Rev. Gordon Battelle, D.D., of the M.E. Church, served as chaplain of the 1st Virginia Volunteer Infantry, was born in Newport, Ohio, in 1814, died in Washington, D.C., in 1862, and was remembered as a teacher, patriot, and leader in the formation of West Virginia. The monument was erected in 1913 by Col. J. G. Battelle and Ross Newport Post, 489 A.D., and it also records local military service across several wars, including names associated with 1776, 1812, 1846, and 1861 to 1865, as well as extensive rosters of Ross Newport Post charter members and members who served in the Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Ohio Volunteer Artillery, the Spanish American War, and the U.S. Navy.