Here on Great Task we’ve discussed the more personal war which developed in Missouri and resulted in neighbors fighting amongst each other based on loyalties.  In Western Virginia 150 years ago today, the situation was very similar.  What would become West Virginia was probably the most divided state during the war.  Local militias would arrest citizens suspected of aiding the enemy and sometimes justice was not as well served as it could have been.  One person trying subdue pro-Union sentiment by the books in Western Virginia was William Henry Harness, who 150 years ago today sent a message to Richmond urging authorities to follow up on suspected Union men.

We think William Henry Harness was born in Hardy County, (West) Virginia in 1835.  He must have been very fortunate in business or born into a wealthy family, because when we found who we think is him on the 1860 census he claimed to have a huge amount of money.

The census reported that Harness had combined assets of $45,000.  This was probably why in 1861, at age 26, he was a colonel in the 14^th Virginia Militia Infantry.  It took a surprisingly long time for Virginia and other Confederate states to mobilize all their potential manpower, and many militia units like Harness’ remained in their local areas when they could have been committed to battles like first Manassas or Ball’s Bluff.  Local defense though, was indeed important across the South, especially since secession was not supported across the board in many areas.  Western Virginia was one of those areas.  One of Harness’ tasks was to ensure loyalty to the pro-Confederate Virginia government.

Above is a message sent by Harness to the Confederate Secretary of War in Richmond 150 years ago today.  Harness had heard that some suspected pro-Union men he had arrested had been freed in Richmond due to lack of evidence against them, and he expressed his willingness to spare men to testify in order to imprison the men in question.  Harness seems to have taken a comparatively just way of ensuring loyalty amongst the populace, considering that in other areas, especially as the war dragged on, such suspicions could be quickly resolved to what amounted to murder with little or no consequences for the offenders. 

His duties as a local enforcer would come to an end as Confederate draft legislation began to kick in.  In mid-March of 1862 Harness was made a captain in the 7^th Virginia Cavalry- a Confederate unit which could be technically sent to any corner of the war.  He commanded his company until November of 1862 when it seems he was captured in a skirmish in Bath County, Virginia.

After his capture by Union forces Harness was sent to Wheeling, the center of the pro-Union government of Virginia which would ultimately got West Virginia statehood.  From Wheeling he was sent to Camp Chase, a POW camp in Ohio, until being sent to Cairo, Illinois where he was exchanged.

Shortly after his return, Harness was ordered to the 11^th Virginia Cavalry where he would remain for the rest of his Civil War career.  The 11^th was active in the Shenandoah Valley and West Virginia for the first half of 1863, but was brought along for the Gettysburg Campaign in June.  We think Harness was active during the campaign and did rather well, as in October he was slated to receive a promotion to major.

You’ll notice from the above record that he was about to receive his promotion in October, to date from late July, but the last line has the word “revoked.”  Indeed, Harness’ promotion never made it all the way through. It seems he had not performed well in a few instances, and his promotion brought out some of his less glorious moments in the form of a court martial:

Transcript of above:

Charges & Specifications

Against

Capt. W.H. Harness, Co. B. 11^th Va. Cavalry

Charge 1^st Repeated Neglect of Duty

Specification 1^st  In this that he, the said Capt. W.H. Harness, Co. B. 11^th Regt. Va. Cavalry, while his regiment was engaged with the enemy near Jack’s Shop, did allow himself with a few men, to be cut off from his company & regiment thereby failing to be present during the engagement.  This in the County of Madison, Sept 22^nd, 1863.

Specification 2^nd In this, that the said Capt. W.H. Harness did when so cut off from his regt. Fail to seek it out & report within a reasonable time, & did remain absent till the 28^th Sept. without proper authority.  This at the time & place above mentioned.

Specification 3^rd  In this, that he, the said Capt. W.H. Harness, when his regiment charged the enemy near Haymarket, did fail to keep his place in the column & discharge the duty then incumbent upon him.  This in the County of Prince William, on the 19^th of October 1863.

Charge 2^nd Cowardice

Specification 1^st In this , that he, the said Capt. W.H. Harness, when his regiment was engaged with the enemy near Upperville, did leave his regiment without orders & seek a place of safety out of his proper place in his command.  This in the County of Fauquier, June 21^st, 1863.

Specification 2^nd  In this, that he, the said Cap. W.H. Harness, when his regiment was entering the charge near Haymarket, did drop out of the column, without authority, & influenced only by his own desire of escaping the danger of the charge.  This in the County of Prince William, Oct. 19^th, 1863.

Specification 3^rd  In this, that he, the said Capt. W.H. Harness, when his regiment advanced further on the enemy did fail to take steps to find it, but went to the rear & remained there while his regiment was engaged.  This at the time & place above specified.

So, it seems that, or at least some comrades felt that, Harness had not executed his duties to the fullest when the bullets started to fly.  We can’t say with the resources we have whether the charges were well founded or not, but we do know that it forced Harness to resign his commission in the fall of 1863.

Harness went back to civilian life in Hardy County for the rest of the war, taking the Oath of Allegiance to the Union in July of 1865:

We’re not sure exactly what William Harness’ life was like after the war, but we think by 1910 he had moved in with his daughter and her husband living in Frederick County, Virginia:

William Henry Harness died on April 8, 1915 and is buried in Stonewall Cemetery in Winchester, Virginia.