Today in Wheeling History: February 18 - General William S. Rosecrans orders celebratory cannon fire in Centre Wheeling following the Union victory at Fort Donelson (1862).
In the early morning hours of February 18, 1862, Wheeling residents were awakened by the thunderous sound of artillery fire celebrating one of the Union's first major victories of the Civil War. Under orders from General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Department of Western Virginia, brass Parrott guns were positioned at the foot of Third Street (later renamed 21st Street) in Centre Wheeling. Beginning around 2 AM, thirty-three victory shots were fired with ten-second intervals between each round, commemorating the Union's capture of Fort Donelson in Tennessee. The reverberating cannon fire echoed across the Ohio hills, and according to the Wheeling Intelligencer, not a single person in the city slept through the celebration. The newspaper reported that had residents not known about the victory at Fort Donelson, they might have assumed the city was under bombardment. The night was marked by enthusiastic - if somewhat chaotic - celebrations, with the Intelligencer noting that "quite a number of excitable young people were drunk, and went howling around town in a warlike manner, and giving vent to their patriotism in insane screams." This celebration marked a significant moment in Wheeling's Civil War history, as the city served as the capital of the Restored Government of Virginia (1861-1863) and later as the first capital of West Virginia (1863-1865).
To learn more: West Virginia Archives and History (https://tinyurl.com/55hc4me5) (https://tinyurl.com/2nj92wbb), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2kx6v5zc) (https://tinyurl.com/3m77tex3), Weelunk (https://tinyurl.com/mvkuamrw)
Photo credits:Djmaschek via Wikimedia Commons, Boston Public Library
In the early morning hours of February 18, 1862, Wheeling residents were awakened by the thunderous sound of artillery fire celebrating one of the Union's first major victories of the Civil War. Under orders from General William S. Rosecrans, commander of the Department of Western Virginia, brass Parrott guns were positioned at the foot of Third Street (later renamed 21st Street) in Centre Wheeling. Beginning around 2 AM, thirty-three victory shots were fired with ten-second intervals between each round, commemorating the Union's capture of Fort Donelson in Tennessee. The reverberating cannon fire echoed across the Ohio hills, and according to the Wheeling Intelligencer, not a single person in the city slept through the celebration. The newspaper reported that had residents not known about the victory at Fort Donelson, they might have assumed the city was under bombardment. The night was marked by enthusiastic - if somewhat chaotic - celebrations, with the Intelligencer noting that "quite a number of excitable young people were drunk, and went howling around town in a warlike manner, and giving vent to their patriotism in insane screams." This celebration marked a significant moment in Wheeling's Civil War history, as the city served as the capital of the Restored Government of Virginia (1861-1863) and later as the first capital of West Virginia (1863-1865).
To learn more: West Virginia Archives and History (https://tinyurl.com/55hc4me5) (https://tinyurl.com/2nj92wbb), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2kx6v5zc) (https://tinyurl.com/3m77tex3), Weelunk (https://tinyurl.com/mvkuamrw)
Photo credits:Djmaschek via Wikimedia Commons, Boston Public Library
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