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West Virginia soldiers fought in many major battles of the Civil War. Confederate troops from the Eastern Panhandle served under "Stonewall" Jackson, helping him to earn his nickname at First Manassas and holding strong at Second Manassas. At Antietam, the 7th West Virginia Infantry suffered heavy losses at the "Bloody Lane." In the Battle of Gettysburg, Union cavalry from West Virginia charged Confederate lines, while Confederate troops joined Pickett’s Charge. At Vicksburg, seven soldiers from the 4th West Virginia Infantry earned the Medal of Honor for bravery.
General John Echols was a lawyer and politician who moved to Monroe County before the Civil War. He voted for secession and joined the Confederate army, rising to brigadier general. Echols fought in several key battles, including First Manassas, K...
Union General Thomas Maley Harris of Harrisville (Ritchie County) recruited the 10th West Virginia Infantry and became its colonel in 1862. Harris was promoted to brevet major general near the end of the war in 1865 for his part in the Union assau...
Humphreys was a Confederate soldier from Greenbrier County who made history by using indirect cannon fire during the Battle of Fayetteville (1862) in Fayette County. This method of shooting at unseen targets became common in modern warfare. After ...
Imboden was a Confederate officer from Virginia who fought in key Civil War battles, including First Manassas and Gettysburg. He led part of the Jones-Imboden Raid in what is now West Virginia and helped protect General Lee’s army during its retre...
Confederate General William Lowther Jackson, born in Clarksburg, was a judge and politician before the Civil War. A loyal Confederate, he tried to take control of local militias and cannons in Parkersburg, leading to violent confrontations. Nickna...
Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, born in Clarksburg, is one of the most famous officers in military history. Orphaned young, he grew up tough and independent. He became a hero in the Mexican War and later taught at the Virginia Mili...
Albert Gallatin Jenkins was born in Cabell County and studied at Marshall Academy, Jefferson College, and Harvard Law School. Before the Civil War, he was a lawyer and a U.S. congressman. When the war began, he joined the Confederacy, formed a cav...
General Benjamin Franklin Kelley was born in New Hampshire and moved to Wheeling in 1836. He worked in business and with the B&O Railroad before the Civil War. In 1861, he formed the 1st (West) Virginia Infantry and was promoted to general aft...
Just before the war, George Robert Latham became a lawyer in Grafton. When the war began, he was one of the first to recruit and command Union troops in northwestern Virginia. He formed Company B of the 2nd Virginia (later West Virginia) Infantry ...
Robert E. Lee was born in Virginia and graduated second in his class from West Point. He served in the U.S. Army and fought in the Mexican War before becoming superintendent of West Point. In 1859, he led U.S. troops to end John Brown's raid at Ha...
This Pennsylvania native moved to Lewis County in 1840. A childhood friend of "Stonewall" Jackson, he served in the U.S. Army before running his family’s mill and farm. During the Civil War, General Lightburn led U.S. troops in West Virginia and i...
Confederate General John McCausland was born in St. Louis but raised in Western Virginia. A top graduate of Virginia Military Institute, he served as a professor alongside "Stonewall" Jackson. During the Civil War, he led the 36th Virginia Infantr...
Union General John Hunt Oley was one of six New Yorkers sent to train Western Virginia troops when the war started. He organized the 8th (West) Virginia Infantry (which later became the 8th West Virginia Mounted Infantry and then 7th West Virginia...
Union General Jesse Lee Reno was born in Wheeling and graduated from West Point in 1846 alongside other famous soldiers like "Stonewall" Jackson and George McClellan. He fought bravely in the Mexican War and was promoted twice. During the Civil Wa...
Confederate General Alexander Welch Reynolds was born in Lewisburg. He graduated from West Point and served in the U.S. Army during the Seminole and Mexican wars. When the Civil War began, he joined the Confederacy, rising to brigadier general and...
Born in Ohio, Rosecrans was a Union general who was very active in the early parts of the Civil War in Western Virginia. His most important victory was at the 1861 Battle of Rich Mountain (Randolph County), which drove Confederate troops out of no...
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