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The 201st Field Artillery, part of the West Virginia Army National Guard, is believed to be the oldest military unit in the United States. This claim comes from the fact that a military group has existed in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia since 1735.
Throughout the 1700s, soldiers from this area fought in the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and near-constant undeclared warfare at times between European-American settlers and Indians.
Morgan is often remembered as one of the first European settlers in what is now West Virginia. Around 1729, he and his family moved to Virginia. In 1735, he officially received 1,000 acres of land near present-day Bunker Hill in Berkeley County, w...
George Washington began his military career during a time when France, England, and Indians were fighting for control of the Appalachian region. As leader of the Virginia militia, he attacked a French group before the French and Indian War was off...
Kyashuta was a Seneca leader born around 1725 in New York. He played a key role in Indian affairs in the Ohio Valley and what is now West Virginia. In 1753, he traveled with George Washington on a mission to warn the French to leave the region. Af...
Gist was one of the first European-Americans to explore what is now West Virginia. Born near Baltimore, he worked as a trader, surveyor, and road builder. After losing his business in a fire, he moved to North Carolina around 1745.In 1750, Gist wa...
Ostenaco was a Cherokee leader and skilled warrior. During the French and Indian War, he fought alongside the British and led many successful raids, including against Fort Duquesne. His efforts helped the Cherokee gain more land and influence.In l...
Killbuck, also known as Bemineo, was a Delaware war chief, medicine man, and leader. He led attacks on frontier settlements in what is now eastern West Virginia during the French and Indian War.In 1756, Killbuck and his warriors killed several mil...
Zackquill Morgan, who founded Morgantown, was born in Berkeley County in 1735. He was the seventh of eight children of Catherine and Col. Morgan Morgan, who is sometimes remembered incorrectly as West Virginia's first European-American settler. Za...
General Andrew Lewis was born in Ireland and moved with his family to the Shenandoah Valley around 1732. His father taught him fort building and surveying. In 1751, Andrew helped survey the Greenbrier Valley and later worked with George Washington...
Cornstalk was a Shawnee leader born likely in Pennsylvania. He fought in the French and Indian War and led attacks on settlers in what is now West Virginia. In 1774, he commanded Shawnee forces at the Battle of Point Pleasant during Dunmore’s War,...
Better known as a guide and a hunter, Simon Kenton worked as a scout during the Muskingum War and Lord Dunmore’s War, both in 1774. During the American Revolution, he served as a scout for George Rogers Clark. In 1777, Kenton helped save Daniel Bo...
Stuart was a pioneer and soldier known as the "Father of Greenbrier County." Born in Augusta County, Virginia, he helped survey the Greenbrier Valley in 1769 to start a settlement.In 1770, he built the first mill in what would become the county. H...
On May 29, 1778, Dick Pointer, an enslaved Black man, helped save about 60 settlers during an attack in the Greenbrier Valley. After hearing that Shawnee Indians planned to attack, the settlers took shelter at Fort Donnally near Lewisburg. The att...
Lee was once the third-highest-ranking general in the American army during the Revolutionary War. Born in England, he first came to America as a British officer during the French and Indian War and was wounded at the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga in ...
General Horatio Gates was born in England and later lived in what is now the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. He had served overseas in the British army during the French and Indian War and came back to America in 1772. He bought a farm in Berk...
During the French and Indian War, he shared command of the frontier with George Washington. He also served in the Revolutionary War, earning promotions for his actions at the Battle of Trenton.After serious errors of judgment at the 1778 Battle of...