Gallia County

The first men who enlisted in Gallia county, at the breaking out of the rebellion in 1861, were for the three months' service. One company was organized at Gallipolis of the latter part of April, and formed a part of the 18th Regiment Ohio Infantry, which was sent to Parkersburg, and thence to the interior of West Virginia. During May, 1861, application was made to Governor Dennison for authority to raise another company, but the one making the application was told by the governor that applications were already on file, tendering more men than the State could ever expect to use in crushing the rebellion. At the suggestion of the Governor, who gave a strong letter upon the subject, an interview was had with General George B. McClellan, then stationed at Cincinnati. General McClellan, after listening to the representations made, gave authority for the organization of loyal Virginians. Under this authority the enlistment of men for three years was begun, with headquarters at Mason City, Virginia. Gallia county supplied many men for this service before Ohio began organizing three years' regiments. Three hundred of them were probably mustered into the 4th Virginia Infantry, under command of officers from Gallia county. During the spring and summer of 1861, an equal number entered other than Ohio regiments. The location of Gallipolis had much to do with the early enlistments of her sons in the Union army. For many years before the war, the town had been the depot of supplies for the entire Kanawha (Virginia) Valley, and at the inception of the rebellion the Confederates looked upon the ssession of this valley with a jealous eye, and at an early day Governor Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, was sent as the commandant of the rebel troops, with his headquarters at Charleston. Officers and troops from his command were sent to Buffalo, twenty miles up the Kanawha from Gallipolis, and steamboats were in daily communication between Gallipolis and Charleston, passing Buffalo. Arms and munitions of war were purchased by Confederate emissaries in Cincinnati and brought to the Kanawha, passing, unheeded on steamboats and by private conveyance. Early in the history of the war, extensive rifle-pits were constructed upon the hills surrounding Gallipolis, and every road entering the town was properly defended. During the seasons of greatest excitement, messengers would be sent throughout the country and the citizens would respond, promptly assembling at Gallipolis by hundreds, armed with rifles. A constant guard was kept, and the citizens, old and young, each had thus more or less experience in the pleasing pastime of lying in the rifle-pits, during all kinds of weather, waiting for some one to shoot at. Soon after the opening of hostilities, Hon. Albert Gallatin Jenkins, a member of Congress and a popular man, engaged in the organization of troops for service in the rebel army, at a point a few miles below Gallipolis. Among his recruits were many who had attended school at Gallipolis, and were familiar with every avenue of approach; hence the people looked with alarm upon the probable events of the future, and Gallipolis became one of the prominent points upon which the accumulating storm clouds that were enveloping the country were expected to burst. The Gallia Guards, a company of 77 men, were organized in April, 1861, for home duty. Henry Graham, captain; James Harper, first lieutenant; H. N. Ford, second lieutenant. Captain Graham soon entered the United States service, and James Harper became captain. This company rendered valuable service to the city during the war.

In the fall of 1861, Companies A and B, of the 31st Ohio, under command of Major Leffingwell, came to Gallipolis, and were superseded by the Trumbull Guards, a company enlisted in Trumbull county, especially for the purpose of serving at Gallipolis. They came in the spring of 1862, and were commanded by Captain C. W. Smith. Gallipolis was early made a general depot for the quartermaster and commissary supplies for the army of West Virginia, and during the progress of the war, became one of the most important points in the country. Knowing this to be the case the Confederates endeavored, on many occasions, to capture and destroy the supplies. The Union troops continued to occupy Charleston, Virginia, headquarters having been established there, but the valley between that point and the Ohio for a long time, continued to be occupied more or less by detached bands of Confederate troops. Between Point Pleasant and Charleston, the boats in the United States service, transporting o to the latter point, were constantly threatened and frequently attacked by the enemy—the object of the Confederates being not only to capture supplies, but to obtain possession of a boat for the transportation of troops to Gallipolis, before any alarm could be given. After the capture of this city and the immense amount of government stores there, the evident intention was to make a general raid through the State. Nothing could have prevented this if they had succeeded in the design of capturing a boat, as Gallipolis at this time was almost devoid of defense. The danger of the service on the Kanawha river boats at this time, can be readily understood. The services of many Gallia county men on the Kanawha and other river boats, and in the naval and gunboat service, deserve particular mention, but it would take a volume to record them and do the subject justice. A large number of experienced steamboat men resided in the city, who entered this branch of the service, and by reason of this knowledge of the rivers, and familiarity with the duties, as well as their eminent courage and good judgment in times of danger, rendered invaluable service.

"History of Gallia County: Containing a Condensed History of the County; Biographical Sketches; General Statistics; Miscellaneous Matters, &c", H.H. Hardesty & Co., Chicago, 1882, pg. xxix.