Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. A native of Virginia, he moved to Ohio as a young man, became successful farmer in Scioto County, Ohio, and served in the Ohio State Assembly. When the Civil War began he was one of the first to enlist in the Union Army, being commissioned on April 27, 1861 as Captain of Company G, 22nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a regiment raised for a three-month enlistment. His prominence within the community and regiment led him to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on May 23, 1861. Honorably mustered out on August 19, 1861 when the unit’s enlistment expired, he was immediately commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel of the newly recruited 81st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Officially mustered in on October 15, 1861, he served with the regiment until the summer of 1862. At that time he was detailed to help recruit a new regiment, which became the 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Commissioned it’s Colonel and commander on August 22, 1862, he led his men through operations in 1862 and 1863 in western Virginia and Kentucky against Confederate cavalry and raiders, wintering in 1863-1864 at Fayetteville, Virginia. On May 9, 1864 he received the praise of his superiors for his leadership of the 91st Ohio Infantry at the Battle of Cloyd’s Mountain, a Union Army victory that severed the line connecting Confederate forces in Virginia and Tennessee. In late May his regiment was part of a force commanded by Major General David Hunter that struck out to capture Lynchburg, Virginia. In the subsequent June 17 and 18, 1864 battle there, Colonel Turley was severely wounded leading a charge as Confederates under Lieutenant General Jubal Early repulsed General Hunter’s forces. Colonel Turley was brought off the battlefield, and was forced to turn the command of his troops over to Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Franklin Coates. Sent home to convalesce, it became apparent his injuries would prevent continued field service, and he was honorably mustered out on November 4, 1864. On March 13, 1865 he was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers for "gallant and faithful service at the battle of Cloyd's Mountain, Va." After the war he was appointed by President Andrew Johnson as Assessor of Internal Revenue for the Southern District of Ohio, and performed that duty for several months before his appointment was quashed by Congress, a move that had more to do with Republican opposition to President Johnson than with Colonel Turley. He twice served as Mayor of Portsmouth, Ohio (1872 to 1874, 1884 to 1888), and used his political influence to support Republican candidates. He passed away in Portsmouth in 1900.