Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1882-09-17
FORT HENRY.
The One Hundrsdth Anniversary Of
Its Last Defense.
Interesting Proeeedingsin Honor Of the Gen.
tennial Of Our Cit-The Last Day Of
the Fair the most Valuable to Wheel
ing on this Account.
A DAY OF INTEREST TO OUR CITIZENS.

centennial observance was q success Yes
terday was the day set apart for such OBJ
seryance, but to the shame of those mos
directly interested in the success Of such
an enterprise, be it said they made no
fort to make 1t an event In municipal 1
tory, nor even by their presence did Il
testify their appreciation of an eve
which, had 1t happened in town OF les
pretensions, would have been provocat
sufficient for a general ceiebrat
and day of rejoicing. The sic
of Fort Henry was and always
had a prominent place in pioneer
tory inferior to few of the more pretentit
struggles that characterized the early
tempts of our forefathers TO COLOMBO
civiiize this section of the beautiful Oh
valley in which we live. To the success
struggles ut Fort Pitt and Fort Henry Z
directly traCeable the
History Of Western Civilization
and Western progress. Both of these 70
were the then keys to the Western 'front.'
and the desperate struggles made by
French and English and their red allies
the possession of Fort Pitt and then by
English and red men Tor Fort Henry
tested their estimation of the value Of the
places as intermediate stands between l.
then partially colonized East and the mo
valuable lin their opiniOn) West. F0
Henry from its elevated position h.;
a peculiar value in the eyes Of the earl
trayersers of the Ohio River. 1t was al.
deemed vantage ground to the roVln
tribes Of Indians who went this way as
short cut to the West and East aud henC
the struggle for supremacy in this quarter
The siege of Fort Henry in 1882 and II
disastrous effects was the culminatin
point in its war history. 1t was, indeed
the last battle of the Revolution, and whrI
the British flag went down on the day tn
siege was raised the last vestige OF Englisl
supremacy in the StatesI~ent glimmerinS
To ask us TO give history Of the occupa At
of the stockade at the time OF the siege
would be work OF supererOgation at this
time, for every school boy in the West OF
East either, VINO has read his books to any
purpose is familiar with the names of Col.
Zane and his gallant command on the oc'
csSiOn.
To celebrate, therefore, in its proper man
ner the deeds OF that brave man and his
men, to testify their proper appreciation oil
what they did, both for themselves and
their children, for the generation OF their
time and for those succeeding them, and
most of all for the present, was the primary
object of the celebration of Saturday, Sep
TENDER l6, 1882. 1t had been thought that
there was local
Pride Sufficient In wheeling
to 20 into the work necessary to send the
celebration oil with proper cctdt and to make
it one of the important incidents OF the
tradition, or more properly, of the histori'
cal fact, but the scene Of Saturday was
enough to disgust one with his city and its
inhabitants and to make the stranger with.
in It's gates ask, SIS there a single descend
AMI of the early settlers in this vicinity?
il dye Gibson l.. Cranmer, OF this city, was
the lirst man TO take All interest in the mat
ter of the celebration, and to his credit be
it said that he was the only man VINO went
into the work with any vigor, and remain.
ed at his work until his self-imposed task
was well and honorably disposed Of. Judge
Crsnmer tried at various times and in va
rious ways to enlist the citizens OF the city
and county in the work, both by minging
with them and through the medium OF the
press, and was assured by many that they
would &C. operate with him. Their recol-
lection .of their promise lapsed with the
giving, and when last Saturday morning
came, the Judge found himself picture Of
isolation.
Such in brief is the history Of the day
We CtltDIdlc III w hCCIillSi anu VA VIZ
efforts that were made to celebrate it. The
remainder of it is better given in the pro
duction of Hon. HUI. Maxwell, of Tucker
county, and Judge G. L. Cranmer, OF this
city,
The Celebration.
Shortly after 10 o'clock yesterday very
small crowd of ladies and gentlemen, with
a plentiful intermingling of children, were
called together on the dancing stand in
the. Fair Ground. There seemedto have been
no intimation abroad that anything Of an
unusual nature was to take place, and
what people did come were attracted thith
er by the fearful and wonderful appear
ance of band that the forethought OF the
Association had provided for the occasion
The band in question had been scared up
from one of the fakir's tents hard by, and
its composition would have furnished
a sthdy for an ethnologist. The leader
came upon the stand in a rude manner and
demanded money for the music before he
would consent to go on, but having been
assured that the money for the orchestra
would be forthcoming he gave orders to
pay.
to order and after briefly reciting the object
of the convention, introduced HUI. Max
we'll, ESQ.,, of Tucker county, who delivered
a most interesting address upon the Arch
zoology of Ohio county. Mr.. Maxwelrs adj
uress was one of the most intensely In
teresting ones that we have ever had the
pleasure of listening to, and but for the
iateness of the hour at which IL was re
ceived we would produce it at this time.
Following Mr.. Maxwell came Judge Gran
mer of this city, who gave the historical ad
dress, as sollows: