George V. Kelley Explained

George VanStavoren Kelley
Birth Date:	23 March 1843
Birth Place:	Massillon, Ohio
Death Place:	Denver, Colorado
Placeofburial:	Riverside Cemetery, Denver, Colorado
Placeofburial Label:	Place of burial
Allegiance:	United States of America Union
Branch:	Union Army
Serviceyears:	1861 - 1865
Rank:	Captain
Unit:	Company A, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles:	American Civil War
Awards:	Medal of Honor

George VanStavoren Kelley (March 23, 1843 - November 4, 1905) was a line officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Franklin during the 1864 Franklin-Nashville Campaign.

Biography

Kelley was born and raised in enlisted in Massillon, Ohio. Following the outbreak of the Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers, he enlisted in his hometown in the 104th Ohio Infantry on April 22, 1861. Kelley served as a sergeant in Company A. The regiment moved to Covington, Kentucky, on September 1, 1862, in preparation for the Defense of Cincinnati against a threatened Confederate invasion by troops under Edmund Kirby Smith. It was involved in the subsequent Skirmish at Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

Kelley and his comrades in the 104th OVI spent 1863 in Kentucky, and then moved to East Tennessee until April 1864. They were reassigned to duty as part of the XXIII Corps in Georgia, and Tennessee in late 1864. Kelley was promoted to captain and commander of Company A. He captured a Confederate flag during the fighting at Franklin in November and was awarded the Medal of Honor a few months later. The regiment subsequently served in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina. Kelley was mustered out of the army on June 14, 1865.

After the war, Kelley returned to Ohio. At the age of 24, he married Fannie Bliss on October 18, 1866. Following her death, he moved to Denver, Colorado, and became a rancher. On May 15, 1890, he married a local resident Louisa Talitha Holloway (February 13, 1865 - February 6, 1902).^[1]

He is buried in that city's Riverside Cemetery.^[2]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Captain, Company A, 104th Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Franklin, Tenn., November 30, 1864. Entered service at: Massillon, Ohio. Born: March 23, 1843, Massillon, Ohio. Date of issue: February 13, 1865.

Citation:

Capture of flag supposed to be of Cheatham's Corps (C.S.A.).

References

Book: Bentley, William Garrigues. Barbara Bentley Smith. Nina Bentley Baker. Burning Rails As We Pleased: The Civil War Letters of William Garrigues Bentley, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. McFarland & Company. 2004. Jefferson, NC. 226. en. 9780786416592. 53183450.
Book: Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Dyer Pub. Co.. Des Moines, IA. 1908. B01BUFJ76Q.
Book: Gaskill, J. W. . Footprints Through Dixie: Everyday Life of a Man under a Musket, on the Firing Line, and in the Trenches, 1862-1865 . Bradshaw Printing . 1919 . Alliance, OH . 186 . en . 2027/osu.32435015760382?urlappend=%3Bseq=6 .
Book: Keefer, Bradley S.. They Stood to Their Guns: the 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. Kent State University. 1984. Kent, OH. 224. en. 11253729.
Book: Ohio Roster Commission . 87th - 108th Regiments-Infantry . The Ohio Valley Press . Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861 - 1865. VII. 1888. Cincinnati, OH. 814 . 2027/uiug.30112047586034?urlappend=%3Bseq=559 . 633556.
Book: Pinney, Nelson A.. History of the 104th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry from 1862 to 1865 . Werner & Lohmann. 1886. Akron, OH. 148 . en. 2027/loc.ark:/13960/t6vx0kk1n?urlappend=%3Bseq=8 . 39785111 .
Book: Reid, Whitelaw. Whitelaw Reid. The History of Her Regiments, and Other Military Organizations. Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin. Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers. II. 1868. Cincinnati, OH. 1002. 9781154801965. 11632330.
Book: Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. Edward M Kennedy, Chairman. Medal of Honor, 1863-1968 : "In the Name of the Congress of the United States". U.S. Government Printing Office. Committee print (United States. Congress), 90th Congress, 2nd session. 1968. Washington DC. 1087. 1049691780.
Book: U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. U.S. Government Printing Office. Washington, DC. 1880. 857196196.
Web site: Sightline Media Group. 2020. Hall of Valor: The Military Medals Database. The Hall of Valor Project. 19 May 2020. .
Web site: VCOnline . 2020 . MOHs - victoriacross . THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE VICTORIA & GEORGE CROSS . 2 May 2020 . . 3 May 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200503163659/http://www.vconline.org.uk/mohs/4589918581 . dead .
Web site: CMOHS. CMOHS.org - Official Website of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Congressional Medal of Honor Society. 2014. 19 August 2014. .
Web site: The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. Home - The National Medal of Honor Museum The National Medal of Honor Museum. The National Medal of Honor Museum. 2020. 19 May 2020. .

External links

Notes and References

Web site: October 5, 2010 . Kelley genealogy page.
Web site: October 5, 2010 . Fairmount Cemetery website . dead . https://archive.today/20071225195812/http://www.fairmountcemetery.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=54 . December 25, 2007 .