Kat, reading through this from the top, the first thing that occurred to me is that he could have been an irregular--and bingo, you mentioned it--

West Virginia was the part of Virginia that stayed with the Union, at least on paper--hearts and minds were a different thing, and though for years it had been claimed that most of WVA soldiers went with the Union--it is now figured that they went about half and half, with many of the "Confederates" actually never being mustered into the Confederate Army, istead fighting with Militias or irregulars, such as the famous "McNeill's Raiders"--

WVA was truly split, and apparently, there were many who fought for, or at least had ties to both sides--the evidence that you have points in the direction that Abram Forsythe had been in this position--The involvement of WVA troops in Union efforts was often limited due to concerns about loyalties--

West Virginia, and West Virginians, have often the subject of derisive jokes, quite possibly a result of the reputation that they gained from being in this unfortunate situation--