Logan Wildcats

The Logan Wildcats of Logan County

Logan Wildcats Confederate veterans, the “Logan Wildcats” 1900 Reunion at Camp Straton, Chapmanville, WV. Second from the left is Ed Garrett. Sitting is Alex Burton and behind him is Uncle Dyke Garrett, On Uncle Dyke’s left is Henry Clay Ragland. Photo credit: Harlan Justice 430 Fifth Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia. Courtesy of Michele Ryan Kahle.

1900 Logan Wildcats back of photo showing names
1900 Logan Wildcats back of photo courtesy of Catherine Godfrey.

The Logan County Wildcats were a company of the 36th Virginia Infantry comprised of about 300 men from Logan County, WV. A group of Confederate irregulars formed by Anderson ‘‘Devil Anse’’ Hatfield also called themselves the “Logan Wildcats”. Led by Devil Anse, they picked off dozens of Unions soldiers including Pvt. Harmon McCoy. Credit: www.wvencyclopedia.org.

Devil Anse had three brothers: Smith, Ellison and Elias. It’s been reported that two of his brothers were also part of his Logan Wildcats guerrilla band. The youngest brother, Smith was born in 1853 and too young to be part of the Logan Wildcats. Ellison Hatfield was in the Battle of Gettysburg. When Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, one of the young officers who surrendered his command was Lieutenant Ellison Hatfield. Therefore, this leaves only Elias as maybe being part of the Logan Wildcats guerrilla band.

Logan Wildcats Battle FlagThe Logan Wild Cats’ Battle Flag. Courtesy of Connie Woods. Holding the flag on the left is Henry Clay Ragland who in 1888 started publishing the Logan Banner. Holding the flag on the right, is Astynax McDonald. “The flag was made by the wives and sweethearts of men from Peach Creek.” — Dodie (Smith) Browning.

Five Members of the Logan Wildcats ealry 1900sLogan Banner clipping courtesy of Vera Downs Sengstock.

Below is a list of the Logan Wildcats gleaned from the Logan Banner articles of Oct. 2, 1903 and Feb. 26, 1904.  A  big thanks to Brandon Ray Kirk for searching through the Logan County Banner microfilm at the WV State Archives in Charleston to find these two articles.

Logan Banner List of the Logan Wildcats

John W. Adams
Jim Allen
Wallace Averill
Hugh Avis
Enoch Baker
Floyd Barker
Eli Blankenship
Jno. Blankenship
Jno. Blevins
James Washington “Black Jim” Blevins
Jim Blevins
George Booth
Anthony Breeven
Mitchell Browning
John Bruster
Alexander “Zan” Bryant
Hiram Burgess
Alex Burton
F. Buskirk
Hugh Butcner
Lewis Cary
William Cary
Chris Chafin
Bill Chambers
Calhoun Chapman
Daniel R. Clark
Anderson Clendenon
Garland “Bock” Conley
Tom Conley
George W. Crump
Ed Dalton
Andy Dempsey
Mark Dempsey
Lorenzo Deskins
Floyd I. Dingess
Jim Dingess
Jerry Doss
Martin A. Doss
Perry A. Doss
William Duty
Bill Ellis
Simpkin Ellis
Shade Estep
Hensley Evans
Bill Farley
Jesse Farley
Thomas B. Farley
William Anderson Farley, Jr.
Windham Farmer
Fulton Ferrell
Richard Ferrell
Bush Floyd
Rufus Frye
Ed Garrett
W. Dyke Garrett
George Godby
B. S. Hager
Ryland Hager
Allen Hale
David Hale
Anderson ‘‘Devil Anse’’ Hatfield
Elias Hatfield
Jim Henderson
Charles Johnson
Dow Kelly
Henry Lake
Guy Lawson
John Lawson
Ed Lilly
John Liter
John T. Litten
Joseph Bradley Lowe
Bill Lucas
John B. Mangus
Thos. Maynard
James McCoy
Thomas McCoy
A. S. McDonald
Astynax McDonald
Boliver McDonald
Hamilton McDonald
Scott McDonald
Albert McNeely
Benfort McNeely
Kelly McNeely
Riley McNeely
John W. Neece
William Nelson
Jno. Messer
Mat Pauley
Dow Perry
John Peters
Joe Phipps
Dick Poindexter
Overton Price
Hiram Pridemore
Henry Clay Ragland
John Riffe
Lewis Sartain
George Scaggs
Allen J. Shepherd
Jacob Shadrach
? Simpkins
Dan Smoot
Ben Spencer
Beverly Spencer
Charles Stafford
F. S. Stafford
J. W. Stafford
Lorenzo Stallings
Charles Staton
Dow Steel
L. B. Stollings
R. J. Stollings
Madison D. Stone
Benj. Straton
John Suter
Andy Thompson
John Thompson
George W. Toney
Marvel Vance
Roll Vance
Henderson Wallen
Martin Wallen
John Walls
John Wessen
Harmon White
Jno. White
Rube White
Holly Whitman
James Hubbard Williams
Jeremiah Yates

If you have any information about the Logan Wildcats, please leave a comment, but please note that this the list of names is from the Logan Banner articles of Oct. 2, 1903 and Feb. 26, 1904. Therefore, the above list will stay as shown.

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43 thoughts on “Logan Wildcats”

  1. VIVIAN CARPENTER

    David Hale was my 2X grandfather. He was a Logan Wildcat and was a Union POW at the notorious Point Lookout prison in MD.

  2. Garland Bock Conley and Tom Conley were brother to my Husbands 4th Great Grandfather James Washington Conley most of the brothers were Civil War Confederates its nice to find more information.

  3. Debbie McCoy Autry

    While reading through the info posted by the administrator, I noticed that Anse Hatfield is credited with “picking off” Harmon McCoy during the war. There’s no evidence that this is true. After the turn of the century, it was reported as fact in some books abt the feud written by descendants of Devil Anse. Asa Harmon McCoy survived a gunshot wound he received, sometime in 1862, after he was shot by a bushwhacker in Pike County. He was recovering at home when he was captured Dec. 5th 1862 by the VA State Line, along with abt 10 other men from the Peter Creek community of Pike Co. They were marched to Wytheville, VA then transported on foot & sometimes on cattle cars to Richmond & placed in a Confederate prison. He was released 4 months later & taken to a Union hospital in Annapolis, MD where he was treated for the festering wound he had received almost a year before. Described by doctors as a ball entering through the sternum and exiting between ribs 5 & 7 and “oozing the same color fluid that he was also coughing up”. After several months he was discharged , & while travelling through Catlettsburg, he enlisted in the 45th KY Infantry. While serving with the 45th he was injured during a skirmish in Breathitt Co in 1864 & spent time in a Lexington, KY regimental hospital. His injury is described as “a fib tib fracture of the right leg”.
    December 24th 1864 my 2X great-grandfather was mustered out of the 45th KY Infantry when the regiment was dissolved.
    He returned to Peter Creek & was shot & killed Jan 7th 1865 by Anse’s Logan Wildcats. No one admitted to the murder, but according to family lore Jim Vance was the culprit.
    Unlike book writers from days gone by, we now have the ability to see records that were once only assessible at the National Archives.

    1. Whomever shot Asa was definitely not James Vance. James was never associated with the 45th or Logan Wildcats. He was off with another military unit and served until the war was over.

  4. J Glenn Ferrell

    My great great grandfather, Richard J. Ferrell, served in Co. B of the 36th VA Infantry. It was Co. B that was designated as the “Logan Wildcats.” Co. D was called the “Boone Rangers.” Neither of these were the same as the irregular group connected with Anse Hatfield, also called the “Logan Wildcats.” Richard J. Ferrell’s cousin Richard M Ferrell was a lieutenant in Co. D. I’m most likely related to the Blankenships, Ferrells, Staffords and Thompsons listed here.

    1. Michael van Beuren

      to J. Glenn Ferrell: Your post interests me: I have cause to believe that my 3rd great uncle was in Co.B of the 36th VA. His name: Jesse Weber Bean (1817-1905). His grave marker reads “6th VA” but he was from Logan and elsewhere in McDowell Co. Do reply to me if you are of a mind. I’d like more of your perspective. mikvan52 at vermontel dot net.

      1. I’m doing more work on assembling members of various Companies of the 36th Virginia. As the war continued the (official) companies of the 36th combined. This makes it difficult to assign may of the men in the photos to specific outfits. Add to this, many individauls signed up for multiple tours of duty and were also furloughed from to time. IOW: they went home during the war. If you want to see my work, go to two projects on geni.com:
        https://www.geni.com/projects/36th-Virginia-Volunteer-Infantry-Regiment-CSA/4497901
        &
        https://www.geni.com/projects/36th-Virginia-Company-D/4497929
        A good number of the men are now in the process of being assembled there.

      2. Michael van Beuren

        Furthermore: Considering all the deaths and imprisonments, by the end of the War Essentially Co’s B,C,D, & H of the 36th VA all eventually became one company. B,C, & H were raised in Logan County though not all men were residents.
        Consequently, by the time of the reunions, it is plausible that men from any of the four Companies may have called themselves Logan Wildcats. Then again, there would be others as well who never mustered in the 36th (!)

  5. Guy Lawson and Thomas B. Farley are my ancestors. Farley ancestors were in Jamestown VA very early. The Lawson’s were related to the Farley’s. Also the Dingess’s probably go back to Peter Dingess served in the Revolutionary War.

    1. Joel Louis Angle (1826 – 1875) married Mary Ann Wills in 1854. The marriage license reads, “occupation carpenter and miller.” He enlisted in the Confederate Army as a Private on October 14, 1864 and was a member of the 2nd Company B (“The Logan Company Wildcats”) of the 36th Virginia Infantry. He was released from service, in order to operate a mill for food supplies much needed by both civilians and the army. Joel drowned in 1875, when he had a heart attack and fell into the millrace of his mill. The mill itself was still inoperation as late as 1960. Joel and Mary Ann had eight children. Mary Ann’s sister, Sarah Frances Wills, married Joel’s brother, Nathaniel.

  6. Ranger95 is an excellent resource. It has the Union and Confederate Companies. Just click on the soldier. The Confederate is more complete. Down at the bottom (CSA) is the Virginia State Line. Before they were requited into the Major eventual Units. It also has the Major Battles listed and briefs on the Battles.

  7. Freda Stafford

    This is the first time I heard of the Logan Wildcats. I did some research on Ancestry.com and Fold3.com looking for my great grandfather Moses Tiller he was born in 1839 and he was in the Civil War. I have an old picture in an oval frame that looks like one of the guys in the wildcats. Are you trying to match faces with the names on your list? Please let me know how we can match up this picture I have with one of the guys in the picture? My name is Freda Stafford.

    1. I added his photo (above). Yes, I see the resemblance also. Hopefully, we will get a listing of the names that attended this reunion soon.

    1. I have been to camp
      Chase in Columbus, Ohio. It sits off Sullivant Ave still. I have some Coopers buried in there. I also drill a couple blocks away from cemetery. I can look
      When I go up there tomorrow. My GGF is Ephraim Hatfield.

      1. Tammie Zeigler ( A Farley descendant)

        Mounts was the last name. Nick named Cotton Top. First name was Ellison after his father Ellison Hatfield.

    1. Christian Hatfield

      My grandfather, Francis Garnett Hatfield, was from Bedford, Indiana. I imagine we are related by marriage, based on the name. His great, or great-great uncle Anse and a number of other Hatfields, are buried in the Bedford cemetery.

  8. Grover L Brown Jr.

    My Great Great Grandfather Issac Brown was shot in the back by these bushwackers. He was a Union soldier.

    1. Grover: Where did Isaac Brown live? Near my residence are two hollows named for an Isaac Brown: one is Isaac Branch, the other is Browns Branch. The latter is now known as Abbotts Branch.

  9. Shelby Burgess

    My late wife . Norma Hager Burgess. was a grandaughter of Ryland Hager. Thanks for posting the list of the Logan Wildcats.burgesswv@

    1. Norma Hale Robinette

      My grandmother Lillian White Hale’s mother was a Hager. I feel sure she was related to Ryland Hager. Allen Hale and David Hale were mentioned here. Allen Hale was my grandfather and David was his brother.

      1. Katherine McNicholas

        Norma Hale Robinette – Allen Hale is my 3rd Great Grandfather! I wonder if he is in that 1900 reunion pic somewhere. All the best, Katherine (Hale) McNicholas

  10. Janet Yeager Litke

    My Great Grandfather was Astynex McDonald. He helped form The Wildcats. His enlisted name was Stien. His brother Bud (Boliver) is also in the picture as is Bryan McDonald. I do believe that Scott, the youngest brother, enlisted in the Kentucky Infantry.

  11. Debbie McCoy Autry

    “Logan Wildcats” was the unofficial name of company D of the 36th VA Infantry. Anderson Hatfield isn’t on the roster of the 36th VA Infantry (Official Records of the Civil War, fold3.com). The only Hatfield on the roster is Humphrey Hatfield, of Logan Co. Papers are available showing Devil Anse’s enlistment in 1863 in Co B 45th VA Battalion, along with Elias & Ellison Hatfield. According to family stories, he did form a band of Confederate irregulars after his desertion from the 45th & called it the “Logan Wildcats”. When Asa Harmon McCoy was killed by Anse’s band, he was no longer a soldier in the Union Army. He mustered out of service on 24 Dec 1864 in Catlettsburg, KY (fold3.com) & was killed 14 days later on 7 Jan 1865 (Pension records of Union Soldiers fold3).
    Also, Ellison Hatfield was a 2nd lieutenant in the 45th VA Battalion, & this battalion didn’t take part in the Battle of Gettysburg. The 45th NC & the 45th GA did take part. Records show that Ellison Hatfield deserted 19 Dec 1864 & was officially dropped from the rolls 3 Mar 1865. He took the Oath of Allegience & was granted amnesty 4 May 1865. (Official Records of the Civil War, fold3.com).

  12. William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield did not serve in the 36th Va. Infantry, rather he was in the 45th Battalion, Virginia Infantry along with 16 other Hatfields (Source: 45th Battalion Virginia Infantry. Smith and Count’s Battalions of Partisan Rangers, Virginia Regimental Histories). The belief that he was in the 36th probably stems from the guerilla unit he formed which, like Company D. Va. Inf, was called the Logan County Wildcats.

  13. Marilee Bowles-Carey

    My great great grandfather John Maidon Romans was a private in Company B of the 36th Va Infantry Logan Wildcats. I have done a lot of research on my Confederate ancestors and have documented his enlistment and service from his compiled military service record from the National Archives. He is from Marion, Virginia which is in Smyth County. I have not been able to figure out why he joined the Logan Wildcats. His younger brother James HH Romans enlisted in the 4th Virginia Infantry–the ‘Smyth Blues.’ I would have thought he would have enlisted in the same unit. James died at first Manassas, serving under Stonewall Jackson. John Maidon survived the war, became a Methodist minister late in life and is buried at Greenwood Methodist Church Cemetery in Marion, Virginia. He died in 1927. I would love to know if my grandfather attended the reunion pictured in your article and if so, if he is in the photo.

  14. Yes, Alexander “Zan” Bryant was mentioned in the names, please add him to your list, there was a Logan Banner article about him and he fought along with Devil Anse Hatfield.


    His name was added. Thank you! — Admin

  15. Tamara L. Zeigler

    I was surprised to find this picture and information when I was searching for a contact for the present day Wildcats! I became a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy about a year ago through my g.g. grandfather Thomas Benton Farley who is named on the list of members! His brother, William Anderson Farley, Jr. joined the cause at the same time but his name is not on the roster. Is this a list of the actual members or of the men in the picture? I assume it is of the members.


    Not all of the members are listed. Listed are the known members of the Logan Wildcats taken from the two newspaper articles. I will add William Anderson Farley, Jr. to the roster. Thank you! — Admin

    1. Tamara L. Zeigler

      Thank you so much! I live in Mercer County, WV and am in the process of having an Iron Cross (C.S.A.) placed on both graves. It is a long way for our local unit of the Sons of the Confederacy to travel to do some sort of ceremony. Do you know anyone local who is also in that organization who may be willing to do a proper ceremony? Please advise and thanks again! Tammie Zeigler

  16. dear dianna, saw another post regarding Steele Furniture. That was my mothers uncle grover. My mothers maiden name was steele. My grandmother was Carrie Hatfield Steele. She was married to Grovers brother Thomas E. steele. Someone had mentioned a JB steele, he eventually ended up in the Orlando Fl area. My folks n I visted him in 1969. He has since passed.

    Regards,
    randy Senior

  17. Diana Vinson-Childers

    Thank you so much for posting that photo. I am researching Ale Vinson who was in the 34th Virginia Calvary Vincent A. Witcher’s Battalion Co. B. I have also found him listed in Swann’s Battalion Virginia State Line. Also I found him listed in the Book 10th Kentucky CSA Diamond’s, Well’s Yankee Chaser’s in the Raid at Peach Orchard. I have found more info researching the Cival War so I would recommend it to anyone who is searching. Check all of the companies to find Roster listings. Also in Library of Virginia Civil War Rosters. He had residence at Peach Creek and Eugene, Lenore. He was married to Saraham Blair.

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