4th West Virginia Infantry Regiment

4th West Virginia Infantry Regiment
Flag of West Virginia
Active	June 17, 1861, to December 21, 1864
Country	United States Union
Allegiance	West Virginia
Branch	Infantry
Engagements	Battle of Fayetteville Battle of Charleston Siege of Vicksburg Battle of Jackson Battle of Missionary Ridge
Commanders
Colonel	Joseph A.J. Lightburn 1861–64
Lt. Colonel	William H.H. Russell
Colonel	James H. Dayton 1864

Colonel James H. Dayton of Co. K, 4th West Virginia Infantry Regiment

The 4th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Service

The 4th West Virginia Infantry Regiment was mustered into Federal service on June 17, 1861, at Grafton, Point Pleasant, and Mason City, Virginia. It was recruited primarily in Ohio from the counties of Meigs, Gallia, Lawrence and Athens, which contributed seven full companies.[1] Among its early recruits was future United States Congressman John L. Vance, who would rise to the rank of lieutenant colonel. The regiment fought in the Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862 as part of a brigade commanded by Colonel Samuel A. Gilbert.

Toward the end of the war, the regiment's re-enlisting veterans were consolidated with the 1st West Virginia Infantry Regiment (3 Year) on December 21, 1864, to form the 2nd West Virginia Veteran Infantry Regiment.

Casualties

The 4th West Virginia Infantry Regiment suffered 3 officers and 80 enlisted men killed or fatally wounded in battle and 2 officers and 156 enlisted men dead from disease, a total of 241 fatalities.[1]

Colonels

• Colonel James H. Dayton

Notable members

• Sergeant John C. Buckley, Company G, — Participating in a diversionary "forlorn hope" attack on Confederate defenses, 22 May 1863.[2][3][4][5]
• Sergeant William Bumgarner, Company A, — Participating in the same "forlorn hope."[2][3][4][5]
• Private Jasper N. North, Company D, — Participating in the same "forlorn hope."[2][3][4][5]
• Private James Calvin Summers, Company H, — Participating in the same "forlorn hope."[2][3][4][5]
• Captain William R. Brown, Company E, — Appointed Colonel of the 13th West Virginia Infantry Regiment in 1862
• Private William H. Barringer, Company F, Medal of Honor for “Gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party”, Siege of Vicksburg. (CMOHS 2023)
• Major Arza Goodspeed — The state memorial for West Virginia at Vicksburg, Miss., representing the 4th West Virginia Infantry commemorates Major Goodspeed, who died in action on that battlefield. The memorial Is located on Union Avenue south of Graveyard Road.

See also

• List of West Virginia Civil War Union units
• West Virginia in the Civil War

Notes

1. Reid (1868), p. 919, vol.II.
2. Sightline Media Group (2020).
3. VCOnline (2020).
4. CMOHS (2014).
5. The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation (2020).

References

• The Civil War Archive
• Dyer, Frederick H (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q.
• Reid, Whitelaw (1868). The History of Her Regiments, and Other Military Organizations. Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers. Vol. II. Cincinnati, OH: Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin. p. 1002. ISBN 9781154801965. OCLC 11632330.
• Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Labor and Public Welfare (1968). Edward M Kennedy, Chairman (ed.). Medal of Honor, 1863-1968 : "In the Name of the Congress of the United States". Committee print (United States. Congress), 90th Congress, 2nd session. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1087. OCLC 1049691780.
• U.S. War Department (1880). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
• "Hall of Valor: The Military Medals Database". The Hall of Valor Project. Sightline Media Group. 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
• "MOHs - victoriacross". THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE VICTORIA & GEORGE CROSS. VCOnline. 2020. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
• "CMOHS.org - Official Website of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. CMOHS. 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
• "Home - The National Medal of Honor Museum The National Medal of Honor Museum". The National Medal of Honor Museum. The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.

External links

• Autobiography of Dr. Thomas H. Barton, the self-made physician of Syracuse, Ohio, including a history of the Fourth Regt. West Va. Vol. Inf'y, with an account of Col. Lightburn's retreat down the Kanawha Valley, Gen. Grant's Vicksburg and Chattanooga campaigns, together with the several battles in which the Fourth Regiment was engaged, and its losses by disease, desertion and in battle (1890) at the Internet Archive
• A Forlorn Hope
• Vicksburg Medal of Honor Recipients