Fort Marrow

Fort Marrow. Guarding the Road. , (Preface), 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., (Main Text), When Union Gen. George B. MeClellan departed for Washington in July 1861, after his early successes in western Virginia, Gen. Joseph J. Reynolds took command of the First Brigade, Army of Occupation, at Huttonsville. He immediately ordered that fortifications be built on the main roads leading south. By July 30, the 15th Indiana Infantry had pitched tents along the Tygart Valley River on the Huntersville road seven miles south of Huttonsville and began to fortify the narrow valley floor at Elkwater. The 3rd Ohio Infantry arrived at Elkwater on August 4 and began constructing earthworks on a bluff overlooking the river. The soldiers named the fortification Fort Marrow for their colonel, Isaac H. Marrow., A seven-sided redoubt, Fort Marrow was the key to the Union defensive position at Camp Elkwater. The fortification commanded the approach to the main camp and enabled a battery of artillery to fire on any approaching force long before it got into small arms range. The guns of the redoubt could support infantry in the forward works. Fort Marrow was well placed and would have made assault by infantry difficult. Camp Elkwater was abandoned by 1862; both sides raiding parties bivouacked here later in the war., "These were the works upon which the Sixth Ohio chiefly expended its energies. 'Fort Marrow, situated upon a hill above the turnpike, commanded a suspicious-looking ravine leading into camp from the westward, and garrisoned by Company A, of the Third Ohio, to which was afterward added a small detachment of Loomis's [1st Michigan] Artillery." - Soldier, 6th Ohio Infantry, (Captions):, Gen. Joseph J. Reynolds , Courtesy Library of Congress, Earthworks under construction - Courtesy Library of Congress, Sketch of Camp Elkwater and Fort Marrow site - Courtesy Virginia Historical Society