USA > West Virginia > Barbour County > The history of Barbour County, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time > Part 20
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October 4. The Federal guard at Pawpaw, Morgan County, was cap- tured by Imboden.
October 6. Skirmish at Big Birch.
October 16. General Loring was superseded by General John Echols as commander of Confederate forces in West Virginia.
October 20. Skirmish at Hedgeville.
October 29. Fight near Petersburg, Grant County, between Federals under Lieutenant Quirk and Rebel cattle raiders who were endeavoring to drive stock out of the South Branch Valley. The raiders were defeated, and lost 170 cattle.
October 31. Skirmish near Kanawha Falls.
November 9. St. George, Tucker County, was captured by Imboden together with the garrison of 31 Federals under Captain William Hall. Imboden had set out, November 9, from South Fork, in Pendleton county, to destroy the railroad bridge at Rowlesburg, but learning that troops from Beverly were moving in his rear, he retreated, passing up Glade Fork of Cheat River, through a dense and pathless wilderness. He reached South Fork November 14. He had 310 men, and carried howitzers on mules.
November 9. Skirmish on South Fork. General Kelley moved from Keyser and destroyed Imboden's camp, which he had left in charge of Lieu- tenant R. L. Doyle while Imboden was absent on his raid toward Rowles- burg
November 9. Captain G. W. Gilmore with a Federal force invaded Greenbrier County, capturing a wagon train and 9 men. He returned November 11.
November 24. A force of 75 Federals under Captain Cogswell marched from Sharpsburg to Shepherdstown and captured Burke's guerrillas, killing Burke.
November 26, An expedition moved forward under W. H. Powell
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from Summerville to Cold Knob, and with only 20 men defeated the Confed- erates at Sinking Creek and took 500 prisoners.
December 3. Confederates at Moorefield were defeated with loss of 12 by Lieut H. A. Myers with 100 men.
December 11. Lieutenant R. C. Pendergrast with 27 men defeated a detachment of Confederates at Darkesville, Berkeley County.
December 12. In a skirmish near Bunker Hill, Berkeley County, a squad of Federals captured 12 of Ashby's cavalry.
December 22. General Imboden attacked a supply train near Wardens- ville, Hardy County, capturing it. He lost six men. The Federals lost 20. December 25. Sixty Confederates under Captain Boyle were defeated by Lieutenant Vermilyea, with 40 men, at Charlestown.
1863.
January 3. Fight near Moorefield. Federals under Colonel James Washburn were attacked by General William E. Jones. A second Union force, under Colonel James Mulligan, advanced from Petersburg, attacked the Confederates in the rear and defeated them.
January 3. Petersburg, Grant County, was occupied by Confederates after it was evacuated by the Federals, who burned military stores to the value of $20,000, which they could not move.
January 5. A supply train belonging to General Milroy's army was attacked and partly destroyed by Confederates under Captain John H. McNeill, four miles from Moorefield.
January 20. General Lee wrote to Imboden, outlining a policy of war for West Virginia and urged him to carry it out. Among other things, the municipal officers of the Re-organized Government of Virginia, called by Lee "the Pierpont government," were to be captured whenever possible; and Imboden was instructed to "render the position of sheriff as dangerous a position as possible."
January 22. Skirmish in Pocahontas County between Federals under Major H. C. Flesher and Confederates under Colonel Fontaine. Success was equally divided.
February 5. Scout by 70 Federals under Major John McMahan from Camp Piatt through Wyoming County. The men were out three days and nearly froze to death.
February 10. Captain C. T. Ewing left Beverly with a Union force of 135 for a two days' scout through Pocahontas County. He captured 13 prisoners, 15 horses and 135 cattle.
February 12. Skirmish near Smithfield, Jefferson County. A Union scouting party was attacked by Captain R. W. Baylor's cavalry, and lost six men, killed, wounded and captured. Federal reinforcements came up and retook the prisoners and captured Lieutenant George Baylor and several men.
February 12. Major John McMahan set out for a four days' scout from Camp Piatt through Boone, Logan and Wyoming Counties. He captured four prisoners.
February 16. Confederate guerrillas captured a wagon train and guard near Romney.
March 2. General John D. Imboden wrote General Lee, outlining his plan for invading West Virginia. The formidable raids under Imboden and Jones in April and May, 1863, were planned by Imboden, and the first men-
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tion of the plan to Lee seems to have been in the letter to that General on March 2. There was a three-fold object in view. First, it was designed to destroy as much of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as possible, and Im- boden believed he could destroy nearly all of it. Second, he expected to enlist "several thousand" recruits in West Virginia. Third, he wanted to establish Confederate authority in as much of the northwest as possible and retain it long enough to enable the people to take part in the Virginia State election in May. No hint is found in the letter that the Confederates would be able to establish themselves permanently west of the Alleghanies. Ex- cept the partial destruction of the railroad and the carrying away of several thousand horses and cattle, the great raid was a failure so far as benefit to the Confederacy was concerned.
March 7. Skirmish at Green Spring Run, in Hampshire County.
March 28. Confederates were defeated at Hurricane Bridge, near the Kanawha, by Captain J. W. Johnson.
March 30. Skirmish at Point Pleasant. Captain Carter, with a Union force of 60 men, was attacked by Confederates and besieged several hours in the Court-House. The Rebels retreated when Federal reinforcements appeared upon the opposite bank of the Ohio.
April 5. Skirmish at Mud River. Captain Dove attacked and defeated Confederates under Captain P. M. Carpenter.
April 6. Lieutenant Speer, with five wagons and 11 men, was captured near Burlington, Mineral County, by Confederates under McNeill.
April 7. Federals under Captain Moore attacked the Confederates at Going's Ford, near Moorefield, defeated them and retook the wagons lost by Lieutenant Speer the day before.
April 11. Colonel G. R. Latham moved from Beverly toward Franklin, Pendleton County, and occupied the town without opposition. He returned to Beverly after an absence of seven days.
April 18. Fight in Harrison County. Colonel N. Wilkinson with a squad of Union troops captured Major Thomas D. Armstrong at Johnstown and scattered his forces on the head of Hacker's Creek.
April 20. Imboden set forward with 3000 men on his great raid. Gen- eral W. E. Jones was sent through Hardy County to Oakland, Maryland, thence to move westward, destroying the railroad, while Imboden advanced through Randolph County toward Grafton, expecting to form a junction near that place with Jones, whence they would move west. The plan was generally carried out.
April 21. General Jones with 1300 men set forward on the great raid. April 24. Beverly was captured by Imboden. Colonel Latham with 900 Federals retreated to Philippi, in Barbour County, over roads almost impassable for mud which in places was up to the saddle skirts. Imboden was unable to follow with artillery, but pursued with cavalry. General Roberts in command of the Union forces in the northwestern part of the State, called in all his outlying garrisons and retreated to Clarksburg. Colonel James Mulligan marched from Grafton with a Federal force and fought Imboden's troops in Barbour County, but hearing that General Jones was threatening Grafton, Mulligan fell back to defend that point. Im- boden moved slowly toward Buckhannon over roads so bad that in one day he could advance only two miles.
April 25. Fight at Greenland Gap in Grant County. Captain Martin Wallace with less than 100 Federals held the pass five hours against the
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Rebel army, and surrendered only when driven into a church and the build- ing set on fire.
April 26. General Jones attacked and captured Cranberry Summit, now Terra Alta, in Preston County.
April 26. The Confederates attacked Rowlesburg for the purpose of destroying the railroad bridge and trestles. The town was defended by Major J. H. Showalter and 252 Union troops. General Jones did not lead the attack in person but remained at the bridge five miles above Rowlesburg where the Northwestern Pike crosses, for the purpose of burn- ing the structure as soon as the town was taken. But his attacking parties were repulsed, and he abandoned the attack and marched to Evansville, in Preston County, not knowing that the Federal garrison of Rowlesburg was in full retreat toward Pennsylvania. Thus the town escaped capture, although defenseless; and the great trestles, for the destruction of which General Lee had planned so carefully, and the tunnel at Tunnelton, then the largest in the world, were saved; and the blow which would have para- lyzed the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for months, was not struck.
April 27, The suspension bridge across Cheat River at Albrightsville, three miles from Kingwood, was cut down by the Confederates. The cables were severed with an axe.
April 27. Bridges and trestles on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad near Independence, Preston County, were burned by General Jones.
April 27. Morgantown, Monongalia County, was surrendered to Gen- eral Jones by the citizens. Three citizens were shot near town by the Rebels.
April 28. The suspension bridge across the Monongahela river at Mor- gantown was set on fire by the Confederates, but they permitted the citizens to extinguish the fire before much damage was done.
April 29. The Confederates under Imboden advanced to and occupied Buckhannon, in Upshur County.
April 29. General Jones attacked and captured Fairmont, Marion County, after a sharp skirmish. He captured 260 prisoners.
April 29. The large iron railroad bridge across the Monongahela above Fairmont, which cost over $400,000, was blown down with powder. The first blast of three kegs of powder placed under a pier, failed to move it, and the Confederates proceeded to burn the wood-work, considering it impossible to destroy the iron superstructure. But after several hours of undermining, a charge of powder threw the bridge into the river.
April 29. Governor Pierpont's library at his home in Fairmont was burned by the Rebels.
April 29. Colonel Mulligan, who had been in Barbour County fighting Imboden, came up and attacked the Confederates under Jones, while they were destroying the bridge above Fairmont, and sharp fight ensued. Mul- ligan saw that he could not save the bridge, and fell back to Grafton.
April 30. Imboden lost 200 soldiers at Buckhannon by desertion, be- cause he would not permit them to steal horses for their private benefit.
April 30. Skirmish at Bridgeport, Harrison County. General Jones captured 47 prisoners, burned a bridge and trestle, and run a freight train into the creek.
May 2. General Jones occupied Philippi, and from there sent across the Alleghanies, by way of Beverly, several thousand cattle and horses
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taken from the people. On the same day he formed a junction with Im- boden's troops.
May 2. Lieutenant G. M. Edgar, with a detachment of Confederates, was attacked by Federals at Lewisburg, Greenbrier County. He defeated them.
May 4. General Jones invested Clarksburg, where several thousand Union troops had collected from the counties south of that place, but he did not make an attack.
May 5. Imboden skirmished with a small Union force at Janelew, Lewis County.
May 6. Imboden moved from Weston toward the southwest, Jones having moved west from Clarksburg toward Parkersburg. Up to that time Imboden had collected 3,100 cattle from the country through which he had raided.
May 6. Jones moved against West Union, in Doddridge county, but upon approaching the town he saw that the Union troops collected there were prepared to make a stand and fight, and he declined battle and moved on west.
May 7. Jones captured Cairo, Ritchie County, and the small garrison at that place.
May 8. Colonel James A. Galliher was fired upon by bushwhackers at Capon Bridge, Hampshire County.
May 9. Jones burned 100,000 barrels of oil at the oil wells in Wirt County. The tanks broke and the crude petroleum flowed into the Little Kanawha River, took fire and the spectacle of a river in flames for miles was never before seen. The destruction of everything combustible along the river was complete. The Confederates advanced no nearer the Ohio. Both Imboden and Jones turned southward and eastward and recrossed the Alleghanies late in May. Instead of procuring "several thousand " recruits, as Imboden had expected, more soldiers were lost by desertion than were gained by recruits. General Lee expressed disappointment with the result, and Imboden excused the failure to increase his army by saying that the inhabitants of West Virginia were a "conquered people," in fear of Northern bayonets, and not daring to espouse the Confederate cause.
May 12. Imboden defeated a small Union force near Summerville.
May 19. Fayetteville, in Fayette County, was attacked by General McCausland, but after bombarding two days the Federals forced him to retreat.
May 23. General B. S. Roberts was superseded by General William W. Averell in command of the Federal forces in the northern part of West Vir- ginia. General Roberts was relieved because he offered so little opposition to the advance of Jones and Imboden. When Imboden crossed the moun- tains and took Beverly, the war department at Washington urged General Roberts to collect his forces and fight. To this General Roberts replied that the roads were so bad he could not move his troops. The answer from Washington was sarcastic, asking why the roads were too bad for him and yet good enough to enable the Rebels to move with considerable rapidity. From all accounts, the roads were worse than ever before or since. Imbo- den left Weston with twelve horses dragging each cannon, and then found it necessary to throw away ammunition and the extra wheels for the guns, in order to get along at all, and then sometimes being able to make no more than five miles a day. When General Averell took command he changed
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3000 infantry to cavalry, and trained it to the highest proficiency, and with it did some of the finest fighting of the war. The Confederates feared him and moved in his vicinity with the greatest caution. His headquarters at first were at Weston.
June 7. General Lee ordered Imboden into Hampshire County to destroy railroad bridges, preliminary to the Gettysburg campaign.
June 10. General Averell urged that the mass of mountains forming the great rampart overlooking the Valley of Virginia should be fortified and held. He referred to the Alleghany, Cheat Mountain, Rich Mountain and others about the sources of the Greenbrier, Cheat, Tygart and Elk Rivers. In his letter to General Schenck he said: "It has always ap- peared to me that the importance of holding this mass of mountains, so full of fastnesses, and making a vast re-entrantangle in front of the enemy, has never been appreciated."
June 14. A portion of General Milroy's forces were captured by Con- federates at Bunker Hill, near Martinsburg.
June 14. Martinsburg was captured by Confederates under General A.
G. Jenkins. General Daniel Tyler, who had occupied the town, retreated.
June 16. Romney was captured by Imboden.
June 17. South Branch Bridge, at the mouth of South Branch, was burned by Imboden, who advanced through Hampshire County, forming the extreme left of General Lee's army in the Gettysburg campaign.
June 24. A Union scouting party from Grafton to St. George had a skirmish with guerrillas, killing five and capturing several horses.
June 26. Skirmish at Long Creek, in the Kanawha Valley. Captain C. E. Hambleton, with 75 men, was attacked and defeated by Confederates under Major R. A. Bailey, with a loss of 29 prisoners and 45 horses.
June 29. General William L. Jackson, with 1,200 Confederates, moved against Beverly to attack the forces under Averell.
July 2. The Confederates under Jackson attacked the troops at Beverly and were repulsed.
July 4. The Confederates under W. L. Jackson, who had fallen back from Beverly, were attacked and routed at Huttonsville by General Averell.
July 13. An expedition set out from Fayetteville, crossed into Virginia and cut the railroad at Wythville, being absent twelve days, skirmishing with small parties of Confederates.
July 14. Skirmish on the road between Harper's Ferry and Charles- town, resulting in the defeat of the Confederates.
July 14. Confederates defeated in a skirmish at Falling Waters.
July 15. Colonel C. H. Smith defeated Confederates near Charlestown. July 17. Skirmish at North Mountain, Berkeley County. The Rebels were defeated, with 17 captured.
July 19. Fight near Martinsburg, in which General Bradley T. John- son was defeated by General Averell, who had just arrived from Beverly and was opposing the western wing of General Lee's army retreating from Gettysburg. Johnson was destroying the railroad when Averell drove him away, capturing 20 prisoners.
August 5. General Averell moved from Winchester through Hardy County on his expedition to Greenbrier County.
August 5. Skirmish at Cold Spring Gap, in Hardy County, by a portion
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of Averell's force under Captain Von Koenig, and a detachment of Im- boden's command. The Confederates lost 11 men captured.
August 6. Averell sent a squad of cavalry to Harper's Mill, from Lost River, Hardy County. Several prisoners were taken, but the Federals subsequently fell into an ambuscade and lost the prisoners and had 13 men captured and 4 wounded. The Confederates had 3 killed and 5 wounded.
August 19. The Federals destroyed the saltpeter works near Franklin.
August 21. Wilkinson's Brigade skirmished with Confederate guer- rillas near Glenville, killing 4.
August 22. Confederates were defeated by Averell near Huntersville. August 25 Averell crossed from Huntersville to Jackson River and destroyed saltpeter works.
August 26. Battle of Rocky Gap, in Greenbrier County. Averell with 1300 men fought General Sam Jones with over 2000. The battle continued two days, when Averell's ammunition ran short and he retreated to Bev- erly. His loss in the battle was 218, the Confederate loss 162. This was one of the most hotly contested battles in West Virginia. Captain Von Koenig was killed. It has been said it was done by one of his men whom he had struck while on the march. It is also said that this soldier did not know Averell by sight, and supposed it was Averell who had struck him, and when he shot Von Koenig, supposed he was shooting Averell.
August 26. Lieutenant Dils with 40 Federals killed 3 bushwhackers ten miles from Sutton, Braxton County.
August 26. Union troops were fired upon by bushwackers on Elk River, five miles below Sutton.
August 27. Forty guerrillas under Cunningham attacked a Federal detachment under Captain C. J. Harrison, on Elk River, near Sutton. The guerrillas were defeated.
August 27. In a skirmish with Confederate guerrillas on Cedar Creek, fifteen miles from Glenville, Gilmer County, Captain Simpson defeated them, killing 4.
September 4. Skirmish at Petersburg Gap, in Grant County. A Union detachment marching from Petersburg to Moorefield was defeated.
September 11. Confederates under McNeill made a daybreak attack upon Major W. E. Stephens near Moorefield and defeated him, killing or wounding 30 men and taking 138 prisoners. The Federals were endeavor- ing to surprise McNeill, but were surprised by him. The Rebels had 3 wounded.
September 15. One hundred Federals under Captain Jones attacked 70 Confederates at Smithfield, capturing 11. Captain Jones was wounded.
September 20. A Federal picket on the Senaca Road, where it crosses Shaver Mountain, was attacked and defeated by the Confederates who lost 4.
September 24. A scouting party of 70 sent from Beverly by Averell lost 2 men in a skirmish at Greenbrier Bridge.
September 25. Sixty Confederates under Major D. B. Lang of Imboden's command, surprised and captured 30 of Averell's men at the crossing of Cheat River by the Senaca trail.
October 2. A petition was signed and forwarded to the Confederate Government, asking for the removal of General Sam Jones from the com- mand in Western Virginia, and the assignment of some other General in his place. Among the signers were members of the Virginia Legislature from
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the West Virginia counties of Mercer, Roane, Putnam, Logan, Boone and Wyoming. There were many other signatures. Those counties were rep- resented in the Virginia and the West Virginia Legislature at the same time. The petition charged incompetency against General Jones. He was soon after relieved of command in West Virginia.
October 7. Confederates under Harry Gilmor defeated Captain G. D. Summers and 40 men at Summit Point, Jefferson County. Captain Sum- mers was killed.
October 13. Fight at Bulltown, Braxton County. Confederates under W. L. Jackson were defeated with a loss in killed and wounded of 50 by Captain W. H. Mattingly, who was severely wounded in the action.
October 14. When Jackson retreated from Bulltown he was pursued by Averell's troops, who came up with him and defeated him at Salt Lick Bridge.
October 15. Twenty-seven of Harry Gilmor's men who had been sent to burn the Back Creek Bridge, were captured in a skirmish near Hedge- ville by Federals under Colonel Pierce.
October 18. Attack on Charlestown by 1200 men under Imboden. The Confederates captured 434 of Colonel Simpson's command and then retreat- ed, hotly pursued. Some of Imboden's infantry marched 48 miles on the day of the fight, thus beating the record made by Napoleon's soldiers, who marched 36 miles and fought a battle in one day.
November 1. General Averell moved from Beverly into Pocahontas County with about 2,500 men, and General Duffie moved from Charleston to co-operate with him. They expected to form a junction in Greenbrier County.
November 3. Skirmish at Cackleytown, Pocahontas County. Confed- erates were defeated by Averell.
November 5. Confederates were defeated by Averell at Hillsboro, Poca- hontas County, and at Mill Point.
November 6. Battle of Droop Mountain, Pocahontas County. Averell attacked General Echols, who had 1700 men strongly posted on the summit of a mountain. It was a stubborn contest and the Federals gained the day by a flank movement, Echols retreating with a loss of 275 men and three cannon. Averell's loss was 119. The Confederates made their escape through Lewisburg a few hours before General Duffie's army arrived at that place to cut them off, while Averell was pursuing. By blockading the road, Echols secured his retreat into Monroe County. Averell attempted pursuit, but received no support from Duffie's troops, who were worn out, and the pursuit was abandoned.
November 6. Confederates at Little Sewell Mountain were defeated by General Duffie.
November 7. Lewisburg was occupied by General Duffie.
November 7. In a night skirmish at Muddy Creek the Confederates were defeated by General Duffie's troops.
November 8. A squad of Confederates driving cattle was attacked on Second Creek, on the road to Union, in Monroe County, and lost 110 cattle.
November 12. The Saltpeter Works in Pendleton County, used by the Confederates in making gunpowder, were destroyed by Averell's troops.
November 15. General Imboden sent Captain Hill into Barbour County to waylay wagon trains on the road from Philippi to Beverly.
November 16. At Burlington, in Mineral County, 100 Confederates un- 11
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der McNeill captured a train of 80 wagons and 200 horses, killing two men, wounding 10 and taking 20 prisoners. The wagon train was under an escort of 90 men, commanded by Captain Jeffers.
December 8. Averell moved from Keyser with Federal troops upon his great Salem raid, which he concluded on Christmas Day. He had 2500 cavalry, and artillery. It was a momentous issue. General Burnsides was besieged at Knoxville, Tennessee, by General Longstreet, and it was feared that no re-inforcements could reach Burnsides in time to save him. The only hope lay in cutting Longstreet's line of supplies and compelling him to raise the siege. This was the railroad from Richmond to Knoxville, passing through Salem, sixty miles west Lynchburg. Averell was ordered to cut this road at Salem, no matter what the result to his army. He must do it, even if he lost every man he had in the execution of his work. An army of 2500 could be sacrificed to save Burnsides' larger army. With his veteran cavalry, mostly West Virginians, and equal to the best the world ever saw, Averell left Keyser December 8, 1863, and moved through Petersburg, Monterey, Back Creek, Gatewood's, Callighan's, Sweet Sulphur Springs Valley, New- castle to Salem, almost as straight as an arrow, for much of the way fol- lowing a route nearly parallel with the summit of the Alleghanies. Four Confederate armies, any of them larger than his, lay between him and Salem, and to the number of 12,000 they marched, counter-marched. and maneuvered to effect his capture. Still, eight days he rode toward Salem in terrible storms, fording and swimming overflowing mountain streams, crossing mountains and pursuing ravines by night and by day, and on December 16 he struck Salem, and the blow was felt throughout the South- ern Confederacy. The last halt on the downward march was made at Sweet Sulphur Valley. The horses were fed and the soldiers made coffee and rested two hours. Then at 1 o'clock on the afternoon of December 15, they mounted for the dash into Salem.
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