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 and led them in major battles, including Corricks Ford and Second Manassas, where he had three horses shot out from under him. After the war, Latham served in Congress, was a U.S. consul in Australia, and worked in education and government. He lived in Buckhannon until his death. His daughter was the artist Annie Virginia Latham Bartlett.