To the Defenders of the Union

Seán Duffy August 5, 2016August 25, 2016 2 Comments 5167 Views

Featured Image: Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument of Wheeling

The Case for Moving Wheeling’s Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument

“So may the future days
Come nobly to our State:
When, prosperous and great,
Her citizens shall praise
Those who gave life and all to consecrate
Their land to liberty;
And bade their watchword be
These words in granite here,
To freemen ever dear,
Montani Semper Liberi.”
-From Soldiers’ Monument Poem by William Leighton

In case you haven’t heard, a campaign has been launched to move the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument from Wheeling Park to the empty lot beside West Virginia Independence Hall. Read More

Ohio County Public Library Archives

The Grover Cleveland Banner Incident: Wheeling in the National Spotlight

Seán Duffy December 30, 2014October 10, 2019 Leave a Comment 7613 Views

“You don’t get me to march under that thing!”

Members of the G.A.R. in Wheeling, probably in front of the old courts house at 12th and Chapline. — Members of the G.A.R. in Wheeling, most likely in front of the old court house at 12th and Chapline.

As mentioned in a previous post, the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), the largest of Civil War veterans’ groups, was very active in Wheeling during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Grateful for an end to the bloody, exhausting war, most Americans were more than willing to reward these veterans with generous pensions. Unfortunately, as is often the case where money is involved, some took advantage, exaggerating or even falsifying pension claims. Read More

Ohio County Public Library Archives

The Origins of Memorial Day

Seán Duffy December 21, 2014May 30, 2021 Leave a Comment 8195 Views

Frozen in Time: May 30, 1911 at Mt. Zion Cemetery

The G.A.R. in Wheeling, 1886. OCPL Archives, Joseph Hoffmann Collection.

Now known as Memorial Day, the first “Decoration Day” was held on May 30, 1868. Created by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), it was originally intended to be a day to honor the memory of those who died in the Civil War. Congress made “Memorial Day” an official, national holiday in 1971.

Wheeling played host to reunions of Civil War veterans of the G.A.R. numerous times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The J. W. Holliday Post, No. 12, of Wheeling was usually front and center during these activities. Read More

Tag: Grand Army of the Republic

The Case for Moving Wheeling’s Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument

“You don’t get me to march under that thing!”

Frozen in Time: May 30, 1911 at Mt. Zion Cemetery