| 11th West Virginia Infantry Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Flag of West Virginia | |
| Active | October 29, 1861, to June 17, 1865 |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | Union |
| Branch | Infantry |
| Engagements | Battle of Cloyd's Mountain Second Battle of Kernstown Battle of Cedar Creek Battle of Fisher's Hill Siege of Petersburg |
The 11th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 11th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was organized in several western Virginia counties along the Ohio River following the Wheeling Convention and their secession from secessionist Virginia, including Elizabeth and Burning Springs in Wirt County, Wheeling for Ohio County Wetzel and Marshall Counties, Ravenswood in Jackson County, Kanawha Station in Wood County, and Point Pleasant in Mason County between October 29, 1861, and October 8, 1862.
It initially protected the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a crucial supply line for Union forces that connected Ohio and the midwest with Baltimore and Washington D.C. along the Ohio and later Potomac Rivers through Western Virginia, and was based at Parkersburg. [1] In January 1863, its initial Colonel, John C. Rathbone was honorably discharged, and the following month its initial Lt.Col., Daniel E. Frost, succeeded him. In March 1863 the 11th West Virginia was assigned to the 6th Brigade (Wilkinson's), 3rd Division (Kelley's or Scammon's) of the 8th Army Corps and countered the Jones-Imboden Raid shortly before West Virginia achieved statehood and Morgan's Raid in July 1863. In December 1863 it was attached to 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, West Virginia and the following month many members reenlisted. Following the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain on May 9, 1864, Col. H.G. Sickel specifically mentioned the gallantry of Col. Frost and his regiment. [2] In June 1864 it accompanied General David Hunter in raiding in the Shenandoah Valley including sacking the Virginia Military Institute and returning along the Kanawha Valley (marching 412 miles by month's and losing one officer and five men). [3] On July 13, 1864, Col. Frost was leading the brigade at the battle of Snicker's Ferry and fell mortally wounded.
The unit then supported General Philip Sheridan's campaign, including at the Second Battle of Kernstown outside Winchester. Private George G. Moore of Company D was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Fisher's Hill for capturing a Confederate battle flag. [4] Col. Van H. Bukey, who had begun the war as the unit's major and who had commanded the regiment after Col. Frost's death, was formally promoted to the unit's colonel following the victory at the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 9, 1864. [5]
The unit was reassigned to the Army of the Potomac in March 1865 and participated in the Appomattox Campaign at the war's end. Corporal Adam White of Company G, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his exceptional heroism in charging the Rebel works, routing the enemy and capturing a brigade flag. This was during the breakthrough at Hatcher's Run during the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia on April 2, 1865.
The 11th West Virginia participated in Gen. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House and conducted various cleanup operations in central Virginia before being mustered out in Richmond on June 17, 1865. [6]
The 11th West Virginia suffered 4 Officers and 63 enlisted men killed in battle or died from wounds, and 148 enlisted men dead from disease for a total of 215 fatalities. [7]
The 50th Georgia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised by the state of Georgia to fight for the Confederacy in the American Civil War.
The Battle of Cloyd's Mountain was a Union victory in western Virginia on May 9, 1864 that allowed the Union forces to destroy a large bridge on the last railroad line connecting Tennessee to Virginia.
The U.S. state of West Virginia was formed out of western Virginia and added to the Union as a direct result of the American Civil War, in which it became the only modern state to have declared its independence from the Confederacy. In the summer of 1861, Union troops, which included a number of newly-formed Western Virginia regiments, under General George McClellan, drove off Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee. This essentially freed Unionists in the northwestern counties of Virginia to form a functioning government of their own as a result of the Wheeling Convention. Prior to the admission of West Virginia the government in Wheeling formally claimed jurisdiction over all of Virginia, although from its creation it was firmly committed to the formation of a separate state.
The 5th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 8th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 9th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 2nd West Virginia Cavalry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized in Parkersburg, 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 "Loyal Virginia" part of the name was replaced with "West Virginia" after the state of West Virginia was officially admitted to the Union in 1863. Today, the National Park Service lists them as 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry under a heading of Union West Virginia Volunteers.
The 23rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, known as the "First Irish" or "Irish 'Brigade'", was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 22nd Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment from the western Virginia that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Its commander was George S. Patton Sr., the grandfather of World War II General George S. Patton.
The 26th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was often referred to by its members as the Groundhog Regiment.
The 60th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 5th Tennessee Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The Kanawha Division was a Union Army division which could trace its origins back to a brigade originally commanded by Jacob D. Cox. This division served in western Virginia and Maryland and was at times led by such famous personalities as George Crook and Rutherford B. Hayes.
The 11th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 36th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment mostly raised in the Kanawha Valley for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly in western Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
The 26th Virginia Infantry Battalion was a unit of the Confederate States Army organized on May 20, 1862 from men of the 59th Virginia Infantry Regiment who were not captured at the Battle of Roanoke Island and additional companies of recruits. It was commanded by Lt. Col. George M. Edgar and, after his capture in 1864, by Capt. Edmund S. Read. The battalion was disbanded on April 12, 1865 by Brig. Gen. John Echols at Christiansburg, Va.
The 28th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was frequently referred to as the 2nd German Ohio Regiment.
The 67th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Also known as Law’s Brigade, the Alabama Brigade was a military formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was created in 1863 and participated in major combat operations such as the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Battle of the Wilderness and the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. It was considered one of the great fighting brigades of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Daniel Edward Frost was an American journalist, politician and soldier who twice served in the Virginia House of Delegates before the American Civil War. He helped found the state of West Virginia at the Wheeling Convention where he represented Jackson County and served as Speaker of the House of Delegates for the Virginia General Assembly at Wheeling, before he died fighting for the Union while leading the 11th West Virginia Infantry Regiment.