West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture & History

West Virginia Independence Hall to Host Civil War-related Event, May 20

WHEELING, W.Va. – West Virginia Independence Hall (WVIH) in Wheeling will host two Civil War-related programs on Saturday, May 20, 2023, beginning at 10 a.m. The programs are free and open to the public.

The first program at 10 a.m. is titled “Wheeling Secessionists: Recollections of Two Local Women During the Civil War.” Local historians Judi Hendrickson and Jeanne Finstein will portray Dr. Eliza Hughes and her sister-in-law Mary Hughes, who was married to Eliza’s brother, Dr. Alfred Hughes. Many in the Hughes family were ardent secessionists during the Civil War, and Eliza’s and Mary’s recollections provide an intimate – and occasionally humorous – look at Wheeling life for Southern supporters during the conflict.

Immediately following, the Ohio Valley Civil War Round Table will present Carleton Young and his book “Voices from The Attic,” the story of two brothers who witnessed and helped to make history by fighting in the Peninsula Campaign, at South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and Cedar Creek. Imagine clearing out your family attic and discovering hundreds of letters written during the Civil War. They preserved that history through their surprisingly detailed and insightful letters. Now rediscovered after one and a half centuries, their letters offer a valuable source of information as seen through the eyes of two soldiers as they fought in America’s Civil War. Young attended Point Park and Westminster Colleges and Ohio University, where he earned degrees in English, economics and a MA in history. His teaching career included Thomas Jefferson High School, Community College of Allegheny County, University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

For more information on this event, contact Debbie Jones, WVIH site manager, at Devorah.J.Jones@wv.gov or (304) 238-1300.

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