Civil War Veteran
Lieutenant Colonel - 2nd W.Va. Calvary
United States of America
On May 2nd, 1863, while holding the position of Captain of Company H of the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, David Dove was wounded in action approximately two miles outside Lewisburg, WV.
Around the 1st of May, 1863, General E.P. Scammon ordered Colonel J.C. Paxton, Commander of the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, to initiate an expedition to Lewisburg, West Virginia. Capt. Dove, with a detail from Company H, was placed in advance. In late evening, the advance, with the intention of surprising the enemy, ran into a scouting party of about thirty rebels "who succeeded in making their escape into the darkness". Dove informed Paxton of the scouts with the hope of abandoning the idea of a surprise yet Paxton ordered him to "push on". At roughly 1 o'clock a.m. on May 2nd, the 2nd W.Va. Calvary was ambushed two miles outside of Lewisburg, resulting in four soldiers killed, eight wounded (including Capt. Dove), four missing, and twenty-eight horses killed. The Confederates suffered no casualties. It was the first defeat the regiment had suffered. Colonel J.C. Paxton was relieved of command.
Captain Dove had been shot through the right foot, immediately in front of his heel, just below his ankle, shattering the bones. On May 18th, 1863, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd W.Va. Cavalry but never fully recovered forcing his resignation of duty. In a sworn statement provided for his wife's pension application, Lt. Colonel Dove's family physician, O.C. Miller, wrote, "the wound healed but accompanied with very great debility of the general system which resulted in disturbance of the lungs from which consumption followed and terminated his life".
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The following is an excerpt from "History of the Second Regiment - West Virginia Cavalry Volunteers, during the War of the Rebellion." by J.J. Sutton, Portsmouth, OH; 1892. 80. Print:
"Colonel Dove was an ideal American volunteer. When the war broke out he was twenty-one years old. He promptly enlisted in the three months service and was elected a Lieutenant in the first company raised in Jackson County, Ohio. At the expiration of this term he assisted in raising Co. H., Second W.Va. Cavalry, and was elected Captain of the same. Captain Dove was often entrusted with perilous missions, and in every case he proved equal to the occasion. He was severely wounded May 2nd, 1863, after being wounded he was brought back to the house of Mr. B.S. Smythers (at his own request) where he was cared for by members of his own company and Mr. Smythers' family. In July he so far recovered as to able to return to his own home, near Jackson, Ohio. December 17th, 1863, he married Julia E. Smythers, a most estimable and accomplished lady, of Kanawha County, West Virginia. Captain Dove was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment, May 18th, 1863. In October he returned to camp and assumed the command of the regiment, until Colonel Powell's return in March, 1864. His wound compelled his resignation July 5th, 1864. He died January 12th, 1868, loved, honored and respected by all"
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The 2nd West Virginia had its origins entirely in Southern Ohio after President Lincoln issued a call for more troops on July 2, 1861. They were recruited from Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Putnam, Vinton and Washington Counties. But, when requested to commission the unit, Ohio Governor William Dennison declined saying that Ohio already had fulfilled its quota of cavalrymen. An application was then submitted to provisional Governor Francis R. Pierpont of Virginia (later West Virginia), who accepted it and ordered the regiment to report to Parkersburg in mid-September 1861.
Lieutenant Colonel - 2nd W.Va. Calvary
United States of America
On May 2nd, 1863, while holding the position of Captain of Company H of the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, David Dove was wounded in action approximately two miles outside Lewisburg, WV.
Around the 1st of May, 1863, General E.P. Scammon ordered Colonel J.C. Paxton, Commander of the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, to initiate an expedition to Lewisburg, West Virginia. Capt. Dove, with a detail from Company H, was placed in advance. In late evening, the advance, with the intention of surprising the enemy, ran into a scouting party of about thirty rebels "who succeeded in making their escape into the darkness". Dove informed Paxton of the scouts with the hope of abandoning the idea of a surprise yet Paxton ordered him to "push on". At roughly 1 o'clock a.m. on May 2nd, the 2nd W.Va. Calvary was ambushed two miles outside of Lewisburg, resulting in four soldiers killed, eight wounded (including Capt. Dove), four missing, and twenty-eight horses killed. The Confederates suffered no casualties. It was the first defeat the regiment had suffered. Colonel J.C. Paxton was relieved of command.
Captain Dove had been shot through the right foot, immediately in front of his heel, just below his ankle, shattering the bones. On May 18th, 1863, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd W.Va. Cavalry but never fully recovered forcing his resignation of duty. In a sworn statement provided for his wife's pension application, Lt. Colonel Dove's family physician, O.C. Miller, wrote, "the wound healed but accompanied with very great debility of the general system which resulted in disturbance of the lungs from which consumption followed and terminated his life".
****************************************
The following is an excerpt from "History of the Second Regiment - West Virginia Cavalry Volunteers, during the War of the Rebellion." by J.J. Sutton, Portsmouth, OH; 1892. 80. Print:
"Colonel Dove was an ideal American volunteer. When the war broke out he was twenty-one years old. He promptly enlisted in the three months service and was elected a Lieutenant in the first company raised in Jackson County, Ohio. At the expiration of this term he assisted in raising Co. H., Second W.Va. Cavalry, and was elected Captain of the same. Captain Dove was often entrusted with perilous missions, and in every case he proved equal to the occasion. He was severely wounded May 2nd, 1863, after being wounded he was brought back to the house of Mr. B.S. Smythers (at his own request) where he was cared for by members of his own company and Mr. Smythers' family. In July he so far recovered as to able to return to his own home, near Jackson, Ohio. December 17th, 1863, he married Julia E. Smythers, a most estimable and accomplished lady, of Kanawha County, West Virginia. Captain Dove was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment, May 18th, 1863. In October he returned to camp and assumed the command of the regiment, until Colonel Powell's return in March, 1864. His wound compelled his resignation July 5th, 1864. He died January 12th, 1868, loved, honored and respected by all"
****************************************
The 2nd West Virginia had its origins entirely in Southern Ohio after President Lincoln issued a call for more troops on July 2, 1861. They were recruited from Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Putnam, Vinton and Washington Counties. But, when requested to commission the unit, Ohio Governor William Dennison declined saying that Ohio already had fulfilled its quota of cavalrymen. An application was then submitted to provisional Governor Francis R. Pierpont of Virginia (later West Virginia), who accepted it and ordered the regiment to report to Parkersburg in mid-September 1861.
Civil War Veteran
Lieutenant Colonel - 2nd W.Va. Calvary
United States of America
On May 2nd, 1863, while holding the position of Captain of Company H of the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, David Dove was wounded in action approximately two miles outside Lewisburg, WV.
Around the 1st of May, 1863, General E.P. Scammon ordered Colonel J.C. Paxton, Commander of the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, to initiate an expedition to Lewisburg, West Virginia. Capt. Dove, with a detail from Company H, was placed in advance. In late evening, the advance, with the intention of surprising the enemy, ran into a scouting party of about thirty rebels "who succeeded in making their escape into the darkness". Dove informed Paxton of the scouts with the hope of abandoning the idea of a surprise yet Paxton ordered him to "push on". At roughly 1 o'clock a.m. on May 2nd, the 2nd W.Va. Calvary was ambushed two miles outside of Lewisburg, resulting in four soldiers killed, eight wounded (including Capt. Dove), four missing, and twenty-eight horses killed. The Confederates suffered no casualties. It was the first defeat the regiment had suffered. Colonel J.C. Paxton was relieved of command.
Captain Dove had been shot through the right foot, immediately in front of his heel, just below his ankle, shattering the bones. On May 18th, 1863, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd W.Va. Cavalry but never fully recovered forcing his resignation of duty. In a sworn statement provided for his wife's pension application, Lt. Colonel Dove's family physician, O.C. Miller, wrote, "the wound healed but accompanied with very great debility of the general system which resulted in disturbance of the lungs from which consumption followed and terminated his life".
****************************************
The following is an excerpt from "History of the Second Regiment - West Virginia Cavalry Volunteers, during the War of the Rebellion." by J.J. Sutton, Portsmouth, OH; 1892. 80. Print:
"Colonel Dove was an ideal American volunteer. When the war broke out he was twenty-one years old. He promptly enlisted in the three months service and was elected a Lieutenant in the first company raised in Jackson County, Ohio. At the expiration of this term he assisted in raising Co. H., Second W.Va. Cavalry, and was elected Captain of the same. Captain Dove was often entrusted with perilous missions, and in every case he proved equal to the occasion. He was severely wounded May 2nd, 1863, after being wounded he was brought back to the house of Mr. B.S. Smythers (at his own request) where he was cared for by members of his own company and Mr. Smythers' family. In July he so far recovered as to able to return to his own home, near Jackson, Ohio. December 17th, 1863, he married Julia E. Smythers, a most estimable and accomplished lady, of Kanawha County, West Virginia. Captain Dove was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment, May 18th, 1863. In October he returned to camp and assumed the command of the regiment, until Colonel Powell's return in March, 1864. His wound compelled his resignation July 5th, 1864. He died January 12th, 1868, loved, honored and respected by all"
****************************************
The 2nd West Virginia had its origins entirely in Southern Ohio after President Lincoln issued a call for more troops on July 2, 1861. They were recruited from Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Putnam, Vinton and Washington Counties. But, when requested to commission the unit, Ohio Governor William Dennison declined saying that Ohio already had fulfilled its quota of cavalrymen. An application was then submitted to provisional Governor Francis R. Pierpont of Virginia (later West Virginia), who accepted it and ordered the regiment to report to Parkersburg in mid-September 1861.
Lieutenant Colonel - 2nd W.Va. Calvary
United States of America
On May 2nd, 1863, while holding the position of Captain of Company H of the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, David Dove was wounded in action approximately two miles outside Lewisburg, WV.
Around the 1st of May, 1863, General E.P. Scammon ordered Colonel J.C. Paxton, Commander of the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, to initiate an expedition to Lewisburg, West Virginia. Capt. Dove, with a detail from Company H, was placed in advance. In late evening, the advance, with the intention of surprising the enemy, ran into a scouting party of about thirty rebels "who succeeded in making their escape into the darkness". Dove informed Paxton of the scouts with the hope of abandoning the idea of a surprise yet Paxton ordered him to "push on". At roughly 1 o'clock a.m. on May 2nd, the 2nd W.Va. Calvary was ambushed two miles outside of Lewisburg, resulting in four soldiers killed, eight wounded (including Capt. Dove), four missing, and twenty-eight horses killed. The Confederates suffered no casualties. It was the first defeat the regiment had suffered. Colonel J.C. Paxton was relieved of command.
Captain Dove had been shot through the right foot, immediately in front of his heel, just below his ankle, shattering the bones. On May 18th, 1863, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd W.Va. Cavalry but never fully recovered forcing his resignation of duty. In a sworn statement provided for his wife's pension application, Lt. Colonel Dove's family physician, O.C. Miller, wrote, "the wound healed but accompanied with very great debility of the general system which resulted in disturbance of the lungs from which consumption followed and terminated his life".
****************************************
The following is an excerpt from "History of the Second Regiment - West Virginia Cavalry Volunteers, during the War of the Rebellion." by J.J. Sutton, Portsmouth, OH; 1892. 80. Print:
"Colonel Dove was an ideal American volunteer. When the war broke out he was twenty-one years old. He promptly enlisted in the three months service and was elected a Lieutenant in the first company raised in Jackson County, Ohio. At the expiration of this term he assisted in raising Co. H., Second W.Va. Cavalry, and was elected Captain of the same. Captain Dove was often entrusted with perilous missions, and in every case he proved equal to the occasion. He was severely wounded May 2nd, 1863, after being wounded he was brought back to the house of Mr. B.S. Smythers (at his own request) where he was cared for by members of his own company and Mr. Smythers' family. In July he so far recovered as to able to return to his own home, near Jackson, Ohio. December 17th, 1863, he married Julia E. Smythers, a most estimable and accomplished lady, of Kanawha County, West Virginia. Captain Dove was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment, May 18th, 1863. In October he returned to camp and assumed the command of the regiment, until Colonel Powell's return in March, 1864. His wound compelled his resignation July 5th, 1864. He died January 12th, 1868, loved, honored and respected by all"
****************************************
The 2nd West Virginia had its origins entirely in Southern Ohio after President Lincoln issued a call for more troops on July 2, 1861. They were recruited from Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Putnam, Vinton and Washington Counties. But, when requested to commission the unit, Ohio Governor William Dennison declined saying that Ohio already had fulfilled its quota of cavalrymen. An application was then submitted to provisional Governor Francis R. Pierpont of Virginia (later West Virginia), who accepted it and ordered the regiment to report to Parkersburg in mid-September 1861.
Gravesite Details
For detailed reading regarding the 2nd W.Va. Calvary, see "History of the Second Regiment West Virginia Cavalry Volunteers during the War of the Rebellion" by J.J. Sutton; published 1892.
