Battery H, West Virginia Light Artillery
| History | Service | Losses | Bibliography |
HISTORY
[Source: Loyal West Virginia 1861-1865, by Theodore Lang]
Battery H was organized September, 1863, with James H. Holmes, captain; George
W.K. Smith as first lieutenant. December 31, 1863, the battery is assigned
to Maj. G.F. Merriam's artillery brigade, Genl B.F. Kelley's department.
May 6, 1864, the battery is ordered from Wheeling to New Creek, where it
was assigned to man the guns of the fort at that place, which position it
occupied until December 31, 1864. On August 4, 1864, took part in the engagement
of the attack upon New Creek, and November 28, 1864, were victims of the
capture of that place by the Confederate Generals Rosser and Payne. The battery
remained in General Kelley's department during its term of service, and was
mustered out July 11, 1865.
SERVICE
[Source: Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, by Frederick Dyer]
Organized at Maryland Heights, Md., January 4, 1864. Attached to 1st Division,
Army of West Virginia, to April, 1864. Kelly's Command, Reserve Division,
West Virginia, to July, 1865.
SERVICE.--Garrison and guard duty at Harper's Ferry, New Creek, Cumberland,
Md., Moorefield, W. Va., and at various points on the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad west of Sleepy Hollow till July, 1865. Action at New Creek August
4, 1864. Affair at Moorefield November 27-28, 1864. Mustered out July 11,
1865.
LOSSES
The 1st West Virginia Light Artillery regiment lost 33 men, killed and died
of wounds; 131 men, died of disease, accident or in prison; total deaths,
164 men.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
U.S. Army Military History Institute References:
Dyer, Frederick H.; A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Dayton, OH: Morningside, 1979. Ref.
See p. 1660 (1 photocopied page) for a concise summary of the regiment's service.
Lang, Theodore F.; Loyal West Virginia from 1861 to 1865... Baltimore: Deutsch, 1895. E536L27.
See pp. 318-19 (2 photocopied pages) for a roster of officers and brief regimental history.
Other References: