"The great crisis has come and is now at hand that Patriots have long anticipated with horror and dread. The once glorious Union, the pride of our nation and envy of the world, is rent asunder. The sun of her happiness and tranquility is enveloped in clouds and thick darkness . 'Men’s hearts are failing them through fear and for looking after those things which are coming upon them.' [Luke 21:26, Ed.] The North and the South are arrayed against each other in deadly enmity and warlike hostility. The precious liberties purchased by the blood of our forefathers in the Revolutionary struggle are now being trampled upon by those who boast their patriotism. The soil of America is doomed to drink the blood of many of her citizens - shed by the hand of whom? By some foreign power? No.! By the hands of her own people. The sword is unsheathed, war has commenced and blood has already flowed. The proud eagle that has long spread his protecting wings over a land of liberty is now making a sickly fluttering, now descending towards the earth and the foot of tyranny is ready to trample upon his neck."     April 1861, from the diary of Doddridge Countian, Flavius Josephus Ashburn

The Civil War remains the bloodiest war in American history, claiming more than 625,000 lives. That is more than the Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan combined. Doddridge County has always supplied this nation with honorable soldiers to fight her wars and the Civil War was no different.

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Identifying the names and death dates of these men is not a simple task. There are various records online and at the West Virginia State Archives that have helped with this process. Individual and company muster rolls and enlistment documents have helped us compile a comprehensive list of men who served in the units known to have drawn soldiers from Doddridge County.

Once the list was produced, we had  to establish that each man was indeed a resident of Doddridge County at the time of his enlistment. One of the most reliable sources for this information was the 1860 Federal Census, which was taken only one year prior to the outset of the Civil War. If a person was enumerated in the 1860 Census in Doddridge County and enlisted in a known Doddridge County unit, then he was obviously a Doddridge County resident.

Other documents that we've used to establish residency are widow’s pension records. If a soldier died while in the service of the United States, his wife, surviving children or parents were eligible to receive the soldier’s pension payment. These files are full of personal information that will most likely not be found anywhere else.  Marriage records and birth records of children are other vital resources for establishing residency.
 

It may be impossible to know with certainty whether every fatality has been accounted for, but we feel that the below list of fallen soldiers is fairly complete

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