Who Died at Righter’s House? An Early Civil War Mystery

An accurate accounting of Civil War casualties is often difficult, especially when record keeping was spotty at best. Newspaper articles, personal reminisces, and official reports are exaggerated and unreliable. This seems particularly true for the Action at Righter’s House, which was among the first deadly exchanges in the Civil War. On Friday, June 21, 1861,…

160 Years Ago Today: Action at Righter’s House

In late June 1861, the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3 Months) led by Col. Thomas Morton was headquartered at Fairmont, Virginia along the Tygart River and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Marion County. Its mission was to protect that strategically important railway connecting Washington, DC with the Midwestern states. Company I of the 20th…