Gordon Battelle (minister)

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Gordon Battelle (November 14, 1814 – 1862) was a Methodist minister, educator, abolitionist, and chaplain who helped establish West Virginia during the Civil War. He was born in Newport, Ohio, and studied at Marietta College, where he befriended Francis Pierpont. He earned a BA from Allegheny College in 1840, a master’s degree in 1843, and an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Ohio University in 1861. He married Maria Louise Tucker and they had several children.

Battelle taught at Asbury Academy in Parkersburg and began preaching in 1842, becoming a deacon in 1847 and a minister in 1849. He led Northwestern Virginia Academy in Clarksburg until 1851, then served at a Charleston church. In 1855 he became presiding elder of the Clarksburg District and participated in Methodist general conferences. In Wheeling he spoke out against secession and slavery.

During the Civil War, Battelle supported the Restored Government of Virginia led by his friend Pierpont. He wrote about the difficulties of forming a new state and, in 1861, was appointed to inspect Federal military camps to improve medical supplies. From November 1861 he served as chaplain of the 1st West Virginia Infantry and helped organize the West Virginia Constitutional Convention, where he urged free public schools and opposed slavery. His abolitionist views influenced West Virginia’s stance on slavery.

Battelle died in 1862 in Washington, D.C., while on a mission related to the war. His legacy includes the Battelle Memorial Institute, founded by his grandson, and Battelle Township in West Virginia named in his honor.