An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
The Battle of Belington (Laurel Hill) was fought from Sunday, July 7 to Thursday, July 11, 1861 between Union forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris and Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett in what is today Barbour County, West Virginia. It involved around 8,000 Union and Confederate soldiers. I created…
In the past few years, I created multiple page stubs for invading Ohio and Indiana regiments, chiefly because there is more information readily available online for Union regiments. Information on Virginia regiments is harder to come by, especially for those who fought in Northwestern Virginia. When updating casualty information for the Battle of Corrick’s Ford,…
Continue reading ➞ Page Created for the 23rd Virginia Regiment
An accurate accounting of Civil War casualties is often difficult, especially when record keeping was spotty at best. Newspaper articles, personal reminisces, and official reports are exaggerated and unreliable. This seems particularly true for the Action at Righter’s House, which was among the first deadly exchanges in the Civil War. On Friday, June 21, 1861,…
Continue reading ➞ Who Died at Righter’s House? An Early Civil War Mystery
A few days ago, I shared a map of the Confederate camp at Laurel Hill in Barbour County, West Virginia drawn by a Union spy named William Fletcher. I found the map on an interpretive sign at the Laurel Hill Battlefield. Though flawed, the map is the only detailed representation of the Confederate camp I…
Continue reading ➞ Origin of the Laurel Hill Spy Map Revealed
Yesterday, I shared a re-created map of Laurel Hill Camp drawn by a Union spy named William Fletcher. The Confederate Army of Northwestern Virginia occupied this position from June 16 to July 11, 1861. The camp didn't leave much in the way of physical remnants except for a small cemetery, so identifying its boundaries is…
The Battle of Belington (Laurel Hill) was fought from Sunday, July 7 to Thursday, July 11, 1861 between Union forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris and Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett. It was a small skirmish but played a role in the more consequential Battle of Rich Mountain. Laurel…
A few days ago, I posted an accounting of all Confederate soldiers involved in the Patterson's Creek / Kelley’s Island Skirmish. Having the names of all participants on the Confederate side only tells half the story, however, but I recently came across a contemporary newspaper article that sheds light on the Union troops involved. The…
Continue reading ➞ Union Troops in Patterson’s Creek Skirmish
I recently consulted the 7th Virginia Cavalry regimental history by Richard L. Armstrong to verify a list of Confederates who fought in the Skirmish at Frankfort and Patterson’s Creek and find out what happened to them, in order to have an accurate accounting of all casualties.
Earlier this month, I took a trip up to the Romney, West Virginia area to visit some Civil War sites and take pictures for this encyclopedia. It was a beautiful, warm day, but it was clear I would spend most of it in the car. My goal was to hit the Romney, Keyser, Cumberland triangle and parts in between.
On Wednesday, I posted an article I came across in the Richmond Dispatch, July 4, 1861, which described a previously unidentified skirmish near Alexandria, Virginia. The article is full of inaccuracies and partial information, which means I had to do a deep dive to figure out what happened. Information on the Confederate force is scarce.…
Continue reading ➞ New Facts Found in Skirmish Near Alexandria
Spirit of '61 