Curious about a family's ancestor during the Civil War, we were surprised to find that THREE of his sons had enlisted and fought in the Union Army from Charleston and/or Pendleton County, (now) West Virginia. George Washington Arbogast and his wife, Mary (Reed) were parents of ten children. Their teenage sons, Michael, Francis, and George Jr., served with the 7th Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry. Among the many splendid web sites researching this regiment's history is:
First, a page from the 1860 Federal Census showing the family of George and Mary "Arbagas" living in Clay County, Virginia, beginning on line 20.
Today Clay County is in West Virginia, having achieved statehood in July of 1863. That part of the state wanted to separate from the Old Dominion--the commonwealth of Virginia. By splitting from the Confederacy, it rejoined the Union at the height of the Civil War.
FRANCIS: Francis Arbogast is also listed under Arbagass, Arbogratts, and Arbegrast, to confound future researchers no doubt. His 1847 Virginia birthplace is listed as either Nicholas or Clay County. See his enlistment papers below among the several within this gallery. He enlisted from Coals Mouth, Virginia--now St. Albans, near Charleston, West Virginia. He died of consumption or tuberculosis in 1867. Other records show his death in 1866 and/or May of 1868. The Clay County Death Register (attached) shows 1866. The military death record has yet another date. His young wife, Elvira (Schoonover), survived him. The 1870 Federal Census shows a three year old child, Francis E. Arbogast, living with her. Researcher Charles Eades has a birth date of May 14, 1867 for this boy.
MICHAEL: I searched for docs on George's teenaged son, Michael. Ancestry's companion site, Fold3 is my go-to source for Civil War records. Attached are five images obtained from Michael's war record. My partial transcription of some of the pages is below the images:
Sept. 15, 1861 - enlistment date, Co. K, 7th West Virginia Cavalry. West Virginia became a state in 1863 so this record must have been prepared after the war. Description given: Age 19, 5'7", blue eyes, fair complected, light hair. Working as a "laborer." Born in "Pendleton Co., W Va."
Another record (see attached) reports these dates' events on a Michael Arbogast:
June 1862 (8th VA Infantry) Wounded at the Battle of Cross Keys on June 8. Absent sick, with leave.
July 1862 - Absent sick at Cumberland Hospital
Dec. 1862 - Absent since Dec. 5.
July 1863 - July 24, Cherry Run. Deserted before the Enemy.
A later record dated January 26, 1865 shows:
Wheeling W Va. Pvt., Co. K, 7th Reg. West Virginia Cavalry, Remarks: Deserted at Cherry Run July 18, 1863.
This battle at Cherry Run was soon after Gettysburg. Two different records show two desertion dates--both in July 1863 at Cherry Run. I found this from Michael's commanding officer, Benjamin Kelley. My word, the sheer number of soldiers, horses, and gear moving through the countryside!
Cherry Run, Va., July 22, 1863—12.30 p.m.
TO: Major-General Meade:
I crossed the Potomac at this place with my force, about 6,000 strong—3,200 infantry, 2,500 cavalry, and three batteries—on the 15th and 16th instant, and occupied Hedgesville, Berkeley County, 7 miles west of Martinsburg. On Saturday and Sunday skirmished briskly with Hampton’s brigade near Martinsburg. On Monday, Hill’s and Ewell’s corps moved from Bunker Hill to Martinsburg, and a strong cavalry force was sent through Mill’s Gap into the Back Creek Valley to cut off my retreat. It therefore became necessary to fall back to this point, and recross the river.
I am ready to go forward again at any moment, and annoy and harass the flank and rear of the enemy; whenever I can do so without unnecessarily endangering my small command. Will you please keep me advised of your movements and whereabouts, so that I can act in concert with and subordinate to your movements?
B. F. Kelley,
Brigadier-General
I do not find young Michael on the 1870 Federal Census. He appears on the 1850 and 1860 rolls, but is hiding from me in later censuses. The 1860 census transcriptions spells his last name as "Arbagas" so evidently I'm not sufficiently creative in my use of keyword searches. I will continue to guess at how his name might have been misspelled. Or perhaps he died soon after the War? No pension record has been found for a Michael Arbogast. His whereabouts were also unknown to family historian/cousin, Chuck Eades. Did he seek his fortune in gold in California? Was he sent to Andersonville or another prison?
GEORGE, JR.: Young George had to obtain his Dad's consent to volunteer, and I think he lied about his age. Please see the images within this gallery.
Two images below include George's Last Will & Testament prepared shortly before his death in 1925. Rest well, George!
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43357028/amos-cyrus-arbogast