An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
By Jeffrey A. Felton At the outbreak of the American Civil War, many college students enlisted in volunteer companies. Examples of these companies range from the University Greys from the University of Mississippi who became Company A, 11th Mississippi Infantry, to the students from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia who raised a militia company, fought at…
Long before the Third Battle of Winchester, Fort Collier began as a desperate Confederate effort to defend the Lower Shenandoah Valley during the opening months of the Civil War. Discover how Joseph E. Johnston, engineer William H.C. Whiting, and local Virginia militia transformed Isaac Stine’s farm into a strategic stronghold that still survives today as…
Continue reading ➞ Building Fort Collier: Confederate Engineers and the Defense of Winchester
On April 25, 1861, nine days after voting to repeal Virginia’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the Virginia Convention in Richmond approved ordinances ratifying the alliance between Virginia and the Confederacy and adopting the Confederate Constitution. The agreement included a provision placing “the whole military force and military operations, offensive and defensive, of said Commonwealth,…
The Tygart Valley–Cheat River Campaign was, in many respects, the Civil War’s first true military campaign. From the outset, it pursued clear objectives. Major General George B. McClellan, commanding the Department of the Ohio, was tasked with carrying the war into western Virginia by driving out Confederate forces, securing vital railroads, and restoring Federal authority.…
Continue reading ➞ Detailed Overview of the Tygart Valley-Cheat River Campaign
The Action at Glover’s Gap occurred on Tuesday, May 28, 1861 between irregular secessionist militia commanded by Stephen Roberts and a detachment of Company A, 2nd Virginia Infantry (U.S.) commanded by 2nd Lt. Oliver R. West in Marion County, West Virginia. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's two-pronged invasion of northeastern Virginia began on May 26,…
Benjamin F. Butler, a major general of Massachusetts volunteers, assumed command of the Military Department of Virginia on Wednesday, May 22, 1861. His department encompassed everything within a sixty-mile radius of Fort Monroe. The massive stone-and-brick bastion fort, constructed between 1819 and 1844, stood at Old Point Comfort overlooking the entrance to Hampton Roads. Following…
Continue reading ➞ 165 Years Ago: First Vermont Regiment Occupies the Town of Hampton
A few months ago, YouTuber Jeffrey the Librarian released an informative video on the American Civil War, focusing on the events of July 1861. He takes a broad view of the conflict, covering developments not only in Virginia but also in Missouri. It is one of the best videos I have seen on the subject.…
Over the past several months, we have done a deep dive into the Tygart Valley–Cheat River Campaign and updated nine battle pages with fully expanded narratives, orders of battle, casualties, contemporary newspaper articles, and lists of sources. Check them out: Action at Fetterman Action at Glover’s Gap Action at Philippi Action at Righter’s House Action…
Continue reading ➞ Nine Battle Pages Updated – And What Comes Next
In a previous post examining which Federal forces were involved in the July 13, 1861 Battle of Corrick’s Ford, I noted that, given the ferocity and duration of the fighting, it is difficult to explain how Union losses remained so light, with just two killed and roughly six or seven wounded. This figure comes directly…
A wealth of primary sources exists concerning the Battle of Corrick's Ford, fought on July 13, 1861, in Tucker County, West Virginia, and its aftermath. Official reports from several Union commanders involved in the action, however, are conspicuously absent. It was customary for each colonel engaged in an action like this to submit a report…
Continue reading ➞ Colonel Ebenezer Dumont’s Report from Corrick’s Ford
Spirit of '61 