West Virginia

What is West Virginia Day?

Published

2 years ago

June 20, 2022

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – West Virginia Day falls on June 20 every year. It’s a day to have a good time the state and have a pepperoni roll–or 5. Most West Virginians know that it’s West Virginia’s birthday–when it separated from Virginia in 1863–however have you learnt the total story behind West Virginia’s statehood?

West Virginia is definitely the one state that was born out of the Civil Battle. The wanting it was that the northwestern a part of Virginia didn’t agree with becoming a member of the Confederacy. The explanations behind the disagreement are extra sophisticated. A speech from Waitman T. Willey, Monongalia Delegate, on April 2, 1861 to the Virginia State Conference offers some perception on the politics of the time.

Within the speech, Willey defined that Western Virginia felt deserted by insurance policies that have been in favor of slaveholders and plantations. The hills in western Virginia prevented giant plantations, however Willey identified that the pure sources inside the area–waterfalls, coal, and forest land–may very well be big cash makers and job creators for the entire state of Virginia (“able to using all of the slave labor in Virginia for hundreds of years, with out exhaustion”), but the state refused to spend money on something aside from giant slaveowners.

All these parts of wealth, all these parts of State energy and prosperity are inside 200 and 250 miles of the capital of your State. And but you exempt your slave property from taxation, and thus endure this nice supply of inner wealth to lie undeveloped and unavailing, as a result of we have now not the means to finish our works of inner enchancment now partially completed, main thitherward, which might make obtainable all these sources of State wealth and State energy.
Waitman T. Willey, April 2nd, 1861
Advertisement

Step one within the formation of West Virginia was a sequence of conventions in Wheeling to ascertain a state structure. Information of the conventions was met with outrage by these in assist of state’s rights in Virginia, who felt that this was an act of betrayal. A unanimously adopted preamble of a state’s rights assembly in Harrison County accused the conference of being a minority that’s influenced too strongly by Ohio, Pennsylvania and President Abraham Lincoln.

Due to this fact, be it Resolved, That whereas we totally condemn the proposition to divide the State, and in our inmost souls we loath and abhor the diabolical method wherein it’s proposed to impact it, and the degrading connection sought to be fashioned with a hostile State, but we imagine that however just a few of the residents of the Northwest favor even an everyday and authorized division of the State, and that however a small variety of those that do, have thought severely of the character and penalties of that measure; and we’re completely glad {that a} nonetheless smaller quantity have been made conscious of the style wherein it’s proposed to perform it: And we’d solemnly warn and fervently implore our fellow residents to tell themselves, and assume and replicate for themselves on this and different topics of important public significance, and never permit themselves to be seduced by depraved and reckless males to their very own infamy, the degradation of their households, and the destruction of their nation.
States Rights Assembly in Harrison, April 5, 1861

Nonetheless, the will to remain within the Union proved to be within the majority on April 22, 1861, when almost 1,200 Harrison County residents gathered on the courthouse in Clarksburg to precise their opinions on Virginia’s intent to affix the Confederacy, with most residents opposing succession from the Union. Issues heated up additional with the general public vote to approve the Ordinance of Succession (the invoice to separate Virginia from the Union) on Might 23. Judging by vote totals, it was decided that many western Virginians’ votes weren’t delivered to Richmond and subsequently not counted.

A proposed map of “Kanawha,” 1861 (through Wikimedia Commons)

By August, after a lot back-and-forth, the Second Wheeling Conference adopted an ordinance to separate from Virginia and type a brand new state known as “Kanawha,” which, on the time, didn’t embrace the japanese panhandle of West Virginia. Throughout the Third Wheeling Conference, the state structure and the title “West Virginia” was established.

In Might 1862, each Virginia and US Congress agreed to the dismemberment. President Lincoln took a lot of 1862 deliberating the matter together with his divided cupboard however in the end determined in favor of statehood on December 31, 1862, contingent on the ratification of an anti-slavery modification. Lastly, on June 20, 1863, West Virginia was inaugurated as a brand new state. The Wheeling Every day Intelligencer reported a turnout of hundreds of individuals from overseas and all the metropolis.

“It threatened to rain a number of instances however nothing however a bit of bathe got here; not sufficient to drive folks into their homes or to discourage them from popping out. Flags, of all sizes, have been as thick within the metropolis nearly because the locusts within the suburbs. The show of bunting was most tasty and mirrored a lot credit score upon the great style and patriotism of the folks,” the newspaper wrote, “Within the night hundreds of individuals have been drawn to the wharf the place a high quality show of fire-work had been organized. The pyrotechnics have been grand, assorted and delightful, and elicited common murmurs of admiration.”

Source link

Click to comment

West Virginia

Score Predictions for West Virginia’s Senior Day Game vs. UCF

Published

2 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Score Predictions for West Virginia’s Senior Day Game vs. UCF

Picking up a win this weekend means the West Virginia Mountaineers are going bowling. It’s been an extremely disappointing season to this point, but WVU can put an end to their woes at home by taking down a UCF team that has lost six of its last seven.

Here is how we see this Saturday’s game going between WVU and UCF.

The challenge doesn’t get any easier this week for new WVU defensive coordinator Jeff Koonz, who will have to gameplan for the nation’s third-leading rusher, RJ Harvey. UCF is and always will be a run-first football team under Gus Malzahn, but they have found an answer at quarterback over the last couple of games with freshman Dylan Rizk, giving them more of a balanced approach.

For the most part this season, West Virginia has had success defending the run. They rank fifth in the Big 12 in run defense and 50th nationally in yards allowed per carry (4.0). Although Rizk opens up UCF’s offense, I still believe Malzahn will want to remain confident in his superstar running back and try to lean on WVU’s front. With less-than-ideal weather conditions expected to be in play, it should keep UCF from wanting to spin it a bunch, which is great news for a weak Mountaineer secondary.

Whether it was the season opener versus Penn State, the Backyard Brawl against Pitt, the Coal Rush game versus Iowa State, or another primetime game against Kansas State, WVU has not handled distractions all that well this season. Senior Day can certainly provide a lot of distractions with all of the emotions that go into it, but I believe Garrett Greene, Wyatt Milum, and Co. will walk out of Milan Puskar Stadium as winners.

I’m going with the Mountaineers in a high-scoring affair.

Prediction record: 6-4.

UCF may have found its footing with quarterback Dylan Rizk – the Knights’ fourth starting QB this season. Rizk has made the last two starts for a team looking to remain bowl eligible. The freshman threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start and nearly pulled off the upset at Arizona State in game two. He’s been efficient in his passes, completing 74.6% of his passes.

The Knights have leaned on an effective rushing attack, ranking third nationally, and lead all Power Four programs, averaging 262.8 rushing yards per game.

Leading the UCF ground game is RJ Harvey. The senior has rushed for 1,328, ranking third nationally, with 19 touchdowns and was named a Doak Walker Award semifinalist for the second consecutive season.

Statistically, the West Virginia defense has been formidable against the run and is second in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed per game at 126.8. However, last week against Baylor, the Mountaineers nearly allowed the Bears to reach their season average of 5.7 yards per carry, gaining 5.4 yards per rush. UCF is second in the country in runs of 10 yards or more with 86.

West Virginia was unable to keep pace with a surging Baylor offense last week at home and there is no indication they will be able slow the Knights down Saturday. The Mountaineers had an opportunity for a game turning interception against Baylor but what has occurred often with this unit, it was dropped. The defense will have to make plays for this team to win and they did it two weeks ago to steal a win in Cincinnati.

I’m reluctant to pick West Virginia for a multitude of reasons but what has been preached by the coaching staff since the arrival of Neal Brown, the lack of consistency in all three phases of the game, sums it up.

I’m going to go out on a shaky limb this week and pick the Mountaineers. It’s quarterback Garrett Greene’s last home game of his Mountaineer career and I think he will motivate and will this team to a win while the defense will dial up more pressure against a freshman quarterback and force mistakes, but it will not be easy.

West Virginia finds a way to win 27-24.

Prediction record: 6-4.

West Virginia

Who Steps Up for West Virginia at Receiver with Traylon Ray Done for the Year?

Published

11 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Who Steps Up for West Virginia at Receiver with Traylon Ray Done for the Year?

West Virginia’s passing game hasn’t struck fear into the hearts of its opponents all year long, but the Mountaineers lost one of their biggest receiving threats, Traylon Ray, last week in the loss to Baylor.

A Baylor defensive back landed on Ray’s leg on a deep ball in the second half, causing the sophomore receiver to be carted off the field. Over the weekend, Ray underwent a successful surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Prior to the injury, Ray hauled in 28 receptions for 426 yards and four touchdowns on the season, giving him an average of 15.2 yards per catch. He scored three of his four touchdowns throughout his final four games played and made some big catches deep down the field. He leads all Mountaineer receivers in touchdowns, is second in receiving yards, and third in receptions.

So, how do the Mountaineers go about replacing Ray’s production for the final two games of the season?

“I think similar to when Hudson (Clement) was out. We take a team approach,” head coach Neal Brown answered. “Now, we’re going to miss him. I think that by the time Traylon’s career is done here, he’s going to be a really high-level player, and I really think the NFL is in his future. This is a minor setback. He’ll make the full recovery. It looked bad, but he’s going to make the full recovery, and he’s in good spirits. We’ll miss him.

“But we also got some guys that we can plug and play,” he continued. “Preston (Fox) will take a bigger role. Jarel Williams will play a little bit more on offense. Justin Robinson needs to play more like he did against Cincinnati, not like he did against Baylor. And I believe he will. It will be a committee approach.”

DayDay Farmer is another one who will likely see more action, although he has been splitting reps in the slot with Rodney Gallagher III for the last couple of weeks. While Farmer, Robinson, Fox, Williams, and others may become a little more involved, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll see a significant increase in targets.

Instead, look for tight end Kole Taylor to see a healthy dose of targets in these final two games. Over the last two weeks, Taylor has combined for ten receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. He’ll likely play a big role in the season finale at Texas Tech, but with cruddy weather in the forecast for Saturday, Ray’s absence shouldn’t impact the Mountaineers too much against UCF.

West Virginia and UCF will kick it off at 3:30 p.m. EST. The action can be streamed live on ESPNU.

West Virginia

2026 DL O'Neal talks West Virginia visit, offer

Published

19 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

2026 DL O'Neal talks West Virginia visit, offer

Cleveland (Oh.) Benedictine 2026 defensive lineman Tyrell O’Neal had been in contact with West Virginia for several weeks but made the decision to come to campus to get a first-hand look at the school.

O’Neal, 6-foot-3, 270-pounds, was impressed with the atmosphere overall but was excited when he found out that the Mountaineers were jumping into the mix with a scholarship offer.

Source link