{"id":443,"date":"2014-12-30T13:44:48","date_gmt":"2014-12-30T13:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/?p=443"},"modified":"2019-10-10T15:07:18","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T15:07:18","slug":"grover-cleveland-banner-incident-wheeling-national-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/grover-cleveland-banner-incident-wheeling-national-spotlight","title":{"rendered":"The Grover Cleveland Banner Incident: Wheeling in the National Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cYou don\u2019t get me to march under that thing!\u201d<\/h1>\n
\"Members<\/a>
Members of the G.A.R. in Wheeling, most likely\u00a0in front of the old court house<\/a> at 12th and Chapline.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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As mentioned in a previous post<\/a>, the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), the largest of Civil War veterans\u2019 groups, was very active in Wheeling during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Grateful for an end to the bloody, exhausting war, most Americans were more than willing to reward these veterans with generous pensions. Unfortunately, as is often the case where money is involved, some took advantage, exaggerating or even falsifying pension claims. One veteran, for example, apparently filed for an injury received during a post war July 4th celebration.<\/p>\n

As the first Democrat to be elected President after the war, Grover Cleveland took office as a reformer amid the rampant corruption of the \u201cGilded Age.\u201d Since one of his prominent reform targets was the waste and fraud of veterans\u2019 pensions, he promptly began vetoing pension bills. Needless to say, these actions did not endear him to the G.A.R. The rancor was intensified by Cleveland\u2019s support for the idea of returning battle flags, including captured Confederate flags, to their states of origin.<\/p>\n

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CIVIL WAR VETERANS MARCH IN WHEELING<\/h2>\n

At the apex of President Cleveland\u2019s unpopularity, on August 26, 1887, the G.A.R. held its 11th annual reunion in Wheeling. The city was proud to be showcased, and the Wheeling Intelligencer<\/em> (a staunchly Republican newspaper at the time) predicted an influx of as many as 100,000 visitors.<\/p>\n

The G.A.R. planned to parade throughout the streets of Wheeling. At 16th and Market, in front of the headquarters of the Wheeling Register<\/em> (then a staunchly Democratic newspaper), was stretched a banner depicting Grover Cleveland\u2019s likeness with the words, \u201cGOD BLESS OUR PRESIDENT COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE ARMY AND NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This rare photograph of the Cleveland banner was discovered earlier this year in the Ohio County Public Library\u2019s Archives in an album of prints, mostly taken by Thomas M. Darrah<\/a> \u2014 a clerk of the City Court and early Wheeling photographer \u2014 between 1885 and 1893.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\"A<\/a>
A rare photograph of the Cleveland banner from the Darrah collection<\/a>, OCPL. The McLure Hotel and Grand Opera House are visible at right, looking north on Market Street.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p><\/td>\n
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\"A<\/a>
A close up of the banner.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

It did not take long for the G.A.R. posts marching in the parade to notice the banner. In protest, some of them began leaving the street, parting the crowd to march on the sidewalk in order to avoid walking beneath the Cleveland banner. \u201cYou don\u2019t get me to march under that thing!\u201d<\/strong> one of the men reportedly declared.<\/p>\n

Two cabinet cards recently acquired by the Ohio County Public Library Archives clearly show the marchers veering to avoid the banner. Even the \u201cfloats\u201d or decorated wagons in the first image appear to be veering away from the provocative banner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\"Grover<\/a>
GAR Reunion Parade, 1887, Wheeling, W. Va. Photo from the Archives Vertical Files of the Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p><\/td>\n
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\""File<\/a>
\u201cFile Left\u201d \u2013 Veterans marching around the Grover Cleveland Banner at the GAR Reunion Parade, 1887, Wheeling, W. Va. Photo from the Archives Vertical Files of the Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The \u201cbanner incident\u201d story was picked up by newspapers all over the country and soon grew into a national political scandal. Some editorialists criticized the G.A.R. marchers for being disrespectful and unpatriotic. Others defended their actions, pointing out that the banner was deliberately placed in their path as a political trick and an insult to veterans.<\/p>\n

A wood-cut engraving of the incident appeared on the cover of the September 1887 edition of Frank Leslie\u2019s Illustrated<\/em>, a copy of which was recently acquired by the Ohio County Public Library\u2019s archives. The detailed image was captioned, \u201cWEST VIRGINIA\u2013THE BANNER INCIDENT AT WHEELING ON THE OCCASION OF THE RECENT GRAND ARMY PARADE\u2013VETERANS SWERVING FROM THE LINE OF MARCH TO AVOID PASSING BENEATH PRESIDENT CLEVELAND\u2019S PORTRAIT.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n