George V. Kelley

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.

George VanStavoren Kelley
Kelley in 1865
Born(1843-03-23)March 23, 1843
Massillon, Ohio
DiedNovember 4, 1905(1905-11-04) (aged 62)
Denver, Colorado
Place of burial
Riverside Cemetery, Denver, Colorado
Allegiance United States of America
Union
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service1861 - 1865
Rank Captain
Unit Company A, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
Awards Medal of Honor

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.).[3][4][5][6]

See also

Notes
  1. "Kelley genealogy page". Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  2. "Fairmount Cemetery website". Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  3. Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs (1968), p. 140.
  4. Sightline Media Group (2020).
  5. VCOnline (2020).
  6. CMOHS (2014).

References
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