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.
