Battle of Rich Mountain

Battle of Rich Mountain. Making McClellan's Reputation. , In the spring of 1861, Union forces rushed into northwestern Virginia to secure the vital Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, protect important turnpikes, and support Unionists against Confederates. The two sides fought numerous engagements between June and December. They included Philippi (the war's first land battle), Rich Mountain, Corricks Ford, Cheat Summit Fort, Carnifex Ferry, and Camp Allegheny. The many Union victories made Gen. George B. McClellan's reputation and damaged that of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a situation reversed in 1862. Despite later Confederate raids, today's West Virginia remained largely under Federal control for the rest of the war., In one of the first important Union victories of the Civil War, on July 11, 1861, Union Gen. George B. McClellan's forces defeated part of Confederate Gen. Robert S. Garnett's command here at the Hart Farm on Rich Mountain. Garnett was holding the area around Beverly, the junction of two important turnpikes: the Beverly and Fairmont and the Staunton and Parkersburg. Believing that the Rich Mountain defenses were virtually impregnable, Garnett had left a small force here under Lt. Col. John Pegram to hold this pass. Union Gen. William S. Rosecrans attacked uphill in a pouring rain and overran the Confederate position. That night, the Confederates abandoned Camp Garnett, their fortification at the western base of the mountain, and fled east through dark woods. Two days later, almost 600 of them surrendered to McClellan in Beverly. Others escaped south, guided by Stonewall Jackson's future mapmaker Jedediah Hotchkiss. , This small but important victory helped secure Union control of Virginia's western counties and contributed to the drive for West Virginia statehood, which was achieved in 1863. It also helped to catapult McClellan to command the Army of the Potomac.