4th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry

Brief History
The 4th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry organized at Macon City, Point Pleasant, Mason County and Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia, June 17 to August 22, 1861. On December 21, 1864, it consolidated with the 1st Regiment, West Virginia Infantry, to form the 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Veteran Infantry.

For more information on the history of this unit, see:


 * The Civil War Archive section, 4th Regiment Infantry, (accessed 14 November 2012).

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 1,685 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier or sailor. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in 'West Virginia in the Civil War' and 'United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865' (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * West Virginia in the Civil War describes many Confederate and Union sources, specifically for West Virginia, and how to find them.. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * Barton, Thomas H. Autobiography of Dr. Thomas H. Barton, the self-made physician of Syracuse, Ohio : including a history of the Fourth Regt., West Va. Vol. Infy : with an account of Col. Lightburn's retreat down the Kanawaha Valley, Gen. Grant's Vicksburg and Chattanooga campaigns : together with the several battles in which the Fourth Regiment was engaged, and its losses by disease, desertion and in battle. (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1992),.