Kessler's Cross Lanes

Kessler's Cross Lanes. Surprise for Breakfast. On August 26, 1861, chaos reigned on the fields in front of you when Confederate Gen. John B. Floyd’s 3,000 men attacked the 7th Ohio Infantry at 5 A.M. as the men ate breakfast in their camp. The fight occurred because Union Gen. Jacob D. Cox had driven Confederates out of the Kanawha Valley in July and was advancing east on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike from Gauley Bridge to occupy more of the region. Cox knew that Floyd’s force was also advancing and sent the 7th Ohio out alone to protect his flank, leading to the surprise attack., “The alarm guns of our pickets were heard and in less than five minutes we were fired upon by at least 2,500 muskets,” recalled 7th Ohio commander Col. Erastus Tyler. The 7th Ohio troops scattered, and Tyler reformed the Buckeyes on a nearby hill. “Every man left his untasted breakfast, and at the command ‘Fall in,’ took his place in the ranks. Floyd’s army was upon us,” Pvt. Martin M. Andrews wrote in his journal., A fierce fight ensued for just under an hour until the Confederates pushed the Federals into the mountains. The 7th Ohio suffered about 120 casualties, including nearly 100 men captured. Floyd’s men withdrew and took up a defensive position at Carnifex Ferry., “While we were eating crack! Crack! Went the guns of our pickets. We were nearly surrounded and attacked by Floyd’s brigade.” , Sgt. E.B. Stiles, 7th Ohio Infantry, (captions) , Col. Erastus B. Tyler after his promotion to Brig. Gen. Courtesy Dana B. Shoaf Collection, The 7th Ohio adopted a “fighting cock” as its unofficial emblem. Courtesy Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Harper’s Weekly sketch of Tyler’s camp at Kessler’s Cross Lanes illustrates how the dense foliage and rugged terrain helped the Floyd’s Confederates surprise the Ohioans.