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Civil War West Virginia

American Civil War
May 15-17, 1862

By early May 1862 Union forces in today's West Virginia were positioned to breach the Alleghenies and debouch into Virginia's Great Valley at two points more than 100 miles apart.

Brigadier General Robert H. Milroy's column, its axis of march the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, advanced from Cheat Mountain and occupied in succession Camp Allegheny, Monteray, McDowell, and Shenandoah Mountain.

Retreating before the oncoming Federals, Confederate Brigadier General Edward Johnson pulled back to Westview, six miles west of Staunton.

Union soldiers of Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox's District of Kanawha threatened the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad. The Federals by mid-May, although ousted from Pearisburg, held Mercer County and braced for a lunge at the railroad. Confederate Brigadier General Humphery Marshall arrived from Abingdon, Virginia, with the Army of East Kentucky. Boldly seizing the initiative, Marshall bested Cox's two brigades during three days of fighting, May 15-17, in Mercer County centering on Princeton Courthouse.

Breaking contact with the Confederates on the night of the 17-18, Cox withdrew 20 miles to Camp Flat Top. Col. George Crook, commanding Cox's 3rd brigade, marched via the James and Kanawha Turnpike and occupied Lewisburg, where on May 23 he defeated Brigadier General Henry Heth's brigade.

Upon learning that Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's army had routed Major General N.P. Banks' division at Winchester (March 25) and driven it across the Potomac, Crook evacuated Lewisburg and pulled back to Meadow Bluff.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Mercer County

Campaign: Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign (1862)

Date(s): May 15-17, 1862

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox [US];
Brigadier General Humphery Marshall [CS]

Forces Engaged: District of the Kanawha [US]; Army of East Kentucky and Col. Gabriel C. Wharton's Brigade, Department of Southwest Virginia [CS}

Estimated Casualties: 129 total (US 23k/69w/21m; CS incomplete, Marshall 4k/12w, Wharton no report)


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Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.

Civil War History West Virginia Book Club Reading Titles


To most history travelers, Virginia IS the Civil War. It is the state where the Battles of Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, the Wilderness, and Manassas took place. The city of Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy. Appomattox saw the surrender of Lee to Grant. The campaigns that were fought here were led by some of the war's most visible leaders_Lee, Jackson, Grant, Meade, Sheridan, Stuart, Mosby.

This guide also includes West Virginia, which was created from a section of Virginia early in the war.



Loyal West Virginia 1861-1865


From John Brown's inflammatory raid at Harper's Ferry to the first land battle at Philippi, and through the surrender of McNeill's Rangers at the end of the war, Civil War in West Virginia looks at the skirmishes, battles, and politics that shaped West Virginia'a role in the Civil War. With extensive maps, photographs, and historical documents, this book thoroughly chronicles the major activities which took place in the Restored Government of Virginia" as the state was called after its secession from Virginia.
Images of the Civil War in West Virginia
This amazing book has over 475 photographs, images, and drawings – all made during the Civil War or very soon thereafter, and all related to West Virginia. This is the largest collection of images ever put together on West Virginia during the war. In addition to photos, it includes broadsides, veteran reunions, and miscellaneous paper items. Many of these pictures are from private collections and have never before been published. Also includes a short chronology of battles and events, giving a reference for the images. The book is printed on high quality glossy paper. A must for all Civil War buffs

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