Was the skirmish at the mouth of the Pocatalico River on July 16, 1861 a bold cavalry charge or blown out of proportion? Conflicting accounts tell vastly different tales, leaving us to sift through exaggerations and incomplete records to understand what really happened in this lesser-known prelude to the Battle of Scary Creek.
A dramatic cavalry dash into enemy lines, sweeping over them with triumphant shouts and returning unscathed, may sound like the stuff of martial poetry, but fiction rarely mirrors reality. In the American Civil War, peeling back the fog of war to distinguish fact from embellishment can be daunting. Take, for instance, one such prelude to the Battle of Scary Creek: Was there truly a skirmish at the mouth of the Pocatalico River (locally known as Poca or Poco) on Tuesday, July 16, 1861? And if so, who were the forces involved, and what stakes were at play? What do we really know?
If there was a skirmish, we can say with near absolute certainty that no one was killed in it. While it’s more difficult to pin down Confederate casualties, because they kept inconsistent records or the records were lost, there has been careful accounting of deaths among federal forces. So we know that Confederate reports of eight or more Union dead are simply untrue. Likewise, its unlikely a mass-casualty event would go unreported in the Northern press. Thomas Vandyne/Vandine of Company H, 11th Ohio was wounded in the hip in skirmishing on July 15th and died a few weeks later. His wounding was widely reported, including by Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox, Jr.
Confederate Accounts
Unfortunately, the story of this skirmish is told almost entirely by the Confederate side. These undoubtedly exaggerated accounts were much needed succor following Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett’s disastrous defeat in northwestern Virginia. According to Terry Lowry, author of The Battle of Scary Creek: Military Operations in the Kanawha Valley April – July 1861, for a long time historians assumed that Henry A. Wise’s account of the skirmish (seen below) was a fabrication because there was nothing to corroborate it.
I have tried them at Ripley, and yesterday my aide, Colonel Clarkson, with Brock’s and Becket’s troops of horse, about 120, thrashed about 200 of their infantry, charging them up the mountain side to its top, driving them in to their cannon, and killing eight known, with the loss of one horse only killed.
Henry A. Wise, July 17, 1861
Sometime in the early to mid-nineteenth century, historians discovered the following report from Captain John P. Brock in the National Archives, which echoed Wise’s statement.
I proceeded to the hill near the Mouth of the Polka [Poca] Creek, By order of General Wise, and then came into contact with some three hundred of the enemy which we charged with success Killing eight of the enemy agreeable to the best information I could receive, And routing the remainder, driving then to their camp without any loss to my command, Save one horse killed one horse slightly wounded and one private slightly wounded in the hand.
John P. Brock to J.B. Harvie, July 16, 1861
Based on these reports alone, we know something happened involving Confederate cavalry on the 16th of July. Captain Brock puts himself at the center of the action, but doesn’t mention Wise’s aide-de-camp, Col. John N. Clarkson. Brock commanded the Rockingham Valley Rangers company, consisting of approximately 49 men.
The following letter, dated July 18, 1861 and printed in the Richmond Dispatch, gave additional details to flesh out Bock and Wise’s reports:
On Tuesday last, the 16th inst., Col. Clarkson, Aid de-Camp to Gen. Wise, made a dash at them, with a troop of cavalry, [equaling] in daring and success the most brilliant achievements in American border warfare. They had occupied the mountain on the Kanawha near the mouth of Pocatalico, when Colonel Clarkson volunteered to lead a scouting party from this camp, composed of two troops of cavalry. Upon arriving in sight of the enemy he observed them in an advance party, coming down the slope of the mountain along whose top their main line extended. Taking one troop he galloped full speed the distance of about a mile, and dividing his party, taking thirty with him, and leaving upwards of forty under Capt. Brock to watch the foot of the mountain he charged up the almost insurmountable mountain side, and drove them into the very main line, killing 8 as he believes, 3 of whom he rode over lying dead; he himself discharged five shots with his breach attached revolver, three of which took effect though but one of those whom he shot was instantly killed. Of his own little party one was very slightly wounded, one horse killed and several wounded. It is proper to state that the enemy only admit one killed and several wounded.
Richmond Dispatch, July 29, 1861
This account corroborates Wise’s report that two troops of cavalry participated, led by Col. John N. Clarkson. Capt. Brock is named, but the commander of the second troop is not. In this case, Brock takes a passive role, watching their flank while Clarkson leads the charge. The article said they killed eight federals “as he believes,” he referring to Clarkson. Remember, in Brock’s report, Brock wrote “Killing eight of the enemy agreeable to the best information I could receive.” So Brock did not see eight enemy killed–someone told him eight were killed, that someone probably being Clarkson.
The following rendition of events first appeared in the Richmond Enquirer on July 24, 1861 and Richmond Whig on the 25th. It added details to the previous account, but we have no way to judge the accuracy of those details. We know for a fact that the alleged dozens of federal casualties is a fantasy. But, like the previous account, it mentioned both Clarkson and Brock, and that Clarkson divided his command into two groups, with Brock taking command of one while Clarkson led the other. Most notably, it was the first to mention Union artillery, which must have been Cotter’s Independent Battery Ohio Light Artillery. Cotter had two brass rifled 6-pounder guns–the same number of guns as mentioned in this account.
A most gallant achievement was performed the day before in the same section, by eighty-two dragoons under command of the intrepid Col. Clarkson, (aid to Gen. Wise) while on a scouting expedition. Dividing his command into equal parties, he took the command of one himself and assigned the other to Captain Brock, of the Rockbridge Cavalry. Advancing upon a body of the enemy by the direct road, he sent Capt. Brock around the hill.
The enemy discovered Col. Clarkson, when two hundred yards distant, and they retreated rapidly up the hill, followed by the gallant Colonel. The enemy lost seven killed in their retreat. Captain Brock attempted to charge up on the other side of the hill, but it was too precipitous to allow of it. Col. Clarkson, in the meantime, discovered that the retreating party was falling back on a camp of fifteen hundred men, notwithstanding which he continued the charge and, at the head of his noble little band, rushed through the startled camp like a whirlwind, firing right and left into their ranks, killing eighteen or twenty; wounding, perhaps, as many more, and, before the enemy could collect their scattered senses, effected a retreat, single file, down the hill, without the loss of a single man, and but one horse killed and another wounded. Some of our men, it is said, actually snatched the guns from two or three of the Yankees before they could shoot. The escape of the command is almost miraculous, several platoons having fired at them. The enemy had two pieces of artillery. They had trained them upon Capt. Brock’s command; but, while in the very act firing, both gunners were killed by one of Capt. B’s men armed with a double-barreled shot gun.
Richmond Enquirer, July 24, 1861 (reprinted July 26)
Although these newspaper reports do not mention the commander of the second cavalry company, I have no reason to doubt Wise’s report that it was Capt. Albert J. Beckett’s troop, known as “Beckett’s Border Guards”. They were disbanded in August 1861, so there isn’t much information about them, but they actively participated in skirmishing with Cox’s Ohioans as they advanced along the Kanawha River.
Union Accounts
To tell the full story of a battle or skirmish, historians need to weigh accounts from both sides, carefully comparing contemporary reports to look for consistencies and similar events told from different perspectives. Unfortunately, when it comes to the skirmish at the Pocatalico River, Union and Confederate accounts differ so greatly they might as well be speaking of different events. Union sources mentioned being attacked by Confederate cavalry at the Pocatalico River, but that is where the similarity ends.
Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox, Jr. did not mention this event in his memoirs or in any published reports. His reports to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan from July 11, July 14, and July 16 are printed in The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. LI, Part I. However, in his memoir, he noted that his report to McClellan from July 17th is missing. Since this event happened on the 16th, it’s possible he mentioned it in this missing report, but it is not located in the Oberlin College Archives with Cox’s other papers.
The following are excerpts from two letters published in Ohio newspapers that likely mention the Confederate attack at the mouth of the Pocatalico. Both are dated as having been sent on July 17, 1861. Both are notably less dramatic than Confederate accounts.
Yesterday afternoon a company of thirty-five or forty mounted rebels appeared on the brow of a hill to the left of the camp, and after a slight skirmish with a few of the Twenty-first Ohio Regiment retreated, as usual. One of our men was wounded and one of the rebels killed. Pursuit was out of the question, as the only company of cavalry attached to the camp was then out on other duty.
Cincinnati Daily Gazette, July 20, 1861
The 11th Ohio took up its position at Pocotalco Creek, nearly opposite where the enemy were entrenched, and occupied the right of the position, with two pieces of artillery. The Kentucky 1st occupied the extreme left, with the 12th and 21st Ohio in the center.
Cincinnati Daily Times, July 20, 1861
Soon after the Eleventh halted a company of rebel horsemen, acting as scouts, came to the river bank opposite and poured a volley of balls into their camp, without, however, injuring any one. The Eleventh returned the fire, emptying one saddle; the others gathered up the body and scampered away in double quick time.
The first letter, in the Cincinnati Daily Gazette, gave a summary of events and likely got the regiment wrong. Other letters written by members of the 21st Ohio make no mention of a skirmish at Camp Poca. The second letter, in the Cincinnati Daily Times, is much more detailed and was clearly written by someone with firsthand knowledge of the events. Never-the-less, neither letter mentioned anything about cavalry charging into their camp or a large number of casualties. The first letter claims one Union soldier was wounded and the second said there were no casualties. I haven’t been able to independently verify any Union causalities among Cox’s command on the 16th of July.
Conclusion
Based on the available documentary evidence (but keeping in mind the unreliability of newspaper articles) it’s safe to say that a skirmish of some intensity happened at the mouth of the Pocatalico River on July 16, 1861. The 11th Ohio was Cox’s advanced unit throughout the campaign and reached the Pocatalico River first. Likewise, Brock and Beckett’s cavalry was on the skirmish line ahead of their advance. In fact, on July 13th, these units briefly exchanged fire near Buffalo along the Kanawha River, so it’s not far-fetched to believe they would clash again. When it comes to casualties, it’s unlikely any Union soldiers were killed or wounded without it being mentioned in the press. On the Confederate side, it seems one private was wounded in the hand, one horse killed, and several horses were wounded.
Though not particularly significant on its own, the Skirmish at Pocatalico gave Wise’s Confederate troops a timely morale boost. How much this influenced their confidence at the Battle of Scary Creek the following day is uncertain. The skirmish may also have made Cox more cautious, leading him to delay reinforcements until it was too late. Even small engagements like Pocatalico could ripple through subsequent events, shaping decisions and outcomes in unexpected ways.
Sources
Cox, Jacob Dolson. Military Reminiscences of the Civil War. Vol. I. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1900.
Driver, Robert J., Jr. 10th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1992.
Daily-Gazette (Cincinnati, OH) 19 July 1861.
Daily Times (Cincinnati, OH) 20 July 1861.
Lowry, Terry. The Battle of Scary Creek: Military Operations in the Kanawha Valley April – July 1861. Charleston: Quarrier Press, 1982, 1998.
Phillips, David L. War Diaries: The 1861 Kanawha Valley Campaigns. Leesburg: Gauley Mount Press, 1990.
Richmond Dispatch (Richmond, VA) 29 July 1961.
Richmond Enquirer (Richmond, VA) 26 July 1961.
Spirit of '61 