west virginia confederate units

[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. The compiled service records of soldiers belonging to units from the State of West Virginia are arranged according to an organizational breakdown ending with the regiment or the independent company. Large numbers of West Virginia recruits were under the command of John Imboden of Augusta County, Va., which operated in West Virginia and was also part of Lee's Gettysburg campaign; the 18th Virginia Cavalry, the 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry, four companies of the 25th Virginia Infantry and McLanahan's Battery, with McNeill's Rangers attached to his command. 57, Brevet Major General Emory", A Register of the General Assembly of Virginia, 1776-1918, and of the Constitutional Conventions, Richmond, Davis Bottom, 1918, pgs. 428-29, Noe, "Exterminating Savages", pg. Daniel Duskey, raided the town of Ripley, Jackson County, where they captured a store of weapons and also seized the U.S. post office. Many states had soldiers and units fighting for both the United States ( Union Army) and the Confederate States ( Confederate States Army ). 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. Historian Mark E. Neely found records of 337 men arrested in western Virginia, counties both in West Virginia and Virginia, who were held at Castle Thunder in Richmond for various offences, real or imagined, i.e., having voted against the secession ordinance, or Union soldiers camping on their property. "Before I left Grafton I made requisitions for arms clothing etc for 10,000 Virginia troops I fear that my estimate was much too large. The Confederacy raised between 764 and 1009 regiments over the period of the Civil War. Va. 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. 266, The Confederate Postal Service in West Virginia, By Boyd B. Stutler, The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Series II, Vol. [17] Putnam County, for example, was reported to have voted 944 to 202 against the secession ordinance, but when recruitment began it gave half of its soldiers to the Confederacy. [23] The militia in the southern and Valley counties mostly responded to the governor's call. He later became a U.S. senator for West Virginia in 1874. Robert Lawson's Co., Co. K (Logan), 1st VSL, Capt. Kenneth W. Noe, "Exterminating Savages" essay in "The Civil War in Appalachia", Univ. In January 1861 the first secession flag in West Virginia flew above the courthouse in Philippi, Barbour County. 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. Va. Gen. James A. Like its Northern opponent, the Confederate army was mostly made up of volunteer regiments of infantry and cavalry provided by individual Southern states. Col. Harris, 10th Company, March 27, 1862, to Gov. Gen. John Imboden and in the Stonewall Brigade under Brig. Organized at Wheeling, Clarksburg and Morgantown, West Virginia, July 10 to November 25, 1861. 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". These units, with the exception of the Kentucky units, are designated "Virginia", as were the Union regiments from western Virginia. Tennessee. Gift shop and Civil War information here. The raid took place from June 11 to July 26, 1863. You may also visit Union Army Regimental Histories, or Civil War Naval Forces. He warned Jefferson Davis of the bitter feud between generals John Floyd and Henry Wise, which was hampering the defense of western Virginia. By the time Halleck's orders reached Milroy over $6000 had been taken, though eventually reimbursed. [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 rapid conquest of northern West Virginia had caught a number of Southern sympathizers behind Union lines. [43] In his calculations, however, he only allowed for a deduction of 2,000 out-of-state soldiers in West Virginia regiments. Confederate Regiments. Early estimates were very low, in 1901 historians Fast & Maxwell placed the figure at about 7,000. Consequently, for a distance of 16 miles there not a lot leftforage or habitable building, and as we ascended the mountain I could trace our path for miles by the cloud of black smoke that showed itself in the distance. William Harris' Co., Co. No. John Buchanan's Co., Co. 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. 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. The map was adapted from James Carter Linger's map from "Confederate Military Units of West Virginia", Privately Printed, 2002 edition, pg. The county composition of those districts is as follows: District 10 includes Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Jefferson and Hardy. Troubles continued in the state after Lee's surrender, guerrillas such as "Rebel Bill" Smith continued to disregard the peace, while Union soldiers were called out to deal with public disturbances through 1868 and finally left the state in 1869. western Virginia at the time of the war. This area was therefore occupied by Union troops for nearly all of the war, and was a scene of frequent combat. On May 14, 1861, Col. George A. Porterfield arrived in Grafton to secure volunteers, and reported slow enlistment. By early 1863 Union efforts in West Virginia were going badly. [34] In subsequent histories the estimates rose, Otis K. Rice placed the number at 10,000-12,000. William "Rebel Bill" Smith's Co., elements of 167th Regt. The 107th Regiment of Randolph and Tucker counties were under the command of Gen. Robert S. Garnett, but after his death it disbanded. Hackworth's Co., Co. F (Cabell), 2nd VSL, Capt. After McNeill's death in 1864 his son Jesse took command and achieved fame in a covert operation that resulted in the capture of two Union generals well behind Union lines and sending them as prisoners to Richmond in 1865. [1] There remained a large number of counties and citizens who still considered themselves as part of Virginia and the Confederacy which, in turn, considered the new state as part of Virginia and the Confederacy. He was arrested on May 30, 1862, for refusing the oath and sent to Camp Chase and was released a few months later by prisoner exchange without taking the Wheeling oath. Of the 49 delegates 29 signed the ordinance. Two additional counties were added to West Virginia in late 1863, Berkeley and Jefferson. West Virginia - The Other History - Confederate Units-Cavalry Confederate Units-Cavalry 1st Virginia Cavalry Co. B Berkeley Troop (Berkeley County) Co. D Clarke Cavalry (Clarke Co. VA &. Generals Albert G. Jenkins of Cabell County and William Lowther Jackson of Wood County were frequently engaged in actions within the state, raiding behind Union lines for material and recruits. Texas. Lazelle stated that Darr was "very zealous; perhaps too hasty and arbitrary." Hanse McNeill led a company of Rangers out of Hardy County which operated in the lower Shenandoah Valley, though they also participated in operations around the Gettysburg campaign. Militia (Webster), Capt. Several weeks later they were captured in Calhoun County, but were treated as civilians rather than military personnel and were tried and convicted to a civilian prison rather than a military prison camp. The Virginia regimental history series published by H.E. McGregor, "The Disruption of Virginia", p. 245, note 2. An exchange program was initiated between the two governments, though it eventually ended several years later. Organized November 9, 1864, by consolidation of 5th and 9th West Virginia Infantry. Pierpont arrested 8 citizens of Barbour to be held as hostages, one of whom died in prison. The convention adjourned on May 1, to reconvene in June. Funkhouse, shows this regiment was in the service of the Confederate. 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. At that time, the Mountaineers joined the Mid-American Conference as an affiliate member for men's soccer. Gen. Henry A. [29], The Wheeling government asked for an exemption to the Federal draft, saying that they had exceeded their quota under previous calls. West Virginia was created out of three regions of Virginia; the Northwest, the Shenandoah Valley, and the Southwest. Parts of this regiment were reorganized in 1862 into the 26th Virginia Infantry Battalion with parts of the 59th Virginia Infantry. 24. Many of the delegates were informally or self-appointed, so the Convention only denounced secession and called for a formal election of delegates. Unionists were losing confidence in the Wheeling government to protect them, and with the approaching dismemberment of Virginia into two states guerrilla activity increased in an effort to prevent organization of county governments. 3 Va. State Rangers (Clay, Nicholas, Webster), Capt. II, Section 1, pgs. Other western Virginians served under Brig. Quarrier Press, 2003, pgs. "West Virginia's Constitutional Critique of Virginia: The Revolution of 18611863,", Talbott, F. "Some Legislative and Legal Aspects of the Negro Question in West Virginia during the Civil War and Reconstruction," West Virginia History, Jan 1963, Vol. of Western Virginia in 1864. 9 Va. State Rangers (Mercer, Summers, Wyoming), Capt. His position was filled by Samuel Augustine Miller of Kanawha County, who had been a major in the 22nd Virginia Infantry and won Jenkins' seat in a special election in 1863. Militia (Calhoun), Capt. Camden resigned from his post, however, as his home in Clarksburg was behind Union lines by June and his property was threatened if he assumed his seat in Montgomery. Jackson's Horse Artillery. John Letcher wrote to President Lincoln and reminded him that the men held military commissions from the Virginia government. Daniel Dusky's Co., formerly Co. C, 186th Regt. In the Senate Charles Sumner objected to the admission of a new slave state, while Benjamin Wade defended statehood as long as a gradual emancipation clause would be included in the new state constitution. "Stonewall" Jackson occupied Harpers Ferry and part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad leading into western Virginia. In 1863 voting for the Virginia legislature in Richmond was hampered by the war and the refugee status of many voters. Benjamin W. Haymond's Co., Co. No. Two companies of the 119th Regiment of Taylor County responded, and later became part of the 31st Virginia Infantry and the 25th Virginia Infantry. In March 1862 many of these companies were designated Virginia State Rangers. This latter goal proved impossible, due to the poor roads across mountainous terrain. Having voted against the secession ordinance, and living in contested counties in the west, "put a man at risk for military arrest by Confederate authorities. The following Generals were either born in, raised in, or living in 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. "[57] The ease with which the Jones-Imboden Raid was conducted in 1863 frustrated Maj. Gen. Halleck. Several of them later received pensions in recognition of their service. 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. The Confederate Memorial (also referred to as the First Confederate Memorial) is a memorial in Indian Mound Cemetery in Romney, West Virginia. In this vacuum Gen. William W. Loring, C.S.A, recaptured the Kanawha valley, Gen. Albert Gallatin Jenkins, C.S.A., moved his forces through central West Virginia, capturing many supplies and prisoners. Militia (Calhoun), Capt. When the Richmond convention voted on April 17, 1861, to secede from the United States most of the delegates from the counties which became West Virginia voted against it; 32 against, 13 in favor, and 4 absent or abstained. John Righter's Co., Co. No. The payrolls of West Virginia's Confederate soldiers would have provided much of the currency stock in the state. Joseph R. Kessler's Cavalry Co., Co. D (Roane), 4th VSL, Capt. Va. Results of the May 23, 1861 vote on Virginia's secession ordinance has been estimated at 19,121 to 20,031 in favor of secession and 33,565 to 34,677 against secession. Va. [23] After nearly two months in the field in West Virginia he was less optimistic. Assistance in posting new regimental histories, or advice of non-working links is appreciated. Kentucky-Mississippi. His brigade contained thirteen companies of West Virginia volunteers. Wm. William C. Quantrlll William T. Anderson James H. Lane John Singleton Mosby Charles Jennison John McNeill During the American Civil War, groups of so-called "partisan rangers" engaged in bloody. There was additional campaigning further south, where Greenbrier County was pro-Confederate, enabling Confederate troops to enter Nicholas County to the west. He opposed a centralized government and fought for greater local control. [citation needed], 26 Medals of Honor were credited to West Virginians for actions during the war. Three of these officers were in command of Virginia militia; Alfred Beckley, James Boggs, and Augustus A. Chapman. 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. Another 6 medals were awarded to West Virginians who relocated and were credited to service in other state regiments. [9][10][11] Eighteen months later, the West Virginia legislature completely abolished slavery,[12] and also ratified the 13th Amendment on February 3, 1865. The postmasters in Charles Town and Harpers Ferry seemed to have served both sides. Changed to Union in 1862 by Restored Govt of VA), 190th Regiment Virginia Militia (Wyoming), 1st VSL, Capt. Va Militia (Logan), Capt. 1Infantry units (PACS) Toggle Infantry units (PACS) subsection 1.1Infantry brigades 1.2Infantry regiments Walker. John E. Love's Co., Co. E (Kanawha), 5th VSL, Capt. W.A. The official Football page for the The University of Virginia's College at Wise Cavaliers Angus W. McDonald of Hampshire County became colonel of the 7th Virginia Cavalry defending the bridges of the Potomac River. Over bitter opposition it established an almost-equal education for black children, most of whom were ex-slaves.[4]. [6] Benjamin Wilson, a delegate from Harrison County, was arrested at his home in Clarksburg in June and could not return, though he had previously signed the ordinance in April. 1 Va. State Rangers, formerly 186th Regt. The lack of adequate records precludes a more accurate count. In 1905 Charles H. Ambler estimated the number of native Union soldiers to be about 20,000.[42]. Va. State Line and Other Units. Gen. John McCausland with saving the city and presented him with a gold sword. [38], Pierpont's administration arrested such a high number of civilians that it prompted U.S. judge-advocate Levi C. Turner to comment that they were doing a "land-office businessin the way of arrests."[39]. A number of senators and house delegates elected to represent West Virginia counties decided to remain loyal to Virginia and the Richmond government. On Dec. 19, 1862, Confederate rangers under the command of Capt. He went on to specify the circumstances of the West Virginia civilian prisoners: "I have the official records of a number of prisoners sent here by him, seven of which state that the prisoner is charged with 'doing nothing'Many others have been sent here under equally slight charges whose cases I will soon submit to you, at least copies of their official records as transmitted by him to Camp Chase, for I believe it cannot be your desire that this camp should be filled to overflowing with political prisoners (made by half depopulating a section of country where inhabitants are often compelled to expressions of apparent sympathy) arrested on frivolous charges, to be supported by the General Government and endure a long confinement. Become a member today! Jack Tuning's Co. (Braxton, Webster), This page was last edited on 27 May 2022, at 14:34. ", 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. With the movement of Union troops into West Virginia on May 26 the conditional Unionists threw their support to Virginia. The nearby and well-populated states of . He trained them in guerrilla tactics and adopted a "no prisoners" policy.[16]. [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. This was an unpleasant but necessary part of the warfare. [20], As late as January, 1865, Gov. Of these there were two regiments of Veteran Infantry, and one of Cavalry. The West Virginia Reenactors Association is dedicated to the commemoration and preservation of West Virginia's rich Civil War heritage,WW-2 and other historical events and to encouraging the popular hobby of Reenacting within our State. Statement of Col. Harness, on. There were two minor Confederate expeditions against the northeastern corner of the west later on: Jackson's Romney Expedition in January 1862; and the Jones-Imboden Raid in MayJune 1863. Also represented Giles, Tazewell, Bland and Buchanan, Va. Greenbrier, Fayette, Raleigh, Nicholas, Braxton, Pocahontas, Clay, Webster, Lewis, Barbour, Upshur, Gilmer, Randolph, Tucker, Webster. [35] In areas where the Union army had gained control many merchants were reluctant to accept the money, as during Loring's occupation of Charleston. Confederate forces held tentatively to southern West Virginia and the eastern counties until the end of the war. In August 1861 McClellan ordered Gen. Rosecrans to concentrate on turnpikes and the railroad and ignore the interior "for the present". [19] One factor hindering Unionism was "state pride" and resistance to outside interference in Virginia's affairs. Nevertheless, due to its increasingly precarious military position and desperate shortage of resources, Confederate military actions in what it continued to regard as "western Virginia" focused less on reconquest as opposed to both on supplying the Confederate Army with provisions as well as attacking the vital Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that linked the northeast with the Midwest, as exemplified in the Jones-Imboden Raid. 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. There were 49 delegates representing the 50 counties that became West Virginia. After the Richmond convention passed the secession ordinance on April 17, 1861, they appointed five delegates to the provisional congress of the Confederacy, which included Gideon D. Camden of Harrison County. They had elected "a most vile Secessionist as Captain. Greene W. Taylor's Co., Co. A (Logan), 1st VSL, Capt. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, West Virginia, to July, 1864. Altogether 20-22,000 West Virginians were in Confederate service.[25]. The Convention then elected replacements for these state offices, creating the Restored Government of Virginia.[3]. The issue of slavery in the new state delayed approval of the bill. They seized many B&O locomotives and railcars on May 23. Many delegates who had voted against the ordinance returned to the convention in June and signed it. 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. [32] In central West Virginia the continuous guerrilla war disrupted both Union and Confederate postal service. District 15 consists of Lewis, Wood, Pleasants, Tyler, Ritchie, Doddridge, Upshur, Randolph, Webster, Tucker, Barbour, Harrison, Taylor, Gilmer and Calhoun. Occasionally Confederate mail would be slipped into the Federal mail system by sympathetic postmasters in Wood County for delivery further north, though suspicious mail was sometimes opened by Federal authorities, resulting in a jail term for the recipient. Boreman asked Gen. David Hunter to exert his forces in the southwestern counties- "The counties between the Great Kanawha and Big Sandy Rivers, in the southern part of the State, have been infested with large bodies of guerrillas from the beginning of the rebellion"[58], After the capture of Union General Scammon and his men an Ohio newspaper was prompted to write on Feb, 18, 1864-, "With the commanding General of the Department and his Quarter Master, in Libby prison, captured by rebels within 35 miles of Gallipolis- a government steamer burned at the same time, it might seem to an unpracticed eye, that the State of West Virginia was not so intensely loyal as some persons wish it to be considered.

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