Eastern Kentucky's Civil War Battles and Skirmishes, 1861-1862

Eastern Kentucky's Civil War Battles and Skirmishes, 1861-1862. . , , Skirmish at West Liberty, October 23 1861 - Col. L.A. Harris' 2nd Ohio Infantry regiment and a company of Union cavalry, part of Gen. William "Bull" Nelson's command, skirmish with Capt. Jack May's much smaller Morgan Guards, driving them out of Morgan County and back to Prestonsburg. , , Battle of Ivy Mountain, November 8, 1861 - Led by May, three companies of the newly formed 5th Kentucky Infantry, C.S.A., fight a delaying action against four Union regiments led by Nelson, slowing their progress so that the main body of the 5th, under Col. John S. Williams, can evacuate Pikeville and fall back to Pound Gap. Union losses are eight killed and twenty-four wounded. Confederate losses are ten killed and fifteen wounded. , , Skirmish at Tom's Creek, January 4, 1862 - Nine hundred Union infantry under Garfield, having marched up the Big Sandy form Catlettsburg, skirmish with one hundred Confederate cavalry sent on a scouting expedition by Marshall, whose command occupies a fortified position at Hager's Farm near present-day Hager Hill, Kentucky. , , Skirmish at Jenny's Creek, January 7, 1862 - Three hundred Union cavalry (the 2nd Virginia Cavalry under Colonel Bolles) attack two hundred Confederate cavalry which Marshall has posted at Jenny's Creek, several miles west of Paintsville, and rive them off. Six Confederates are killed and several wounded. Union casualties are two killed and one wounded. , , Battle of Middle Creek, January 10, 1862 - Eighteen hundred Union troops under Garfield fight a day-long battle with 1,950 Confederates under Marshall. Garfield mounts several assaults and finally succeeds in driving one Confederate regiment from its entrenched position. When night falls, the Confederates retreat, burning some of their supplies and leaving their dead on the battlefield. Union casualties are three killed and eleven wounded. Confederate casualties are ten killed and fourteen wounded. , , Battle of Pound Gap, March 14, 1862 - Six hundred Federal infantry and one hundred cavalry led by Garfield attack the Confederate garrison at Pound Gap, consisting of five companies of Virginia State Militia under Major J.B. Thompson. After a twenty-minute fight, the rebels are routed and flee their fort, consisting of sixty log huts, commissary, hospital, and officers quarters. There are no Union casualties. Confederate casualties are seven killed and wounded. , , Menifee's Raid on Pikeville, August 2-5, 1862 - Capt. Nathaniel Menifee and his irregular band of Confederate guerrillas raid Pikeville, skirmishing several times with the town's home guards. Nine Union men are killed and the rest are driven from the county. Menifee celebrates his victory by looting John Dils's general store, causing the proprietor, a well-know Union man, to flee for his life. The town's stockyards are looted and a large number of cattle are driven back to Virginia. , , Marshall's Invasion of Eastern Kentucky, September 1862 - Acting in concert with armies led by Kirby Smith and Braxton Bragg, Marshall comes through Pound Gap with Col. Robert C. Trigg's 54th Virginia, Col. Alfred C. Moore's 29th Virginia, Col. Campbell Slemp's 64th Virginia, and Col. J.W. Gillespie's 43rd Tennessee. Leading the van is Brig. Gen John S. Williams's 5th Kentucky Infantry. They occupy Pikeville, Prestonsburg, Salyersville, West Liberty, and other towns along the Mount Sterling-Pound Gap Road. Following the Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862), Marshall moves his army back to their base in southwestern Virginia. , , Battle of Wireman's Shoals, December 4, 1862 - While escorting several pushboats filled with military supplies up the Big Sandy from the Union base at Catlettsburg to the Union outpost at Pikeville, Lt. Levi Hampton and a small detachment of the 39th Kentucky Infantry are attacked, surrounded, and captured by 800 Virginia Partisan Rangers under Co. John N. Clarkson. Union losses are two killed, twelve wounded, and thirty-eight captured. The Confederates capture 500 Enfield rifles, 7,000 rounds of ammunition, and enough uniforms to outfit Clarkson's entire command. After Hampton surrenders, Clarkson's men murder him and strip his body of its clothing.