6th Regiment West Virginia Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 6th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry
regiment
that served in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
.
, Mannington
, Cairo
, Parkersburg
and Wheeling
, in western Virginia
.
The regiment spent most of its service guard the Baltimore & Ohio railroad line, fighting numerous small skirmishes against Confederate
raiders and bushwhacker
s.
The regiment was mustered out of Federal service on June 10, 1865.
Future Nebraska
Congressman George Washington Emery Dorsey
was a major in the 6th West Virginia.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
that served in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Service
The 6th West Virginia was mustered into Federal service on August 13, 1861, at GraftonGrafton, West Virginia
Grafton is a city in, and county seat of, Taylor County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 5,489 at the 2000 census. The only two national cemeteries in West Virginia are located in Grafton. Mother's Day was founded in Grafton on May 10, 1908; the city is the home to the International Mother's...
, Mannington
Mannington, West Virginia
Mannington is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States located in the hills of North-Central West Virginia. Known as Mannington since 1856, the town is rich with history and heritage – from Native American relics to frontiersmen and their settlements to Civil War legends...
, Cairo
Cairo, West Virginia
Cairo is a town in Ritchie County, West Virginia, United States, along West Virginia Route 31, the North Fork of the Hughes River, and the North Bend Rail Trail...
, Parkersburg
Parkersburg, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,099 people, 14,467 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. In 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Parkersburg's population had decreased 4.4% to 31,755. The population density was 2,800.5 people per square mile . There were 16,100 housing...
and Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, in western Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
The regiment spent most of its service guard the Baltimore & Ohio railroad line, fighting numerous small skirmishes against Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
raiders and bushwhacker
Bushwhacker
Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there are large areas of contested land and few Governmental Resources to control these tracts...
s.
The regiment was mustered out of Federal service on June 10, 1865.
Future Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
Congressman George Washington Emery Dorsey
George Washington Emery Dorsey
George Washington Emery Dorsey was a Representative to the United States Congress from Nebraska.-Biography:...
was a major in the 6th West Virginia.