_The Rebels Attempt to Occupy West Virginia.--General McClellan Ordered
to Drive them Out.--Early Battle.--The Federals Victorious.--West
Virginia Freed from Rebel Soldiers._
Recognizing the importance of holding West Virginia, and of preventing
the Union forces from penetrating through the mountains in the direction
of Staunton, the rebel authorities had sent two new commanders into that
region. Ex-Governor Wise was dispatched to the Kanawha Valley, and
General Garnett, formerly a Major in the Federal army, was sent to
Beverly to attempt to gather up and reorganize the remnants of Colonel
Porterfield's scattered command, and to adopt immediate measures to
reinforce them.
General Wise having been assigned to the Kanawha Valley, was expected to
arrive at Charleston on the day following the appearance of my
operatives, and the city was in a state of subdued excitement in
anticipation of his coming.
In the evening, Lewis, in company with the officers whom he had met in
the morning, proceeded to the residence of Judge Beveridge, where he was
cordially received by that gentleman and his charming daughter, who had
now thoroughly recovered from the effects of her dangerous ride. With
rare grace she greeted my operative, and her expressions of thankfulness
were couched in such delicate language, that the pretended Englishman
felt a strange fluttering in his breast, which was as novel to him as it
was delicious. He passed a very delightful evening, and by his knowledge
of English affairs, and his unqualified approval of the cause of the
South, added to the fact that he was believed to be a gentleman of rank
and fortune, he succeeded in materially increasing the high opinion
which had previously been entertained regarding him.
The next morning General Wise arrived, and his appearance was hailed
with delight by the disunion element of the city, while those whose
sympathies were with the North looked with apprehension and disfavor
upon the demonstrations that were being made in his honor.
At the first opportune moment, Price Lewis, with the assistance of his
new-found friends, the rebel officers, succeeded in obtaining an
introduction to the ancient-looking individual whose career had been
marked by such exciting events, and who was so prominent a figure in the
tragedy that was now being enacted. He was a small, intelligent-looking
man, whose age appeared to be nearly seventy years, and whose emaciated
appearance gave every token that he had not long to live. His eyes shone
with the brilliancy of youth, and the fires of ambition seemed to be
burning brightly in his breast. Perhaps no other man in the South had
contributed in so great a degree to hasten the folly of secession, and
certainly none rejoiced more heartily at its final realization.
By his eloquence, and the magnetic power of his presence, he had led the
ignorant classes of the State to firm belief in the justice of his
cause, and by his teachings he had imbued them with a firm conviction
that they were acting for their own best interests, and for the
furtherance of the Southern supremacy and success.
Stern and determined, he allowed nothing to stand between him and the
accomplishment of his purposes. But a few months before, he had ordered
the execution of John Brown, who, with a mere handful of men, had
attempted to strike a blow in behalf of the slave. This ardent
abolitionist attacked and captured Harper's Ferry, a government arsenal,
by overpowering the men who were stationed at that place, but the
authorities had been called upon, and then, yielding to superior
numbers, he was compelled to surrender. In this encounter the majority
of his men were slain, and John Brown, with six of his associates, was
taken prisoner. This occurred on the 16th day of October, 1859, and on
the 22d day of December, after a hurried trial, the prisoners were
ordered by Governor Wise to be publicly hanged. The sentence was duly
carried into effect, and the action of John Brown was used by the
secession advocates to inflame the minds of the Southern people against
the North. Now that secession had become an established fact, it was a
matter of question whether the leaders of the Southern cause would not,
in the end, strike a far more forcible blow in favor of the emancipation
of the slave, than did the impetuous old man who gave up his life at the
behest of the Southern leaders.
The General had been previously informed of the presence of Lewis in the
hotel, and of his adventure on the day previous, consequently, when he
was presented to the new commander, he was received with warm
cordiality. The General inquired particularly into his history, and his
present movements, all of which were replied to by Lewis in a dignified
and satisfactory manner. Under the influence of Lewis' good-nature the
General became social and familiar, and invited him to dine with him in
his apartments.
Leaving no opportunity that offered, the detective took advantage of
every available suggestion, and the result was he became fully posted
upon everything that was of importance, and was enabled to render such
an account of his labors as was satisfactory in the extreme. Sam
Bridgeman, too, had not been idle, but mingling freely with the
soldiers, he had succeeded in learning much of the conditions of the
country that was of immense advantage in the after events of the
campaign in Western Virginia.
They remained in Charleston about eight days, and then, taking leave of
the many friends they had made, they made their way safely back to
Cincinnati and reported. The other two men whom I had dispatched upon
the same mission traveled by rail across the State of Ohio and reached
the West Virginia line at Point Pleasant. Here they began their
investigations, and passing unquestioned they roamed through the
country, passing eastward as far as Lynchburg. Thence, they made a
detour to the South, and journeyed as far as Chattanooga and Nashville,
in Tennessee, and thence to Louisville, Ky. Throughout their entire
pilgrimage they were ever on the alert to acquire knowledge, and the
immense amount of information which they gathered would only prove
tedious to both myself and the reader. It is enough to say that they
performed their duty in a manner creditable to themselves and valuable
to the cause they represented, and I will simply summarize the
situation.
General Garnett had posted himself in the pass at Laurel Hill, with an
additional force at Beverly, while another detachment, under Col.
Pegram, had established himself in the pass at Rich Mountain. Here he
had intended to fortify himself and to await a favorable opportunity for
breaking the railroad. He found affairs upon his arrival in a miserable
condition; the troops were disorganized and without discipline, arms or
ammunition, and General Lee immediately sent him re-enforcements.
This was the condition of affairs, when, early in July, General
McClellan resolved to take the offensive and drive the rebels from West
Virginia. In this campaign he received material aid and assistance from
that brave officer General Rosecrans, who by superhuman exertions
penetrated the pathless forest cutting and climbing his way to the very
crest of Rich Mountain.
This movement, difficult as it was, to the South of the rebels, was a
complete surprise to the enemy, who was expecting their arrival from the
North.
They made a gallant resistance, however, but the Union forces had such
an advantage that the contest was quickly decided. The rebel forces were
driven from their breast-works and were compelled to take refuge in
thickets or the mountains. Their confusion was deplorable, and their
defeat unmistakable.
This victory placed the enemy in a very precarious position. McClellan
was in his front and Rosecrans in secure possession of the road behind
him, and Pegram, realizing the danger that threatened him, returned to
his camp and, hastily spiking his guns, he abandoned all his stores and
equipments, and endeavored to escape by marching northward along the
mountain, intending, if possible, to join Garnett at Laurel Hill.
For the time being, he was successful in eluding the Federal commanders,
and after a most laborious march of eighteen hours, found himself within
three miles of Leedsville. Here he was doomed to disappointment, for he
learned that Garnett had also retreated, and that a strong Union column
was in close pursuit. Thus he was again caught between two Union armies,
and despairing of effecting his escape, he sent a proposal to General
McClellan, offering a total surrender of his command. The Union General
accepted the proposition, and on the following day the half-famished
rebel fugitives laid down their arms and became prisoners of war, only
too glad to receive once more comfortable quarters and hunger-appeasing
rations.
The fugitives who had escaped from the battle of Rich Mountain carried
the news of that disaster to Beverly, and to General Garnett, at Laurel
Hill, and an immediate retreat was ordered. But he was closely pressed
by the advancing Union armies, and when General Garnett reached
Leedsville, he heard that General McClellan was at Beverly, thus cutting
off effectually his further passage southward. He now resolved upon the
desperate attempt of turning to the North and reaching St. George and
West Union by a rough and difficult mountain road, during which his
troops naturally became very much scattered and disorganized. Although
he was nearly fifteen hours in advance of his pursuers, they gained
rapidly upon him, and notwithstanding every effort was made by the
rebels to impede his progress by felling trees in the narrow mountain
defiles, the Union advance overtook the rebel wagon-train at Carrick's
Ford, one of the crossings of Cheat River, about twenty-six miles
north-west of Laurel Hill. Here Garnett resolved to risk an encounter,
and facing about his troops, he took a position on a favorable and
precipitous elevation on the river bank, and planting his guns so as to
command the ford and the approaching road, he prepared to defend his
retreat. A brisk engagement at once ensued, and after a sharp contest
the rebel lines broke and fled, abandoning one of their guns.
Retreat and pursuit were once more commenced, and at the next ford, a
quarter of a mile further on, during a desultory skirmish fire between
small parties of sharpshooters, General Garnett was killed. Here the
Federal pursuit was discontinued, and the rebels left in the hands of
the victors their entire baggage train, one gun, two stands of colors
and fifty prisoners.
Estimated according to mere numbers, these battles of Rich Mountain and
Carrick's Ford appear somewhat insignificant in contrast with the great
battles of the rebellion, which occurred during the succeeding three
years. Hundreds of engagements of greater magnitude, and attended with
much more serious loss of life, followed these encounters, and decided
the mighty problem of Northern success, but this early skirmish with the
rebels on Rich Mountain, and this rout of Garnett's rear-guard at
Carrick's Ford, were speedily followed by great political and military
results, which exercised a powerful influence upon the after-conduct of
the war. They closed a campaign, dispersed a rebel army, which had for a
long time been harassing a State whose sympathies were with the Union,
and they permanently pushed back the military frontier to the borders of
rebellious territory. Now, is it too much to say that the brilliant
success which attended this first aggressive movement of General
McClellan had a marked effect upon the public mind? That they gave a
general impression of his military skill is not to be doubted, and he
was from that time the hero of the hour. Certain it is that a train of
circumstances started from these achievements which eventually led to
his being called to Washington after the reverses at Manassas and Bull
Run, and made him, on the first day of November following, the
General-in-Chief of all the armies of the United States.
It is not necessary for me to follow the subsequent operations in West
Virginia, as my duties were connected with General McClellan and his
campaigns in that district ended with the death of General Garnett and
the dispersion of his army. About a week afterwards he was called to a
new field of duty at Washington city, and it is not my purpose to touch
upon events in which I took no part. It is enough to say that, with
somewhat fluctuating changes, the rebels were gradually forced back from
the Great Kanawha Valley, and the eventual result left West Virginia in
possession of the Federal troops, her own inherent loyalty having
contributed largely in producing this condition. The Union sentiment of
the people was everywhere made manifest, and the new State government
was consolidated and heartily sustained, ending in her ultimate
admission as a separate member of the Federal Union in June, 1863.