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    West Virginia National Guard:: 1898-1919
    West Virginia National Guard:: 1898-1919
    West Virginia National Guard:: 1898-1919
    Ebook177 pages44 minutes

    West Virginia National Guard:: 1898-1919

    By Brian Stuart Kesterson

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    About this ebook

    The formation of what would eventually become the West Virginia National Guard has its roots intertwined in the "Old" Virginia Militia system of the early and mid-1700s. This militia system spanned the Indian hostilities of the French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War, 1780s and 1790s Indian Wars, and Civil War. Images of America: West Virginia National Guard covers the time span between 1898 and 1919. This period of guard history was chaotic, to say the least, and was typified by turbulent social, economic, and political unrest.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439637913
    West Virginia National Guard:: 1898-1919
    Author

    Brian Stuart Kesterson

    Author Brian Stuart Kesterson is a teacher employed by the Wood County Board of Education. In 2005, he was presented with the West Virginia History Hero Award for promoting and preserving West Virginia history through his writings, lectures, and living history programs. In 2007, the United Daughters of the Confederacy presented him with the Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal for his writings and efforts in helping to preserve Southern culture and history. Many of these photographs are taken from the collection of the late Fred Cochran, a native of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Cochran was an officer of Company E, 2nd West Virginia National Guard. His photographs offer an insight rarely captured in these early days of guard history.

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      Book preview

      West Virginia National Guard: - Brian Stuart Kesterson

      collection.

      INTRODUCTION

      We all have heard the old adage, One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This book is literally based on that premise. In 1997, while on an outing of exploring antique stores in Ohio, I came across this wonderful collection of photographs that had once belonged to Parkersburg, West Virginia, native Fred Cochran. The photographs had been rescued out of a trash can by a man who sold them to an antique dealer in Athens, Ohio. Upon seeing the photographs, I set out to purchase the entire collection, which at first posed a bit of a problem as the dealer wanted to sell them all separately. A deal was eventually worked out. The dealer traded for my 1850 officer’s sword, 200 Native American arrowheads, and my prized Hopewell-Adena pole celt—a sacrifice that I didn’t really want to make, but the extreme rarity of West Virginia National Guard photographs from 1913 to 1918 even surpasses those scarce Civil War photographs, which collectors gobble up at a drop of a hat. There was only one picture that he would not part with, and that was of an early, military, converted Harley-Davidson motorcycle. With my main objective of saving nearly the entire collection now accomplished, I set out on a series of fact-finding missions. Unfortunately to my disappointment, I discovered that the guard reports for this time period were lost or destroyed many years ago. Surviving guard material for this time period is now housed at the West Virginia Division of Culture and History in Charleston, West Virginia.

      My research eventually led me to a book published by Kenneth R. Baily titled Mountaineers Are Free: A History of the West Virginia National Guard. This book was of great help to me in understanding the formation and organization of the guard. The book also helped me fill in important information directly dealing with these photographs. A special note of thanks is extended to Baily for his interest in this project. A special note of thanks is also extended to John S. D. Eisenhower of Trappe, Maryland, for his verification on several of the photographs that appeared staged.

      The Cochran collection is by far the best collection of grouped photographs from this time period, but they are not the only photographs of the guard from this time period. The C. V. Feller Collection, housed at the West Virginia Division of Culture and History in Charleston, also gives a good view of the guard. The center also has an interesting collection of guard photographs from the West Virginia Mine Wars era. Some of these photographs appear in this publication as well. A special note of thanks goes to Debra Basham at the West Virginia Division of Culture and History for getting me copies of several of the photographs that are used in this publication. A special note of thanks is also extended to Terry Lowery of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History for his assistance in this publication.

      With any luck, more photographs of the guard may turn up after the publication of this book. It is my hope that people will realize how valuable these types of images are to future generations and historians. It is important that we share our history with others. If we as a people can’t draw on our past and learn the lessons that came from it, then how can we expect future generations to view us and preserve the past if we did not take the time to do it ourselves?

      One could say that the formation of a guard-like unit in western Virginia was based on the old Virginia Militia system. The first organized militia company in what is now present-day West Virginia was first founded by Morgan Morgan, who had been commissioned as a captain in the Virginia Militia on February 17, 1735. Under his watchful eye and supervision, the Berkely Riflemen had been formed to help protect white settlers from hostile Native American raids on the Virginia frontier.

      The militia system proved to be an important asset to the early (West) Virginians who continued to build and expand on their frontier. As each new region was settled, and with the development of each new county, so developed a new local militia unit for each. These units would eventually become the nucleus of the fine fighting forces that would later serve in the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War. Western Virginian militiamen took part in every major campaign or battle in our nation’s history from 1754 to 1865. It was from this very

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