Early Prices of Farm Stock,

Prices of some kinds of farm stock have changed since the early days of Barbour County, as will be shown by the following extracts from the records. In June, 1844, at a sale of the property of William Proudfoot, who had recently died, the sums realized seem small in comparison with present values:

The estate of Martin Life, who had also recently died, was settled by appraising and selling his personal property. The sale took place February 22, 1845, and the following list will show the value placed by the appraisers and the amount realized at the sale:

In 1847 the property of William Chrislip, deceased, was appraised by order of Court, and the following items are selected, with the values given them:

CHAPTER XX

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THE CIVIL WAR IN BARBOUR,

The amount of fighting in Barbour County during the Civil War was not large in comparison with southern and eastern counties; yet Barbour occupies a place in history different from others because here was fought the first important engagement. It was not the first fighting, for prior to that time there had been encounters at Gloucester Point, Baltimore, and Sewell's Point, but the action of Philippi June 3, 1861, is regarded as the opening fight of the war.

Causes and events leading up to this great struggle are outlined in former chapters of this book, as far as West Virginia was immediately concerned; and in this chapter affairs of Barbour County will be specially considered. An effort has been made to collect and set down a plain statement of facts concerning the movement within Barbour County immediately preceding and during the Civil War. When Virginia seceded from the Union, the people of Barbour divided into hostile camps. In fact they had divided into parties before that time, one loyal to the Union, the other loyal to Virginia whether in the Union or out. The vote on the Ordinance of Secession showed that a majority were secessionists, but the majority was not large. No record of the vote is found in Barbour. Before that election there were nearly one thousand Confederate troops in Barbour, under Colonel Porterfield, and their presence had an influence in augmenting the vote of the secessionists. Prior to that time several meetings had been held in the county by those in sympathy with secession, and only one meeting had been held by Union men. As early as January 25, 1861, Thomas A. Bradford and Samuel Woods announced themselves candidates for election as delegates to the Richmond Convention, which subsequently passed the Ordinance of Secession; but to be a candidate, at that time, did not imply that they favored secession. Therefore each candidate issued a circular informing the people how he stood on the vital issues. The following is an extract from the circular by Mr. Woods:

"The Union of the United States is a Union of independent sovereignties, except so far as they have surrendered portions of their sovereignty to the Confederacy of the United States for the purposes specified in the Constitution of the United States. Every State adopted the Constitution of the United States as part and parcel of the State constitution. It may of right assume all its rights and sovereignty for such causes

as it may deem sufficient for itself without giving just cause of offense to any other State that may decline to do so. The allegiance which the citizens of each State owe to the Federal Government of the United States is subordinate to that due to each State, and may be lawfully withdrawn by each State whenever it may deem it to its interest to do so. When any State exercises these rights by seceding from the present Union of the United States, every citizen of such State is bound to render obedience and allegiance to it alone. There exists no lawful authority in any government, State or Federal, to coerce any State to return to the Union that may have in its sovereign capacity seceded from it, and any attempt to do so is an invasion of the sovereignty of such State, and is equivalent to a declaration of war against it and ought to be resisted at every hazard and to the last extremity. The Constitution of the United States, while its provisions have been observed, has given to the people peace and security at home and power and influence abroad; and if preserved will give the same to our posterity. Every effort and sacrifice, not inconsistent with the sovereign rights and honor of Virginia, should be made to preserve the same from destruction."

Mr. Bradford was considered the secession candidate while Mr. Woods was looked upon as more favorable to the preservation of the Union. Mr. Bradford announced his platform January 21, 1861, in a circular from which the following is an extract:

"I hold that, although the Federal Constitution created a government, yet that government and that constitution were as much dependent upon the will of the people of the several States for its creation and perpetuation as any other constitution in the country. The constitution was ratified by the individual States, each acting for itself as an independent sovereignty, and when the powers delegated by that constitution are perverted to the injury and oppression of any or either of the States, they have the indisputable right to resume them. This right to resume the power delegated to the Federal government was expressly reserved in the ordinance of the Virginia convention which ratified the constitution. This is a right which has always been held sacred by the people of Virginia because it furnished them with a remedy against unbridled majorities. If it be not so, and if the separate States do not enjoy this right, then the idea of State rights and State sovereignty, which has always been the Polar Star of Virginia politics, is a delusive dream, and this a great, consolidated government. But, if a State does secede, has the Federal Government the constitutional right or power to coerce her into submission? I think not. Coercion is war, and the President has not the power to make war upon any country, much less one of the original parties to the Federal compact. Coercion is disunion, certain, inevitable and irreversible; and this state of things I maintain no President, under the flimsy pretext of enforcing the laws, has a right to precipitate upon the country. I believe it is the duty of Virginia to present an unbroken front to her enemies and demand with stern determination all the rights which belong to her and her southern sisters. These rights should be guaranteed upon a basis so firm and stable that the recurrence of our present troubles would be placed beyond the reach of Northern aggression. If we fail in this, I am for Virginia's resuming the powers she delegated to the General Government, and forming such other government as may best secure the liberty, safety and happiness of her people.

"All the evils which now threaten the very existence of our Government have been produced by the lawless and unconstitutional aggressions of the non-slaveholding States. For the last thirty or forty years they have persistently engaged in every species of injustice and insult toward us. They have traduced and slandered us before the nations of the earth. They have denied us equal participation in the common territories of the United States. They have sent their hired mercenaries among us for the express

purpose of inciting our slaves to insurrection, and alienating the affections of our people from each other. They have sent their bands of Myrmidons among us to murder our people and steal and destroy our property, and when these infamous malefactors escape into those State they are protected by their executives from the just penalties which our laws denounce against them. In thirteen of the free States they have passed their so-called personal liberty bills by which a felon's punishment is meted out to our citizens if they should go in pursuit of their property which may have escaped or been stolen from them. And finally, they have, by an exclusively sectional vote, repudiating the idea of nationality, elected Abraham Lincoln who is openly pledged to the miserable dogma that the negro is the equal of the white man. I shall favor submitting the action of the convention to the people for ratification or rejection."

Before the close of January a mass meeting was held on Hacker's Creek, with Jacob Woodford as president and Robert Talbott as vice-president. This was designated a "State's Rights" meeting, and after endorsing the candidacy of Mr. Bradford, it passed resolutions favoring the secession of Virginia, declaring:

"The cause of South Carolina is our cause, and we will see her righted to the bitter end, and when she falls, Virginia must fall with her."

Early in February, 1861, a similar meeting was held on Stewart's Run, of which Abraham Simon was president and Anthony Reger vicepresident. Milton D. Reed was secretary. There were several speeches made, all favoring Virginia's secession, or, as the minutes of the meeting show, "all taking strong grounds in favor of defending the rights, the independence and the honor of the South at every hazard and to the last extremity." Speeches were made by James D. Hall, R. D. Talbott, L. E. Gall, Granville Carlin, W. W. Carlin and Gideon Reger. In the election which followed, Samuel Woods was chosen from Barbour County. On February 21 he offered the following series of resolutions before the Richmond convention:

"Resolved, that the allegiance which the citizens of Virginia owe to the Federal Government of the United States of America is subordinate to that due to the State of Virginia, and may, therefore, lawfully be withdrawn by her whenever she deems it her duty to do so.

"That in case the State of Virginia should exercise this authority, her citizens would be in duty bound to render allegiance and obedience to her alone.

"That the State of Virginia recognizes no authority in any government, State or Federal, to coerce her or any of her citizens, to render allegiance to the United States, after she may, in her sovereign authority, have withdrawn from it; and that she will regard any attempt at coercion as equivalent to a declaration of war against her, to be resisted at every hazard and to the last extremity.

"That the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, having severally and formally withdrawn the allegiance of their respective people from the United States of America, a faithful, earnest desire to avert civil war, and the sound, conservative sentiment of the country, alike, indicate to the government of the United States the necessity and policy of recognizing their independence," These resolutions were received in Philippi in the latter part of Febru