Gen. William H. Enochs
represented the tenth Ohio district in the fifty-third congress, of which Adams County was a part. While he was only Adams County's representative from March 4, 1893, till his death, July 13, 1893, yet he was well known in the county and had canvassed it for the nomination to congress in 1890, when Judge Thompson obtained his third term. He is a good example of what the ambitious American boy can make of himself. He was born in Noble county, Ohio, March 29, 1842. His parents were Henry and Jane Miller Enochs. They removed to Lawrence County when he was a child.
He had the advantages of a common school education and was attending the Ohio University at Athens when Fort Sumpter was fired on. He at once enlisted in Co. B, 22d Ohio Volunteers and was made a sergeant. Col. Wm. E. Gilmore, of Chillicothe, was colonel of this regiment. Hon. Thaddeus A. Minshall, now Supreme Judge of Ohio, was its sergeant major. Judge Guthrie, of Athens, was captain of the company and W. H. H. Minton, of Gallipolis, the banker, its first sergeant. This regiment was mustered in April 27, 1861, and mustered out August 19, 1861. Young Enochs was afraid the war would be over before he could get in again, so he swam the Ohio River and enlisted in the 5th Virginia Infantry. At that time he did not believe he could get into an Ohio Regiment, so he enlisted in Virginia. In October, he was elected captain of his company, but owing to his youth, his colonel refused to issue the commission and made him a first lieutenant. He was recommended to be major of the regiment in 1862, but owing to his youth, was commissioned a captain. As such, he was in the battles of Moorfield and McDowell and of Cross Keys. He was in Cedar Mountain and the Second Manassas, and at the latter had command of his regiment, although junior captain. He was also in the battle of Chantilly. In 1863, the regiment was transferred to West Virginia. On August 17, 1863, Captain Enochs was commissioned lieutenant colonel. His regiment was in the Lynchburg Raid, which was a campaign of "marching, starving and fighting." In 1864, his regiment was in the battles of Bunker Hill, Carter's Farm and Winchester, Halltown and Berryville. At the battle of Winchester, September 19, 1864, Colonel Enochs was severely wounded by being struck on the head by a musket ball, and was supposed at first to have been instantly killed. At Fisher's Hill, September 22, 1864, he displayed great bravery in leading his regiment to the attack and for this, was brevetted brigadier general. His regiment and the northwest Virginia were consolidated and made the 1st West Virginia Infantry. Near the close of the war, his regiment was sent to Cumberland, Maryland, where he was assigned to the command of the troops in that part of Maryland, and on March 13, 1865, was made a brigadier general. In the fall and winter of 1865 and 1866, he studied. law in Ironton and was admitted to the bar in April, 1866. He located at Ceredo, West Virginia. After remaining there a year or more he removed to Ironton. He at once acquired a large and lucrative practice. For a long time he was general counsel for the Scioto Valley Railway Company.
In 1871 and 1872, he represented Lawrence County in the house of representatives of the Ohio legislature. In 1875, he was married to Miss Annis Hamilton, of Ironton. They had one son, Berkley, who was educated at West Point and is now a first lieutenant in the 25th U. S. Infantry and is with his regiment in the Philippines. During the Spanish War, he served with his regiment in Cuba.
Gen. Enochs always had an ambition to represent his district in congress. This desire was gratified when, in 1890, he was elected to congress from the twelfth district, composed of Athens, Meigs, Gallia, Lawrence and Scioto. In 1892, he was re-elected to congress from the tenth district composed of Adams, Pike, Scioto, Jackson, Lawrence and Gallia. On the morning of July 13, 1893, he was found dead in his bed from an attack of apoplexy. A most promising career was cut short. He was the idol of the people of his county and respected, honored and beloved by the people throughout his district.
In the spring of 1893, he was full of projects for the benefit of his district and particularly for the improvement of the Ohio River. Had he lived, he would doubtless have had as many terms in congress as he desired and would likely have been governor of the state. He had the happy faculty of making all whom he met feel that he was their friend. He had some subtle unknown charm, of which he was unconscious, but which made him friends everywhere and attached them to him by indissoivable bonds. His patriotism during the war was ardent, and never failed. It was just as strong in peace. All he achieved, all he accomplished in his brief career was his own. He had no rich or powerful family friends. He had no aid or assistance whatever and his friends were all made on his own merits. He was generous beyond all precedents, and any one deserving sympathy received the greatest measure from him. Once your friend, he was always such, and he made you feel he could not do too much for you. He believed in the brotherhood of man. His death at the time was a public calamity. He received a public congressional funeral and persons attended from all parts of the surrounding country. His funeral was the largest ever held in Ironton. He left the memory of a career of which every young American can feel proud and feel glad that a countryman of his had so distinguished him self in the Civil War, at the bar and in the National legislature.
From "A history of Adams County, Ohio: from its earliest settlement to the present time" By Nelson Wiley Evans, Emmons B. Stivers, 1900