Map of the Battle of Scary Creek

The Battle of Scary Creek was fought on Wednesday, July 17, 1861 between Union forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox and Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Henry A. Wise in Putnam County, West Virginia. It resulted in a Confederate victory, but ultimately had no affect on the overall campaign. Union forces captured Charleston a week later after Confederates withdrew from the Kanawha Valley.

Unfortunately, due to the obscurity of this battle and it’s remote location, few reliable maps exist of the battlefield and a complete and accurate list of the units involved is hard to come by. I attempted to create a map using a modern terrain map, written sources, and a hand-drawn sketch of the battlefield by Cox’s adjutant, Charles Whittlesey, as references.

As you can see, the Whittlesey map is difficult to read. He didn’t have a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, so the scale and proportions are probably off. But the buildings and major landmarks, rivers, and hills are marked, as is the general position of the troops. It doesn’t show the Confederate forward position north of the creek.

In creating our map, I should note that I do not know specifically where every building was located. To my knowledge, none exist in the present day. The Simms Family Cemetery is located off the modern day Teays Valley Road. I assumed the modern roads roughly follow their historical counterparts.

Because there were so few Union units, their positions were a little more straightforward, although the exact position of Cotter’s two guns is a little ambiguous. There is a discrepancy between where they are on Whittlesey’s map and descriptions from the battle. Whittlesey placed one gun far to the right of the Simms House but Terry D. Lowry, author of The Battle of Scary Creek, described it as being much closer to the house.

The Confederates are harder to pin down, especially since they arrived on the battlefield at different times. The following passages are taken from Lowry’s book:

“Three companies were already at Scary: Barbee’s, Sweeney’s Wheeling boys, and the Kanawha Riflemen.” Pg. 117, 121.

“Capt. Sweeny’s company was thrown across the creek below the houses … Barbee’s company was deployed partly across the creek; and on the extreme left the Kanawha Riflemen … were deployed as skirmishers, in advance of the troops, in front of Hale’s Battery extending up the ravine along a brush fence.” Pg. 122

“By the time the artillery duel ended the two Confederate cavalry companies had arrived and Patton posted Lewis’ company ‘in the woods to the left to prevent annoyance by a flanking party, while Capt. Jenkins’ men were held in reserve.’ Bailey’s Fayetteville Rifles … had arrived at the same time as Tyree’s men and both companies were posted to the front and to the left. William F. Bahlmann of the Fayette Rifles later remembered: ‘Our company had crossed Scary Creek to the West, but when the enemy advanced they fell back to the hill on the East side of the creek …'” Pg. 124

“Shortly after the arrival of Bailey and Tyree the company of John Swann arrived but took little active part in the engagement.” Pg. 124

“Responding to the sounds of battle the Sandy Rangers of Capt. Corns arrived from Coal Mountain … raced down the hill toward the bridge. In addition, Col. Anderson and his portion of the Wise Legion cavalry had arrived, placing themselves on the far left of the Virginians’ line …” Pg. 125

“… accompanying the Sandy Rangers was B.S. Thompson’s Kanawha Militia and the artillery piece of Lt. Thomas E. Jackson…” Pg. 126

There was one additional Confederate company at Scary. Terry Lowry didn’t mention the Charlottesville Border Guards, commanded by Capt. Robert G. Crank, in his description of the battle except to say that one man was killed and one wounded. 46th Virginia Infantry by Darrell L. Collins confirms the Border Guards were at the Battle of Scary Creek.

In Appendix A, Additional Information for the Scary Creek Battle Casualty List, Lowry listed two casualties from the Buffalo Guards commanded by Capt. William E. Fife. The Buffalo Guards were not in the Battle of Scary Creek. J. L. Scott, author of a regimental history of the 36th Virginia Infantry, explained “Several men who served in the 36th Virginia fought at Scary Creek as members of James Sweeney’s Company. When Sweeney’s men were disbanded shortly after the Scary Creek fight, a number of them joined Captain Fife’s Buffalo Guards.”

Conclusion

In the future, I’d like to reorient the map to give the Confederates a little more breathing room on the southern edge, as well as confirm placement of the various buildings and add contour lines. For now, I think this is as close an approximation as I can get. Please do not copy or otherwise use this map without permission.

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Sources

Collins, Darrell L. 46th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1992.

Lowry, Terry. The Battle of Scary Creek: Military Operations in the Kanawha Valley April – July 1861. Charleston: Quarrier Press, 1982, 1998.

Scott, J. L. 36th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1987.