West Virginia in the Civil War

[Music] I'm Phil casy 2016 Civil War trust national teacher of the year proud Martinsburg West Virginia native and a social studies educator at University High School in Morgantown to know West Virginia's history one must first understand Virginia's history until secession that is in June 1861 when Virginia decided to ceed from the union most of the votes against secession came from what was the Western and Northwestern parts of Western Virginia from that moment on the statehood movement was on and on June 20th 1863 West Virginia became the 35th state in the Union some 50,000 West Virginians are believed to have participated in the American Civil War including 32,000 from the union and 18,000 for the Confederacy and both sides fought at Fame battles such as antium and Gettysburg uh famed West Virginia units include the third West Virginia and the seventh West Virginia infantry famous Confederate units that fought out of present day West Virginia would have been the famed First Virginia Brigade the infamous Stonewall Brigade uh where my ancestor William fought for the second Virginia regimen West Virginia was home to the first land battle in the American Civil War in June 1861 at the Battle of Philippi the first fight in the shannona valley was the Battle of Falling Waters in July 1861 just prior to First Manasses or first bull run here in Harper's Ferry sight of the second national federal Armory John Brown's raid uh one of the Union's key logistical hubs Stonewall Jackson captured 13,000 Union troops during the Maryland campaign of 1862 marking the largest amount of Union troops to surrender during the entire War speaking of Stonewall Jackson one of the war's most iconic commanders on either side he was a Clarksburg West Virginia native other famous West Virginians include Confederate spy B Boyd out of Martinsburg and Union general Jesse Reno out of Wheeling also Robert El's famed horse traveler was from West Virginia West Virginia the orphan state of the American Civil War the Mountain State and the 35th state in the Union