Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare West Virginia ‘Killed in Battle’ Civil War Medal awarded to Private W. Cole, Company A, 3rd Regiment West Virginia Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of Cross Keys, on 8 June 1862 during Confederate General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign

West Virginia Civil War Medal, ‘Killed in Battle’ type, bronze (Wilm. Cole. Co. A 3rd. Reg Inf Vols.) nearly extremely fine £700-£900

William Cole was born c.1839 and mustered into Company A, 3rd West Virginia Volunteers on 25 June 1861. His Compiled Military Service Records say he was enrolled for duty for three years’ service at Morgantown, West Virgina, on 7 June 1861 and at Clarksburg, West Virginia on the same date. His regiment served in West Virginia and Virginia in 1861 and 1862 and was engaged in General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson’s campaign in the Shenandoah Valley in May and June 1862, at the Battle of McDowell on 8 May 1862 and at Cross Keys on 8 June 1862. On the latter occasion he was killed in action.

The State of West Virginia Civil War Medal
In 1866, the state of West Virginia authorised the minting of 26,000 medals to honour its Union Civil War soldiers. Unlike other Union States, medals were issued to every soldier who served in a West Virginian unit. Three different dies were produced for the medals, each with a different suspension clasp:
i) “Honourably Discharged” for the officers and soldiers of the volunteer army who have been or may be honourably discharged from the service. This is the most common variant.
ii) “Killed in Battle” for the officers and soldiers who have been killed in battle. Not more than 800 of this variant were produced.
iii) “For Liberty” for the officers and soldiers who have died from wounds received in battle and for those who died from diseases contracted in the service. 3,200 of this variant were produced.

Each medal was officially impressed with the soldier’s name, rank and unit on the rim, in a similar style to British Campaign medals. To this day, over 4,000 medals remain unclaimed.

Of the States that fought for the Union, only West Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut, issued officially named or numbered medals to its servicemen in significant numbers. Even then, bar to soldiers in West Virginian service, this was to a small number of men that actually served in each State during the War and a fraction of the over two million servicemen who fought for the Union. Connecticut, Pennsylvania and others issued medals to their ‘first call’ militia but numbers were lower than 800.

Sold with copied research.