Alfred Beckley (1802-1888) - Find a Grave Memorial

Brigadier-General of the Virginia Militia. On July 1, 1823, he graduated from the U. S. Military Academy, ninth in a class of 35. He served in the military for 13 years prior to settling in Raleigh County, Virginia (now West Virginia). In 1846, he served as a delegate at large from Virginia to the National Democratic Convention at St. Louis. At the beginning of the Civil War, he served as a Brigadier-General of the Virginia Militia, under the command of General Henry A. Wise, in the Confederate Army. In September 1861, Beckley, Colonel of the 35 Regt., Virginia Militia along with General Chapman's forces skirmished with Union troops at Cotton Hill and along the south side of the Kanawha River. His command was disbanded in 1862 and he returned home to Beckley, which was occupied by the Union Army at that time. He surrendered himself to the Union officer in charge, and was held prisoner for several months before being released on parole. He later represented Raleigh County in the West Virginia House of Delegates at Wheeling. In 1872, he served as a delegate from Virginia to the National Whig Convention, where he voted for Henry Clay for President. In 1876, he served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. In his later years he was a leader in the state temperance movement.

Bio by: Steve Corley