A fascinating West Virginia Civil War medal awarded to Private Samuel S. Hague, Captain Gilmore’s Company, Pennsylvania Dragoons, attached to the 1st Loyal Virginia Cavalry, then the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry, who served as mounted orderly to a 98th Ohio Infantry Colonel and then at HQ of the ex-French Cavalry Officer Brigadier-General Duffie

West Virginia Civil War Medal, ‘Honorably Discharged’ type (Saml S. Hague. Co L 2nd Reg Cav Vols) good very fine £300-£400

Samuel S. Hague, aged 19, a farmer from Virginia, originally enlisted into Captain Gilmore’s Company Pennsylvania Dragoons on 23 July 1861. Being attached to the 1st Regt Virginia Mounted Volunteers, the company later became Company ‘L’ of the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry. Captain Gilmore’s Company was formed as the Pennsylvania Dragoons became a company in the First (West) Virginia Cavalry. In November 1861, Captain Gilmore’s Company were again transferred, becoming Company “L” 2nd West Virginia Cavalry – though possibly only for muster/pay purposes.

The ‘History of the Second Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry Volunteers’ states:
‘George Washington Gilmore formed a company of cavalry independently at the request of General George B. McClellan and Gilmore was its captain. Gilmore’s company was originally called the Pennsylvania Dragoons and was formed July 1861 with men from Fayette County Pennsylvania. An example of it fighting detached is the Wytheville Raid, where it fought with an additional company from the 1st West Virginia Cavalry, an infantry regiment, and another cavalry regiment. Beginning 14 July 1863, Gilmore’s Company served with the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry, and finished its service as Company L of that regiment.’

However, Hague’s musters for the 2nd WV are a little confusing regarding the actually designation of Captain Gilmore’s Company from November 1861. Whilst his muster sheet is for ‘L’, 2nd WV Cavalry, the actual details say the company was still designated 1st V Cavalry in 1863 (as above). This is probably due to the independent nature of Gilmore’s company and the fact that West Virginia itself didn’t officially join the Union until 1863 – after this there were various name changes. Several pages of Captain Gilmore’s musters confirm this. In his Jan/Feb Muster, Gilmore puts in an official protest to being officially transferred to the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry:

From January 1863 Hague was detached from his regiment and serving as orderly to Colonel Van Vorhes of the 92nd Ohio Infantry. Colonel Van Vorhes resigned his commission on 22 March; however, Hague is noted as orderly service, brigade headquarters from July 1863 until February 1864 when he returned to Gilmore’s company. During this time, the brigade was under the command of Brigadier General Alfred Napoléon Alexander Duffié, an ex-French cavalry officer who had fought in the Crimean and Austrian Wars. He was mustered out of service in November 1864.