Biography of

Edwin Luther Beard

Born	24 Dec 1842, Hillsboro, Pocahontas, WV
Died	21 Aug 1931, Culpeper, Culpeper, VA
Married	Mary Rebecca Hevener, 25 Sep 1867, Randolph, WV; b 17 Nov 1849 Mingo Flats, Randolph, WV; d 15 Sep 1908 , Culpeper, VA

Edwin Luther Beard was a Hillsboro Merchant, and was the last Beard to operate the Josiah Jonas Beard Mill. He was a 1st Sgt, Co. F (“The Bath Grays” / Bath Squadron), 11th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, Army of Northern Virginia, in the Civil War, and took part in the battle of Brandy Station as "one of the foremost in the charge against the enemy" made near the old Freeman House, Stuart's Headquarters.

Children	Born
Forrest Lee Beard, Sr.	10 Jan 1872
Emmett Hevener Beard	27 Feb 1879
Ella Wallace Beard	01 Nov 1881
George Plummer Beard	23 Jan 1883

Hillsboro 7 -- June 2006

Oak Grove Presbyterian Church
From Two Hundred Years and Growing: A History of Oak Grove Presbyterian Church (1988): Edwin Beard — son of Josiah Beard — was elected a ruling elder of Oak Grove Church in 1868 and served for forty-two years, moving in 1908 to Culpeper, Virginia, where he died 21 Aug 1931. He was the last Beard to operate the Josiah Jonas Beard Mill on Locust Creek before leaving the valley.

References

Apparently the mill operation was passed along to the youngest son, Mr. Edwin Beard, later a Hillsboro merchant.

When the Levels Cavalry under Captain Andrew G. McNeel, 1861, were disbanded, many of its members joined the Bath Cavalry under Captain Archie Richards. April 25, 1862, this company formed into two companies "F" and "G", and was known as the Bath Squadron, attached to the 11th Virginia Cavalry. Dr. A.G. McChesney was Captain of Company F. A C. L. Gatewood, 1st Sergeant, and Edwin S. Beard, 2nd Sergeant. The following persons from Pocahontas County were members of this company: Moffett Beard, W. W. Beard, John G. Beard, John J. Beard, James Burnside, James Callison, Clark Cochran, George B. Cochran, Andrew Edmiston, Richard Edmiston, Matthew Edmiston, John L. Kennison, Davis Kennison, D.B. McElwee, B. D. McElwee, John McCarty, A.G. McNeel, G. H. Moffet.

BEARD, EDWIN LUTHER : 1st Sgt. Co. F b Pocahontas County, W. Va. 12/24/42, Ent. Warm Springs 5/1/82. Present as a Pvt. 1/1/63-2/28/63. Took part in the battle of Brandy Station 5/9/63 as "one of the foremost in the charge against the enemy, made near the old Freemen House, Stuart's Headquarters". Ab. 1st Sgt 12/31/63-4/30/64, sick with leave. Had two horses killed during the war. Had bullets pass through the collar of his uniform, on several occasions. Wounded during the war.

11th Virginia Cavalry Regiment — The Bath Grays / Bath Squadron
Company F of the 11th Virginia Cavalry was formally known as “The Bath Grays” and informally as the Bath Squadron. It drew heavily from Bath County, Virginia and Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The regiment was organised in February 1863 and served in the Army of Northern Virginia under Jones’, Lomax’s, Rosser’s, and Dearing’s Brigades. It fought at Upperville, Fairfield, Bristoe, Mine Run, the Wilderness Campaign, and Early’s Shenandoah Valley operations, and did not surrender at Appomattox — the regiment made its final assault on 9 April 1865 and then disbanded.

Sources: Wikipedia — 11th Virginia Cavalry Regiment · FamilySearch — 11th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry

The Gatewood Papers — Primary Archive for Company F
The papers of Andrew Cameron Lewis Gatewood (1843–1919), Edwin Beard’s commanding officer in Company F, are preserved in two archives:

VMI Archives, MS 0068 — 28 letters (1860–1864), the “History of the Bath Squadron” (manuscript + newspaper transcriptions), and Gatewood’s cadet account book. Freely accessible online via the VMI Archives: archivesspace.vmi.edu
WVU Regional History Center, A&M 1519 — Civil War diary (11 March–15 December 1865), covering Company F’s final campaign from Staunton to Appomattox; farm account book with a narrative of Civil War experiences including the Jones’ northwestern Virginia raid of 1863. Contact: archives.lib.wvu.edu

The Bath Squadron’s wartime history and Gatewood’s two contrasting accounts of the Appomattox campaign are analysed in: Emerging Civil War — A.C.L. Gatewood and the Appomattox Campaign (2021).