(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
© Property of Min7th Productions 2012
Military History - Page One
ALDERSON’S
military
history
began
in
1755
with
the
Indian
attack
on
Baughman’s
Fort,
recounted
elsewhere,
which
was
an
action
of
the
French
and
Indian
War.
In
two
attacks,
only
one
soldier
was
killed,
whereas
nine
civilian
men
and
four
women
were
killed.
One
woman
and
five
children
were captured.
Since that time, more than two centuries ago, Alderson has engaged in every war.
Following
1755,
several
treaties
and
agreements
were
made
with
the
Indians.
They
accomplished
little
except
temporary
truces.
In
the
early
1770’s
the
intensity
of
the
Indian—settler
murdering,
pillaging
and
destructions
grew.
By
1774
something
had
to
be
done.
Lo-rd
Dunmore
was
the
Governor
of
Virginia.
Dunmore
determined
to
beat
the
Indians
and
there
ensued
one
of
the
strangest
military
actions
in
American
history,
Lord
Dunmore’s War. It was of vital importance to the Alderson area.
Dunmore
decided
to
raise
two
little
armies
of
about
1200
men
each
and
advance
to
the
Ohio.
He
led
the
northern
company
and
appointed
Colonel
Andrew
Lewis
to
lead
the
southern
company.
Lewis’
"soldiers"
were
from
Augusta,
Botetourt
and
Fincastle
counties.
(Included
in
the
area
is
what
are
now
Greenbrier
and
Monroe
Counties.)
This
picturesque
army
met
at
Camp
Union
(Lewisburg)
to
march
to
the
Ohio.
Three
companies
under
Captain
John
Lewis,
Captain
John
Stuart
and
Captain
Robert
McClanahan
were
from
the
Greenbrier
Valley.
There
were
about
148
officers
and
men
in
the
three
Greenbrier
companies.
There
were
many
familiar
Alderson
names
among
those
early
fighters.
In
a
day
long
battle,
October
10,
1774,
Colonel Lewis and his band defeated Cornstalk, the great Shawnee chief, at Point Pleasant.
No
roster
of
the
soldiers
who
fought
in
the
Revolutionary
War
from
the
Alderson
vicinity
has
been
found.
There
are
several
veterans
of
that
war
buried
in
the
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church
cemetery.
Many
of
the
men
who
are
credited
with
service
did
not
go
east
and
join
Washington’s
Continental
army
but
went
west
to
protect
the
flank
of
the
settlements
from
Indian
attack.
The
British
had
enlisted
the
savages
to
fight
the
settlements
and
the
attacks
were
a
constant
danger
requiring
a
great
amount
of
men
and
time.
Their
service
was
called
"spying"
and
regular
patrols
were
established.
Many
of
these
men
were
drafted
into
service.
Their
declarations
are
contained
in
their
applications
for
pensions
which
showed
they
served
in
Ohio,
Kentucky,
and
Pennsylvania.
In
1781
the
Governor
of
Virginia
ordered
a
draft
of
137
men
from
Greenbrier
County
to
serve
under
George
Rogers
Clark in the west.
The
last
attack
by
the
Indians
in
the
Alderson
area
was
the
killing
of
Thomas
Griffith
near
the
mouth
of
Griffith
Creek
below
the
community
in
1780.
Griffith
was
killed
early
one
morning.
His
son
heard
the
shot,
ran
out
of
the
house,
and
the
Indians
grabbed
him.
The
Indians
were
pursued
and
intercepted in Kanawha. The Griffith boy was rescued.
Following
the
Revolution,
Indian
attacks
on
the
frontiers
did
not
cease.
Greenbrier
County
had
an
organized
militia
regiment.
It
was
the
79th
Regiment,
13th
Brigade
and
Third
Division,
composed
of
free
white
males
16
years
and
older,
of
which
there
were
732
in
the
county.
-
The
Indian
attacks-
continued
from
1783
until
after
1794.
They
were
abated
locally
but
continued
in
the
western
reaches
of
the
county.
The
Western
boundary
of Greenbrier County was the Ohio River when it was formed in 1778.
After
the
United
States
of
America
began
to
function
with
Washington’s
inauguration
in
1789,
military
defense
of
the
Nation
became
the
responsibility
of
the
United
States.
In
1794
the
first
challenge
to
the
Federal
authority
was
the
refusal
in
Western
Pennsylvania
of
distillers
to
pay
excise tax on whiskey.
Washington
recognized
this
for
what
it
would
reap
——
collapse
of
the
Nation
and
its
authority.
He
issued
a
call
from
several
states
for
troops
—
3300
from
Virginia.
The
79th
Regiment
of
Greenbrier
was
exempted
by
special
order
"because
they
consist
of
frontier
inhabitants
exposed
to
constant Indian warfare." (Ref. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. VII, p. 166.)
In
the
War
of
1812,
Greenbrier
and
Monroe
furnished
the
following
units:
Captain
Charles
W.
Lewis’
Company
of
Monroe
County
and
Captain
John
Welch’s
Company
of
Greenbrier
County.
Both
companies
were
attached
to
the
Third
Regiment
of
Virginia
Cavalry.
The
Light
Infantry
and
Rifle
Companies were commanded by Captain William McDaniels of Monroe County, and Captain James Hill of Monroe County.
These
companies
fought
at
Norfolk,
Virginia,
and
along
the
Atlantic
seaboard.
Many
died
of
"the
plague"
in
1914-15
and
were
buried
there.
Rosters
are not complete. Two widows in Alderson later drew government pensions, Jean Halfpenny and Jane Huffman.
Before
the
Civil
War
the
people
in
Alderson
Ferry
locality
were
not
greatly
disturbed
by
the
slavery
question.
There
were
few
slave
owners
and
they
rarely
owned
more
than
two
or
three
slaves.
This
agricultural
area
was
not
suited
to
a
slave
economy
as
were
the
cotton
states.
The
section
was
frequently
in
disagreement
with
the
Virginia
state
government
or
the
Virginians
east
of
the
mountains.
In
fact,
there
was
much
friction.
But
when
the
time came to choose North or South, they sided almost unanimously with the South and gave her devoted support.
In
April
1861,
Virginia
seceded
from
the
Union
and
the
nation
was
on
fire.
Few
names
of
men
who
served
in
the
confederacy
from
this
community
can
now
be
found.
An
old
roster
of
C.
B.
Edgars
Battalion,
C.S.A.,
lists
171
men.
This
roster
has
a
large
number
of
familiar
Alderson
family
names.
Other
military
units
in
which
local
men
served
were
Lowry’s
Battery,
Monroe
Guards,
Thurmond's
Rangers,
Chapman’s
Battery,
Monroe
Sharpshooters,
Burdette’s
Company,
Fleshman’s
Company,
Rocky
Point
Grays,
and
several
others.
Morton’s
History
of
Monroe
County
lists
more
than
1200
men
who
served
in
the
Confederacy
from
Monroe
County
and
he
has
considerately
not
listed
deserters,
which
gives
a
good
idea
of
how
deeply involved the area was in the Civil War.
The troops of both North and South passed through Alderson Ferry in numbers several times.
Reference:
Third
Biennial
Report,
State
Dept.
Archives
and
History,
Chapter
Vll,
pages
l42-l85.
Pension
Rolls
and
Applications.
Lewis,
Virgil
A.,
Third
Biennial
Report,
Dept,
of
Archives
and
His-
tory,
W.
Va.
l9l
l.
Morrison
and
Commager,
The
Growth
of
the
American
Republic,
Vol.
l,
P,
216;
Morton, Monroe County History, various references.
Main Index
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
