Alleghany furnished several companies during the war; one, Company F, 22d North Carolina Regiment, with Jesse Reeves as the first captain, and Company I, 61st North Carolina Regiment, with Dr. A. B. Cox as the first captain. J. H. Doughton, later in the war, organized another company, but when he arrived on the field of service, he found these two companies in such a depleted condition that he disorganized his company for the purpose of recruiting them. Alleghany furnished a great many more soldiers besides these companies, who served in various commands; some in Virginia, some in Tennessee, but mostly in the 37th Virginia Battalion. Companies F and I were constantly recruited, but when the war ended, there were not more than 50 or 60 men in both companies.
But Alleghany's greatest trials were caused by deserters and bushwhackers. These men would hide in the mountains in order to evade active service on the battlefield. At first they seemed to have stolen only necessary food and raiment, but later took to robbing and murdering. With the able-bodied men in the army, the women and children were left at their mercy. The few old men and others unable for active service constituted a home guard, but were powerless to cope with these desperate outlaws.
Alleghany appealed to Surry County in 1863 for aid. Surry County sent about 100 men to aid the Alleghany Home Guard. These men crossed the Blue Ridge at Thompson's Gap and camped at what is known as the "Cabins." They sent four of their number to Duncan's Mills, about five miles distant, for a supply of meal. These four men had passed Little River Church, and it was almost dark when the robbers snatched one of their men, Jeff Galyen, from his horse and hurried him off through the woods. The other men turned their horses and hurried back to the main body.
Early the next morning, the whole force started in search of Galyen and the robbers. They found neither, and after hanging Levi Fender (the stump of the old sapling on which he was hanged could still be pointed out about one and one-half miles east of Sparta), they returned home. Within a few days, Galyen was found a few hundred yards from the place where the robbers had disappeared with him, on his knees by a tree, shot dead. One of the robbers, Tom Pollard, afterward acknowledged the killing and said he did it while Galyen was on his knees begging for his life.
It was decided by the officers to send General Pierce with his soldiers into this section. These soldiers scoured the country, captured a number of the robbers, and carried them to Laurel Springs, where a number of them were hanged. Among those hanged were Lewis Wolfe and Morgan Phipps. Later, Hoke's cavalry was sent into the county, but robbery, murder, and lawlessness continued.
In October 1864, the fight at "Killen's Branch" took place. This was about one mile northwest of Sparta, on the main road leading from Sparta to Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Here the Home Guard was ambushed by a band of bushwhackers under Henry Taylor. The bushwhackers were concealed in a dense ivy thicket by the roadside and fired upon the Home Guard as they were passing. The Home Guard promptly returned the fire. The fighting continued for some time, when both sides withdrew. Of the Home Guard, Felix Reeves was killed, and Wiley Maxwell, Jesse Reeves, and Martin Crouse were mortally wounded. This was the last fight of any importance between the outlaws and the Home Guard.
Newspapers collected by J.F. Duncan