West Virginia's War
This book explores the unique history of West Virginia, the only state born out of the Civil War. Western Virginians faced a dual crisis of allegiance and identity, torn between their historical ties to the secessionist state of Virginia and their loyalty to the Union. The population included a significant number of enslaved people, for whom the conflict’s outcome would have major consequences.
Many Civil War narratives focus on major battles, but William Kerrigan shifts attention to the civilians of Western Virginia-both free and enslaved-who endured military occupation, raids, and guerrilla warfare. Civilians faced loyalty oaths, arrests, property destruction, and invasions by soldiers and partisans from both sides. Enslaved individuals played an active role, providing intelligence and assistance to Union forces and risking their lives for their freedom.
At the same time, political leaders grappled with complex legal and political questions, first rejecting secession from the Union and subsequently pursuing their own secession from Virginia to form the new state of West Virginia. Their challenges included framing a new government, defining the state’s borders, addressing the future of slavery, and securing federal recognition. Postwar reconstruction in West Virginia presented its own challenges, distinct from those of other border states, as the return of defeated Confederates threatened the stability of the new state. The book highlights how the experiences of Western Virginia’s noncombatants, political leaders, and enslaved people contributed to the region’s turbulent transformation during and after the Civil War.
William Kerrigan is a professor of history at Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio. For twenty years he has been leading Civil War study tours for college students to West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and he teaches courses on the American Civil War, the early national and antebellum United States, and American environmental history. In addition to West Virginia's War, he is the author of Johnny Appleseed and the American Orchard: A Cultural History.