Capt. Daniel A. Stofer, Commanding
The Pocahontas Rescues was a Confederate company raised in May 1861 in what is today Pocahontas County, West Virginia. “Count” Daniel A. Stofer (1821-1891), a boisterous attorney, organized the unit. Fifty-seven men mustered in at Huntersville, a village east of the Greenbrier River, for a period of one year on May 18, 1861. New recruits later brought that number to 64.
Capt. Daniel Stofer, a Mexican War veteran, was a heavyset man who enjoyed liquor and giving bellicose speeches. At the Barbour County Courthouse in Philippi he reportedly said, “I could take a peach tree switch and whip all of Lincoln’s 75,000 Yankees if they invade Virginia.” (or “I can chase Mr. Lincoln’s invaders off the soil of Virginia with the limb of a peach tree.”)
John Henry Cammack, a private in the 31st Virginia, later observed, “I might say here that the Capt. was not cut out for a military man.”
Stofer was officer of the day the night of June 2, 1861 when Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris and 3,000 Union troops were descending on the Confederates camped at Philippi. Fortunately for the Confederates, two civilians gave prior warning of the approaching force. Unfortunately for Stofer, he was reportedly drunk on duty and did not comport himself in a military manner.
The Pocahontas Rescues were involved in the Action at Philippi on June 3, 1861. Captain Stofer, perhaps suffering from a hangover from the night before, deserted his unit and ran ahead of them on the road wearing only his britches. When asked where his men were, he replied they were “coming up behind me.”
After the disaster at Philippi, the company became Company D, 9th Battalion, Virginia Infantry (Hansbrough’s) in the Army of the Northwest. It was in Leedsville during the battles of Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain, and joined Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett’s retreat to Corrick’s Ford. Approximately seven men, including Captain Stofer, were captured during the retreat.
Jedediah Hotchkiss, famed Confederate cartographer, was leading a group away from Rich Mountain after that battle and encountered Capt. Stofer sitting on the hotel porch in Beverly, watching on as civilians looted their abandoned military stores. Stofer likely stayed in Beverly, where he was captured.
As part of Hansbrough’s Battalion, The Pocahontas Rescues fought at Cheat Mountain on September 12, 1861, and Camp Bartow on October 3rd. In 1862, it joined the 25th Virginia Infantry Regiment as its 2nd Company I.
1861 Roster
| Name | Rank | Muster Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akers, James M. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Alderman, Andrew C. | Cpl. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Angus, Temmolion | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Boon, Beverly B. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Post war rosters only |
| Burr, Frederick | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Burr, George | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Carpenter, William H. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Post war rosters only |
| Cash, George S. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Surrendered in Beverly 7/13/1861 |
| Cole, William | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Corbett, Mustoe H. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Eagan, Charles | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Ervine, William H. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Friel, Montgomery A. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Gammon, Cyrus S. | 2nd Lt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Gammon, William T. | 1st Lt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Grandfield (Granfield), John | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Griffin, Mathias P. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Grimes, Peter H. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Captured at Red House 7/14/1861 |
| Haines, Isaac B. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Hamilton, Adam G. | Sgt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Hannah, Joseph | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Hannah, Robert A. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Helmick, George A. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Deserted 11/15/1861 |
| Henson, William H. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Herold, Benjamin F. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Herold, Charles B. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Hogsett, William R. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Johnson, Joseph T. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Jourdan, Joseph D. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Captured July 1861 |
| Lyons, Enos | Cpl. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Maher, Patrick | Sgt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| McGlaughlin, Hugh P. | Cpl. | 5/18/1861 | |
| McLaughlin, James H. | 1st Lt. | 5/18/1861 | 1st man to enlist from Randolph County |
| Mitchell, Sylvester | 2nd Lt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Moore, Levi | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Moore, Michael C. | Sgt. | 5/18/1861 | Post war rosters only. Died of disease 1861? |
| Morarty (Moriarty), Patrick | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Pence, John H. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Captured July 1861 |
| Piles, John | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Captured at Red House 7/14/1861 |
| Piles, William L. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | Captured at Red House 7/14/1861 |
| Roby, Walter A. | Musician | 5/18/1861 | |
| Seebert, Lancelot “Lanty” L. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Shannon, James | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Shannon, Michael | Sgt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Sharp, Martin B. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Sively, Cane H. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Slanker (Slarker), D.W.C. | Sgt. | 5/18/1861 | Post war rosters only |
| Slaven, William W. | Sgt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Smith, Lewis | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Stofer, Daniel A. | Capt. | 5/18/1861 | Captured July 1861 |
| Swadley, James | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Varner, David A. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Waugh, Levi | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Weaver, Charles W. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Weaver, Robert L. | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Willihan, Michael | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Willihan, Patrick | Pvt. | 5/18/1861 | |
| Matthews, Jacob W. | Pvt. | 5/21/1861 | |
| Simmons, Chesley A. | Pvt. | 5/21/1861 | |
| Ware, Benonia (Benjamin) T. | Pvt. | 5/21/1861 | |
| Ware, Eugenious M. | Pvt. | 5/21/1861 | |
| Ware, George R. | 1st Sgt. | 5/21/1861 | |
| Ware, William T. | Pvt. | 5/21/1861 | |
| Tire, John M. | Pvt. | 5/23/1861 | |
| Arbogast, Daniel | Pvt. | Unk | Post war roster only. Died of fever 9/61? |
Sources
Armstrong, Richard L. 25th Virginia Infantry and 9th Battalion Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1990.
Cammack, John Henry. Personal Recollections of Private John Henry Cammack: A Soldier of the Confederacy, 1861-1865. Huntington: Paragon Ptg. & Pub. Co., 1920.
Hewett, Janet B., ed. Virginia Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865, Vol. III-IV. Wilmington: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1998.
Lesser, W. Hunter. Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided. Naperville: Sourcebooks, Inc, 2004.
Price, William T. Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Marlinton, WV: Price Brothers, 1901.
Spirit of '61 