History

FIRST WHEELING CONVENTION

The West deserted by Wise, its leader of the decade before, and seeking wiser leaders for the future was soon largely under the general direction of John S. Carlile after his safe return from the Richmond convention. A meeting held at Clarksburg on April 22 urgently recommended that each county of northwestern Virginia should send at least five men to Wheeling on May 13 to determine what action should be taken in the emergency. In response to this recommendation, on the day appointed, over 400 men, pursued in some instances by confederate troops flocked to Wheeling where amid great demonstrations, flags, and banners flying, bands playing, and people cheering they assembled as a 'mass convention' in Washington Hall, and promptly organized with all the machinery of a parliamentary body. The members of this irregular convention, although they agreed upon the necessity of separation from Virginia and the formation of the new state, were divided on the question of what should be done first. Their conflicting ideas and plans were disclosed in a torrent of resolutions. Many, led by Carlile, insisted on the immediate formation of a new state by the simple edict of the convention without the delay and inconvenience which would result from adherence to constitutional provisions. The Wood county delegation carried a banner which bore the inscription 'New Virginia now or never' Others led by WT Willey were opposed to any immediate action.” (Source: Semi-centennial History of West Virginia: With Special Articles, James Morton Callahan, West Virginia. Semi-Centennial Commission, p.142)

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