Benjamin Wilson, Attorney, Letter Regarding Conditions in Richmond after Passage of Secession Ordinance

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Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
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POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
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Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Benjamin Wilson, Attorney, Letter Regarding Conditions in Richmond after Passage of Secession Ordinance, A&M 3626, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
0.01 Linear Feet Summary: 1 item (1 folder)
Creator:
Wilson, Benjamin
Abstract:
Letter of two pages authored on 19 April 1861 from Richmond, Virginia by Benjamin Wilson, a Harrison County attorney, describing conditions in Richmond after passage of the Ordinance of Secession by the Virginia General Assembly on 17 April. He indicates how " ... almost every man and boy are in the street has [sic] a gun and sword in hand. Companies are leaving every day, where to I do not know." Benjamin Wilson was born in Harrison County, Virginia in 1825, attended law school in Staunton, Virginia, and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He served as Commonwealth attorney for Harrison County in 1852-1860, and was a member of the State constitutional convention of West Virginia in 1872. He later served in the U.S. Congress (1875 to 1883), and as Assistant Attorney General of the United States (1885-1893). He died in Clarksburg, West Virginia in 1905.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Benjamin Wilson, Attorney, Letter Regarding Conditions in Richmond after Passage of Secession Ordinance, A&M 3626, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Biographical / historical:

Benjamin Wilson was born in Wilsonburg, Harrison County, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1825. He attended the Northwestern Virginia Academy at Clarksburg and the law school in Staunton, Virginia, and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He then commenced practice in Clarksburg, Harrison County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and served as Commonwealth attorney for Harrison County in 1852-1860. He was a member of the State constitutional convention of West Virginia in 1872; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1872; and was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth and three succeeding Congresses (4 March 1875 to 3 March 1883). He also served as Assistant Attorney General of the United States in 1885-1893. He died in Clarksburg, West Virginia in 1905, and was interred in the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Secession - Virginia.
Names:
Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901
Places:
Richmond (Va.)