Archives historian Terry Lowry points out entries in a Civil War era ledger from the Tompkins Inn at Cedar Grove in preparation for the State Archives' Second Annual Showcase event.
Charleston, W.Va. -- Rare documents, photos, letters, pamphlets and books, most of them dealing with West Virginia's role in the Civil War, will be on public display during "A Gathering Storm," the second annual West Virginia Archives and History Showcase, which starts at 7 p.m. Monday.
"We see this as a good time for the people of West Virginia to come in and look at some of things we spend a lot of time collecting and saving," said Susan Scouras, Archives and History librarian.
"We had a good turnout at last year's first Showcase, and we hope to give people even more to see this year," said State Archivist Joe Geiger. In addition to dozens of exhibits in the Archives library, "We'll have screens and photo exhibits in the Great Hall, and free food and gifts."
Because next year marks the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War, "A Gathering Storm" was chosen for the theme of this year's event.
Among documents on display will be the handwritten executive minutes book of West Virginia's first governor, Arthur I. Boreman, starting with his first entry on June 20, 1863, and a letter by the state's briefest-serving governor, D.D.T. Farnsworth, written during his seven-day term in 1869.
Farnsworth, serving as Senate president, replaced Boreman when the former governor resigned to become a U.S. senator. Farnsworth's term ended when newly elected governor William E. Stevenson was sworn in as the state's chief executive.
In his letter to his parents from the capital in Wheeling, Farnsworth attributed his success to their "good and faithful lessons" early in his life, and warned them to be watching for a paper he was forwarding bearing "the strange news of the location of the Capitol at Charleston."
Among Civil War papers on display will be an extradition warrant from officials in Chambersburg, Pa., seeking the delivery of former Confederate Gen. John McCausland of Mason County to Pennsylvania to stand trial on felony arson charges. McCausland ordered the torching of Chambersburg in July 1864, in retaliation for Union destruction in the Shenandoah Valley. President Grant later pardoned his former enemy.
An 1861 letter from Confederate Gen. Henry Wise to Capt. John P. Hale, who served as mayor of Charleston after the end of the Civil War, will also be on display. The letter, sent from Wise's headquarters in White Sulphur Springs, informs Hale, who had recently resigned his commission as an artillery officer, that Wise had no role in a letter-writing campaign criticizing Hale for the move.
Charleston, W.Va. -- Rare documents, photos, letters, pamphlets and books, most of them dealing with West Virginia's role in the Civil War, will be on public display during "A Gathering Storm," the second annual West Virginia Archives and History Showcase, which starts at 7 p.m. Monday.
"We see this as a good time for the people of West Virginia to come in and look at some of things we spend a lot of time collecting and saving," said Susan Scouras, Archives and History librarian.
"We had a good turnout at last year's first Showcase, and we hope to give people even more to see this year," said State Archivist Joe Geiger. In addition to dozens of exhibits in the Archives library, "We'll have screens and photo exhibits in the Great Hall, and free food and gifts."
Because next year marks the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War, "A Gathering Storm" was chosen for the theme of this year's event.
Among documents on display will be the handwritten executive minutes book of West Virginia's first governor, Arthur I. Boreman, starting with his first entry on June 20, 1863, and a letter by the state's briefest-serving governor, D.D.T. Farnsworth, written during his seven-day term in 1869.
Farnsworth, serving as Senate president, replaced Boreman when the former governor resigned to become a U.S. senator. Farnsworth's term ended when newly elected governor William E. Stevenson was sworn in as the state's chief executive.
In his letter to his parents from the capital in Wheeling, Farnsworth attributed his success to their "good and faithful lessons" early in his life, and warned them to be watching for a paper he was forwarding bearing "the strange news of the location of the Capitol at Charleston."
Among Civil War papers on display will be an extradition warrant from officials in Chambersburg, Pa., seeking the delivery of former Confederate Gen. John McCausland of Mason County to Pennsylvania to stand trial on felony arson charges. McCausland ordered the torching of Chambersburg in July 1864, in retaliation for Union destruction in the Shenandoah Valley. President Grant later pardoned his former enemy.
An 1861 letter from Confederate Gen. Henry Wise to Capt. John P. Hale, who served as mayor of Charleston after the end of the Civil War, will also be on display. The letter, sent from Wise's headquarters in White Sulphur Springs, informs Hale, who had recently resigned his commission as an artillery officer, that Wise had no role in a letter-writing campaign criticizing Hale for the move.
A Civil War era ledger book from Tompkins Inn at Cedar Grove lists a nearly unbroken series of military guests in 1863 and 1864. Among them were a "Lt. Eagle & Lady and servant," who rang up a $4.75 dinner and lodging bill on Oct. 10, 1863. November 1863 lodging guests included "five cavalrymen, all drunk," a Union guard escorting 13 prisoners who was billed $8 for meals and lodging, and several Ohioans from McMullen's Battery, including one who may have died at the inn.
Original pamphlets advocating both sides of the slavery issue will be on display, including "The Ruffner Pamphlet," consisting of excerpts of an 1847 speech by Charleston salt-making heir, minister -- and slaveholder -- Henry Ruffner, then president of Washington University in Lexington, Va. Ruffner argued, among other things, that "slavery is injurious to the public welfare," and called for its gradual abolition.
Also on display will be "The Invasion of Harpers Ferry," an 1860 book on the John Brown raid, which includes an anonymous freehand pencil sketch of the renowned abolitionist Brown on one of the title pages.
Among non-Civil War items to be showcased at the event is a long-missing video recording of the 1960 debate between Democratic presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey that took place in the WCHS-TV studio in Charleston.
No local copies of the televised debate were apparently made and saved. Assistant State Archivist Bryan Ward learned that the debate aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Company's "Close Up" program 50 years ago, and found that the network had a copy of the program on file. He managed to acquire a copy for the Archives two months ago.
Behind-the-scenes tours of the Archives, views of rare books and manuscripts, West Virginia Civil War medals, genealogy tools and historic music will be a part of the one-night program, which starts at 7 p.m.
For information, call 304-558-0230.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5169.
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