The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-07-05

EapS0IuLetSi8aEa me- Qt4lAQA4h{at91 -
president 1T a coup dietat. Il
Immediately after passage Of & this
lordfnance. Robert n Lee, who had
ibeen educated by the United States.
and was then an ohlcer Of its army
was designated by the convention to
Itake command OF the Virginia forces
\ IN rebellion against the United States.
He accepted on the spot, and SIX days
iiater was by general order ISSUED by
1.-The (rebel) governor to take command
The Military Initiative.
The military operations in North!
western Virginia, following quickly
these civil pre1imtnaries. developed
1.-THE first serious collision Of Union and
Canfederate forces IN the Geld. They.
later were under the immediate d!
rection Of the commander who at The
close OF the war was regarded as the
highest military genius produced by
the south. The former were commando
ed by men direct from the walks Of
civil life. some of them with military
education, but without military expe-
lrience or pretension.
Compared with the later and great.
er movements, these initial operations
seem comparatively unimportant. Yet
they had certain significance, and
were not without consequences. i'm.
mediate and remote. At the moment.
they filled a large space in the public
estimation. For the public had not
!. yet grown up to the tremendous
events that followed. This FIRST
blood" was as great in the popular 40.
terest at the moment as the tides that
| flowed later in the growing magnitude
Of the conflict The result OF this cam.
paign was more potential in the turn
of the war than might at first glance
appear. It gave the first shock to the
theory then prevalent in the South
that northern men would NOT stand up
on the martial field before the super
/ ior gentlemen Of that section. It dem
onstrated that courage, endurance and
military skill were not the exclusive
possession of those who had been
nourished on civilization basel upon
a seryttor class. 1t furnished COM
mander for the army on which de-
pended the defense Of the national
capital during the war; AM out Of
this grew wefghty consequences. mill
tary and political 1t resulted in the
exemption of Northwest, and THUS ga e
security to eastern Ohio and western
Pennsylvania throughout the war.
And, not least in value, 1t made easy
the restoration of civil government in
Virginia, followed by the erection Of
West Virginia into separate state;
which, in the words of Abraham Lin
coin, turned that much slave soil to
free and consummated certain ami
1 irreyocable encroachment upon the
cause of the rebellion"
Organizing the Confederate Forces.
The day after the league Of uslrpn-
ltion was consummated in secret be-
tween the convention and Alexander
H. Stephens. the Confederate SHcFe-
tary OF War wired Gov. Letcher to
know at what points and in what num-
bers the military forces of VirSinla
were to be rendezvoused adding: "For
] action here an early answer is expect
ed" May 1st Letcher wired Walker
at Montgomery in reply:
Arrangements have been made to
call out, If necessary, $4,000 volun-
teers from Virginia, to be rendez-
yoused at Norfolk. Richmond, Fredel-
Eicisburg, Alexander, FIarper's Ferry,
Grafton, Kanawha, Parkersburg aud
/ NIoundsyllle."
May Sd MI. Letcher issued proc
lamat1on calling on the State vHillti-
Iteer companies, where there We're any
or when organized, to rendezvous "for
the service of Virginia" Anticipating
this proclamation two or three days,
Con. Lee had already issued orders to
carry out the object Of the proclonq-
ton. These orders did not obtain gen
eral publicity in. northwestern Virgin
ia. They were circulated through Sc
cret channels among those only who
were know to be in co:ore1u' ION or
sympathy with the insurrectfon. But
SO dominant was the Union sentiment
that the only open rendezvous eStab-
ltshed in the Northwest was ct Fet-
terman, on the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad, mile below Grafton. Here
Capt. VIM. p Thompson put h:s Mar
ion guards into camp and there was
an accretfon Of few Every few re-
cruIts. The postmaster at Fctte'nan
lat is said, was friendly to the cause
and the Confederate correspondence