(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
© Property of Min7th Productions 2012
The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope Volume 1, Number 2 - December 1964 Transcribed by Barry Worrell
Military History - Page Two
Shortly
after
the
war
started
in
June
1861,
a
wild
rumor
started
in
Monroe
County
that
1500
Yankees
were
on
their
way
from
Meadow
Bluff
by
way
of
Alderson’s
Ferry
to
Union,
burning,
pillaging
and
killing.
The
local
guardsmen
in
the
Union
section
mustered
to
repel
the
invaders
at
Alderson’s
Ferry.
They
were
joined
by
an
aroused
citizenry
armed
with
every
imaginable
weapon
including
pitchforks
and
corn
cutters.
This
picturesque
throng
got
almost
to
Alderson’s
Ferry
where
they
were
met
by
Colonel
Ellis,
who
had
investigated
the
rumor.
He
told
them
there
was
not
a
Yankee
soldier
within
a
hundred
miles.
Then
James
Miller
addressed
the
soldiers
thanking
them
for
their
promptness
in
mustering
to
meet
the
enemy.
Everybody
went
home.
The
Reverend
S.
R.
Huston
of
Union
kept
a,
sketchy
diary
of
the
war
years
published
in
Morton’s
Monroe
History.
What
this
area
endured
during
the
time
was
terrible.
Typhoid
fever
in
October
1861
was
killing
soldiers
in
camps
of
both
North
and
South
at
Meadow
Bluff,
Huntersville,
and
Lewisburg.
By
May
1862
Federal
troops
had
control
of
Greenbrier
County
and
guarded
all
ferries
of
the
Greenbrier.
On
June
22,
1862,
1600
Federal
troops
crossed
the
river
at
Alderson’s
Ferry
going
into
Monroe.
As
this
was
but
the
number
for
one
day
of
the
war,
Alderson’s
Ferry
must
have
seen
large
numbers
of
soldiers
cross
and
re-cross
the
river.
In
May
1864,
Federal
troops
took
Union,
and
the
Reverend
Huston
recounted
that
the
en-
tire
countryside
was
ravaged
by
10,000
hungry
troops
eating
any-
thing
edible.
Troops
on
both
sides
frequently
lived
off
the
land,
and
this
writer
remembers
the
stories
told
by
his
grandfather,
who
was
a
young
boy
living
on
Wolf
Creek,
of
how
soldiers
of
both
sides
ate
everything
they
could
find,
killed
cattle,
took
horses,
and
pillaged
his
father’s
store.
The
troops
of
the
Confederacy
were
as
bad
as
the
Yankees
although
he
had
two
brothers in the Confederate Army.
The
Monroe
County
records
of
that
time
included
in
Morton’s
Monroe
History
furnish
revealing
information.
By
1862
Monroe
and
Greenbrier
Counties
were
under
martial
law.
Paper
Confederate
currency
was
being
issued
for
silver.
Direct
relief
of
destitute
families
whose
fathers
and
sons
were
in
the
Confederacy was necessary. Salt was very scarce and Monroe County was sending to Kanawha and rationing it. A disastrous drought ruined crops in
1862.
In
1863,
the
population
was
in
desperate
need
of
clothing
and
Monroe
County
was
buying
cotton
from
North
Carolina
and
rationing
it
at
about
cost
to
each
family.
By
1864
this
entire
section
was
suffering
from
every
sort
of
misery
—
hunger,
disease,
lack
of
clothing,
crop
failure,
and
the
lack
of
even
simple
every
day
needs.
The
county
was
desperately
trying
to
feed
the
hungry.
Commissioners
in
each
District
were
searching
for
hidden
food hoarded by some and the Sheriff would impress any provisions found.
In
1885
the
U.
S.
Government
published
the
official
history
of
the
Civil
War.
It
is
a
huge
work
called
W
dr
of
the
Rebellion,
Official
Records
of
Union
and
Confederate
Armies,
U.
S.
Government
Printing
Office,
1885.
Following
are
the
exact
records
of
all
military
activity
recorded
that
occurred
in
the
vicinity of Alderson's Ferry. They are reports of Federal Officers.
June 6, 1862 — Skirmish at Muddy Creek, W. Va.:
Report of Major John J. Hoffman, Second West Virginia Cavalry to Col. George Crook, Commanding Brigade:
Camp Meadow Bluff, W. Va. June 9, 1862
"Colonel:
In
obedience
to
your
order
of
the
8th
I
took
with
me
Captains
Powell,
Dove
and
Behan,
of
the
Second
Battalion,
Second
Virginia
Cavalry,
and
traveled
in
the
direction
of
Alderson’s
Ferry
via
Blue
Sulphur.
When
within
about
2
1\2
miles
from
the
ferry
and
1
1\2
miles
from
the
small
village
of
Palestine
I
found
a
squad
of
14
men
belonging
to
the
Greenbrier
and
Whites
Cavalry
dismounted
and
standing
picket
under
the
command
of
First
Lieutenant
Hawver
of
the
Greenbrier
Cavalry.
They
retreated
to
the
woods,
and
I
pursued
them
through
the
woods
and
fields
about
1
1\2
miles
to
Muddy Creek. Here 1 man (McClung) surrendered, and in crossing the stream we killed 2 who fell in the stream and floated down.
"The creek was deep, the bottom covered with loose stones, and the current swift, and we were delayed some time in crossing.
"After
crossing
we
killed
Lieutenant
Hawver,
whose
body
we
left
in
charge
of
one
Baker
(citizen)
and
captured
1
prisoner,
(Groves
from
Lewisburg).
We
took
2
double-barreled
shot
guns.
The
picket
had
left
their
horses
across
the
river,
at
the
ferry,
with
a
guard.
The
river
was
too
deep
and
rapid
to
ford, and having no boats we were unable to get at them.
"There
are
no
boats
at
this
ferry,
nor
at
any
of
the
crossings
above
or
below
that
I
could
hear
of.
I
did
not
go
to
Haynes
Ferry,
about
8
miles
below,
and
a
rough
road.
I
learned
that
near
Haynes’
Ferry
there
was
a
road
leading
on
to
Lick
Creek
and
from
there
across
to
the
Gauley
Road,
near
the
top
of
Little
Sewell.
None
of
my
command
were
hurt,
and
both
officers
and
men
are
entitled
to
credit
for
the
promptness
and
zeal
with
which
they
executed
their
orders.
Two
horses
of
Captain
Powell’s
Com-
pany
died
of
fatigue.
Four
miles
beyond
Blue
Sulphur
there
is
a
large
quantity
of
hay,
but
no
grain
that
I
could
find.
From
Blue
Sulphur
to
the
ferry
the
road,
with
the
exception
of
a
few
slips,
is
tolerably
good,
and
on
this
side
of
the
Springs
there is a very large slip on the mountain side.
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
