Battle of Rich Mountain

{{short description|Battle of the American Civil War}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}}  {{infobox military conflict | conflict = Battle of Rich Mountain | partof = the American Civil War | image = 400px| | image_size = 300px | caption = | date = July 11, 1861 | place = Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia) | coordinates = {{coord|38|51|58|N|79|56|02|W|display=inline,title}} | result = Union victory | status = | combatants_header = | combatant1 = {{flagicon|USA|1861}} United States (Union) | combatant2 = {{flagicon|CSA|1861c}} CSA (Confederacy) | commander1 = {{flagicon|USA|1861}} George B. McClellan<br>{{flagicon|USA|1861}} William S. Rosecrans | commander2 = {{flagicon|CSA|1861c}} John Pegram{{Surrendered}} | strength1 = 2,000 | strength2 = 1,300 | casualties1 = 74 | casualties2 = 88 <br/> 555 including General Pegram surrendered next day | notes = | campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Operations in Western Virginia}} }}

The '''Battle of Rich Mountain''' took place on July 11, 1861, in Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War.<ref name=NPS/><ref name=RMB-CH/>

==Background== Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia in June 1861. On June 27, he moved his divisions from Clarksburg south against Lt. Col. John Pegram's Confederates, reaching the vicinity of Rich Mountain on July 9. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris's Union brigade marched from Philippi to confront Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett's command at Laurel Hill. On July 10–11, Brig. Gen. William Rosecrans led a reinforced brigade by a mountain path to seize the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in Pegram's rear.<ref name=NPS/>

==Opposing forces== ===Union=== {{further|Rich Mountain order of battle#Union forces|l1=Union order of battle}}

===Confederate=== {{further|Rich Mountain order of battle#Confederate forces|l1=Confederate order of battle}}

==Battle== [[File:Rich_Mountain_Battlefield_West_Virginia.jpg|305px|thumb|right|Map of Rich Mountain Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program]]

===Laurel Mountain=== Union forces under Thomas A. Morris, totaling approximately 4000 troops, beset Confederates under General Garnett at Laurel Mountain starting July 7. After less than a week of skirmishing Morris’ force came to a standoff against Garnett’s Confederate force on Laurel Hill. Occasional sniper and artillery fire plagued both sides amidst inclement weather. Stiff resistance convinced Morris he faced the main Confederate force.<ref name="First Blood p.89">First Blood: Fort Sumter to Bull Run p.89</ref> On July 11, Garnett learned of the Union flanking maneuver at Rich Mountain and decided to withdraw from Laurel Mountain. The 44th Virginia Infantry was ordered to hold the Beverly Road by engaging Federals to give the appearance of an attack.<ref name="essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com">[https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/the-battle-of-rich-mountain.html Essential Civil War Curriculum: The Battle of Rich Mountain by Charles P. Poland, Jr.]</ref> With Gen. William Rosecrans’ Union brigade approaching from the South, Garnett abandoned the Beverly Road and withdrew toward Corrick’s Ford on the Cheat River, where he was killed.<ref name="First Blood p.92">First Blood: Fort Sumter to Bull Run p.92</ref>

===Rich Mountain=== Union forces under the direct command of General McClellan greatly outnumbered Pegram’s Confederates on Rich Mountain. Nevertheless, the Confederates held a strong position and inexperienced soldiers in his own command convinced McClellan to precede any action with an artillery duel.<ref name="First Blood p.89"/> A local boy named David Hart entered Gen. William Rosecrans’ Union camp and said he knew a way around to the rear of the Confederate lines, for which he was offered one hundred dollars in gold.<ref name="First Blood p.89"/><ref>Fout, Frederick W., ''The Dark Days of the Civil War, 1861 to 1865'', F.A. Wagenfuehr, 1904, pg. 74 [https://archive.org/details/darkdayscivilwa00foutgoog/page/n84/mode/2up?view=theater&q=gold]</ref> McClellan agreed to let Hart lead Rosecrans’ brigade of 1,900 men through the woods. The route took roughly 10 hours through wet, rough terrain which forced Rosecrans to leave his artillery behind.<ref name="essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com"/> During this time, Col. Pegram was able to learn from a captured sergeant of the Union flanking movement. Pegram incorrectly assumed the attack was coming from the north and positioned a lone 16-pound artillery piece with most of his command in defense.<ref>First Blood: Fort Sumter to Bull Run p.90</ref> Captain Julius A. De Lagnel, Garnett’s chief of artillery, assumed command of this force around David Hart’s family farm. At 2:30pm Rosecrans’ force appeared at the pass on Rich Mountain and attacked.<ref name="essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com"/> Confederates quickly redeployed their artillery piece and twice repulsed Union skirmishers from behind crude breastworks. Assuming they had defeated the enemy, Pegram’s men began cheering. The cheering was enough to also convince McClellan that Rosecrans had been defeated. However, most of the Union soldiers were well concealed behind trees and logs. Rosecrans counterattacked and routed the Confederates in his front, wounding De Lagnel. McClellan shelled the Rebel position, but did not make the expected assault.<ref>[https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/union-notches-a-victory-at-the-battle-of-rich-mountain Union notches a victory at the Battle of Rich Mountain]</ref> Half the Confederates escaped to Beverly and on over the Shawnee Trail. Pegram and the others (including the "Sydney Boys", a regiment formed from the students of Hampden-Sydney College) attempted to make their way north to link up with Garnett. Pegram’s force was too exhausted to make it and 555 men surrendered on July 12.<ref name="First Blood p.92"/>

==Aftermath== Hearing of Pegram's defeat, Garnett abandoned Laurel Mountain in great disorder. The Federals pursued, and, during fighting at Corrick's Ford on July 13, Garnett was killed; he was the first general officer to be killed in the war.<ref>Kennedy, p. 8.</ref> On July 22, McClellan was ordered to Washington, and Rosecrans assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia. The Union victory at Rich Mountain was met with great celebration in the north, and was instrumental in propelling McClellan to command of the Army of the Potomac.<ref name=NPS/> After the victory at Rich Mountain and failure of Morris to pursue the Confederate troops at Laurel Mountain fast enough to catch them before crossing Shavers' fork, McClellan severely criticized Morris in his report to Washington.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-21 |title=Jul. 14 Report of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan (3rd) |url=https://spirit61.info/primary-sources/mcclellan-40/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Spirit of '61 |language=en}}</ref>

==Preservation== The battlefield and Camp Garnett today are owned and protected by the Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation.<ref>[http://www.richmountain.org/RMfoundation.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414073739/http://www.richmountain.org/RMfoundation.html|date=2019-04-14}} Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation. Accessed May 25, 2018.</ref> The Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners, including the foundation, have acquired and preserved {{convert|57|acres|km2}} of the battlefield.<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/preserve/saved-land] American_Battlefield_Trust "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed May 25, 2018.</ref> The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name="nrhpnom">{{cite web |last1=DelBene |first1=Terry |last2=Lesser |first2=W. Hunter |last3=Byrne |first3=Lars |last4=Baxter |first4=Phyllis J. |title=Rich Mountain Battlefield |url=https://wvculture.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Rich-mountain-battlefield.pdf |website=West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=17 November 2024}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery> File:The soldier in our Civil War - a pictorial history of the conflict, 1861-1865, illustrating the valor of the soldier as displayed on the battle-field, from sketches drawn by Forbes, Waud, Taylor, (14576128308).jpg|Battle at Laurel Mountain (several kilometers away from Rich Mountain) fought concurrently. Confederates on Laurel Mountain retreated in great disorder after hearing of the defeat of Confederate forces on Rich Mountain. File:"Battle of Rich Mountain.".jpg File:Frank Leslie's scenes and portraits of the Civil War (1894) (14576458077).jpg|'''Frank Leslie's scenes and portraits of the Civil War''' File:Sketch of the Site of the O(pe)rations of the 10th, 11th, & 12th, July 1861, at Rich Mountain near Beverly... - NARA - 305586.tif|Sketch of the Site of the Operations of the 10th, 11th, & 12th, July 1861, at Rich Mountain near Beverly. File:Sketch of the battle of Rich Mountain, July 11-12, 1861. LOC 2003629669.tif File:Rough sketch of the battle of Rich Mountain, July 11-12, 1861. LOC 2003629677.jpg File:Area of the battle of Rich Mountain, July 11-12, 1861. LOC 2003629670.jpg File:Battle of Rich Mountain-Camp Garnett.jpg|Camp Garnett File:Battle of Rich Mountain-Hart House.jpg|Marker on site of Hart House File:Battle of Rich Mountain-Historical Marker.jpg|Historical Marker on Rich Mountain File:Battle of Rich Mountain-Uphill.jpg|Looking at summit of Rich Mountain File:Battle of Rich Mountain-Downhill.jpg|Looking westward (downhill) from Rich Mountain summit </gallery>

==Notes== <references> <ref name="NPS">{{cite web|title=Battle Summary|url=https://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/wv003.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124062733/http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/wv003.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 24, 2015|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=11 July 2016}}</ref> <ref name="RMB-CH">{{cite web|title=Concise History of the Battle of Rich Mountain|url=http://www.richmountain.org/RMhistory.html|publisher=Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation|access-date=11 July 2016|archive-date=2 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702125910/http://www.richmountain.org/RMhistory.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> </references>

==References== * Fout, Frederick W., ''The Dark Days of the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, The West Virginia Campaign of 1861, The Antietam and Harper's Ferry Campaign of 1862, The East Tennessee Campaign of 1863, The Atlanta Campaign of 1864'', F.A. Wagenfuehr, 1904. * Kennedy, Frances H., ed. ''The Civil War Battlefield Guide''. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. {{ISBN|0-395-74012-6}}. * Taylor, Paul. ''Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer''. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-60635-040-9}}. * Zinn, Jack. ''The Battle of Rich Mountain''. Parsons, WV: McClain Printing Company, 1971. {{ISBN|0-87012-094-8}}. *[https://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/CWSII/WestVirginiaBattlefieldProfiles/Rich%20Mountain%20to%20Summit%20Point.pdf CWSAC Report Update and Resurvey: Individual Battlefield Profiles]

== External links == * {{Commons category-inline|Battle of Rich Mountain}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150124062733/http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/wv003.htm National Park Service Battle Summary] * [http://www.richmountain.org Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation] *The West Virginia & Regional History Center at West Virginia University houses a [https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1087 brief account of the battle written by L. Johnson] and includes drawings of the Union camp * [http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh28-1.html Rich Mountain Revisited] Dallas B. Shaffer, October 1966

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich Mountain, Battle Of}} Category:1861 in Virginia Category:Western Virginia campaign Category:Battles of the eastern theater of the American Civil War Category:Union victories of the American Civil War Category:Randolph County, West Virginia, in the American Civil War Category:1861 in the American Civil War Category:Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Category:National Register of Historic Places in Randolph County, West Virginia Category:Historic districts in Randolph County, West Virginia Category:Battles of the American Civil War in West Virginia Category:July 1861