Tag: Civil War

September 14, 1862: Union General Jesse Reno Killed at South Mountain

On September 14, 1862, General Jesse Lee Reno was killed during the Battle of South Mountain in Maryland. The Wheeling native was the highest-ranking Union general from present-day West Virginia to be killed during the Civil War.

Reno graduated in the same West Point class that included George McClellan and another cadet from Western Virginia: Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. During the Mexican War, Reno served in a howitzer battery and was wounded at the Battle of Chapultapec.

Three months before the start of the Civil War, he was commanding a federal arsenal in Alabama, when it was seized by pro-Confederate state forces. In late 1861, he was called east to command a brigade, which he led during Ambrose Burnside’s expedition through coastal North Carolina. Promoted to brevet major general, Reno’s division took part in the Union debacle at Second Manassas and temporarily commanded Burnside’s 9th Corps.

Jesse Lee Reno was mortally wounded during the struggle for South Mountain—trying to repel Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Maryland. Three days later, members of the 9th Corps charged into battle at Antietam with the cry of “Remember Reno.”

August 5, 1863: Berkeley Co. Admitted to New State of WV

On August 5, 1863, the West Virginia Legislature voted to admit Berkeley County officially into West Virginia. Three months later, the legislature also admitted Berkeley’s neighbor, Jefferson County.

Earlier in 1863, residents of the two counties had voted to join the new state. The vote was curious, though—to say the least—because Berkeley and Jefferson had been decidedly pro-Southern in their political leanings, with closer ties to the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia.

However, at the time of the vote, the United States Army was in control of both Berkeley and Jefferson. These Union soldiers helped ensure that mostly pro-West Virginia voters went to the polls and intimidated most pro-Virginians from voting.

After the Civil War ended, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act that claimed Berkeley and Jefferson back from West Virginia. But Congress sided with West Virginia and ruled that Berkeley and Jefferson were part of the 35th state. Virginia argued the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which, in 1871, also took West Virginia’s side, ruling that Berkeley and Jefferson counties are permanent parts of the Mountain State.

July 3, 1863: Union Army Wins Battle of Gettysburg, Confederates Surrender in Vicksburg, Miss.

July 3, 1863, was a pivotal day in the Civil War. On that day, the Union Army scored a key victory in the Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg, and Confederates offered their surrender at Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Battle of Gettysburg ended the Confederates’ last major invasion of the North and is viewed by some as the war’s turning point. The Confederate loss of Vicksburg was perhaps more important because it opened the way for the North to seize control of the entire Mississippi River, cutting the Confederacy in half.

West Virginians played important roles in both efforts. At Gettysburg, Union troops in the 1st West Virginia Cavalry participated in a charge against Confederate infantrymen during the battle’s waning moments on July 3. That same day, Confederate soldiers from West Virginia were part of General George Pickett’s disastrous charge, climaxing the battle. Union soldiers from the 1st West Virginia Light Artillery’s Battery C were on the opposing side of Pickett’s Charge.

Hundreds of miles to the southwest, seven soldiers in the 4th West Virginia Infantry earned the Medal of Honor for their heroism in the Union assault on Vicksburg’s defenses.

June 22, 1865: Gen. Joseph Lightburn Resigns

On June 22, 1865, two months after Civil War hostilities ended, General Joseph A. J. Lightburn resigned from the U.S. Army, ending his military service.

The Pennsylvania native had moved with his family to Lewis County in 1840. As a young man, he was friends with Thomas Jackson—later to be known as “Stonewall.” Lightburn wanted to attend West Point, but Jackson received the appointment from his region instead.

At the start of the Civil War, Lightburn pledged his loyalty to the Union, went to Wheeling, and later became colonel of the 4th West Virginia Infantry. In 1862, he was placed in command of Union forces in the Kanawha Valley, with his headquarters at Gauley Bridge. In September of that year, Confederate troops temporarily won control of the valley, forcing Lightburn’s army out. Later, he was ordered to Mississippi, where he was promoted to brigadier general and participated in the Battle of Vicksburg. In 1864, he was wounded during Sherman’s advance on Atlanta.

After the war, Joseph A. J. Lightburn became a Baptist preacher. He died in Lewis County in 1901 at age 76.

June 3, 1861: 'Philippi Races' Takes Place as One of Civil War's Opening Acts

On June 3, 1861, one of the opening acts of the Civil War unfolded in the town of Philippi. At daybreak, the roar of Union cannons shook some 800 slumbering Confederate soldiers from their tents. The routed Confederates made a hasty retreat, derisively remembered as the “Philippi Races.” The brief engagement was the first land battle of the Civil War involving organized troops. And it probably was the first time in history that railroads had been used to bring together troops for battle.

Philippi was a small skirmish compared to later battles in the war. However, the Union victory was important because it helped deny Confederates access to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the region. And it bolstered the spirits of West Virginia statehood leaders, who were about to establish a pro-Union government of Virginia in Wheeling.

The battle also provided an interesting footnote to history. A wounded Confederate soldier, James Hanger, had his leg amputated after the battle and later crafted an artificial leg for himself. He went on to found Hanger Prosthetics, which is now the nation’s leading producer of artificial limbs.

May 22, 1861: Thornsberry Bailey Brown Becomes First Union Solider Killed in Civil War

  On May 22, 1861, Thornsberry Bailey Brown became the first Union soldier killed in battle during the Civil War. It occurred during a brief stand-off at Fetterman in Taylor County.

At the beginning of the war, both Union and Confederate forces were scheming to control the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which had arrived in Taylor County in 1857. The railroad would be a key to moving troops and supplies.

Like much of present West Virginia, Taylor County’s loyalties were divided early in the war. Most residents backed a local Union militia unit, known as the Grafton Guards. However, there was also strong support for the Confederate Letcher’s Guard. On May 22, just more than a month into the war, Thornsberry Bailey Brown and another member of the Grafton Guards surprised three of Letcher’s Guards, who were on picket duty. In a quick exchange of fire, Brown was killed.

Brown is considered the first combat fatality of the Civil War. Following the capture of Fort Sumter, two Union soldiers had died during a cannon salute. Brown is buried in the Grafton National Cemetery, which was established after the war.

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