7th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Encyclopedia
The 7th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry
regiment
that served in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. For much of the war, it was a part of the famed "Gibraltar Brigade
" in the Army of the Potomac
. It was famed primarily for two major actions, a determined charge on the Sunken Road at Antietam
and a late evening counterattack
on East Cemetery Hill
at Gettysburg
that helped push back an attack by the Louisiana Tigers
.
, Portland, Greenland
, Cameron
, Morgantown
and Wheeling
, in western Virginia
between July 16, 1861, and December 3, 1861. It was initially attached to the Railroad District of West Virginia, and provided guard duty for the railroads against Confederate
raiders.
The 7th fought in the 1862 Valley Campaign
in Nathaniel Banks' V Corps
, seeing action in a number of small engagements before fighting in the Battle of Port Republic
in late May. It was assigned to the II Corps
and would remain in that organization for the rest of the war. A part of Nathan Kimball
's brigade during the September 1862 Maryland Campaign
, the 7th Virginia took part in the attack on the Sunken Road ("Bloody Lane") at Antietam. Following the battle, the regiment helped garrison Harper's Ferry
until the end of October, when it marched through the Loudoun Valley
to Falmouth, Virginia
. The 7th next saw action at the Battle of Fredericksburg
in the II Corps assault, and participated in the ill-fated Mud March
.
In late April and early May 1863, the 7th West Virginia participated in the Chancellorsville Campaign
. In June, the regiment marched northward into Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg Campaign
and took a defensive position on Cemetery Ridge
on July 2. In the evening, along with the 4th Ohio and 14th Indiana, it was sent to help stop the attack of Jubal Early on Cemetery Hill. In the autumn of that same year, the 7th participated in the Mine Run and Bristoe
campaigns.
In February 1864, the 7th was engaged in fighting at Morton's Ford, and then took part in the Overland Campaign
, including the Battle of the Wilderness
and Spotsylvania
, where it was involved in the attack on the Salient or "Bloody Angle." For the bulk of the year, the regiment was active during the Siege of Petersburg
.
In early 1865, the 7th fought at the Battle of Hatcher's Run
and then the fall of Petersburg. It subsequently marched in pursuit of the retreating Army of Northern Virginia
during the Appomattox Campaign
. The regiment marched in the Grand Review in Washington, D.C.
on May 23 before being transported to Louisville, Kentucky
.
The 7th West Virginia was mustered out of Federal service on June 1, 1865.
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...
. For much of the war, it was a part of the famed "Gibraltar Brigade
Gibraltar Brigade
The "Gibraltar Brigade" was a famed infantry brigade within the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Noted for its tenacity in combat, the brigade drew its nickname from the steadfastness of the Rock of Gibraltar...
" in the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
. It was famed primarily for two major actions, a determined charge on the Sunken Road at Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
and a late evening counterattack
Counterattack
A counterattack is a tactic used in response against an attack. The term originates in military strategy. The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy in attack and the specific objectives are usually to regain lost ground or to destroy attacking enemy units.It is...
on East Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
that helped push back an attack by the Louisiana Tigers
Louisiana Tigers
Louisiana Tigers was the common nickname for certain infantry troops from the state of Louisiana in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Originally applied to a specific company, the nickname expanded to a battalion, then to a brigade, and eventually to all Louisiana troops...
.
Service
The 7th West Virginia (originally the 7th Virginia) was organized 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...
, Portland, Greenland
Greenland, West Virginia
Greenland is an unincorporated community between Walker's Ridge and New Creek Mountain on the North Fork Patterson Creek in Grant County, West Virginia, USA. Greenland lies at the western end of Greenland Gap in New Creek Mountain....
, Cameron
Cameron, West Virginia
Cameron is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,212 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cameron is located at ....
, Morgantown
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
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...
between July 16, 1861, and December 3, 1861. It was initially attached to the Railroad District of West Virginia, and provided guard duty for the railroads 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.
The 7th fought in the 1862 Valley Campaign
Valley Campaign
Jackson's Valley Campaign was Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's famous spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War...
in Nathaniel Banks' V Corps
V Corps (ACW)
The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...
, seeing action in a number of small engagements before fighting in the Battle of Port Republic
Battle of Port Republic
-References:* Cozzens, Peter. Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8078-3200-4....
in late May. It was assigned to the II Corps
II Corps (ACW)
There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps during the American Civil War.* Army of the Cumberland, II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden , later renumbered XX Corps...
and would remain in that organization for the rest of the war. A part of Nathan Kimball
Nathan Kimball
Nathan Kimball was a physician, politician, postmaster, and military officer, serving as a general in the Union army during the American Civil War...
's brigade during the September 1862 Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign
The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
, the 7th Virginia took part in the attack on the Sunken Road ("Bloody Lane") at Antietam. Following the battle, the regiment helped garrison Harper's Ferry
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
until the end of October, when it marched through the Loudoun Valley
Loudoun Valley
The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in northwestern Virginia in the United States.-Geography:...
to Falmouth, Virginia
Falmouth, Virginia
Falmouth is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U.S...
. The 7th next saw action at the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
in the II Corps assault, and participated in the ill-fated Mud March
Mud March (American Civil War)
The Mud March was an abortive attempt at a winter offensive in January 1863 by Union Army Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside in the American Civil War....
.
In late April and early May 1863, the 7th West Virginia participated in the Chancellorsville Campaign
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
. In June, the regiment marched northward into Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
and took a defensive position on Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge
Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park south of the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle, roughly the center of...
on July 2. In the evening, along with the 4th Ohio and 14th Indiana, it was sent to help stop the attack of Jubal Early on Cemetery Hill. In the autumn of that same year, the 7th participated in the Mine Run and Bristoe
Bristoe Campaign
The Bristoe Campaign was a series of minor battles fought in Virginia during October and November 1863, in the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, began to maneuver in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern...
campaigns.
In February 1864, the 7th was engaged in fighting at Morton's Ford, and then took part in the Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
, including the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
and Spotsylvania
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
, where it was involved in the attack on the Salient or "Bloody Angle." For the bulk of the year, the regiment was active during the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
.
In early 1865, the 7th fought at the Battle of Hatcher's Run
Battle of Hatcher's Run
The Battle of Hatcher's Run, also known as Dabney's Mill, Armstrong's Mill, Rowanty Creek, and Vaughn Road, fought February 5–7, 1865, was one in a series of Union offensives during the Siege of Petersburg, aimed at cutting off Confederate supply traffic on Boydton Plank Road and the Weldon...
and then the fall of Petersburg. It subsequently marched in pursuit of the retreating Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
during the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign
The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...
. The regiment marched in the Grand Review in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on May 23 before being transported to Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
The 7th West Virginia was mustered out of Federal service on June 1, 1865.