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The Civil War in West Virginia
First Wheeling Convention
Philippi
Battle of Rich Mountain
Harpers Ferry
Battle of Corrick's Ford
Battle of Cheat Mountain
John Brown
Battle of Harpers Ferry
Second Wheeling Convention
West Virginia Constitutional Convention
| January 21, 1824 | Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson born, Clarksburg, Virginia (today, West Virginia). | West Virginia Virginia |
| December 2, 1859 | John Brown is hung in Charleston, Virginia (present-day West Virginia) for the raid on Harper's Ferry | Virginia West Virginia |
| John Brown | ||
| November 12, 1860 | In Preston County, Western Virginia holds its first organizational meeting, expressing a desire to "adhere to the Union". | West Virginia |
| First Wheeling Convention | ||
| January 1, 1861 | A pro-Union meeting in Parkersburg (now West Virginia) resolves that "secession is revolution." | West Virginia |
| First Wheeling Convention | ||
| January 24, 1861 | Lucy, a female slave from Wheeling who fled to Cleveland, Ohio, is returned to her owner. She is the last slave to be returned under the Fugitive Slave Law | West Virginia |
| April 18, 1861 | Federal forces withdraw from Harpers Ferry | West Virginia Virginia |
| Harpers Ferry | ||
| April 19, 1861 | Virginia forces take control of Harpers Ferry | West Virginia Virginia |
| Harpers Ferry | ||
| April 20, 1861 | Guyandotte calls for the state to approve the actions of the Virginia legislature | West Virginia |
| First Wheeling Convention | ||
| April 22, 1861 | The Clarksburg (present-day West Virginia) Convention calls for a anti-secessionist convention to be held in May, 1861 | West Virginia |
| First Wheeling Convention | ||
| May 1, 1861 | Robert E. Lee orders Stonewall Jackson to remove the weapons and equipment from the arsenal at Harpers Ferry | West Virginia Virginia |
| Harpers Ferry | ||
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| May 13, 1861 May 15, 1861 |
The First Wheeling Convention | West Virginia |
| First Wheeling Convention | ||
| May 28, 1861 | Confederates seize the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Point of Rocks to Cumberland | Maryland West Virginia |
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | ||
| June 3, 1861 | Battle of Philippi
First land engagement of the Civil War between American and Confederate forces |
West Virginia Virginia |
| George McClellan | ||
| Philippi | ||
| Operations in Western Virginia | ||
| Civil War Firsts | ||
| June 4, 1861 | Delegates to the Second Wheeling Convention are selected. | West Virginia |
| Second Wheeling Convention | ||
| June 11, 1861 June 25, 1861 |
First session of the Second Wheeling Convention | West Virginia |
| Second Wheeling Convention | ||
| June 23, 1861 | Thomas Jackson destroys 42 engines and nearly 400 cars of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Martinsburg, Virginia | Virginia West Virginia |
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | ||
| July 11, 1861 | Battle of Rich Mountain | West Virginia |
| George McClellan | ||
| Operations in Western Virginia | ||
| Battle of Rich Mountain | ||
| William S. Rosecrans | ||
| July 13, 1861 | Battle of Corrick's Ford
While directing his rear guard General Robert Garnett is shot and dies minutes later. He is the first general to die during the Civil War |
West Virginia |
| George McClellan | ||
| Battle of Corrick's Ford | ||
| Civil War Firsts | ||
| July 17, 1861 | Battle of Scary Creek | West Virginia |
| George McClellan | ||
| August 6, 1861 | Second Session of the Second Wheeling Convention is called to order | West Virginia |
| Second Wheeling Convention | ||
| August 20, 1861 | The pro-Union Second Wheeling Convention calls for the creation of the state of Kanawha | West Virginia |
| Second Wheeling Convention | ||
| September 10, 1861 | Battle of Carnifax Ferry
General William Rosecrans [US] defeats General John Floyd [CS] |
West Virginia |
| Operations in Western Virginia | ||
| John Floyd | ||
| William S. Rosecrans | ||
| Rutherford B. Hayes | ||
| September 12, 1861 September 15, 1861 |
Battle of Cheat Mountain
Other names: Cheat Summit, Fort Milroy Joseph Reynolds [US] defeats Robert E. Lee [CS] |
West Virginia |
| Operations in Western Virginia | ||
| Robert E. Lee | ||
| Battle of Cheat Mountain | ||
| October 11, 1861 | William S. Rosecrans assumes command of the Federal Department of Western Virginia | West Virginia |
| William S. Rosecrans | ||
| October 24, 1861 | People of West Virginia vote overwhelmingly in favor of creating a new state as spelled out by the Wheeling Convention | West Virginia |
| November 26, 1861 | West Virginia Constitutional Convention convenes in Wheeling | West Virginia |
| December 7, 1861 | Stonewall Jackson destroys the West Virginia side of Dam Number 5 on the Potomac River, disrupting the C&O Canal and impacting the Union's ability to repair the B&O Railroad. | Maryland West Virginia |
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | ||
| Attack on Dam Number 5 | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| December 13, 1861 | Battle of Camp Allegany
|
West Virginia |
| Operations in Western Virginia | ||
| January 4, 1862 | Jackson takes Bath (now West Virginia) | West Virginia |
| Romney Campaign | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| January 6, 1862 | Stonewall Jackson shells Hancock, MD for 2 days from the West Virginia side of the Potomac | West Virginia |
| Romney Campaign | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| January 10, 1862 | Federal forces under "Old Ben" Kelley withdraw from Romney | West Virginia |
| Romney Campaign | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| January 14, 1862 | Confederates under Stonewall Jackson take Romney | West Virginia |
| Romney Campaign | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| February 7, 1862 | Jackson withdraws from Romney and returns to Winchester | West Virginia |
| Romney Campaign | ||
| Stonewall Jackson | ||
| February 18, 1862 | West Virginia Constitutional Convention adopts the first constitution of the state of West Virginia | West Virginia |
| West Virginia Constitutional Convention | ||
| July 14, 1862 | U. S. Senate passes a bill creating West Virginia | West Virginia |
| September 13, 1862 | W. W. Loring advances down the Kanawha Valley. Federal forces evacuate Charleston. | West Virginia |
| September 19, 1862 September 20, 1862 |
Skirmishes at Shepherdstown, Ashby's Gap, Williamsport, and Hagerstown, as Confederates under A. P. Hill covered the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia from Sharpsburg. Lee would keep a heavy cavalry presence in the area until October. | Maryland Virginia West Virginia |
| Antietam | ||
| A. P. Hill | ||
| Army of Northern Virginia | ||
| October 1, 1862 | Abraham Lincoln visits Harper's Ferry on his way to Antietam | Virginia West Virginia |
| Abraham Lincoln | ||
| December 10, 1862 | U. S. House passes a bill allowing the creation of the state of West Virginia | West Virginia |
| December 31, 1862 | Lincoln signs the act approving admission to the United States for West Virginia | West Virginia |
| February 12, 1863 | West Virginia's constitutional convention reconvenes following Congress's request that certain wording (about slaves) be modified. | West Virginia |
| West Virginia Constitutional Convention | ||
| February 17, 1863 | West Virginia approves a revised state constitution | West Virginia |
| March 26, 1863 | West Virginia voters overwhelmingly approve the new state constitution | West Virginia |
| April 20, 1863 | Lincoln proclaims that West Virginia would join the Union on June 20, 1863 | West Virginia |
| Abraham Lincoln | ||
| June 20, 1863 | West Virginia becomes the 35th state to enter the United States, but the first to enter where the terms slave and free no longer mattered | West Virginia |
| Civil War Firsts | ||
| July 4, 1863 | The West Virginia flag is introduced. This is the final Union flag of the Civil War | West Virginia |
| Flags of the Civil War | ||
| November 6, 1863 | Battle of Droop Mountain
General William Averill [US] defeats General John Echols [CS] |
West Virginia |
| May 5, 1864 | William W. Averill [US] leaves Logan Court House with orders to destroy the the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad | West Virginia |
| August 7, 1864 | Battle of Moorefield. Last major engagement in West Virginia during the Civil War. | West Virginia |
| Jubal Early's Raid on Washington D. C. | ||
| September 16, 1864 | Meeting in Charles Town, Ulysses S. Grant and Phil Sheridan discuss the problems in the Shenandoah Valley with Jubal Early's [CS] Corps | West Virginia |
| Jubal Anderson Early | ||
| Philip Sheridan | ||
| Ulysses S. Grant | ||
| January 16, 1867 | West Virginia ratifies the 14th Amendment | West Virginia |
| 14th Amendment |
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