Confederate forces held tentatively to southern West Virginia and the eastern counties until the end of the war. Capt. White, Robert, Col. "Confederate Military History, Maryland and West Virginia", part 2, p. 15. In Shepherdstown the Confederate postmaster general, John H. Reagan, appointed David Rentch postmaster, assisted by Jerome Dushane. Visit ESPN to view the latest West Virginia Mountaineers news, scores, stats, standings, rumors, and more In 1863 Dr. Thomas B. Camden, of Weston, Lewis County, sold his horse for $140 in Confederate currency prior to being imprisoned at Camp Chase with his wife and children. "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. 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. Tompkins resigned from the service in frustration at the chaos caused by generals Floyd and Wise, and Patton was killed at the Third Battle of Winchester in 1864. When Rentch was captured by Union soldiers in Nov. 1862, the post office was closed. [47]A total of 14 medals were awarded to soldiers of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry; making it one of the highest decorated regiments of the Union Army.[48]. Militia (Mercer), Capt. 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. 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 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]. James S.A. Crawford's Co., The Night Hawks (Wood, Jackson & Wirt), Capt. Was organized at Norfolk, Virginia, in May, 1861, using the 4th Battalion Virginia Volunteers as its nucleus. William Hensley's Co., Co. G (Cabell), 4th VSL, Capt. Many localities (especially in the southeastern part of the state) sent representatives to both the Wheeling and Richmond state legislatures. 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.
West Virginia Civil War - More Civil War Sites [30] An exemption was granted for 1864, but in 1865 a new demand was made for troops, which Gov. Melvin B. Lawson's Co., Co. E, later part of Rebel Bill Smith's Battn. Guerrilla Units - West Virginia in the Civil War. 3, pg. 1 Va. State Rangers, formerly 186th Regt.
West Virginia Reenactors Association - WVRA Union troops also held the three northernmost counties in the Shenandoah Valley, and despite the pro-secession views of most residents, these counties were also administered by the "Restored" government. The Union authorities began to organize their own guerrilla bands, the most famous of which was the "Snake Hunters", headed by Capt. 10 Va. State Rangers (Marion), Capt. [9] In October 1861 Marshall M. Dent was indicted for treason by a grand jury in Wheeling. 160; pgs. "Crisis Politics in West Virginia, 18611870," in Richard O. Curry ed., Fredette, Allison. John Jay Jackson, Sr. did not attend the second Wheeling convention or support the Pierpont government, but called it "a usurped governmentfounded in force". 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. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 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. James Carter Linger, "Confederate Military Units from West Virginia", 2002 ed., pg. 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. 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. Militia (Webster), Capt.
West Virginia Mountaineers Football - Mountaineers News, Scores, Stats Phillips, David L., Rebecca L. Hill, eds., This page was last edited on 15 March 2023, at 00:19. A group of men were found playing cards under a B&O railroad bridge and arrested by Federal authorities. Curry, Richard O. Many guerrilla units originated in the pre-war militia, and these were designated Virginia State Rangers and starting in June, 1862, these were incorporated into Virginia State Line regiments. 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. When Boteler was not in Richmond he was on the staff of Stonewall Jackson, with the rank of colonel, and after Jackson's death he was a member of the staff of J.E.B. Altogether 24 of the 50 counties in the new state voted in favor of secession. Gift shop and Civil War information here. I (Logan), Capt. Several of them later received pensions in recognition of their service. District 15 consists of Lewis, Wood, Pleasants, Tyler, Ritchie, Doddridge, Upshur, Randolph, Webster, Tucker, Barbour, Harrison, Taylor, Gilmer and Calhoun. UNION WEST VIRGINIA VOLUNTEERS 6th Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry Overview: Organized from 3rd West Virginia Mounted Infantry January 26, 1864. They patrolled Wirt and Calhoun counties through the winter of 186162 and captured scores of Moccasin Rangers, which they sent as prisoners to Wheeling. Later, as a brigadier-general, he would be placed in command of a brigade which included many West Virginia volunteers. [26] Gen. Henry A. . With West Virginia statehood, the Restored government relocated to Alexandria. A number of senators and house delegates elected to represent West Virginia counties decided to remain loyal to Virginia and the Richmond government. This condition required a new constitutional convention and referendum, which was approved. 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". [26] They were later released and received presidential pardons, which was required for former officials of the Confederate government. John Echols of Monroe County became a Lt. Col. and was placed in command of the 27th Virginia Infantry, half of whose men came from West Virginia. [28] From June 1, 1861 to October 16, when the first official Confederate postage stamp was issued, the postmaster marked the letters "paid". Of these there were two regiments of Veteran Infantry, and one of Cavalry. Militia (Webster), Capt. 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. Confederate Units-Militia. [22], On May 30, 1861, Brig. Mathias Harrison's Co., Co. H (Cabell, Logan, Wayne), 2nd VSL, Capt. Brig. Local supporters of Richmond were left to their own devices. 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 (Calhoun), Capt. In 1905 Charles H. Ambler estimated the number of native Union soldiers to be about 20,000.[42]. 39-40. The payrolls of West Virginia's Confederate soldiers would have provided much of the currency stock in the state. [11] John Carlile, who had been the most ardent "new state" delegate, used his position as a senator of Virginia to derail the statehood bill in the senate, but failed. Mason Mathews of Greenbrier County was a state senator during the war. In addition to the men composing these regiments, numbers of others re-enlisted, so that it is believed that the actual number of troops from West Virginia in the United States service during the war was about 28,000. 74, 77-78, Jones, Virgil Carrington "Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders", Galahad Books, 1995 ed., pgs. The Wheeling government was unable to control more than 20 to 25 counties in the new state. There was additional campaigning further south, where Greenbrier County was pro-Confederate, enabling Confederate troops to enter Nicholas County to the west.
List of West Virginia Civil War Confederate units - Military Wiki 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. By March, 1863, however, many were enlisted in the regular Confederate army.[15]. Mustered out July 8, 1865. The official Football page for the The University of Virginia's College at Wise Cavaliers 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. Senator Carlile objected that Congress had no right to impose emancipation on West Virginia, while Willey proposed a compromise amendment to the state constitution for gradual abolition. 267-268, The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Washington, D.C., 1898, Series II, Vol.
Military Operations in Jefferson County, Virginia (Now West Virginia Nov. 15, 1864, Lt. Col. V.A. Daniel Duskey, raided the town of Ripley, Jackson County, where they captured a store of weapons and also seized the U.S. post office. Sumner attempted to add his own amendment to the bill, which was defeated, and the statehood bill passed both houses of Congress with the addition of what became known as the Willey Amendment. voucher of A.B. With the movement of Union troops into West Virginia on May 26 the conditional Unionists threw their support to Virginia. 24 Issue 2, pp 110133, Zimring, David R. "'Secession in Favor of the Constitution': How West Virginia Justified Separate Statehood during the Civil War,". [52], On Nov. 27, 1862, Brig. He was described as a "pillar of the administration" by a colleague. However, Milroy argued in defense of his policy and was allowed to proceed. (Rev.)
Civil War Guerilla Leaders - HISTORY 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. "Devil Anse" Hatfield's Co., formed from the 129th Regt. In 1862 an investigation of conditions in Camp Chase, conducted for Col. William Hoffman, Commissary-General of Prisoners, by Capt. 1st Independent Company Loyal Virginians Cavalry units 1st West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment 3rd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment 4th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment 5th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment [citation needed], 26 Medals of Honor were credited to West Virginians for actions during the war. [3], Although considered a loyal Union state by the Federal government, half of its soldiers were enlisted in the Confederate army; it was the only border state which did not give most of its soldiers to the Union. Va. 120-121, Curry, Richard O., "A House Divided", Univ. Col. Vincent A. Witcher reported from Logan Courthouse on Nov. 15, 1864, that he had recruited 6 full companies and 5 incomplete companies in Logan and Wyoming counties. "[48] Prisoners were often killed in the field. They seized many B&O locomotives and railcars on May 23. George W. Silcott's Co., 186th Regt. Quarrier Press, 2003, pgs. [13], On May 28, 1861, one of the first trials of the Civil War for sabotage took place in Parkersburg, Virginia.
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