Henry Crimmel - American Civil War

American Civil War

On December 20, 1860, the state of South Carolina adopted an ordinance to secede from the Union of the United States, and six more southern states seceded in the next three months. On April 12, 1861 the Battle of Fort Sumter marked the start of the American Civil War. More southern states rebelled and voted to secede from the union, including Virginia on April 17, 1861. These “rebel” states organized themselves into the Confederate States of America.

The city of Bellaire, located in Ohio across the Ohio River from the state of Virginia and the city Wheeling, assumed some strategic importance because of the railroads on both sides of the river and the fact that the Ohio River served as the border between the state of Ohio (pro-Union) and the state of Virginia (voted to secede from the Union). Bellaire became a staging area for Ohio and Indiana Union troops to cross into the South and move by rail using the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. There was some fear that rebels from Virginia would cross into Ohio through Bellaire. A training camp was located in the city, and numerous soldiers passed through the town to fight in the south. It is therefore not surprising that 17-year-old Henry Crimmel enlisted to fight in the Civil War.

Henry Crimmel was part of Company I of the Second Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, which fought for the Union instead of the Confederacy. The Second (West) Virginia Cavalry was composed mainly of recruits from Ohio. The governor of Ohio declined to organize this cavalry, so it was organized in Virginia. It is not extraordinary for someone that lived in southern Ohio (such as Bellaire) to identify with Wheeling, since some of those citizens of Ohio worked on the Virginia side of the river. Although the city of Wheeling was part of the state of Virginia, the city is located in the north, and there was dissent in the Wheeling area about secession. The western portion of Virginia, which included Wheeling, eventually became a separate state known as West Virginia, which was loyal to the Union.

Henry Crimmel began his military career as a private, and finished as a bugler. By the end of the war, Crimmel’s cavalry unit was known as Company I of the 2nd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry. During the war, the Regiment lost a total of 196 men that were killed, mortally wounded, or died from disease. The 2nd Regiment West Virginia Cavalry served in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland – including a battle in Lynchburg against an army under the command of Confederate General Jubal Early that involved a total of 40,000 troops. A battle in Winchester (a.k.a. Opequon) matched a total of 54,000 troops under command of General Philip Sheridan for the Union and General Jubal Early for the rebels. This Union victory is considered by many historians to be the most important battle of the Shenandoah Valley campaign. Crimmel served in the cavalry from 1861 until November 1864, when he was honorably discharged.

After the war, Henry Crimmel joined the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization for Union Civil War veterans. He was the original officer of the guard for the local chapter. His name is on at least two monuments honoring veterans of the Civil War. One is located in his original American hometown of Bellaire, Ohio. Eleven of the 41 soldiers listed on the Bellaire monument fought for West Virginia units instead of Ohio. At least two of these West Virginia soldiers (Henry Crimmel and John Robinson) were known to have worked in the glass business. The other monument with Henry Crimmel's name on it is the Blackford County Civil War monument (see photos), located in Hartford City, Indiana. Mr. Crimmel spent the last 23 years of his life in Hartford City, and he is buried in the city’s main cemetery.