Ghosts of Industry: Martinsburg, WVA

The Capitol Limited pulls into Martinsburg.

When I was a kid growing up in rural Pennsylvania, I was a Civil War nut. Everything about it fascinated me. Even though I was a Yankee and detested slavery, I still felt myself drawn to the generals of the Confederacy. They seemed smarter, braver, bolder and more gallant than their northern counterparts. One of my favorites was Stonewall Jackson, who confounded much larger Union armies in the Shenandoah Valley. He used guerilla warfare tactics and rode a fast horse.

Which brings me to the railroad yard at Martinsburg, WVA. It was here that Jackson repeatedly attacked and sacked the B&O Railroad facility, which was a key strategic transport hub for the Union forces and the northern economy.

The rail yard in 1858.

 The first roundhouse and repair shops, seen in the photo above, were burned by Confederate troops in 1862 on their retreat from the battle of Sharpsburg. In addition, over a period of about a year, Jackson destroyed 400 rail cars and 80 locomotives in a succession of raids. At one point, his troops disassembled locomotives, loaded the pieces on horse-drawn wagons, and carried them to the south.

The blockage of engines, 1877.

 After the war, B&O rebuilt the Martinsburg facilities, and they played a vital role in the export of coal and timber from Appalachia for decades. In 1877, rail workers in Martinsburg staged a strike to protest wage cuts. The "Great Strike of 1877" ultimately expanded nationwide. Workers in Martinsburg were beaten back by B&O goons and the state militia, but their uprising led to the formation of railroad unions.

Amazingly, some of the brick buildings that the B&O built after the end of the Civil War remain today, though they are mostly shells or ruins.

The B&O roundabout in Martinsburg.

B&O ruins behind a moving freight train.

Martinsburg was once a prosperous town, with numerous factories in addition to the railroad operations. Today, it has fallen on hard times. In the railroad station, which is unstaffed, several apparently homeless people were sleeping on the benches, and two people hit me up for money.

A freight train moving through.

The street leading to the train station.

 

The famous Apollo Theatre, built in 1913.

After my Amtrak train left Martinsburg, I saw a bald eagle close up flying alongside the train and we stopped briefly in Harper's Ferry.

I had a two hour layover in D.C. before I caught my next train, so I walked over to the capitol. I have felt a little better about our nation's capitol since The People recaptured the House of Representatives, but when I got there police turned me back. Trump was meeting with GOP leaders inside.

I stifled the urge to shout "Impeach the motherfucker!" or "Lock him up!" since my only witnesses would have been a few capitol police officers and tourists.

Frustrating.

But I thought back on that beautiful bald eagle flying over a West Virginia corn field, such a graceful, noble animal (kind of like I imagine Stonewall Jackson to be). For a blessed moment, I forgot that Trump is our president. Just for a moment.