The 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 that served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Mustering

The 2nd West Virginia (originally known as the 2nd Virginia) was mustered into Federal service in mid-1861 by companies as follows;

• Company "A" was recruited in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
  
  , and not accepted by its home state. It moved to Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia)
  Wheeling, West Virginia
  Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
  
  , and was mustered in on May 21, 1861.
• Company "B" known as the "Grafton Guards," from Grafton
  Grafton, West Virginia
  Grafton is a city in, and county seat of, Taylor County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 5,489 at the 2000 census. The only two national cemeteries in West Virginia are located in Grafton. Mother's Day was founded in Grafton on May 10, 1908; the city is the home to the International Mother's...
  
   was mustered in on May 25, 1861 at Wheeling. Commanded by colonel
  Colonel
  Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
  
   George R. Latham
  George R. Latham
  George Robert Latham was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Virginia and West Virginia and colonel of Company B of the 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.-Biography:...
  
  .
• Company "C" from Wheeling was mustered in there on June 1, 1861.
• Company "D" was recruited in Pittsburgh and not accepted by its home state. It moved to Wheeling and was mustered in on June 14, 1861.
• Company "E" from Wheeling was mustered in there on June 16, 1861.
• Company "F" was recruited in Pittsburgh and not accepted by its home state. It moved to Wheeling and was mustered in on June 24, 1861.
• Company "G" was recruited in Pittsburgh and not accepted by its home state. It moved to Wheeling and was mustered in on June 13, 1861.
• Company "H" was recruited in Ironton, Ohio
  Ironton, Ohio
  Ironton is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Lawrence County. The municipality is located in southern Ohio along the Ohio River. The population was 11,211 at the 2000 census. Ironton is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the...
  
  , and not accepted by its home state. It moved to Wheeling and was mustered in on June 28, 1861.
• Company "I" was recruited in Washington County, Pennsylvania
  Washington County, Pennsylvania
  -Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...
  
  , and not accepted by its home state. It moved to Wheeling and was mustered in on July 10, 1861.
• Company "K" from Parkersburg, Virginia (now West Virginia)
  Parkersburg, West Virginia
  As of the census of 2000, there were 33,099 people, 14,467 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. In 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Parkersburg's population had decreased 4.4% to 31,755. The population density was 2,800.5 people per square mile . There were 16,100 housing...
  
   was mustered in there on July 21, 1861.

Service

The regiment was converted to the 5th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

5th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

The 5th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 5th West Virginia Cavalry was organized from the 2nd West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment on January 26, 1864...

on January 26, 1864.

Casualties

• Pvt. August Sponholtz March 10, 1863

Posthumous Medal Presentation, August 2011
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Gjiw4yJ6oQM