USA > West Virginia > Barbour County > The history of Barbour County, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time > Part 19
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When General Garnett established himself in Randolph and Barbour Counties, in June, 1861, he made an elaborate plan of attack on the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad. He intended to take possession of Evansville, in Preston County, and using that as a base, destroy east and west. The high
* See the History of the War, by General John D. Imboden.
+ Records of the Rebellion.
10
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trestles along the face of Laurel Hill, west of Rowlesburg, and the bridge across Cheat River at Rowlesburg, and the long tunnel at Tunnelton were selected for the first and principal destruction. General Garnett had the road from Rowlesburg up Cheat River to St. George surveyed with a view to widening and improving it, thereby making of it a military road by which he could advance or fall back, in case the road from Beverly to Evansville should be threatened. General Imboden twice made dashes over the Alle- ghanies at the head of Cheat River and struck for the Rowlesburg trestles, but each time fell back when he reached St. George. In the spring of 1863, when the great raid into West Virginia was made under Jones, Imboden and Jackson, every possible damage was done the Baltimore and Ohio Road, but again the Rowlesburg trestles escaped, although the Confederates ap- proached within two miles of them.
It is proper to state here that an effort was made, after fighting had commenced, to win the West Virginians over to the cause of the South by promising them larger privileges than they had ever before enjoyed. On June 14, 1861, Governor Letcher issued a proclamation, which was pub- lished at Huttonsville, in Randolph County, and addressed to the people of Northwestern Virginia. In this proclamation he promised them that the injustice from unequal taxation of which they had complained in the past, should exist no longer. He said that the eastern part of the State had expressed a willingness to relinquish exemptions from taxation, which it had been enjoying, and was willing to share all the burdens of government. The Governor promised that in state affairs, the majority should rule; and he called upon the people beyond the Alleghanies, in the name of past friendship and of historic memories, to espouse the cause of the Southern Confederacy. It is needless to state that this proclamation fell flat. The people of Western Virginia would have hailed with delight a prospect of redress of grievances, had it come earlier. But its coming was so long delayed that they doubted both the sincerity of those who made the prom- ise and their ability to fulfill. Twenty thousand soldiers had already crossed the Ohio, and had penetrated more than half way from the river to the Alleghanies, and they had been joined by thousands of Virginians. It was a poor time for Governor Letcher to appeal to past memories or to promise justice in the future which had been denied in the past. Coming as the promise did at that time, it looked like a death-bed repentance. The Southern Confederacy had postponed fortifying the bank of the Ohio until too late; and Virginia had held out the olive branch to her neglected and long-suffering people beyond the mountains when it was too late. They had already cast their lot with the North; and already a powerful army had crossed the Ohio to their assistance. Virginia's day of dominion west of the Alleghanies was nearing its close; and the Southern Confederacy's hope of empire there was already doomed.
CHAPTER XVII,
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CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR .*
In this chapter will be given an outline of the progress of the Civil War on the soil of West Virginia or immediately affecting the State. As there were more than three hundred battles and skirmishes within the limits of the State, and numerous scouts, raids and campaigns, it will be possible in the brief space of one chapter to give little more than the date of each, with a word of explanation or description. In former chapters the history of the opening of the war and accounts of the leading campaigns have been given. It yet remains to present in their chronological sequence the events of greater or lesser importance which constitute the State's war record.
1861.
April 17. The Ordinance of Secession was adopted by the Virginia Convention at Richmond.
April 18. Harper's Ferry was abandoned by the Federal troops. Lieutenant Roger Jones, the commandant, learning that more than two thousand Virginia troops were advancing to attack him, set fire to the United States armory and machine shops and retreated into Pennsylvania. Fifteen minutes after he left Harper's Ferry the Virginia forces arrived.
April 23. General Robert E. Lee assigned to the command of Virginia's land and naval forces.
April 27. Colonel T. J. Jackson assigned to the command of the Vir- ginia forces at Harper's Ferry.
May 1. Governor Letcher calls out the Virginia militia.
May 3. Additional forces called for by the Governor of Virginia. The call was disregarded by nearly all the counties west of the Alleghanies.
May 4. Colonel George A. Porterfield assigned to the command of all the Confederate forces in Northwestern Virginia.
May 10. General Robert E. Lee assigned to the command of the forces of the Confederate States serving in Virginia.
May 13. General George B. McClellan assigned to the command of the Department of the Ohio, embracing West Virginia.
May 14. The Confederates at Harper's Ferry seized a train of cars.
May 15. General Joseph E. Johnston assigned to the command of Con- federate troops near Harper's Ferry.
May 22. Bailey Brown was killed by a Confederate picket at Fetter-
* This chapter is compiled chiefly from the Records of the Rebellion, published by the United States War Department. A few of the items are from the West Virginia Adjutant General's Reports for 1865 and 1866, and a small number from other sources. The reports of officers, both Federal and Confederate, have been consulted in arriving at conclusions as to numbers engaged, the losses and the victory or defeat of forces.
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man, Taylor County. Brown was the first enlisted man of the United States volunteer service killed in the war.
May 26. Federal forces from beyond the Ohio and those about Wheel- ing began to move against Grafton where Confederates, under Colonel Por- terfield, had established themselves.
May 27. Captain Christian Roberts was killed by Federals under Lieutenant West, in a skirmish at Glover's Gap, between Wheeling and Fairmont. Captain Roberts was the first armed Confederate soldier killed in the war.
May 30. Grafton was occupied by Federal forces, the Confederates having retreated to Philippi.
June 3. Fight at Philippi and retreat of the Confederates into Ran- dolph County.
June 6. Ex-Governor Henry A. Wise was sent to the Kanawha Valley to collect troops for the Confederacy.
June 8. General R. S. Garnett superseded Colonel Porterfield in com- mand of Confederate forces in West Virginia.
June 10. A Federal force was sent from Rowlesburg to St. George, in Tucker County, capturing a lieutenant and two Confederate flags.
June 14. Governor Letcher, of Virginia, published at Huttonsville, Randolph County, a proclamation to the people west of the Alleghanies, urging them to stand by Virginia in its Secession, and promising them, if they would do so, that the wrongs of which they had so long complained should exist no more, and that the western counties should no longer be domineered over by the powerful eastern counties.
June 19. Skirmish near Keyser. Confederates under Colonel John C. Vaughn advanced from Romney and burned Bridge No. 21 on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and defeated the Cumberland Home Guards, capturing two small cannon.
June 23. Skirmish between Federals and Confederates at Righter's.
June 26. Skirmish on Patterson Creek, Hampshire County, in which Richard Ashby was killed by thirteen Federals under Corporal David Hays.
June 29. Skirmish at Hannahsville, in Tucker County, in which Lieu- tenant Robert McChesney was killed by Federals under Captain Miller.
July 2. Fight at Falling Waters, near Martinsburg. Colonel John C. Starkweather defeated Stonewall Jackson. This was Jackson's first skir- mish in the Civil War.
July 4. Skirmish at Harper's Ferry. Federals under Lietenant Gal- braith were fired upon from opposite bank of the river. The Federals fell back with a loss of 4.
July 6. The forces under Mcclellan which were advancing upon Rich Mountain encountered Confederate outposts at Middle Fork Bridge, eighteen miles west of Beverly. The Federals fell back.
July 7. The Federals drove the Confederates from Middle Fork Bridge.
July 7. Skirmish at Glennville, Gilmer County.
July 8. Skirmish at Belington, Barbour County. General Morris with the left wing of Mcclellan's army attempted to dislodge the Confederates from the woods in the rear of the village, and was repulsed, losing 2 killed and 3 wounded.
July 11. Battle of Rich Mountain. The Confederates under Colonel Pegram were defeated by General Rosecrans.
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CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
July 12. General Garnett, with 4,585 Confederates, retreated from Laurel Hill through Tucker County, pursued by General Morris with 3,000 men.
July 12. Beverly was occupied by McClellan's forces, and a Confeder- ate force, under Colonel Scott, retreated over Cheat Mountain toward Staunton.
July 13. Colonel Pegram surrendered six miles from Beverly to McClellan's army.
July 13. Battle of Corrick's Ford, in Tucker County. Garnett was killed and his army routed by Federals under General Morris.
July 13. General Lew Wallace with a Federal force advanced from Keyser and captured Romney.
July 15. Harper's Ferry was evacuated by the Confederates.
July 16. Skirmish at Barboursville, Cabell County. The Confederates were defeated.
July 17. Scarry Creek skirmish. Colonel Patton, with 1200 Confeder- ates, defeated an equal number of Federals under Colonel Norton.
July 20. General W. W. Loring was placed in command of the Confed- erate forces in Northwestern Virginia.
August 1. General R. E. Lee was sent to take command of Confederate forces in West Virginia.
August 11. General John B. Floyd took command of Confederate troops in the Kanawha Valley.
August 13. A Federal force was sent from Grafton into Tucker County, capturing 15 prisoners, 90 guns, 150 horses and cattle and 15000 rounds of ammunition.
August 25. The Confederates were defeated in a skirmish at Piggot's Mill.
August 26. Fight at Cross Lanes, near Summerville. While the Fed- erals were eating breakfast they were attacked and defeated by General Floyd.
September 1. Skirmish at Blue Creek.
September 2. Skirmish near Hawk's Nest in Fayette County. General Wise with 1,250 men attacked the Federals of equal force, but was repulsed. September 10. Battle of Carnifex Ferry.
September 12. Skirmish at Cheat Mountain Pass, near Huttonsville. The Confederates under General Lee were repulsed in their attempt to fall upon the rear of the Federals.
September 13. Fight on Cheat Mountain. The Confederates were de- feated. General Lee was foiled in his attempt on Elk Water.
September 14. Second skirmish at Elk Water. The Confederates were again unsuccessful.
September 15. The Confederates again were foiled in their attempt to advance to the summit of Cheat Mountain.
September 16. Skirmish at Princeton, Mercer County.
September 24. Skirmish at Hanging Rocks, in Hampshire County. The Federals were defeated.
September 24. Skirmish at Mechanicsburg Gap, Hampshire County. The Federals were defeated.
September 25. Colonel Cantwell defeated the Confederates under Col- onel Angus McDonald and captured Romney, but was afterwards forced to retreat.
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CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
September 27. Captain Isaiah Hall was defeated by Confederate guer- rillas at High Log Cabin Run, Wirt County.
October 3. Fight at Greenbrier River. The Federals were repulsed after severe fighting, but the Confederates fell back to the summit of the Alleghanies.
October 16. Skirmish near Bolivar Heights. About 500 Confederates under Turner Ashby attacked 600 Federals under Colonel John W. Geary. The Confederates were defeated.
October 19. There was skirmishing on New River, with various results. October 23. Skirmishing on the Gauley between detachments of Fed- erals and Confederates.
October 23. Colonel J. N. Clarkson, with a raiding force of Confeder- ates, unsuccessfully attacked a steamer on the Kanawha.
October 26. Colonel Alexander Monroe, with 27 Hampshire County militia, attacked and defeated a large Federal force at Wire Bridge, on South Branch of the Potomac.
October 26. General Kelley with 3,000 Federals defeated Colonel McDonald's militia and captured Romney.
November 1. Commencement of a series of skirmishes for three days, near Gauley Bridge.
November 10. Skirmishes at Blake's Farm and Cotton Hill, with attend- ant movements, occupying two days.
November 10. Fight at Guyandotte. J. C. Wheeler, with 150 recruits, was surprised and cut to pieces by Confederate raiders under J. N. Clark- son. Among the Union prisoners was Uriah Payne, of Ohio, who was the first to plant the United States flag on the walls of Monterey, Mexico. Troops soon crossed to Guyandotte from Ohio and the Rebels retreated. A portion of the town was burned by the Federals.
November 12. Skirmish on Laurel Creek.
November 14. Skirmish near McCoy's Mill.
November 30. A detachment of Union troops was attacked by guerrillas on the South Branch, above Romney. The Federals retreated, with three wounded and a loss of six horses.
November 30. Skirmish near the mouth of Little Capon, in Morgan County. Captain Dyche defeated the Rebels. December 13. Battle at Camp Alleghany. The Federals were defeated with a loss of 137 in killed and wounded.
December 15. Major E. B. Andrews set out on an expedition of six days to Meadow Bluff; defeated the Confederate skirmishers and captured a large amount of property.
December 28. Union forces occupied the county seat of Raleigh.
December 29. Sutton, Braxton County, was captured by 135 Rebels. The Union troops under Captain Rawland retreated to Weston. The Con- federates burned a portion of the town.
December 30. Expedition into Webster County by 400 Union troops under Captain Anisansel. He pursued the Confederates who had burned Sutton; overtook them at Glades; defeated them; killed 22 and burned 29 houses be- lieved to belong to Rebel bushwhackers.
1862.
January 3. Fight at Bath, in Morgan county, continuing two days. The Confederates under Stonewall Jackson victorious.
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CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
January 3. Major George Webster, with 700 Union troops, marched from Huttonsville to Huntersville, in Pocahontas County, drove out 250 Confederates, captured and destroyed military stores worth $30,000. These were the first Federals in Huntersville.
January 4. Skirmish at Sir John's Run, Morgan County. The fight continued late into the night. The Federals retreated.
January 4. Skirmish at Slanesville, Hampshire County. A squad of Union troops under Captain Sauls was ambushed and routed. Captain Sauls was wounded and taken prisoner. The Confederates were under Captain Isaac Kuykendall.
January 5. On or about January 5 the village of Frenchburg, six miles from Romney, was burned by order of General Lander on the charge that the people harbored Rebel bushwhackers.
January 5. Big Capon Bridge, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was destroyed by Confederates under Stonewall Jackson.
January 7. Fight at Blue's Gap, Hampshire County, in which the Con- federates were defeated and lost two cannon-the same guns captured at Bridge No. 21 by the Confederates, June 19, 1861.
January 10. The Federal troops evacuated Romney.
January 11. Romney occupied by troops under Stonewall Jackson.
January 14. The seat of Logan County was burned by Union troops under Colonel E. Siber.
January 31. Confederates evacuated Romney by order of the Secretary of War of the Confederate States.
January 31. Stonewall Jackson, indignant at the interference with his plans by the Secretary of War, in recalling troops from Romney, tendered his resignation. He was persuaded by Governor Letcher, General Johns- ton and others to recall it.
February 2. Confederates at Springfield, Hampshire County, were de- feated by General Lander.
February 8. Skirmish at the mouth of Blue Stone. Colonel William E. Peters, with 225 Confederates, was attacked by an equal force. The Fed- erals retreated.
February 12. Fight at Moorefield, in which the Confederates retreated.
February 14. Confederates driven from Bloomery Gap, in Morgan County.
February 16. The Union troops were defeated at Bloomery Gap and compelled to retreat.
February 26. The Patterson Creek Bridge, in Mineral County, was burned by Rebel guerrillas.
March 3. Skirmish at Martinsburg.
April 12. Raid from Fairmont to Boothville by Captain J. H. Showal- ter, who was ordered by General Kelley to capture or kill John Righter, John Anderson, David Barker, Brice Welsh, John Lewis, John Knight and Washington Smith, who were agents sent by Governor Letcher into north- western Virginia to raise recruits for the Confederacy. Captain Showalter killed three men of Righter's company.
April 17. Defeat of the Webster County guerrillas, known as Dare Devils, by Major E. B. Andrews, who marched from Summerville to Addi- son with 200 Federals. There were several skirmishes between April 17 and April 21. Several houses belonging to the guerrillas were burned.
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CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
April 18. An expedition was sent by General Schenck to clear the North Fork and Senaca in Pendleton County of Rebel bushwhackers.
April 18. Colonel T. M. Harris skirmished with Rebel bushwhackers in Webster County, killing 5 and burning 5 houses.
April 23. Skirmish at Grassy Lick, in Hampshire County. Confeder- ate bushwhackers under Captain Umbaugh, who held a commission from Governor Letcher, concealed themselves in the house of Peter Poling and fired upon Colonel S. W. Downey's scouting party, killing three. Troops were sent from Romney and Moorefield and burned the house, after mor- tally wounding its owner.
May 1. Lieutenant Fitzhugh with 200 Federals was attacked near Princeton, Mercer County, and fought thirteen hours while retreating 23 miles, losing 1 killed, 12 wounded.
May 1. Skirmish at Camp Creek on Blue Stone River. Lieutenant Bottsford was attacked by 300 Rebels and lost 1 killed and 20 wounded. The Confederates were repulsed with 6 killed.
May 7. Skirmish near Wardensville, Hardy County. Troops under Colonel S. W. Downey attacked Captain Umbaugh a Rebel guerrilla, killing him and 4 of his men, wounding 4 and capturing 12. The fight occurred at the house of John T. Wilson.
May 8. Major B. F. Skinner led a scouting party through Roane and Clay counties from May 8 to May 21, skirmishing with Rebel guerrillas.
May 10. Federal scouts were decoyed into a house near Franklin, Pendleton County, and were set upon by bushwhackers and defeated with one killed. Two days later re-enforcements arrived, killed the owner of the house, and burned the building.
May 15. Fight at Wolf Creek, near New River, between Captain E. Schache and a squad of Confederates. The latter were defeated with 6 killed, 2 wounded and 6 prisoners.
May 16. The Confederates captured Princeton, Mercer County.
May 16. Skirmish at Wytheville Cross Roads. The Federals were attacked and defeated.
May 17. Federals captured Princeton with 15 prisoners.
May 23. Battle of Lewisburg, Greenbrier County. General Heth with 3000 Confederates attacked the forces of Colonel George Crook, 1300. The Confederates were stampeded and fled in panic, losing 4 cannon, 200 stands of arms, 100 prisoners, 38 killed, 66 wounded. The Union loss was 13 killed 53 wounded.
May 26. Skirmish near Franklin, Pendleton County.
May 29. Fight near Wardensville. Confederates were attacked and defeated with 2 killed, by Colonel Downey.
May 30. A Federal force under Colonel George R. Latham attacked guerrillas on Shaver Fork of Cheat River, defeating them, killing 4 and wounding several.
June 8. Major John J. Hoffman attacked and defeated a squad of Con- federate Cavalry at Muddy Creek, near Blue Sulphur Springs, killing 3.
June 24. At Baker's Tavern, Hardy County, Capt. Chas. Farnsworth was fired upon by Rebel bushwhackers. He burned several houses in the vicinity as a warning to the people not to harbor bushwhackers.
June 24, Colonel J. D. Hines started upon a three days scout through Wyoming County. He defeated and dispersed Confederate guerrillas known as Flat Top Copperheads.
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CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
July 25. Lieutenant J. W. Miller, at Summerville, was attacked at daybreak by 200 Confederate cavalry and nearly all his men were captured.
August 2. A scouting party of Federals under Captain I. Stough left Meadow Bluff for the Greenbrier river. On August 4, near Haynes Ferry, he was defeated by the Confederates, losing 2 wounded. The Rebels had 5 killed.
August 5. Federals under Lieutenant Wintzer invaded Wyoming County. In a fight at the county seat he was defeated with a loss of 19 missing.
August 6. Rebels attacked Pack's Ferry, near the mouth of Blue Stone, and were driven off by Major Comly. The Confederates, 900 in num- ber, were commanded by Colonel G. C. Wharton.
August 7. Rebel cavalry was defeated in a skirmish at Horse Pen Creek.
August 14. General John D. Imboden, with 300 Confederates, set out from Franklin, Pendleton County, on a raid to Rowlesburg to destroy the railroad bridge across Cheat River. His advance was discovered and he did not venture beyond St. George, in Tucker County, where he robbed the postoffice and set out on his retreat.
August 18. Skirmish near Corrick's Ford, in Tucker County, between Federal scouts and Confederates under Captain George Imboden.
August 22. The Confederate General, A. J. Jenkins, with 550 men, set out from Salt Sulphur Springs, in Monroe county, on an extensive raid. He passed through Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties into Randolph, through Upshur, Lewis, Gilmer, Roane, Jackson, crossed the Ohio, and returned through the Kanawha Valley, marching 500 miles, capturing 300 prisoners and destroying the public records in many counties.
August 30. The Confederates under General Jenkins captured Buck- hannon after the small Federal garrison fled. He secured and destroyed large quantities of military stores, including 5,000 stands of arms. He had intended to attack Beverly, but feared his force was too small. He crossed Rich Mountain to the head of the Buckhannon River, traveling 30 miles through an almost pathless forest and fell on Buckhannon by surprise.
August 31. Weston, in Lewis County, was captured by Confederates under General Jenkins.
September 1. General Jenkins captured Glenville, Gilmer County, the Federal garrison retreating after firing once.
September 2. Colonel J. C. Rathbone, with a Federal force stationed at Spencer, Roane County, surrendered to General Jenkins without a fight.
September 3. At Ripley, in Jackson County, General Jenkins captured $5,525 belonging to the United States Government. The Union soldiers stationed at the town retreated as the Confederates approached.
September 11. General W. W. Loring, with a strong force of Confeder ates, having invaded the Kanawha Valley, attacked the Federal troops un- der General J. A. J. Lightburn at Fayetteville and routed them. This was the beginning of an extensive Confederate raid which swept the Union troops out of the Kanawha Valley. Military stores to the value of a mil- lion dollars fell into the hands of the Rebels, who destroyed what they could not carry away.
September 13. General Lightburn, in his retreat down the Kanawha Valley, was overtaken at Charleston by General Loring and was compelled to abandon large stores in his flight to the Ohio.
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September 15. General Loring, at Charleston, issued a proclamation to the people of the Kanawha Valley and neighboring parts of the State, in- forming them that the armies of the Confederacy had set them free from the danger and oppression of Federal bayonets, and he called on them to rise and maintain their freedom, and support the Government which had brought about their emancipation.
September 20. General Jenkins' forces, having re-crossed the Ohio River into the Kanawha Valley, skirmished with Federals at Point Pleas- ant.
September 27. Skirmish at Buffalo, twenty miles above Point Pleas-
ant. Colonel John A. Turley attacked and defeated the Confederates, a portion of the force under Jenkins.
September 28. Skirmish at Standing Stone.
September 30. Fight at Glenville. Fifty Federals attacked and defeated 65 Confederate cavalry.
October 1. Fight near Shepherdstown between Federals under Gen- eral Pleasanton and Confederates under Colonel W. H. F. Lee. Both sides claimed the victory.
October 2. Federals under Captain W. H. Boyd attacked and destroyed General Imboden's camp at Blue's Gap, in Hampshire County. October 4. Confederates were captured at Blues' Gap.
October 4. General Imboden attacked and defeated the Federal Guard at Little Capon Bridge, in Morgan County and destroyed the bridge.
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