West Virginia
Book by Egan, Michael
Michael Egan wrote the Flying, Gray-Haired Yank long after he completed serving his adopted country, The United States, in the Civil War. Unfortunately, he died in 1888 – the year this book was published and he did not see it in completed form.Egan began service as a civilian contractor to the military and carried dispatches through the guerrilla infested portion of central West Virginia. Following his courier duty, he entered into service in the new state of West Virginia as an officer in the 15th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He participated in campaigns, was captured, escaped, and re-captured, and escaped a second time. His story includes details of evasion of Confederate patrols, help from slaves and Unionist, and his eventual return to safety within Union lines. Hardcover, 424 pages.
With contemporary photography and words, this handsome and groundbreaking book explores the cultural and natural history of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and the surrounding landscape within Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. More than just a collection of photographs, the book chronicles the history of the area. Best known for John Brown's 1859 raid, the Ferry occupied a strategic location between the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet, making it an important 19th-century crossroads for river, canal, and railroad transportation. The book explores that bustling bygone era, including the Civil War years, which brought an end to the town's industrial age. Moreover, the book portrays the present-day town and the area's scenic attractions, including the rivers and the Appalachian Trail, which passes through the park.
West Virginia is the only state formed by seceding from a Confederate state. And its connections to the Civil War run deep. One day at a time, award-winning historian Michael Graham presents intriguing, event-driven anecdotes and history related to the state. On July 11, 1861, a Union force attacked 1,300 Confederate troops camped at Rich Mountain in a renowned battle. Confederate guerrillas raided Hackers Creek on June 12, 1864. Find little-known facts about the Battles of Droop Mountain, Carnifex Ferry, Harpers Ferry, Shepherdstown and a whole host of others. Read a story one day or month at a time. Celebrate an entire year of Civil War history in the Mountain State.
Because they were situated near the Mason-Dixon line, Shepherdstown residents witnessed the realities of the Civil War firsthand. Marching armies, sounds of battle and fear of war had arrived on their doorsteps by the summer of 1862. The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 brought thousands of wounded Confederates into the town's homes, churches and warehouses. The story of Shepherdstown's transformation into "one vast hospital" recounts nightmarish scenes of Confederate soldiers under the caring hands of an army of surgeons and civilians. Author Kevin R. Pawlak retraces the horrific accounts of Shepherdstown as a Civil War hospital town.
Why do we call West Virginia "A New Home for Liberty?" What did West Virginia have to do about slavery, in order to become a State in 1863? How did a jury in Tucker County, WV strike a blow for racial equality in the 1890s? Who are the West Virginia heroes J.R. Clifford, Granville Hall, Carrie Williams, and Gordon Battelle and why do we admire them? You can learn the answers to these questions and lots more in this exciting book of stories from West Virginia's civil rights history. The first story in the new book is titled "A New Home for Liberty," and describes the creation of West Virginia through the life of the abolitionist and statehood leader Granville Davisson Hall (1837-1934). Before the Civil War, Hall's father, a tanner in the Harrison County Town of Shinnston (then a part of Virginia), was indicted for distributing anti-slavery literature. The book's second story, "J.R. Clifford and the Carrie Williams Case," tells how Carrie Williams, an African American teacher in a segregated Tucker County school at the head of the Blackwater Canyon, won a landmark equal rights case in the 1890s before the West Virginia Supreme Court. Williams' lawyer was John Robert(J.R.)Clifford, (1848-1933), the State's first African American attorney. As a teenager, Clifford fought for the Union Army in the Civil War, and he is also a character in the "New Home for Liberty" story.
A comprehensive guidebook to walking tours of Lower Town Harpers Ferry, Virginus Island, Maryland Heights, Loudoun Heights, and much more. Detailed maps & index. Revised: 09-01-2016 Eighth edition includes map elevations and updates to the Bolivar Heights and Loudon Heights walks.Paperback, 192 pages Author: David T Gilbert