U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: --------------------------------------------------------------------- History of Wetzel County, West Virginia by John C. McEldowney, Jr., 1901 Page 99 CAPT. BASIL T. BOWERS. Basil T. Bowers was born in Cuyahoga county, O., in the year of 1837. In the year of 1861 he came to Wetzel county with the intention of studying law at that place. At this time the civil war was coming on and there was very little business for lawyers. Early in May of the same year he obtained authority to enlist volunteers for service in the United States army, and enlisted the first volunteers from Wetzel and Tyler counties, then Virginia. In Wetzel he enlisted George Dillon, Sam McCollough, Wm. Branford, C. Frankhouser, John Fouler, Henry Gehring, Felix Hill, David Kirkland, Leonard Roberts, James A. Robinson, and others. In Tyler he enlisted J. B. Smith, Fred Garrison, Samuel Spencer, Wm. Gorrell, James Fardyce, (who was probably the first Union soldier enlisted in Tyler county), Jackson Jounkins, R. D. Kelch, Marion Moore, Hiram White, James M. Kay, Peter D. Moore, Jacob Ritchie and others. These volunteers formed a part of Company E, Second regiment of Virginia volunteers, and were mustered into the United States service June, 1861, at Camp Carlisle, at Wheeling. Captain Bowers served in the United States army from 1861 until 1865, when he was mustered out at Brazos Santiago, Texas. After the war he returned to Wetzel county, where he has made his home ever since, engaged in his profession. ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other articles in this book by going to the following URL which contains a linked index for the book. http://www.us-data.org/wv/wetzel/history/mceldowney.html -------------------------------------------------------------------