165 YEARS AGO: At the Second Wheeling Convention, representatives of Virginia’s northwestern counties approve seceding from the state and forming the new state of Kanawha, despite constitutional violations regarding state formation.
Category: West Virginia
Almost Open Opposition in Western Virginia
165 YEARS AGO: Generals John B. Floyd and Henry A. Wise, both former Virginia governors, struggle to unite their divided forces against a Federal advance. Despite pressure from Robert E. Lee, Wise resists joining Floyd, resulting in ongoing disputes and operational delays.
Dimming Confederate Hopes in the Kanawha District
165 YEARS AGO: Robert E. Lee seeks to unify Confederate forces in western Virginia, but internal divisions and rivalries among commanders hinder cooperation. Various independent commands operate without collaboration, resulting in ineffective resistance against Federal forces in the Kanawha Valley.
You Will Not Need Your Beautiful Flag
165 YEARS AGO: In western Virginia, a Federal force looks to clear Confederates out of the Great Kanawha Valley while Confederates try to coordinate and consolidate their forces.
You Have Annihilated Two Armies
165 YEARS AGO: In northwestern Virginia, one Confederate commander surrenders his force, and another becomes the first general killed in action.
The Battle of Rich Mountain
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: A detachment of George B. McClellan’s Federal army attacks an isolated portion of Robert S. Garnett’s Confederate army near Beverly in northwestern Virginia.