Editing Berkeley County, West Virginia (section)

===The 19th century===
Berkeley County was reduced in size twice during the 19th century. On January 8, 1801, [[Jefferson County, West Virginia|Jefferson County]] was formed out of the county's eastern section. Then, on February 9, 1820, [[Morgan County, West Virginia|Morgan County]] was formed out of the county's western section and parts of [[Hampshire County, West Virginia|Hampshire County]].

Berkeley County was strategically important to both the North and the South during the [[American Civil War]] (from 1861 to 1865). The county, and [[Martinsburg, West Virginia|Martinsburg]], its seat, lay at the northern edge of the Shenandoah Valley, and Martinsburg was important because the main line of the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] ran through it. The B&O was valuable to both armies for moving men and materiel. Increasing Martinsburg's strategic value was its proximity to the [[Harpers Ferry Arsenal|United States Arsenal and Armory]] at [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harpers Ferry]]. Control over Martinsburg changed hands many times during the war, especially prior to the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] in July 1863. After Gettysburg, the city remained mostly under Union control.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

About 75% of Berkeley County's residents were loyal to the South during the American Civil War.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historicberkeley.org/history.html|title=County History}}</ref> Confederate fervor was even more evident with military enlistment, at least about 80% of soldiers fought for the South. There were at least eleven companies of soldiers recruited from the county: at least nine for the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate Army]] but only two for the [[Union Army]].<ref name="wvotherhistory">{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/wvotherhistory/home|title=West Virginia - The Other History}}</ref> In addition, the local militia sided with the Confederacy.<ref name="wvotherhistory" />

The Confederate units consisted of the following: Chew's Battery Virginia Horse Artillery (a.k.a. Capt. James W. Thomson's & Capt. John W. Carter's Co.), Capt. Osmond B. Taylor's Co. Virginia Light Artillery, Wise Artillery (Co. B, 1st Regiment Virginia Light Artillery), Co. F Clark's Co (12th Virginia Cavalry), Co. A Wildcat Cavalry (11th Virginia Cavalry), Co. B Berkeley Troop (1st Virginia Cavalry), Co. F Shepherdstown Troop (1st Virginia Cavalry), Co. D Berkeley Border Guards (2nd Virginia Infantry), Co. E Hedgesville Blues (2nd Virginia Infantry), and 67th Regiment Virginia Militia.<ref name="wvotherhistory" /> It is also believed that soldiers from Berkeley County participated in other Confederate units as well, such as the 7th Virginia Cavalry, whose Co. F and G recruited out of neighboring Hampshire and Jefferson Counties {{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The Union units consisted of Co. C 3rd Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry, and Company B First Regiment, (West) Virginia Volunteers.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/alershistoryofma00aler/page/220/mode/2up?view=theater&q=horatio+gates|title=Aler's history of Martinsburg and Berkeley County, West Virginia|author=Aler, F. Vernon|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

Yet it was (then-Colonel) Stonewall Jackson who wrote to Robert E. Lee, "...&nbsp;I regret to say that in Berkeley things are growing worse, and that the threats from Union men are calculated to curb the expression of Southern feeling."<ref>{{cite book|title=The War of the Rebellion (Official Records), series 1|volume=2|page=863|date=May 21, 1861}}</ref>

A member of the Stonewall Brigade also wrote, "We left Winchester the first of this week [in June, 1861] and came to Berkeley County, the meanest Abolition hole on the face of the earth, Martinsburg especially."<ref>Ted Barclay, 4th Va Inf., letter to his mother, June 22, 1861</ref>

At least six hundred men from Berkeley County served in either the Confederate Army or the Union Army.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} When the vote for separation from Confederate Virginia was held, the majority voted for the Union creation of the state of West Virginia.

Berkeley County was also the home of [[Belle Boyd|Maria Isabella "Belle" Boyd]], a famous spy for the Confederacy.<ref>The Berkeley County, WV Historical Society</ref>