Battle of Fayetteville

Battle of Fayetteville. Defense and Retreat. , In early September 1862, Union Col. Edward Siber and about 1,500 men of the 34th and 37th Ohio Infantries garrisoned Fort Scammon, built on the hill behind the courthouse in front of you. From there, Siber prepared to defend Fayetteville as Confederate Gen. William Loring's 5,000-man army, emboldened by the fact only 5,000 total US Army troops remained in western Virginia, marched into the Kanawha Valley to replenish salt supplies abundantly available in the area., On September 10, Loring's troops pushed to approximately 300 yards of the fort and rained artillery fire upon it. Federal infantry and artillery fired back, but Siber withdrew his outnumbered force from Fayetteville around 1:00 AM. The Union troops managed to get away before the Confederates realized they were gone., At nearby Gauley Bridge, Union Col. Joseph A.J. Lightburn heard the cannon fire and rushed reinforcements to Siber, but they arrived too late. Lightburn did engage the Confederates in Charleston on September 13, where, outnumbered, he was also forced to retreat. The Kanawha Valley was now in the hands of the Confederates, who remained here until mid-October, when Union soldiers returned in force and retook the area without opposition., (captions) , Soldiers of the 34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wearing their unusual early issue uniforms. - Courtesy Library of Congress , Gen. William W. Loring Courtesy WVU Archives , An April 1863 image of the 12th Ohio's camp at Fayetteville shows Fort Scammon is at upper left. A Confederate Army engineer described the fort as an "admirable selected position, enfilading the surrounding open plains." - Courtesy of the WVU Archives