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The county's political clash took place on the same day as two other meetings that marked the nation's descent into civil war. The Democrats began the meeting with speeches criticizing abolitionists as agitators and defending the rights of the slave states, Quay wrote later.īut as more Republicans crowded in, calling for speeches from their own party members, the scene dissolved into 'uproar and confusion.' senator who was then serving as prothonotary, sent one later-publicized note to another Republican official in Vanport Township, calling on him to 'turn out to the meeting at one o'clock this afternoon if you possibly can, and bring out every Republican in Vanport with you.' When Republican officials caught wind of the meeting, they decided to pack the house. The meeting's organizers invited only Democrats and published notice of the meeting only in the Democratic paper, The Western Star. Roughly 500 Beaver Countians packed into the courthouse for what, according to accounts published in The Beaver Weekly Argus newspaper, quickly turned into a political showdown.Īccording to the Argus - a staunchly Republican newspaper - Democrats called the meeting to pass resolutions that would falsely represent the county's stance on slavery and secession to the rest of the state. Two months before Confederate artillery shells battered Fort Sumter, Beaver County was already embroiled in a mini civil war, this one between Republicans who championed abolition and a strong stance against the South, and Democrats who were more sympathetic to the slaveholding states and preferred compromise.Īn ongoing and very public squabble between party leaders in Beaver County came to a head on Feb. No one knew that the war would drag on for four years, would call more than 3 million Americans into service, and would leave more than 600,000 dead at its end. The men were asked to commit to a three-month enlistment. Three days after the attack began on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 troops, the Argus reported, 'for repossession of the forts, places and property which have been seized' by Confederates.

With a terse report from an unnamed Charleston correspondent, written 150 years ago, The Beaver Weekly Argus newspaper marked the beginning of the American Civil War. 'Charleston, April 12 - First Dispatch - The fight has commenced.

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