4th Regiment West Virginia Cavalry

Updated on Jan 09, 2024

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Country United States Branch Cavalry		Allegiance Union
Active July 1863 to June 23, 1864

The 4th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Service

The 4th West Virginia Cavalry was enlisted in Parkersburg and Wheeling in western Virginia between July and August 1863 for one year's service.

January 30, 1864, Engagement at Moorefield

The regiment was mustered out on June 23, 1864.

Casualties

The 4th West Virginia Cavalry suffered 30 enlisted men dead from disease for a total of 30 deaths.[1]

Colonel

Joseph Snider (formerly of the 7th West Virginia Infantry)

Lieutenant-Colonel

Samuel W. Snider

Majors

Nathan Goff, Jr. (formerly of the 6th West Virginia Cavalry). Goff later became a general. He was captured during the action at Moorefield, when pinned under his fallen horse, and sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia where he was held in close confinement as a hostage for the captured Confederate Major Thomas D. Armsey. He and Armsey were eventually exchanged and President Abraham Lincoln sent for Goff, who described the conditions in Confederate prison camps, prompting Lincoln to arrange further exchanges.

Charles F. Howes

James A. Smith