| Colonel George W. Gallup of the 14th Kentucky |
| A Catlettsburg lawyer, Gallup helped organize the 14th Kentucky Infantry regiment and initially served as its quartermaster. He later became its commander, and from August, 1863 to May, 1864, operating from his base at Louisa, he served as Commander of the Military District of Eastern Kentucky. Transferred to Georgia, he and his men joined Sherman’s command and saw action in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign, incurring 157 casualties in the process. Born in Albany, New York in 1828, George W. Gallup attended New York Central College in McGrawville before migrating to Ohio, where he taught school and studied law at Burlington Academy. In 1850 he migrated to Kentucky, settling in Louisa in order to study law under Laban T. Moore. Four years later, having acquired his law license, he formed a partnership with Moore and married his sister Rebecca. Their marriage was the social event of the year, because the bride’s father was Frederick Moore, Lawrence County’s wealthiest merchant and largest landholder. Elected to Congress on the Whig ticket in 1859, Laban T. Moore was an ardent Unionist and a bitter foe of secession, an opinion shared by his law partner and brother-in-law. In October, 1861, following the collapse of Kentucky’s neutrality, Louisa became a rallying point for men of Union sympathies. Moore, Gallup, and other Lawrence County men began organizing the 14th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. Moore became colonel of the regiment and Gallup became its quartermaster. When Marshall’s Confederates invaded the Big Sandy Valley in December, 1861, penetrating as far as Paintsville, Moore moved his regiment to Catlettsburg. At that time the citizens of Louisa and Catlettsburg were in a state of panic, fearing that the Confederates would steal their property and burn their houses. At Catlettsburg the 14th Kentucky joined Garfield’s command, and its men were issued rifles, uniforms, knapsacks, tents, and other equipment necessary for a military campaign. Gallup saw action at Middle Creek, along with three companies of his regiment, but it was not until later in the war that he became the region’s most effective Union commander. In January, 1863, following the resignation of Col. Cochran, Gallup was promoted to Colonel and placed in command of the 14th Kentucky. From August, 1863 to May, 1864, operating from his base at Louisa, Gallup served as Commander of the Military District of Eastern Kentucky. On February 15th, 1864, at Laurel Creek in Wayne County, West Virginia, Gallup and his regiment, along with men of the 39th Kentucky, surrounded and defeated Col. M. J. Ferguson’s 16th Virginia Cavalry, repaying them for the depredations they had committed at Red House and Turman’s Ferry. On April 14th, 1864, at Puncheon Creek in Magoffin County, Gallup and his regiment, along with the men of the 39th Kentucky, surrounded and defeated Col. Ezekiel F. Clay’s 1st Kentucky Cavalry. In May, 1864, Gallup and his regiment traveled to Georgia and joined Sherman’s command. The 14th Kentucky saw action in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign, suffering 157 killed and wounded. At the war’s conclusion Gallup returned to Louisa and resumed his law practice. In 1867 he was appointed Brevet Brigadier General by President Andrew Johnson, in recognition of his gallant and meritorious service during the war. Gallup died in 1880 and is buried in Ashland, Kentucky. |
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| Colonel George W. Monroe Colonel Ezekiel F. Clay Colonel Lionel A. Sheldon Colonel Don A. Pardee Colonel Hiram Hawkins Colonel John S. Williams Colonel Alfred C. Moore Dr. Stephen M. Ferguson |
| Courtesy of Roger D. Hunt and Jack R. Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue (Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990) |