Union Meeting in Marshall County
March 31, 1863
Moundsville, Va., March 27, 1863.
At a meeting of the unconditional Union men, held at the depot of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, in said town, James Alexander was called to the chair, and Perry Rhodes was appointed Secretary.
The following resolutions were presented and unanimously adopted:
Resolved, 1st. That we desire to make arrangements to ship out all of the secesh in this county to Rebeldom, in exchange for some of our down-trodden Union men, and that we are willing to give one hundred of the most prominent secesh and anti-New State men in our county, even up in exchange for John M. Botts; and the balance of the tories, whether secesh or non-voters on the New State question, who are as mean or meaner, in our estimation, than secesh, we will trade two, or three, or four for one Union man within the Rebel lines.
2d. That the object of this resolution is to express our desire to have all these tories removed from Marshall county, and to have good Union men brought here in their stead.
James Alexander, Pres't.
W. P. Rhodes, Sec'y.
It is the request of the meeting that you publish the above proceedings without fail - it is a good move, my word for it. Our secesh friends are very badly scared.
J. H.
Timeline of West Virginia: Civil War and Statehood: March 1863