Watch Free Online HD Moviesjoy. At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, delegates from Unionist counties of northwestern Virginia decided to break away from the Confederacy and form a new government loyal to the United States that two years later would be officially recognized as the new state of West Virginia. This historical reenactment was commissioned to mark the restoration of the Wheeling Custom House -- the actual site of the delegates' conventions, featured within the film.