Orienting the Laurel Hill Battle Map

The following descriptions, taken from a variety of sources, help identify major landmarks related to the Battle of Belington/Laurel Hill. Since there are few reliable maps of Camp Laurel Hill and none of unit positions, we have to rely on these written descriptions to tell us where the battle unfolded. The numbers correspond to areas of the map highlighted in red. I used the following sources, alongside contemporary newspaper articles:

• Benham, Henry Washington. Recollections of West Virginia Campaign with ‘The Three Months Troops’. Boston: Privately Printed, 1873.
• Carnes, Eva Margaret. The Tygarts Valley Line, June-July 1861. Philippi: First Land Battle of the Civil War Centennial Commemoration, Inc., 1961. Parsons: McClain Printing Company, 2003.
• The Soldier of Indiana in the War for the Union. Indianapolis: Merrill and Company, 1866.

1. The Confederate Camp

“The headquarters, camp, and fortifications were on the James Musto farm.” -Carnes, p.69

“The tents lined in streets in front of the officer’s quarters and headquarters in a maple grove. In front of the camp, facing westward, were the fortifications, nearly a mile of them topping a fairly high ridge of hills, a barricade across the Beverly-Fairmont Pike, and then another short line of fortifications to the north of the road… Directly east of the camp rose Laurel Mountain.” -Carnes, p.70-71

“The Rebel position at Beelington is very strong. On a bench extending from the side of Laurel Hill, they have constructed a bomb proof redoubt of logs, and on the left flank they have three long rifle pits… The timber in front of their position, a half mile square, has been felled, so that the country, excepting the roads… is almost impassable.” –Cincinnati Commercial, 9 July 1861.

“The camp is formed upon two knolls, which slope in three directions, forming a kind of triangular hollow, through which the Beverly Pike passes. Two strong batteries, composed of green timber and clay, with three pieces each, are built upon these knolls, commanding the pike from this side… Around each of these batteries are deep entrenchments and heavy barricades — Heavy entrenchments are dug around the entire camp, containing, I suppose, an area of one hundred acres.” Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, 17 July 1861

2. The Union Camp

“A section of the community at the intersection of the Morgantown and Beverly pikes had long been known as Yeager’s, in honor of Solomon Yeager who had a large log house at that location… This home was the place mentioned as the Elliott Farm and the Elliott Home. The Elliott Home was on the east side of the river and an almost perpendicular hill, extending east and west, was behind it.” -Carnes, p.92

“General Morris established his headquarters at the Elliott Home… The hill on which the troops were ordered to take position was a part of the Elliot Farm and just east of it was another hill known as Elliott’s ‘second hill.’ The Beverly Pike ran along the foot of these hills, with a long hill paralleling the road on the south of the pike. Arriving at the first position the Union troops began to dig trenches along the Pike on the north side and, as ordered, built their camp at the rear of the William Yeager property, which they named Camp Belington…” -Carnes, p.94

“Our advanced position is behind Belington some two hundred yards. The cleared ground extends some two hundred yards beyond Belington. A heavy body of timber then commences, which is now occupied by the enemy in large force.” -Morris, report of 9 July 1861.

“We established ourselves as directed, with the headquarters at Eliot’s house, and with most of the command in advance of us some half-mile, with pickets beyond to nearly twice that distance; and a small intrenchment was attempted on a rocky hill within our lines… And for nearly a week… we watched this road to the north, and those to the right and left… as ordered by McClellan.” -Benham, p.680-681

3. Bealington

“In front of the Union camp was a small community with a store… Five or six log cabins made up the rest of Belington, there being an unoccupied stretch from there back to Yeager’s.” -Carnes, p.94

“Beelington, of which so much has been written of late, is a miserable little village, containing about half a dozen little frame and log houses.” –The Indiana State Sentinel, 24 July 1861

4. The Hills

“Directly in front of them were two conical hills, the tops of which were much higher than the Union position… The two hills in front of their [the Union] position were heavily wooded…” -Carnes, p.94

“Garnett’s camp was hidden by two conical eminences, which, being densely wooded, furnished a fine cover for skirmishing purposes.” -Merrill, p.48

The two conical hills in front of Camp Belington cut off the view of the Confederate lines, the two hills being divided by the Beverly-Fairmont Pike. Both were wooded and the Confederates took up their position on the hill south of the pike. The Union men took position on ‘Girard Hill’…” -Carnes, p.97

“The force of the enemy… advanced from Phillippi on Saturday and took up a position on a hill about a mile and a half from our post, which, however, is obstructed from the view of our troops by a still higher hill directly between them and ourselves. On learning of their advance, our General checked their advance by taking possession of a hill to the left of them…” Richmond Dispatch, 15 July 1861

5. Overgrown Field

Based on the following descriptions, I’m not able to identify its exact location on the map, but I believe it to be in the general vicinity of the square.

“Not far from General Garnett’s line on the north side of the pike was an ‘old field’ which was overgrown with blackberries, and there were stands of dead trees and piles of logs. Between the field and the Confederate camp was a dense woods with laurel thickets.” -Carnes, p.97

“West of the Staunton turnpike, and not far from the· Rebel works, was an old field, with here and there a clump of black­berries, a group of dead trees, or a pile of logs. On the east was a dense wood, with an undergrowth of laurel.” -Merrill, p.49