George C. Loy, c. 1841 – 1877

 

When George Loy enlisted as a Private in Battery D, First West Virginia Light Artillery (Carlin’s Battery) on August 27, 1862, his age was shown as 21. At 5 feet 8 ½ inches tall, he reportedly had gray eyes and dark hair. Little is known about his early years.

Loy was one of about a dozen members of the Battery who were captured by the Confederates in Winchester, Virginia in June 1863. The men were taken to Richmond – “a very uncomfortable place” and Camp Parole, Annapolis. The captured men were paroled and rejoined Carlin’s Battery. Just over a year after his first capture, Loy and others were again taken prisoner by the Confederates on June 21, 1864, at Mason’s Cove.

 

After first being confined in Lynchburg, most of those captured were moved to the notorious Andersonville Prison near Macon, Georgia, arriving on July 11, 1864. On March 24, 1865, Loy was released from Andersonville. He was transported to Camp Fisk, near Vicksburg, Mississippi where he awaited exchange and transport north. 

 

After the men were finally exchanged, they boarded the steamship Sultana to make their way home. Built to carry 376 people, the Sultana carried more than 2000, many of whom were former Confederate prisoners of war. Faulty and missing paperwork resulted in incomplete records of who was actually onboard, but it is believed that 19 West Virginia soldiers, including George Loy, were among the passengers.

On the night of April 26, 1865, the steamer’s boilers exploded killing many outright and resulting in the drowning of hundreds of others. Some 1700 people, about three-fourths of the total passengers, were killed, making this the worst American maritime disaster in history. Of the 19 West Virginians onboard, 11 men, including Loy, survived.

 

Once back in Wheeling, George Loy married Veronika Swingle in mid-1872 and worked as a blacksmith and machinist at the Bellaire Nail Mill before being dismissed due to “intemperance.” His health deteriorated after he suffered a stroke in late 1872, and he was treated for delirium tremens in 1874. He applied for a pension in 1876, but he died before the process was completed. His death occurred on October 20, 1877 when he was 35 years old. The cause of death listed was “apoplexy.”