District 12 includes Mercer, Monroe, Greenbrier, Raleigh and Fayette. [56], Raids and counter-raids were the rule from 1862-1865 with a continuing guerrilla war in a large part of the state. Also represented Giles, Tazewell, Bland and Buchanan, Va. Greenbrier, Fayette, Raleigh, Nicholas, Braxton, Pocahontas, Clay, Webster, Lewis, Barbour, Upshur, Gilmer, Randolph, Tucker, Webster. Confederate bonds were also issued. "'This Bastard New Virginia': Slavery, West Virginia Exceptionalism, and the Secession Crisis,", MacKenzie, Scott A. On April 17 they voted 32 against the ordinance, 13, in favor, and 4 absent or abstained. 24. Virginia Ancestral Trackers Civil War [13], On May 28, 1861, one of the first trials of the Civil War for sabotage took place in Parkersburg, Virginia. On June 20, 1863 the U.S. government created a new state from 50 western counties of Virginia to be named "West Virginia". A secession flag also flew above the courthouse in neighboring Tucker County, and another was raised in Guyandotte, Cabell County, which was termed a "secession hole" by Union newspapers in Wheeling, and was later burned by Union troops. Gen. Benjamin S. Roberts to relocate further south while others, such as Dr. Thomas B. Camden, were sent to Camp Chase prison with their families. Finding Great-Granddad in the Civil War - West Virginia in the Civil War West Virginia - The Other History - Confederate Units-Infantry Jackson, C.S.A.). This collection is a part of RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917 and is National Archive Microfilm Publication M508. "The View from the Border: West Virginia Republicans and Women's Rights in the Age of Emancipation,", Link, William A. "[57] The ease with which the Jones-Imboden Raid was conducted in 1863 frustrated Maj. Gen. Halleck. A series of letters to Gen. Samuels and Gov. Va. Charles Wells Russell was a "refugee" Congressman in the Confederate legislature, as the counties he served were almost all under Federal occupation in the first days of the war. None were found, but his troops encountered heavy guerrilla resistance and responded by burning houses and towns along the line of march. Baggs. John Elam Mitchell's Co., formerly 165th Regt. By March, 1863, however, many were enlisted in the regular Confederate army.[15]. [10] Although the charges were not pursued his reputation among Unionists was ruined and he eventually closed his Morgantown newspaper, The Virginia Evening Star, the following January and ended his political career. Two additional counties were added to West Virginia in late 1863, Berkeley and Jefferson. During the Maryland Campaign it was a route of invasion and retreat for the Army of Northern Virginia; the campaign concluded there with the Battle of Shepherdstown. Confederate currency was mostly used in the eastern and southern counties, somewhat less in the central counties. In 1864 he was promoted to brig-general, but left the service due to ill-health soon after. I (Logan), 1st VSL, Capt. List of West Virginia Civil War Confederate units, list of West Virginia Civil War Union units, "26th Battalion, Virginia Infantry (Edgar's)", "30th Battalion, Virginia Sharpshooters (Clarke's)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_West_Virginia_Civil_War_Confederate_units&oldid=1090120688, 2nd Battalion Kentucky Mounted Rifles (Wayne, Logan), Swann's Battalion of Virginia Cavalry (Boone, Cabell, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Putnam, Wayne, Wyoming), Bryan's Battery, Monroe Artillery (Monroe, Greenbrier), Chew's Battery, Virginia Horse Artillery (Jefferson, Berkeley), French's Battery, Virginia Light Artillery (Mercer), Capt. Generals Alfred Beckley and Augustus A. Chapman was reported at a strength of 2,000 men.[24]. 437-438; pgs. Geo. Mathias Harrison's Co., Co. H (Cabell, Logan, Wayne), 2nd VSL, Capt. They seized many B&O locomotives and railcars on May 23. The payrolls of West Virginia's Confederate soldiers would have provided much of the currency stock in the state. Militia (Calhoun, Roane, Wirt, & Jackson), Capt. W.A. Noe, Kenneth W., Shannon H. Wilson (eds. The Military Unit field may also display the surname range (A-G) as found on the microfilm. [36] The first detailed study of Confederate soldiery estimates the number at 18,000,[37] which is close to the 18,642 figure stated by the Confederate Dept. The Convention then elected replacements for these state offices, creating the Restored Government of Virginia.[3]. [28] From June 1, 1861 to October 16, when the first official Confederate postage stamp was issued, the postmaster marked the letters "paid". 9 Va. State Rangers (Mercer, Summers, Wyoming), Capt. [43] In his calculations, however, he only allowed for a deduction of 2,000 out-of-state soldiers in West Virginia regiments. [19] One factor hindering Unionism was "state pride" and resistance to outside interference in Virginia's affairs. Most of the 49 delegates returned to Richmond in June and a majority signed the ordinance of secession. In 1862 an investigation of conditions in Camp Chase, conducted for Col. William Hoffman, Commissary-General of Prisoners, by Capt. 1st Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry. [45] Although Brig. 39-40. Open five days a week beginning in mid-April, 10 am-4 pm (closed Sunday and Wednesday). Militia (Calhoun), Capt. They were composed of three years men who re-enlisted for the war. Militia (Webster), Capt. Joseph R. Kessler's Cavalry Co., Co. D (Roane), 4th VSL, Capt. Francis Harrison Pierpont of the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling that he and his army were anxious to assist the new government, but that eventually they would be needed elsewhere, and that he urged that troops be raised "among the population". "[24] On August 3, 1861, the Wellsburg "Herald" editorialized "A pretty condition Northwestern Virginia is in to establish herself as a separate stateafter all the drumming and all the gas about a separate state she has actually organized in the field four not entire regiments of soldiers and one of these hails almost entirely from the Panhandle."[25]. The list of West Virginia Civil War Union units is shown separately. In the post-war era President Andrew Johnson issued special pardons for ex-Confederates not covered by the general amnesty, such as members of the Confederate government, and five such special pardons were issued to West Virginians who were listed as "rebel postmaster".[29]. Gen. James A. "The Slaveholders' War: The Secession Crisis in Kanawha County, Western Virginia, 18601861,". Confederate forces held tentatively to southern West Virginia and the eastern counties until the end of the war. West Virginia Confederate soldiers fought in most of the battles east of the Mississippi, including Gettysburg, first and second Manassas, Antietam, and countless lesser skirmishes. [6], President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which exempted from emancipation the border states (four slave states loyal to the Union) as well as some territories occupied by Union forces within Confederate states. Ambler, Charles H. "The Cleavage between Eastern and Western Virginia". Samuel Price, as president of the senate, was issued a pass by Gen. Weitzel to return to Richmond for the new session. . [4] While the Union army held much of the territory of the new state, large sections remained in the hands of guerrillas and bushwhackers. Local supporters of Richmond were left to their own devices. The fact is that region of country is just as well stocked with rebels both armed and unarmed as any other portion of the South. [31], The loyalty of some Federal troops had been questioned early in the war. Also represented Giles, Tazewell and part of Bland, Va. Greenbrier, Fayette, Raleigh, Nicholas, Braxton, Pocahontas, Clay, part of Webster, Wood, Ritchie, Doddridge, Pleasants, Harrison, Lewis, Barbour, Upshur, Gilmer, Randolph, Tucker, part of Webster, Hunter, Andrew; succeeded by Edwin L. Moore. 14th Regiment Virginia Militia (Hardy) Called out July 13, 1861 to rendezvous at Strasbourg. This website can also be searched by the name of a soldier. Two companies of the 119th Regiment of Taylor County responded, and later became part of the 31st Virginia Infantry and the 25th Virginia Infantry. While the level of effective Confederate control over West Virginia would continue to diminish as the war progressed, authorities in Richmond were able to maintain at least a tenuous control over West Virginia's southeastern border regions until the end of the war. Witcher reported to Maj. Gen. J.C. Breckenridge from Logan County Court House that he had 400 new recruits with him, 200 more waiting for him in Wyoming County, as well as 4-5 partially recruited companies. Mason Mathews of Greenbrier County was a state senator during the war. (Logan), 5th VSL, Capt. Warren Hollister wrote on Jan. 7- "according to positive instructions I was to lay waste and destroy the county. While Confederate Congressional elections were ostensibly nonpartisan, especially in Virginia districts under Union occupation the administration of President Jefferson Davis manipulated the electoral process to ensure the election of pro-administration representatives, in large part to counteract the increasing tendency of House districts still under Confederate control to elect anti-administration candidates. United States currency was still being used, and eventually Confederate paper currency was in production, but there was no coinage, although attempts had been made for its production. With the movement of Union troops into West Virginia on May 26 the conditional Unionists threw their support to Virginia. Walker. Virginians were allowed to vote outside of their original resident counties but had to vote at the county courthouse and not at local polling stations. Among these were the 7th West Virginia Infantry, famed for actions at Antietam and Gettysburg, and the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry, which also fought at Gettysburg. West Virginia Civil War Union Infantry Units FamilySearch Lazelle stated that Darr was "very zealous; perhaps too hasty and arbitrary." Missouri-South Carolina. They also held Charleston and the waterways along the Kanawha Valley. Other notable military figures were Christopher Q. Tompkins and George S. Patton of Charleston, who were instrumental in the organizing of volunteers in the Kanawha Valley in the summer of 1861. Rolls show that Co. A to F of the regiment were ordered into the. The postmasters in Charles Town and Harpers Ferry seemed to have served both sides. The most senior general was Stonewall Jackson of Clarksburg, who achieved the rank of Lt.-General before his death in 1863. Later, as a brigadier-general, he would be placed in command of a brigade which included many West Virginia volunteers. John Letcher wrote to President Lincoln and reminded him that the men held military commissions from the Virginia government. The longest serving postmaster was James A. Shanklin, postmaster in Union, Monroe County, who had been appointed in 1821, and served until 1865. [citation needed], 26 Medals of Honor were credited to West Virginians for actions during the war. ), Population of the United States in 1860; Compiled from the Original Returns of the Eighth Census, How Virginia Convention Delegates Voted on Secession, April 4 and April 17, 1861, and Whether They Signed a Copy of the Ordinance of Secession, "Letter from General J.J. Jackson", The Crisis, May 14, 1862, Cleveland Morning Leader, May 6, 1861, "Virginia", Cleveland Morning Leader, June 4, 1861, "South Western Virginia", Official Records of the War of Rebellion, Series I, Vol. Confederate Regiments & Batteries - The Civil War in the East Class 2. Army. Lt. Col. Vincent A. Witcher of Wayne County was a wide-ranging cavalry officer, moving from West Virginia through Tennessee and participating in the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 and later at Lynchburg in 1864 during Union Brig-Gen. David Hunter's failed campaign. White, Robert, Col. "Confederate Military History, Maryland and West Virginia", part 2, p. 15. All the northern states had free public school systems before the war, but not the border states. Kentucky-Mississippi. They patrolled Wirt and Calhoun counties through the winter of 186162 and captured scores of Moccasin Rangers, which they sent as prisoners to Wheeling. This latter goal proved impossible, due to the poor roads across mountainous terrain. 428-29, Noe, "Exterminating Savages", pg. On 20 June 1863, the newly proclaimed state of West Virginia was admitted to the Union, including all the western counties and the lower (northern) Shenandoah "panhandle". The nearby and well-populated states of . Capt. In January 1861 the first secession flag in West Virginia flew above the courthouse in Philippi, Barbour County. James Carter Linger, "Confederate Military Units from West Virginia", 2002 ed., pg. [36] Three cities with populations under 2,000 were specifically allowed to issue scrip, one of which was Lewisburg. Senator. "[32], Because the government in Richmond did not keep separate military records for what would become West Virginia, there has never been an official count of Confederate service in West Virginia. John W. "Big John" Amick's Co., Amick's Rangers (Nicholas), Capt. This area was therefore occupied by Union troops for nearly all of the war, and was a scene of frequent combat. Robert Johnston, congressman from the 15th District, the counties of north-central West Virginia, was supportive of a strong central government and supported Jefferson Davis' authority in reorganizing the army, and believed the suspension of habeas corpus by Davis was justifiable. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, West Virginia, to July, 1864. However, other delegates pointed out that the creation of a new state would require the consent of Virginia, under Article IV of the Constitution. William S. Chandler's Co., Co. K (Boone), 3rd VSL, Capt. Albert G. Jenkins resigned his military commission to accept a seat in the Confederate congress, but resigned that post in April 1862 to resume his military activities. Following the names of the units are the names of the counties, in parentheses, which contributed to those units, and does not include neighboring counties of Kentucky or Virginia. 20. It is difficult to determine the number of Confederate soldiers from West Virginia. Origin of West Virginia; during the U.S. Civil War, Articles related to West Virginia in the American Civil War, F. Talbott, "Some Legislative and Legal Aspects of the Negro Question in West Virginia during the Civil War and Reconstruction,", Hardway, Ronald V., "On Our Own Soil. Union support eroded in some border counties when Union troops invaded western Virginia on May 26, 1861, just days after the vote on the secession ordinance. Voting by soldiers was done within the regimental organization. In 1863 the future governor of the new state, Arthur I. Boreman, said- "After you get a short distance below the Panhandleit is not safe for a loyal man to go into the interior out of sight of the Ohio River. The lack of adequate records precludes a more accurate count. Attached to 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, Army West Virginia. Col. Porterfield's difficulty ultimately, however, was lack of support by the Richmond government, which did not send enough guns, tents and other supplies. Many of the delegates were informally or self-appointed, so the Convention only denounced secession and called for a formal election of delegates. Jonathan Haymond's Co., Co. No. "[20][21], County courts in Jackson, Fayette, Hampshire, Monroe, Gilmer, Pocahontas, and Raleigh levied funds to arm militia for the defense of Virginia. [30] A Confederate mail service ran twice weekly from Tucker County to Monterey in 1861[31] Confederate mail left Parkersburg following a route from Limestone Hill, Mineral Wells, and Elizabeth to Big Bend and Arnoldsburg, Calhoun County. In Noe and Shannon H. Wilson, Riccards, Michael P. "Lincoln and the Political Question: The Creation of the State of West Virginia", Stealey, III, John Edmund. Guerrilla Units - West Virginia in the Civil War. One hundred and one West Virginians received these special pardons.[27]. Similar difficulties were experienced by Confederate authorities at the beginning of the war. In some counties, ex-Confederates suddenly found themselves enrolled in the U.S. The number of post offices has been estimated at a minimum of fifty, which included the towns of Shepherdstown, Martinsburg, Charles Town, Rippon, Moorefield, Franklin, Romney, Travellers Repose (now Bartow), Huntersville, White Sulphur Springs, Frankford, Lewisburg, Red Sulphur Springs, Salt Sulphur Springs, Union and Peterstown. Va. However, Milroy argued in defense of his policy and was allowed to proceed. More delegates from West Virginia were appointed to represent Virginia; Charles Wells Russell, Robert Johnston, and Alexander Boteler. [1], On April 17, 1861, the Virginia state convention in Richmond declared secession. West Virginia Civil War Union Units 1st through 17th Texas. Va. [60][61] Some of the Union units are identified as formed in 1864. A number of delegates entered Confederate service; Samuel Woods, John Echols, Franklin P. Turner, Napoleon B. French, Johnson Orrick, Alpheus F. Haymond, Currence B. Conrad, and Benjamin W. Byrne, among others. of Tennessee Press, 1997, pg. ", Border states (American Civil War) West Virginia, drove the Confederates out of Nicholas County, defeated their counterattack at Cheat Mountain, George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, Romney, West Virginia during the American Civil War, West Virginia Civil War Confederate Units, "6 Southern Unionist Strongholds During the Civil War", "How Virginia Convention Delegates Voted on Secession, April 4 and April 17, 1861, and Whether They Signed a Copy of the Ordinance of Secession", "First Session of the Second Wheeling Convention", "West Virginians Approve the Willey Amendment", "On This Day in West Virginia History - February 3", "WV Culture, West Virginia Medal of Honor Recipients", National Park Service map of Civil War sites in West Virginia, "A State of Convenience: The Creation of West Virginia", List of Union Civil War monuments and memorials, List of memorials to the Grand Army of the Republic, Confederate artworks in the United States Capitol, List of Confederate monuments and memorials, Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials. A group of men were found playing cards under a B&O railroad bridge and arrested by Federal authorities. Union Volunteers of West Virginia Regiments, Civil War Service Records, A&M 3059, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia . On October 25, 1861, the auditor of Virginia, Jonathan M. Bennett, wrote to Judah P. Benjamin, the Confederate Secretary of War, to urge him to make efforts to have the prisoners released or exchanged. The Union authorities began to organize their own guerrilla bands, the most famous of which was the "Snake Hunters", headed by Capt. Several of them later received pensions in recognition of their service. A referendum in October 1861 approved statehood; a constitutional convention met, and its work was approved by referendum in April 1862. Both the Confederate and state governments in Richmond refused to recognize the creation of the new state in 1863, and thus for the duration of the war the Confederacy regarded its own military offensives within West Virginia not as invasion but rather as an effort to liberate what it considered to be enemy-occupied territory administered by an illegitimate government in Wheeling. West Virginia Mountaineers - Wikipedia With West Virginia statehood, the Restored government relocated to Alexandria. Secessionists were active in Jackson, Ritchie, Harrison, Wood, Wayne, Kanawha, Cabell, Taylor, Upshur, Marion, although these counties voted against the secession ordinance. He returned to Wheeling but was arrested once again in 1863 because of the oath. Richard B. Foley's Co., Flat Top Copperheads, also known as Foley's Independent Co. of Infantry, formerly Co. F, 151st Regt. West Virginia volunteers contributed notably or significantly to thirteen infantry regiments, three infantry battalions, one mounted infantry battalion, a sharpshooter battalion, twelve artillery batteries, fifteen cavalry regiments, six cavalry battalions, and a company of partisan rangers, while some served in Kentucky Confederate regiments.
When Does Bromley Open For Skiing, Articles W