May 4, 2011
George A. Hall, Civil War historian, will present “The Civilian War in West Virginia: The Moccasin Rangers from 1861 - 1863,” for the Genealogy Club meeting at the Archives and History Library of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. The meeting will take place on Thursday, May 12, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. The club meets every Thursday from 6 - 7 p.m., in the library at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston, and presents a workshop or lecture on the second Thursday of the month from 6 - 7:30 p.m. All sessions are free and the public is invited to attend.
Partisan warfare in the central counties of West Virginia during the first part of the Civil War will be the focus of Hall’s discussion. Family against family and Union regulars against southern guerillas called the “Moccasin Rangers” is the tragic yet fascinating story of vengeance and aggression carried out by the partisans and their Union opponents. The legend of Nancy Hart, a young resident of Roane County who joined the Moccasin Rangers, will be part of the presentation.
Hall of Parkersburg has spent several years researching the Moccasin Rangers and is the author of The Civilian War in West Virginia: The Moccasin Rangers, published by Wasteland Books in 2010.
Advance registration for the program is not required, but is encouraged to help plan seating arrangements and ensure plenty of supplies and handouts, if provided, are available.
To register in advance, contact Robert Taylor, library manager, at (304) 558-0230, ext. 163, or by e-mail at Bobby.L.Taylor@wv.gov. Participants interested in registering by e-mail should send their name, telephone number and the name and date of the session. For additional information about the discussion or the club, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
The Archives and History Library is open from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday. The library is closed on Sunday.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The Division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the Division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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