4th Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry and Infantry) (Confederate)

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United States   U.S. Military   Virginia   Virginia Military   Virginia in the Civil War   4th Regiment, Virginia State Line (Cavalry and Infantry)

Brief History

This regiment was raised mostly by Nathaniel McClure Menifee as an independent unit to fight in Eastern Kentucky. Menifee later attached his unitt to the Virginia State Line. The companies of the 4th Regiment, Virginia State Line were organized at various times and places between September and December 1862.[1]

"Units of the Confederate States Army" by Joseph H. Crute, Jr. contains no history for this unit.[2]

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin

Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

  • Officers of the 4th Virginia State Line were:
    Nathaniel McClure Menifee, Colonel
    William A. Jackson, Lieutenant Colonel
    William Winston, Lieutenant Colonel
    David Stuart Hounshell, Lieutenant Colonel - Colonel
    John Taylor Radford, Major
    R. A. Thompson, AQM
    Philip Spencer Hancock, Surgeon
    Frederick H. Harris, 1st Lieutenant and drill master for the regiment.
  • Subcommands of the 4th Regiment were:
    Company A - An infantry company - Captain Peter M. Carpenter's Company.
    This unit was primarily from Logan County, West Virginia and surrounding counties, although Carpenter was from Putnam County.
    Officers were commissioned on August 10, 1862.
    Carpenter served in the 36th Battalion Virginia Cavalry for a short time after the Virginia State Line disbanded, but was shown as a deserter from that unit by September 1863. He organized an independent company in February 1864, also known as Carpenter's Battalion Virginia Cavalry, which was assigned to Thomas B. Swann's Battalion Virginia Cavalry in November 1864. It was probably composed of former 4th State Line men.
    Officers for this company were: Captain Peter M. Carpenter, 1st Lieutenant John Love, 2nd Lieutenant D. T. Angel, and 2nd Lieutenant Isaac Tinsley.
    Company B - An infantry company - Captain William Jefferson Pasley's Company.
    This company was raised in Grayson County, Virginia, and in Ashe County, North Carolina and Alleghany County, North Carolina.
    Commissions were issued on September 25, 1862.
    Many men later served as Company I, 21st Virginia Cavalry.
    Leadership for this unit was provided by: Captain William Jefferson Pasley, 1st Lieutenant Martin Van Buren Norman, and 2nd Lieutenant Henry Hanks.
    Company C - A cavalry company - Captain John P. Chase's Company.
    Some, if not most, of his men came from Wise County, Virginia and surrounding counties.
    After State Line disbandment, this unit served in the short-lived 65th Virginia Infantry and then became Company B, 7th Confederate Cavalry Battalion under the infamous Colonel Clarence J. Prentice of Louisville, Kentucky.
    Officers of this company were: Captain John P. Chase, 1st Lieutenant J. M. Hillman, and 2nd Lieutenant N. McLaughlin.
    Company D - An infantry company - Captain Ezekiel Young's Company.
    Young and his lieutenants were commissioned on September 26, 1862.
    This company was organized primarily in Grayson County, Virginia and Carroll County, Virginia and later served as Company I, 37th Battalion Virginia Cavalry (Dunn's Battalion).
    Leaders of this unit were: Captain Ezekiel Young, 1st Lieutenant R. J. Lemons, and 2nd Lieutenant J. A. Pratt.
    Company E - A cavalry company - Captain John E. Love's Company.
    Some members of this company were from Kanawha County, West Virginia.
    Officers were commissioned on September 15, 1862. Officers for this company were: Captain John E. Love, 1st Lieutenant Addison Griffith, and 2nd Lieutenant H. Hagan.
    Company F - A cavalry company - Captain Steven Peters Halsey's Company.
    This unit formed the core of Company A, 21st Virginia Cavalry.
    Some members reportedly were Irishmen and former members of the Louisiana Tigers. Others were from western Virginia and North Carolina.
    Officers were commissioned on September 15, 1862.
    Officers for this company were: Captain Steven Peters Halsey, 1st Lieutenant George R. Appleby, 2nd Lieutenant W. D. McGune, and 3rd Lieutenant Jasper M. Shipp.
    Company G - A cavalry company - Captain William P. Hensley's Company.
    Members of this company were from Wayne County, West Virginia and Cabell County, West Virginia.
    Some members later served in the 45th Battalion Virginia Infantry.
    Leadership for this company was provided by Captain William P. Hensley, 1st Lieutenant William Adkins, and 2nd Lieutenant R. Blackwood.
    Company H - An infantry company - Captain James M. Barnes's Company.
    Most of this company were from Stokes County, North Carolina, or Patrick County, Virginia.
    Several previously had served in the 2nd Battalion North Carolina Infantry and been captured at Roanoke Island in early 1862. Upon exchange, they served under Menifee.
    Commissions were issued on October 1, 1862.
    When the State Line was disbanded, this company became Company H, 23rd Battalion Virginia Infantry, and was mustered into Confederate service on April 1, 1863 at Wytheville.
    Company officers were: Captain James M. Barnes, 1st Lieutenant James F. Harrison, and 2nd Lieutenant William M. Barnes.
    Company I (1st) - A cavalry company - Captain David Edmundson's Company.
    This unit was transferred to the 5th Virginia State Line and designated Company H in that organization.
    It was organized on December 22, 1862, at Wytheville, which were also the date and place commissions were issued to the company's officers.
    Its men were primarily from Floyd County, Virginia and surrounding counties in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
    Company I (2nd) - A cavalry company - Captain Francis "Frank" S. Findlay's Company.
    Findlay was from Washington County, Virginia as were most of his men.
    He was commissioned on July 25, 1862.
    This was the second company raised for the Virginia State Line.
    Officers for this unit were: Captain Francis S. Findley, 1st Lieutenant G. C. Greenway, and 2nd Lieutenant J. P. Kendrick.
    Company K - An infantry company - Captain George E. Starnes' Company.
    The home territory for this company has not been discovered, but was probably Scott County, Virginia, where Starnes lived.
    Officers were commissioned on September 10, 1862. Officers for this unit were: Captain George E. Starnes, 1st Lieutenant Leroy Lyon, and 2nd Lieutenant Thompson Greear.
  • Headquarters
    Roster
  • Company I 1st
    Roster

The above information is from the Virginia State Line, Organizational Structure of the Virginia State Line,  (accessed 23 November 2011).  See also Jeffrey C. Weaver, 45th Battalion Virginia Infantry, Smith and Count's Battalions of Partisan Rangers, (Lynchburg, Virginia : H.E. Howard, c1994), pages 13-15, FHL book 975.5 M2vr v. 102.

Other Sources

  • Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier or sailor. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in Virginia in the Civil War and United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865.
  • National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.
  • Virginia in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for Virginia, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.
  • United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.
  • Weaver, Jeffrey C. 45th Battalion Virginia Infantry, Smith and Count's Battalions of Partisan Rangers, (Lynchburg, Virginia: H.E. Howard, c1994), FHL book 975.5 M2vr v. 102. This book also gives information about the Virginia State Line regiments.
  • Sifakis, Stewart. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1992- 1995. (Family History Library book 975 M2ss, Ten Volumes.) This gives organization information for each unit and its field officers, assignments, and battles. It also lists sources further reading. Volume 5 is for Virginia.
  • Wallace, Lee A. A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations, 1861-1865. Lynchburg, Virginia: H. E. Howard, 1986. (Family History Library book 975.5 M2vr, Volume 29.) This gives brief historical sketches of each regiment and lists officers, company names, and commanders.

References

  1. The U.S. Civil War,The Virginia State Line: Organizational Structure of the Virginia State Line, (accessed 22 December 2011)
  2. National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, (accessed 6 December 2010).
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