June 20, 2013

Happy Birthday, West Virginia

West Virginia celebrates it's 150th birthday, having separated from Virginia during the American Civil War. It was admitted as the 35th State in the Union on June 20, 1863.

There are still people who feel the state should not have seceded from Virginia. West Virginians did vote to separate from Virginia, but many of the citizens were away fighting for the Confederacy at the time. A similar number men of from there were fighting for the Union, but since that part of Virginia was Union-occupied, many members of the latter group were able to return to their homes to vote, while Confederate soldiers could not cross Union lines to do so.

The area that became West Virginia was very much split in sympathies during the war. This was also true in some counties that stayed in Virginia, as well as in other border states. In many cases families were divided in loyalties. It was a bitter time.

Anyway, West Virginia is a beautiful state and I recommend visiting it.

This is my Skywatch Post for this week.

7 comments:

  1. I could not agree more, West Virginia is filled with beauty and great people! Happy Birthday,
    Merisi

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  2. Beautiful West Virginia!
    Happy Sky Watching!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  3. Bitter times indeed, but a lovely post about all the natural beauty in WV!

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  4. West Virginia is indeed a beautiful place to visit. I've been there a few times.

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  5. Our histories are long, filled with passion and conflict, their roots run deep. Thanks for the information. I want to thank you for your thoughtful, supportive comments on my blog, they are much appreciated.

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  6. We have certainly enjoyed all of our visits to West Virginia. I'm sure we'll be going back in the near future.

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