no court proceedings convened in the county between 1861 and 1864, and the hampshire county courthouse was utilized as a stable by union soldiers stationed in romney during the war. in 1861, union army forces under the command of lew wallace occupied romney following a minor battle there during which white "kept close watch over" the county's record books so that they would not be destroyed by union forces. later in the fall of 1861, union army forces under the command of benjamin franklin kelley advanced upon romney.