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of that State before the votes of the people had been given on the Ordinance of Secession, on the 23d of May, for it was determined that no occasion should be afforded for a charge, which the conspirators would be quick to make, that the votes had been influenced by the presence of military power.
The reverse of this policy, as we have seen, had been pursued by the conspirators, and while the entire vote of the
State showed a large majority in favor of the Ordinance, that of
Western Virginia was almost unanimously against it. This verdict of the people on the great question relieved the
Government and the loyal
Virginians from all restraints; and while
Ohio and
Indiana troops were moving toward the border, the patriots of
Western Virginia, and especially of the
River counties, rushed to arms.
Camp Carlile, already formed in
Ohio, opposite
Wheeling, was soon full of recruits, and the first Virginia Regiment was formed.
B. F. Kelley, a native of
New Hampshire, but then a resident of
Philadelphia, was invited to become its leader.
He had lived in
Wheeling, and had been commander of a volunteer Regiment there.
His skill and bravery were appreciated, and in this hour of need they were required.
He hastened to
Wheeling, and, on the 25th of May, took command of the Regiment.
George B. McClellan had been called to the command of the
Ohio troops, as we have observed.
He was soon afterward commissioned a
Major-General of Volunteers,
and assigned to the command of the Department of the Ohio, which included
Western Virginia.
He was now ordered to cross the
Ohio River with the troops under his charge, and, in conjunction with those under
Colonel Kelley and others in
Virginia, drive out the “Confederate” forces there, and advance on
Harper's Ferry.
He visited
Indianapolis on the 24th of May, and reviewed the brigade of Indianians who were at Camp Morton, under
Brigadier-General T. A. Morris.
In a brief speech at the
Bates House, he assured the assembled thousands that
Indiana troops would be called upon to follow him and win distinction.
1 two days afterward,
he issued an address to the
Union citizens of
Western Virginia, in which he praised their courage and patriotism, and warned them that the “few factious rebels” in their midst, who had lately attempted to deprive them of their rights at the polls, were seeking to “inaugurate a reign of terror,” and thus force them to “yield to the schemes and submit to the yoke of the treacherous conspiracy dignified by the name of the ‘ Southern Confederacy.’
” he assured them that all their rights should be respected by the
Ohio and
Indiana troops about to march upon their soil, and that these should not only abstain from all interference with the slaves, but would, “on the contrary, with an iron hand, crush any attempt at insurrection on their part.”
at the same time he issued a stirring address
