The Battle of Corrick’s Ford (often misspelled Carrick’s), fought on July 13, 1861, marked the climax of the Tygart Valley–Cheat River campaign in northwestern Virginia. It ended in the complete rout of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett’s army and his death. The action was a rearguard fight, with a small portion of Garnett’s force holding off an advancing column of Indiana and Ohio troops from Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris’ brigade.
For five days in early July 1861, Union forces under Morris skirmished with Garnett’s Confederates around the small hamlet of Belington, in the foothills of Laurel Mountain in Barbour County, Virginia. The fighting came to an end on the evening of July 11, when word arrived that Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan had outmaneuvered and overwhelmed the Confederate position at Rich Mountain. Fearing he would be cut off and surrounded, Garnett abandoned his fortifications under cover of night.
Garnett’s retreating column from Laurel Hill included Col. James N. Ramsey’s 1st Georgia Infantry; the 23rd, 31st, and 37th Virginia Infantry regiments; Lt. Col. George W. Hansbrough’s 9th Virginia Infantry Battalion; five cavalry companies (Charlotte, Greenbrier, Bath, Pittsylvania Dragoons, and the Second Rockbridge Dragoons); and the Danville Battery along with half of the Eighth Star New Market Battery, totaling more than 3,500 men.
On July 13, Hansbrough’s battalion led the march, followed by the 37th and 31st Virginia, two guns under Capt. Lindsay M. Shumaker, and a squadron of cavalry led by Capt. George W. Smith. The 1st Georgia and 23rd Virginia brought up the rear with three guns and a cavalry squadron under Maj. George Jackson, the horsemen acting as pioneers, felling trees across the road behind them.
William B. Taliaferro, colonel of the 23rd Virginia, made clear in his postwar writings that the lead and rear elements were widely separated, as much as two miles by some accounts, with the wagon train stretched between them. On July 24, Col. Samuel V. Fulkerson of the 37th Virginia reported that Garnett halted his regiment after they forded the Cheat River and ordered him to wait for further instructions. Those orders never came. Garnett instead rode toward the sound of the guns along Shavers Fork, where he was killed.
The lead detachment, then, took no part in the fighting. The cavalry also appears to have fallen out of the action. Taliaferro was sharply critical of their conduct, writing in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 5: “Our cavalry had been instructed to impede the progress of the enemy by blocking the roads, and our men were often reminded of the fact, but the infantry had lost confidence in the cavalry, and believed that they would get out of the way without notifying them of the enemy’s approach…”
Later, reflecting on the retreat after the battle, he added, “No enemy now pursued us, but of that we were ignorant, as our cavalry had deserted us and we had only to rely upon the vigilance of our rear guard of infantry…”
Strictly speaking, then, only the 1st Georgia and 23rd Virginia Infantry regiments, along with three guns from Shumaker’s Danville Battery, were actively engaged at Corrick’s Ford.
The Georgians were the first to engage the Federal advance. Ramsey divided his regiment, sending six companies into the woods to lie in ambush while he led the remaining four. In this brief action, according to Ramsey, who was severely ill at the time, 20 of his men were captured. How that occurred is unclear. It seems likely, though not confirmed, that some were wounded and left behind, as in the case of Pvt. William P. S. Poole of Company I, who was shot through the cheeks. In all, 28 Georgians were captured on July 13.
The detached companies were cut off by the rapid Union advance and wandered the wilderness for days before rejoining the army.
The 23rd Virginia, Garnett’s smallest regiment, bore the brunt of the fighting, and its casualty rolls speak to the intensity of the action. What is harder to explain is why, despite holding the high ground, they suffered three times the losses of the Federals. More often, the attacker pays the heavier price.
One explanation is that the Confederates’ smoothbore muskets lacked the range to answer effectively, and that the steep elevation made it difficult to depress their guns enough to strike their targets. The weather likely compounded the problem. Rain fell throughout the day, and without proper cartridge boxes, damp powder could misfire or fail altogether. The Federal regiments were better equipped to withstand those conditions.
The following order of battle and casualty figures for the Confederate rearguard at Corrick’s Ford are drawn from the best available primary and secondary sources.
| Unit | Commander(s) | Strength | KIA | MW | WIA | Captured / Missing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Regiment, Georgia Infantry (Ramsey’s) | Col. James N. Ramsey | 944 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28* |
| 23rd Virginia Inf. Regiment | Col. William B. Taliaferro | 611 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 47** |
| Danville Battery | Capt. Lindsay M. Shumaker | 3 Guns, 72 men | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1,627 | 13*** | 4 | 15 | 76 |
Sources
Ashcraft, John M. 31st Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1988.
Driver, Robert J., Jr. 14th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc, 1988.
Folsom, James M. Heroes and Martyrs of Georgia: Georgia’s Record in the Revolution of 1861. Macon: Burke, Boykin & Company, 1864.
Henderson, Lillian. Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865, Vol. I. Hapeville: Longino & Porter, Inc., 1960.
Heselberger, Fritz. Yanks from the South! The First Land Campaign of the Civil War: Rich Mountain, West Virginia. Baltimore: Past Glories, 1987.
Hewett, Janet B., Noah Andre Trudeau, and Bryce A, Suderow, eds., Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Pt. I, Vol. 1. Wilmington: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1994.
Martin, George Winston. “I Will Give Them One More Shot”: Ramsey’s First Regiment Georgia Volunteers. Macon: Mercer University Press, 2011.
Moore, Robert H. The Danville, Eight Star New Market and Dixie Artillery. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1989.
Musick, Michael P. 6th Virginia Cavalry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc, 1990.
Rankin, Thomas M. 23rd Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1985.
__________. 37th Virginia Infantry. Lynchburg: H.E. Howard, Inc., 1987.
Taliaferro, William B. “Folly and Fiasco in West Virginia” in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 5. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2002.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. II. With additions and corrections. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902.
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