Unclaimed Civil War Medal Presentation

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On Saturday, February 25th, the Doddridge County Heritage Guild presented Thelma Swisher with her great-grandfather's unclaimed Civil War medal. An enthusiastic crowd of about fifty was in attendance, some mainly to support Thelma, but many others simply as history or Civil War buffs. A slideshow presentation by Rennie Brown kept everyone’s interest, as he first touched on the Civil War in general, then described how in 1866 the state of West Virginia issued a medal to each of its Union soldiers. We would like to thank everyone who brought their own Civil War mementos for display. We would also like to thank Mark Gooch and Anita Elkins for the delicious homemade cheese and crackers. Debbi Mavity and Perry Ferguson won the door prizes, which were American flags as they appeared in 1863, after West Virginia became the 35th state.