Civil War In Greenbrier County, West Virginia

Civil War In Greenbrier County, West Virginia
ISBN-10
1942294220
ISBN-13
9781942294221
Category
History
Pages
434
Language
English
Published
2021-04-08
Publisher
Quarrier Press
Author
Tim McKinney

Description

This is the story of a place, and a war. It makes sense that this area would be of utmost significance in the Civil War, as it sits on the spot where Virginia was ripped apart to form two states. A place where the war "came early and stayed late." Although strong Union support characterized Greenbrier County before the war, the majority of its citizens sided with the South when forced to choose. Greenbrier County sent no delegates to the conventions that gave birth to the Reorganized Government of Virginia. It cast no votes for Abraham Lincoln. When war came, the county supported the Confederate military with money, arms and men. An estimated 2,000 men and boys from Greenbrier County wore Confederate gray. This number represented approximately 80% of the county's males of "military age." Greenbrier County was strategically important to both sides. It was a gateway to northwestern Virginia, Ohio and the rich Shenandoah Valley. It was a base from which either side could attack, or defend, the vital railroads of southwestern Virginia and the prized salt mines of the Great Kanawha Valley. In the years after the war Greenbrier County played a prominent role in shaping the new nation. At a meeting in at the Greenbrier in 1868, General Lee and other prominent veterans from both sides signed the Greenbrier Manifesto, a document calling for reconciliation between the North and South. In this way, Greenbrier County--crossroads of a nation divided--became a conduit for lasting peace.

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