An Encyclopedia of Early Civil War Virginia
In mid-April 1861, as federal troops evacuated and set fire to Harpers Ferry Arsenal, 60 men assembled in Brownsburg, Virginia to form the Second Rockbridge Dragoons. They were led by 42-year-old Captain John Rice McNutt and 1st Lieutenant Robert McChesney. Though a small company, they would go on to play a role in one of…
Was Stephen Roberts the first Confederate officer killed during the Civil War? By the time Virginia voters ratified the decision of its secession convention on May 23, 1861, Richmond was named the Confederate capital and militia units were mobilizing. As commander of all Virginia forces, Robert E. Lee directed Col. George A. Porterfield to proceed…
Maneuvers and battles in Virginia prior to the Battle of First Manassas were centered around control of major waterways. Virginia had three main waterways that defined its antebellum borders: the Ohio, Potomac, and Chesapeake rivers. While the men who fought in the Civil War wouldn't have recognized these as "fronts" or used that terminology, I…
The Skirmish at Glenville was fought on July 7-8, 1861 in present-day Gilmer County, West Virginia. The dramatic episode proved to be a sideshow in the larger campaign of Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan to wrest control of Northwestern Virginia from the Confederacy. It's often forgotten against the backdrop of the Battle of Rich…
Continue reading ➞ What Confederate Unit was Engaged in the Skirmish at Glenville?
Largely forgotten today, Thornsbury Bailey Brown was among the first Union casualties of the Civil War.
This unit's colorful commander was known for giving bellicose speeches, but his courage was of the liquid variety. The Pocahontas Rescues was a Confederate company raised in May 1861 in what is today Pocahontas County, West Virginia. “Count” Daniel A. Stofer (1821-1891), a boisterous attorney, organized the unit. Fifty-seven men mustered in at Huntersville, a…
The Letcher Guard was a Confederate company raised in May 1861 in what is today Taylor County, West Virginia. It was involved in the Action at Philippi on June 3, 1861 and then became Company A, 9th Battalion, Virginia Infantry (Hansbrough’s) in the Army of the Northwest.
Trick question -- none of the Virginia militia at Philippi on June 3, 1861 had been sworn into Confederate service. Technicalities aside, the issue of what units were involved in the "Philippi Races," among the first land actions of the Civil War, is not just a matter of trivia. Most authors, however, only name units…
A few days ago, we looked at a variety of sources to help orient our map of the Battle of Belington/Laurel Hill. Since then, I learned that most of these sources repeat, by second or third hand, information from the diary of a soldier in the 7th Indiana Regiment named William "Billy" Davis. His diary…
The following descriptions, taken from a variety of sources, help identify major landmarks related to the Battle of Belington/Laurel Hill. Since there are few reliable maps of Camp Laurel Hill and none of unit positions, we have to rely on these written descriptions to tell us where the battle unfolded. The numbers correspond to areas…
Spirit of '61 