2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
Flag of West Virginia
Active	September 1861 to June 30, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Cavalry
Engagements	Battle of Charleston (1862) Battle of Lynchburg Second Battle of Kernstown Battle of Opequon (a.k.a. Third Battle of Winchester) Battle of Fisher's Hill Battle of Cedar Creek Battle of Five Forks Battle of Sailor's Creek
Commanders
Colonel	William M. Bolles September 9, 1861 - June 25, 1862
Colonel	John C. Paxton July 18, 1862 - May 7, 1863
Colonel	William H. Powell May 18, 1863 - June 9, 1864 Brigade commander June 9, 1864 Division commander September 23, 1864 Brigadier General October 19, 1864
Lt. Colonel	David Dove May 18, 1863 - July 5, 1864 Ranking officer while Powell was POW
Lt. Colonel	John J. Hoffman Commissioned July 14, 1864 - mustered out November 28, 1864
Lt. Colonel	James Allen November 26, 1864 - June 30, 1865

The 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The cavalry regiment was organized in Parkersburg, Virginia (now West Virginia) during September 1861. Most of the original members of this regiment were from southeastern Ohio, and planners thought that this regiment would become the 4th Ohio Cavalry. Their application was rejected by the governor of Ohio, so the unit became the 2nd Regiment of Loyal Virginia Volunteer Cavalry. The name was changed to "2nd West Virginia" after the state of West Virginia was created in 1863.

The regiment's first serious war experience was gained in early January 1862 in northeastern Kentucky. For the next two years, most of the regiment's fighting was in the mountainous backwoods of what later became West Virginia. The regiment spent much of 1862 in the Kanawha River Valley, often hunting "bushwhackers"—small bands of rebels loyal to the Confederacy. During the Kanawha Campaign in September 1862, the regiment cleared away Confederate cavalry that intended to prevent a retreating Union Army from reaching the safety of Ohio. By 1864, the regiment was part of the Army of West Virginia, and spent much of its time fighting in Virginia. It participated in the last part of General David Hunter's Lynchburg Campaign. It also participated in Union General Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, and played an important part in the Third Battle of Winchester.

On November 28, 1864, nearly 250 members of the regiment completed their 3-year enlistment and mustered out. The regiment was then reorganized into five companies. By the end of 1864, the regiment was attached to General George Armstrong Custer's 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. The regiment was present during the Appomattox Campaign, including the Battle of Appomattox Court House and the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. After the war, the regiment was in the Grand Review of the Armies, and was mustered out on June 30, 1865.

Service

The 2nd West Virginia Cavalry was organized at Parkersburg in western Virginia between September and November 1861. The regiment was composed almost entirely of volunteers from Ohio, with 9 companies organized from the counties of Lawrence, Meigs, Jackson, Vinton, Washington and Morgan.

The regiment participated in the Grand Review of the Armies and was mustered out on June 30, 1865.

Out of this unit, came 4 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor:

• Major William H. Powell received his Medal of Honor for "distinguished services in raid, where with 20 men, he charged and captured the enemy's camp, 500 strong , without the loss of man or gun" at Sinking Creek, Va on 26 November 1862.
• Private Joseph Kimball, of Company B, for "capture of flag of the 6th North Carolina Infantry" at Sailors' Creek on 6 April 1865.
• Private Samuel O. McElhinny, for "capture of flag" at Sailors' Creek on 6 April 1865.
• Private Bernard Shields, of Company E, for "capture of flag of the Washington Artillery" at Appomattox, VA on 8 April 1865.

Casualties

The 2nd West Virginia Cavalry suffered 4 officers and 77 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded in battle and 115 enlisted men dead from disease for a total of 196 fatalities.[1]

See also

• West Virginia Units in the Civil War
• West Virginia in the Civil War

References

• The Civil War Archive