Bitter Words: Civil War Feelings Split Families

      We talk about how divided our society and political discourse are today. Avoid discussing politics at family gatherings, we say; don't want to trigger an outburst from Aunt Edna or Cousin Eddie. This pales compared to the deep divisions during the Civil War: North vs South, Slave vs Free, States rights vs one Union. Virginia had seceded from the Union in 1861, yet western Virginia (present day West Virginia) residents mostly favored staying in the Union. Emotions often ran hot in border areas, including the Ohio Valley. Disagreements led to the breakdown of relationships between family members, friends, and neighbors. 

     Such was the case with the Hendersons of Henderson Hall in Wood County WV. George W. Henderson, builder of Henderson Hall Plantation, was a slave owner but an ardent Union supporter. He was a delegate at the First Wheeling Statehood Convention and active in forming the state of West Virginia.

Henderson Hall, Williamstown WV, founded 1836 by George W. Henderson and Elizabeth Tomlinson Henderson

     Letters from daughter Mary Henderson Beeson to her sister Margaret Henderson (Bartlett) reveal stress within the family. Mary was married to Benjamin Beeson, a prominent Parkersburg resident and Confederate sympathizer. He was jailed in the early part of the war for his vocal secessionist views. George's son, George Jr. was a passionate Union man, having served briefly in the Union Army at Camp Chase in Columbus before being discharged due to illness in the fall of 1862. Junior had railed against Mary and her husband for their successionist views, as the letters show. This letter from Mary to Margaret was written in August 1861:

"Dear Sister:

...We are all well but Ben he has been suffering with toothache. How are you all, why don't you write, you need not be offended at me because (brother) George so foolishly got angry. I hope you will not resent his imaginary insults, but he got so angry; no one meant to insult him.

We spoke in all kindness, but he so far forgot himself as to wish we were all dead. He wishes all secessionists dead and their children. I told him he includes me and my children and he said, well if we were such fools as to be secessionist...; but I forgive him, he knew not what he said.

I cannot resent such things though I can never forget them. I maintain the same feeling for you that I always did. We bear no enmity though there have been hard words & insinuations.

Ever yours, (Mary) P. Beeson"

     A second letter from Mary to Margaret a few weeks later concluded with these poignant words: "I have forgiven (my brother’s) cruel words but I do not want to see him. Time may wear off the edge of bitterness, but it is very hard for a sister to be told such bitter words by a brother whom she has nursed and tendered and dearly loved from his infancy, but I suppose loyalty now must supersede anything."

     Troop activity in Marietta-Parkersburg was intense. Union General McClellan recognized the importance of securing the Ohio River and B&O rail corridor running through West Virginia. Parkersburg was a key staging point because it was the terminus of the Northwestern Virginia Railroad connecting to the Baltimore and Ohio line at Grafton WV. That offered access to all of northern and western Virginia. Newly formed Ohio units crossed the Ohio River at various points. Many passed Henderson Hall Plantation on River Road. Family records indicate that troops bivouacked on the property and may have conducted drills there. 

     George Jr. was home for Christmas in December, 1862. He decorated the third-floor ballroom at Henderson Hall, writing to his father in Wheeling on December 18 that the family enjoyed a party and dancing in the ballroom. Three weeks later on January 5, George W. Henderson Jr. was dead – a victim of the typhoid fever that had stalked him for months. Due to extreme winter weather, no preacher was available; his father was forced to read the burial service for his own son. His death was a crushing blow. The family no longer used the ballroom that George Jr. had decorated. It’s doubtful that his passing healed the pain of his “bitter words” the year before. This was the story of a single family. Millions of others endured similar suffering during the Civil War.

Explosive Cyclogenesis and the Blizzard of 1950

     Pardon the weather-speak. I'm talking about the Thanksgiving Day Blizzard of 1950. It was a POWERFUL storm with snowfall, temperature, and wind records that still stand. Technically, it was a large extropical cyclone - think of a wintertime land-based hurricane. "Explosive cyclogenesis" means that the storm strengthened explosively and fast. The storm system created havoc throughout the eastern US: Crippling snow (Marietta 27 inches, Parkersburg 37 inches) from the Ohio Valley eastward, record low temperatures throughout the South (Miami FL 28 degrees), and 100+ mph winds in Northeastern states. The Weather Channel rated this storm 8th in the top ten storms of the entire 20th century with nearly $1 Billion damage in today's dollars. Here are a few stories, most from Roger Pickenpaugh’s fascinating book Buckeye Blizzard.

Blizzard Street in Parkersburg WV. From Marietta Times, courtesy of Paul Borelli Collection

     Junior and Catherine Steele's wedding at Belpre almost didn't happen. Junior's nephew, the impromptu best man, drove him from Waverly WV. They stopped in Parkersburg to pick up the pastor and his daughter who had walked 3 miles to meet them. The daughter served as piano player and bridesmaid. The wedding trip was a slog through deep snow to their new apartment.

     Births and deaths did not wait. Clair Linton died near Little Hocking. Her grandson John Linton worked to clear the road on a bulldozer. The dozer broke down. A team of horses finished the job. The hearse was pulled by one tractor and followed by two more, just in case. An Ohio National Guard tank was dispatched in Cleveland to retrieve a corpse on someone's porch. The "corpse" came alive as the tank approached: the man, facing the massive gun, jumped up and fled.

     Arlene Ball lived near Dungannon, northeast of Beverly, Ohio and went into labor. They called Dr. Victor Whitacre's office, but baby Sharon arrived before he did. A neighbor bravely cut the umbilical cord with a sterilized pair of scissors. Dr. Whitacre had started for the Ball home, but his car died. He continued on foot at great personal risk, reaching Ball’s home after dark "looking like a snowman.” The next day the doctor acquired an army four-wheel drive jeep. Quite by accident he gave a ride to Ralph Hanson, Arlene's father. As the men traded storm stories, Ralph learned that his second grandchild had been born.

     Most people behaved well, but not always. 297 prison inmates were forced outside in Alabama when their prison camp caught fire. None escaped; it was too cold. Three prisoners in Fayetteville WV set for release begged to stay until the storm passed. The Sheriff "extended their sentence." Others were less charitable. Homeless people were denied access to a city’s open jail cells by an insensitive judge who refused to shelter "bums.” A group of volunteers worked to free a bus stuck in the snow, expecting a ride. The bus driver drove away, leaving the incredulous helpers stranded.

     Many stepped up to help. Marietta City Clerk Carroll Irvine was pressed into service operating a grader – a respite after answering many frantic phone calls at City Hall. It was not a respite. The grader hit a hidden obstacle in the street, throwing him into the cage and knocking him out. Former Mariettan Rich Price, then 15, and his father helped clear roads using a bulldozer from their quarry in Morgan County. That dozer “never shut down” for an entire week. Rich recalled that “people were sure glad to see that big yellow machine coming,” so they could get out for supplies and food.

     Despite blizzard conditions the Ohio State-Michigan football game, dubbed the Snow Bowl, was played in Columbus. It was a fiasco from the start. It took 2 hours to remove the frozen tarp from the field; fans were recruited to help and also to keep the lines and hash marks clear with brooms. Michigan won 9-3 on a safety and a fumble recovery in the end zone - despite never earning a single first down. OSU’s sole score was a 27-yard field goal; quite a feat since the kicker couldn’t see the goal post. In blinding snow, strategy was simple: avoid possession and force a turnover. There were a total of 45 punts in the game, sometimes on first or second downs. One Michigan player said the heroes of the game were punter Chuck Ortmann and center Carl Kreager who flawlessly made the long snaps to the punter “as though it was a normal day.”

Snow Bowl 1950, from Instagram

     There was chaos off the field, too. Toilets froze, Ortmann saw bonfires in the stands, and fans milled around the sidelines. Under-the-influence fans slid down the huge snow piles, some offered nips of whiskey to players. One fan got very close to the action. OSU receiver Tony Curcillo recalls being tackled on the Michigan sideline. He looked up to see a Wolverine player in a parka - cuddled up with his girlfriend. The crowd at the Shoe was light by normal standards. Some estimated that by the fourth quarter, there were fewer than 10,000 present. The smaller crowd meant that vacant premium seats were open to all. One attendee sitting in the end zone at kick-off moved to the 50 yard line and found plenty of empty seats. 

     Days later warm weather cleared the snow. Life went on. There would be many stories to tell grandchildren and anyone who would listen.