapple with this all throughout the war. Kelly was organizing the first virginia regiment. Having a heck of a time. Recruits were not the problem. Getting hundreds of recruits from the northern panhandle counties but he was also getting guys from aston pennsylvania and eastern ohio where the regimental quoteas had been filled. You have full companies of men from pennsylvania and ohio. Kelly had appealed to the government for arms and for equipment for his men because he had not, they said, no. We are not going to do that. This is a state of rebellion. They had to make an appeal to governor andrew in massachusetts. And he approved it. The first arms and equipment sent down to western virginia during the civil war came from massachusetts. They put them on the railroad i think i know some confederate regiments that have something to say. The room not enough arm. Some men left armed with clubs. The guys they did have arms stuffing them in their pockets. They were wearing their old work clothes. In fact, the only piece of regulation uniform really wouldve been this quasi military jacket that kelly was wearing. But in late may, things began to escalate. Killed nearrown was grafton, recognize as the First Federal soldier to be killed by a confederate soldier during the war. Acouple months ago, i wrote great article on that. Vote. Ia citizens would porterfield would occupy grafton the day after. When Winfield Scott hears this. Urging mcclellan to cross the ohio river and secure western virginia. What mcclellan did not realize is that porterfield with the telegraph agents had tapped into the line and he was getting his messages to and from mcclellan before anyone else was. He knew that he did not have the men to stop mcclellan. Instead he had to slow him down. From may 25 porterfield ordered a squad of men to burn two bridges near mannington and farmington. This was the act of war mcclellan had been waiting for kit he could send the troops across the ohio river without appearing to be the aggressor. Generalad of ordering a advance on grafton, mcclellan wires kelly and tells him boveify the hills a willing and prepare for an attack by the rebels. Kelly said, what . They are 90 miles away. We can stop them before they get here. Instead, kelly proposed let me take my men down to grafton. And secure the b o there, mcclellan agreed but he said thats fine. Let me give you two ohio regiments at bel air. Is that the . [inaudible] think my mike went out here. Thank you very much all right. [laughter] i can go without the mike. Is it on . No. Im sorry. Anyone here has an action mic. An extra mic. We have got one coming. All right. [applause] there we go. Was mcclellan. He heard me badmouthing him and he shut that down. But mcclellan would order two ohio regiments, the 15th and the 16th, order them across the river and order two additional ohio regimens and two guns of artillery to cross the ohio river at marietta and occupy parkersburg. And then move east on the Northwestern Virginia Railroad at link up with Kelly Grafton but mcclellan instructed these ohio troops removed in support of the virginia troops. This was not an outside invasion. They were moving in support of virginia troops when kelly went to the station and willing to arrange for the train to take