Battle of Wytheville

Battle of Wytheville. "Every inhabitant was an enemy". , On the afternoon of July 18, 1863, a Union raiding force crossed the mountain on the wartime road to your left , their equipment clanking, horses snorting, and clouds of dust rising in their wake. Their target was Wytheville., Commanded by col. John Toland, the Federals had left Camp Platt, West Virginia, on July 13, with orders to strike Confederate railroads, telegraph lines, and salt and lead mines in Southwest Virginia. Toland's initial force totaled 870 men, including 365 members of the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry and 505 members of the 34th Ohio Volunteer (Mounted) Infantry., Their advance was slowed by rugged terrain and small bands As one report said, "almost every inhabitant was an enemy." After fighting off an ambush at Piney Creek on July 14, Toland received orders to move immediately upon the Virginia and Tennessee railroad at Wytheville. Moving south his force surprised Confederates at Camp Pemberton on July 17, capturing most of them , but one man escaped to carry word of the raiders' approach. That night, Toland's men camped at Jeffersonville (modern-day Tazewell), then b roke camp about 3 a.m. on July 18., When Confederate Gen. Sam Jones, who was in Dublin, learned at midday on July 18 of the Union raid, he sent a patchwork force of 130 soldiers and volunteers on the train to Wytheville. In Wytheville itself, residents asked local veteran Joseph Kent to organize a defense. Kent sent lookouts to this spot and told volunteers to assemble at the courthouse with their firearms., At 3 p.m., Toland's force, reduced to 818 men by losses to fighting and hard travel, crossed over the mountain here and began their descent towards Wytheville., [Caption:] , According to local legend, when Toland's troops camped in Jeffersonville on the night of July 17, young Molly Tynes, who lived nearby, rode 41 miles "over and through the interminable mountains and wilderness" to alert Wytheville. , Courtesy West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries