Lincoln document safeguarding loyalists in western Virginia is up for auction

A document from the Civil War, signed by President Abraham Lincoln and crucial to the protection of West Virginians, is now up for auction. The piece of American history, dated October 21, 1861, is being sold by an auctioneer specializing in autographs. The document appoints Daniel Lamb, later a key figure in the founding of West Virginia, as an agent for Union-loyal Virginians. -- Article

Portraits of 17 Black Civil War soldiers to be exhibited in West Virginia

An exhibit of portraits of Black soldiers who served in the Civil War is coming to West Virginia's capital, Charleston. Artist Shayne Davidson has been touring the country with the exhibit "Seventeen Men," named for the 17 soldiers portrayed in the exhibit, since 2012, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports. The portraits are based on tiny photos that were in an album once belonging to Davidson’s friend’s great-grandfather. -- Article

Monument to be moved to near original spot

A nearly 140-year-old memorial to Union soldiers banished for decades to a hill in Wheeling, West Va., should be back downtown by early summer. More than 20 feet wide, it weighs well over 25 tons, so the new site, next to historic West Virginia Independence Hall, will have to be reinforced first so it can carry the extra weight. The move will bring the monument to a block away from its original site. • Article

Remembering 'Stonewall' W. Virginia roots

Proponents of a cultural center in West Virginia honoring native son Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson are assessing the costs to interpret the Confederate general's life. They learned this week that moving a cabin to Clarksburg and transforming it would require more than $250,000 over 10 years from the city. Jackson was born in Clarksburg before it seceded from Virginia. • Article

Reporter films re-enactment with POV camera

Haven't seen one quite from this angle before. A Michigan newsman, dressed as a Confederate, placed a camera on his forehead to film a re-enactment of the Battle of Sheperdstown in what is now West Virginia. • Photos and video

West Va. releases regional videos

The state Division of Tourism is marking the 150th anniversary of the war by unveiling a series of nine heritage videos. The roughly six-minute video for the Mid-Ohio Valley, for example, talks about battles in Cairo, Burning Springs, Grantsville, Spencer, Ripley, Buffington Island and Belleville Island. • Article

Ancestor left unclaimed medal

A Wood County, West Va., man picked up an unclaimed Civil War medal from officials this week on behalf of his great, great uncle. Tom Moore, related to Henry S. Elliott, claimed the Civil War medal from the West Virginia State Archives. • Article

Tour guide touts life of female spy

There are battlefields, and then there's Belle Boyd, teenage temptress and Confederate spy. The Appalachian Regional Commission is betting Boyd is the sexier Civil War story and that tourists will want to visit the Martinsburg, W.Va., home of the notorious "siren of the South" who used her feminine charms to spy on Union soldiers for the Confederacy. • Article