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Civil War Photos/Illustrations

Individuals

John Yates Beall (1833-1865) Jefferson County native who was executed as a Confederate pirate at Governor's Island, New York, on February 24, 1865. He was commander of the Lake Erie Raiders.

Alexander Boteler (1815-1892) Congressman from Jefferson County (1859-1861), Boteler served on Stonewall Jackson's staff (1861) and in the Confederate Congress (1862-1864).

Thomas L. Broun (1823-1914) In 1861, Broun, a private in the Kanawha Riflemen, advanced to the rank of major. After the war, Broun became a prominent lawyer in Charleston. His brother Joseph sold General Robert E. Lee his famous horse "Traveller."

Thomas H. Burton Served in Company F, 7th West Virginia Cavalry.

James H. Dayton (b. 1835) This photo was taken in the Partridge Gallery in Wheeling in 1863, shortly before he left to fight in the siege of Vicksburg, Mississipi, with the 4th West Virginia Infantry.

Isaac H. Duval (1824-1902) Wellsburg native, who served as a brigadier general and brevet major general in the Union Army. In 1867, he became West Virginia's adjutant general.

John Echols (1823-1896) This Lynchburg, Virginia, native lived much of his life in Union, Monroe County, practicing law. In 1862, Brigadier General Echols replaced William Loring as commander of Confederate forces in the Kanawha Valley. The following year, his troops were driven out of the Greenbrier Valley at the Battle of Droop Mountain.

James E. Hall (b. 1841) Confederate soldier who served in Company H, 31st Virginia Infantry, was present at the first land battle of the war at Philippi and the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. In 1962, his diary was published under the title, The Diary of a Confederate Soldier.

Nancy Hart (1846?-1902) Confederate spy who operated in the Nicholas County area. Civil War telegrapher Marion H. Kerner made her exploits famous in an article in Leslie's Weekly in 1910.

John C. Higginbotham (1843-1864) Captain of the Upshur Grays at age eighteen, Higginbotham rose to the rank of colonel in the 25th Virginia Infantry by the age of twenty and died at Spotsylvania Courthouse at age twenty-one, while awaiting a promotion to brigadier general.

John Daniel Imboden (1823-1895) Designed the Jones-Imboden Raid, capturing Beverly, Buckhannon, Philippi, and Summersville. The portion of the raid led by Jones confiscated numerous Union supplies and destroyed industry and bridges.

Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (1824-1863) Engraved by H. G. Hull's Sons, New York. Born near Clarksburg and raised at Jackson's Mill, Jackson became one of the greatest military leaders in history. At Harpers Ferry in September 1862, he captured an entire Union Army under Dixon Miles. He was killed accidentally by his own men at Chancellorsville, Virginia, in May 1863.

Anna Reeves Jarvis and her daughter, Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) Anna Reeves Jarvis organized Mother's Day Work Clubs to provide food and medicine to women in need during the Civil War. On May 10, 1908, her daughter held the first Mothers' Day service in Grafton (Taylor County), in honor of Anna Reeves Jarvis. In 1914, Congress recognized Mothers' Day nationally.

William E. "Grumble" Jones (1824-1864) Led part of the Jones-Imboden Raid which destroyed the oil works at Burning Springs, Wirt County. He was killed at the Battle of Piedmont on June 5, 1864.

Benjamin F. Kelley (1807-1891) Commander of all Union forces in western Virginia at the beginning of the war, Kelley led the 1st West Virginia Infantry at the Battle of Philippi on June 3, 1861.

Joseph A. J. Lightburn (1824-1901) As a Union colonel, Lightburn defended the Kanawha Valley in the first two years of the war before being promoted to brigadier general in 1863.

D. Daniel Mayer (b. 1837) After serving as physician of the 5th West Virginia Infantry, Mayer settled in Charleston. He earned a law degree and served as prosecuting attorney in Logan and Boone counties. In 1887, Mayer was appointed director of the Hospital for the Insane in Weston and two years later became the first Jewish member of the West Virginia Legislature. He was later appointed Counsel General to Argentina.

John McCausland (1836-1927) Originally commissioned as a colonel in the 36th Virginia Infantry, Mason County's McCausland advanced to the rank of brigadier general. He gained infamy in the North for burning the town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and never gave up his belief in the Confederate cause.

William McKinley (1843-1901) 25th President of the United States, McKinley served in the 23rd Ohio Volunteers stationed for much of the early part of the war in western Virginia. He participated in the Battle of Kesslers Cross Lanes, defended Princeton, and helped build Fort Scammon in Charleston. In 1901, he was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist employed at a nail factory in the Kanawha City section of Charleston.

Jesse Lee Reno (1823-1862) During the Civil War, this Wheeling native became a major general, the highest rank of any western Virginia officer in the Union Army. He was killed during the Battle of South Mountain, Maryland, on September 14, the day before the siege of Harpers Ferry.

David Hunter Strother (1816-1888) Using the pen name, "Porte Crayon," Strother worked as a correspondent for Harper's Monthly, sketching famous events such as the capture and trial of John Brown, the destruction of the Harpers Ferry Armory and Arsenal, and various battles and troop movements during the Civil War. In the Union Army, he achieved the rank of colonel.

Events

Battle of Carnifex Ferry, September 10, 1861 Drawn by J. Nep Roesler of the Color Guard of the 47th Ohio Volunteers. Roesler sketched numerous Civil War scenes in western Virginia, which were printed in the New River War Album (1862).

Battle of Philippi, June 2, 1861 This drawing first appeared in Harper's Weekly.

Battle of Rich Mountain On July 11, 1861, Union troops drove Confederates from Rich Mountain in Randolph County, one of a series of engagements which removed the southern military presence from the Tygart Valley. This sketch first appeared in Harper's Weekly, July 27, 1861.

Confederate Reunion Group of United Confederate Veterans, R. E. Lee Camp No. 887 which met for the unveiling of the Stonewall Jackson monument at the state capitol in Charleston on September 27, 1910. Pictured are (l-r) back row: James L. Kelley (Co. D, 8th Virginia Cavalry), D.C. Lovett (Co. G, 8th Virginia Cavalry), John Henry Wilson (Co. H, Kanawha Riflemen, 22nd Virginia Infantry), Veto Farrar (Co. A, 36th Virginia Infantry), George S. Chilton (Co. E, 22nd Virginia Infantry), J. Pres. Lanham (Co. A, 22nd Virginia Infantry), William J. Thomas (Jackson's Virginia Battery), James Z. McChesney (Co. F, 11th Virginia Cavalry & Co. C, 14th Virginia Cavalry); front row (the two standing to the left are not identified): James L. Jones (Co. A, Huger's Artillery), John F. Ballard (Co. I, 22nd Virginia Infantry), William C. Hopkins (Co. E, 36th Virginia Cavalry), Henry M. Brown (Co. B, 47th Virginia Infantry), John N. Hutchinson (Co. C, 36th Virginia Infantry), N. O. Sowers (Co. I, 2nd Virginia Infantry), Albert F. Wallen (Co. D, 12th Georgia Artillery), Elisha H. Merricks (Lowery's Virginia Battery), George W. Mays (Co. K, 24th Virginia Infantry), Pleasant Bailey (Co. A, 22nd Virginia Infantry), Samuel A. Motley (Co. A, 8th Virginia Cavalry), Henry D. McFarland (Co. H, Kanawha Riflemen, 22nd Virginia Infantry).

Destruction of the Harpers Ferry B&O Bridge On June 14, 1861, Confederate forces under General Joseph Johnston blew up the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridge before evacuating Harpers Ferry. Shortly afterward, Union troops moved in and held this strategically important position for most of the war. This first appeared in Leslie's Illustrated Weekly.

Historic Sites

Anna Jarvis House Anna Reeves Jarvis distributed food to women in need at this Grafton house during the Civil War as part of her Mother's Day Work Clubs. Her daughter and Mother's Day founder, Anna Jarvis, was born in this house.

Greenbottom Built in Cabell County in 1835, this was the home of Confederate general Albert Gallatin Jenkins.

National Cemetery at Grafton Established by an 1867 Act of Congress, the Grafton Cemetery was dedicated on June 14, 1868, to bury Union soldiers killed during the Civil War. At the far right, a portion can be seen of the tall monument honoring Bailey Brown, supposedly the first Union soldier killed in battle at Philippi.

Patterson House This house was at the center of fighting during the Battle of Carnifex Ferry, Nicholas County, in September 1861.

Philippi Covered Bridge In June 1861, the first land battle of the Civil War occurred at this bridge, designed by Lemuel Chenoweth and built in 1852. This bridge, an important transportation route, remained in continual use until burning in February 1989. It has been restored and is again in use.

Other

Civil War Medals Over 26,000 medals were minted by West Virginia in 1866 to honor the state's Union veterans. Three different types of medals were distributed to the soldiers and their families: Honorably Discharged, Killed in Battle, and For Liberty (for those who died of disease or wounds received in battle). Today, several thousand have yet to be claimed.


The Civil War and Statehood

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