The Journal Of The
Greenbrier Historical Society
On
Alderson, West Virginia

Written by Kenneth D. Swope

Military History - Page One

ALDERSON’S military history began in 1755 with the Indian attack on Baughman’s Fort, recounted elsewhere, which was an action of the French and Indian War. In two attacks, only one soldier was killed, whereas nine civilian men and four women were killed. One woman and five children were captured.

Since that time, more than two centuries ago, Alderson has engaged in every war.

Following 1755, several treaties and agreements were made with the Indians. They accomplished little except temporary truces. In the early 1770’s the intensity of the Indian—settler murdering, pillaging and destructions grew. By 1774 something had to be done. Lo-rd Dunmore was the Governor of Virginia. Dunmore determined to beat the Indians and there ensued one of the strangest military actions in American history, Lord Dunmore’s War. It was of vital importance to the Alderson area.

Dunmore decided to raise two little armies of about 1200 men each and advance to the Ohio. He led the northern company and appointed Colonel Andrew Lewis to lead the southern company. Lewis’ "soldiers" were from Augusta, Botetourt and Fincastle counties. (Included in the area is what are now Greenbrier and Monroe Counties.) This picturesque army met at Camp Union (Lewisburg) to march to the Ohio. Three companies under Captain John Lewis, Captain John Stuart and Captain Robert McClanahan were from the Greenbrier Valley. There were about 148 officers and men in the three Greenbrier companies. There were many familiar Alderson names among those early fighters. In a day long battle, October 10, 1774, Colonel Lewis and his band defeated Cornstalk, the great Shawnee chief, at Point Pleasant.

No roster of the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War from the Alderson vicinity has been found. There are several veterans of that war buried in the Greenbrier Baptist Church cemetery. Many of the men who are credited with service did not go east and join Washington’s Continental army but went west to protect the flank of the settlements from Indian attack. The British had enlisted the savages to fight the settlements and the attacks were a constant danger requiring a great amount of men and time. Their service was called "spying" and regular patrols were established. Many of these men were drafted into service. Their declarations are contained in their applications for pensions which showed they served in Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. In 1781 the Governor of Virginia ordered a draft of 137 men from Greenbrier County to serve under George Rogers Clark in the west.

The last attack by the Indians in the Alderson area was the killing of Thomas Griffith near the mouth of Griffith Creek below the community in 1780. Griffith was killed early one morning. His son heard the shot, ran out of the house, and the Indians grabbed him. The Indians were pursued and intercepted in Kanawha. The Griffith boy was rescued.

Following the Revolution, Indian attacks on the frontiers did not cease. Greenbrier County had an organized militia regiment. It was the 79th Regiment, 13th Brigade and Third Division, composed of free white males 16 years and older, of which there were 732 in the county. - The Indian attacks- continued from 1783 until after 1794. They were abated locally but continued in the western reaches of the county. The Western boundary of Greenbrier County was the Ohio River when it was formed in 1778.

After the United States of America began to function with Washington’s inauguration in 1789, military defense of the Nation became the responsibility of the United States. In 1794 the first challenge to the Federal authority was the refusal in Western Pennsylvania of distillers to pay excise tax on whiskey.

Washington recognized this for what it would reap —— collapse of the Nation and its authority. He issued a call from several states for troops — 3300 from Virginia. The 79th Regiment of Greenbrier was exempted by special order "becaus1e they consist of frontier inhabitants exposed to constant Indian warfare." (Ref. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. VII, p. 166.)

In the War of 1812, Greenbrier and Monroe furnished the following units: Captain Charles W. Lewis’ Company of Monroe County and Captain John Welch’s Company of Greenbrier County. Both companies were attached to the Third Regiment of Virginia Cavalry. The Light Infantry and Rifle Companies were commanded by Captain William McDaniels of Monroe County, and Captain James Hill of Monroe County.

These companies fought at Norfolk, Virginia, and along the Atlantic seaboard. Many died of "the plague" in 1914-15 and were buried there. Rosters are not complete. Two widows in Alderson later drew government pensions, Jean Halfpenny and Jane Huffman.

Before the Civil War the people in Alderson Ferry locality were not greatly disturbed by the slavery question. There were few slave owners and they rarely owned more than two or three slaves. This agricultural area was not suited to a slave economy as were the cotton states. The section was frequently in disagreement with the Virginia state government or the Virginians east of the mountains. In fact, there was much friction. But when the time came to choose North or South, they sided almost unanimously with the South and gave her devoted support.

In April 1861, Virginia seceded from the Union and the nation was on fire. Few names of men who served in the confederacy from this community can now be found. An old roster of C. B. Edgars Battalion, C.S.A., lists 171 men. This roster has a large number of familiar Alderson family names. Other military units in which local men served were Lowry’s Battery, Monroe Guards, Thurmond's Rangers, Chapman’s Battery, Monroe Sharpshooters, Burdette’s Company, Fleshman’s Company, Rocky Point Grays, and several others. Morton’s History of Monroe County lists more than 1200 men who served in the Confederacy from Monroe County and he has considerately not listed deserters, which gives a good idea of how deeply involved the area was in the Civil War.

The troops of both North and South passed through Alderson Ferry in numbers several times.
Page Two:

Reference: Third Biennial Report, State Dept. Archives and History, Chapter Vll, pages l42-l85. Pension Rolls and Applications. Lewis, Virgil A., Third Biennial Report, Dept, of Archives and His- tory, W. Va. l9l l. Morrison and Commager, The Growth of the American Republic, Vol. l, P, 216; Morton, Monroe County History, various references.