OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Unionists in northwestern Virginia assemble a convention at Wheeling, where they declare their independence from the rest of Virginia and request recognition by the U.S. government.
Category: West Virginia
Military Maneuvers in Northwestern Virginia
165 YEARS AGO: George B. McClellan comes to take personal command of Federals in western Virginia as Confederates try to strengthen their defenses.
Confederates Abandon Harpers Ferry
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Confederates abandon Harpers Ferry in northwestern Virginia as Federals cautiously prepare to enter that part of the state.
The Battle of Philippi
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Federals win a minor victory that clears Confederates out of the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia and secures the railroad line between Washington and the West.
The Western Virginia Incursion Begins
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: George B. McClellan orders Federal troops across the Ohio River to begin anticipated incursion into predominantly Unionist western Virginia.
An Uneasy Hold on Harpers Ferry
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Robert E. Lee directs Thomas J. Jackson to assemble Confederate troops at strategic Harpers Ferry, Va. Command then shifts from Jackson to Joseph E. Johnston, who soon learns that the place is highly vulnerable to attack.