Aug. 26, 1861 - Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes

Aug. 26,  1861

Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes (or Battle of Cross Lanes, or Battle of Forks and Knives)

Nicholas County, West[ern] Virginia


Gen. Jacob Cox: Gen. Erastus Tyler (who wasn't so great here, but generally kicked ass in the Eastern Theatre before commanding the defenses at Baltimore)

vs.

Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd (previous Governor of VA and Secretary of War under Buchanan; goes on to lose Fort Donelson) 


* Floyd, commanding Confederate forces in the Kanawha Valley, crossed the Gauley River to successfully attack Col. Erastus Tyler's 7th Ohio Infantry Regiment encamped at Kessler's Cross Lanes. They say that after the surprise strike "the two wings of Tyler's line retreated in opposite directions." However, the Union quickly and decisively strikes back at Carnifex Ferry, where Floyd took a more effective defensive position, a couple weeks later.

* "Throughout the rout and carnage Major Jack Casement, at the head of Tyler's left wing, commenced a retrograde march through Confederate territory over mountain ranges to the Elk River and what is now the Town of Clendenin and then on to Charleston, West Virginia without the capture of a man."

* Kessler's Cross Lanes was named after Frederick Kessler, an early settler. 


The two historical markers and a wayside marker from the Civil War Trails are all found in the parking lot of the Keslers Cross Lanes Volunteer Fire Department, so that was convenient. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=271678

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 & attacked by Floyd’s brigade.” 
- Sgt. E.B. Stiles, 7th Ohio Infantry 

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. 

Col. Erastus B. Tyler after his promotion to Brig. Gen. - Courtesy Dana B. Shoaf Collection. 


https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=76618

Keslers Cross Lanes. 
Here at the crossroads was an area of early settlement and growth. In 1854 Fred Kessler & John Vaughan opened store; Vaughan appointed postmaster. Site of first meeting of Nicholas County Court; significant Civil War actions of Cross Lanes and Carnifex Ferry in 1861; first Normal School for teacher training held in Malcolm’s Store in 1889, later moved to Old Temperance Hall and then to Summersville.

First County Court. 
On April 9, 1818, nearby was log home of John Hamilton, site of the organization of Nicholas County. John Duffield elected High Sheriff; John Given, County Clerk; C.W. Cottle & E. Rian to Virginia Assembly; and John Hamilton, Colonel of Militia by sixteen justices. Split on county seat site; moved to farm of John Groves then Peter’s Creek Rd., now Summersville.


https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=76621

Site of surprise attack by the Confederates under General John B. Floyd on the early morning of Aug. 26, 1861 against Federal troops of the 7th Ohio Inf., led by Colonel E.B. Tyler. The Federal soldiers were badly defeated and scattered. They lost 132 men, including killed and captured. This surprise attack also known as the Battle of Knives and Forks.



On this map, the following church is located above the word "Tyler." 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=138064

Organized on April 17, 1824 by twelve members from the Hopewell Church in Fayette County at the home of Henry Morris on Peter’s Creek. The first building of frame, constructed in 1840, was destroyed by Union soldiers in 1861. The building was replaced but it burned in 1879. A new church was erected, but it too was destroyed by fire in 1955. The present building was erected in 1955.



By American Battlefield Protection Program - National Park Service, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56929033



Now, finally, let's next head to the climax of the 1861 Kanawha Valley campaign at Carnifex Ferry...and and then the hell out of West Virginia. 



Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keslers_Cross_Lanes,_West_Virginia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kessler%27s_Cross_Lanes

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

July 10-12, 1864 - Gilmor's Raid

Image
July 9-11, 1864  Gilmor's Raid  AKA The Magnolia Station Raid (though that's really a sub-set of the larger raid) Baltimore and Harford Counties, Maryland There's a lot going on here and I'm still piecing it together, so let's consider this entry (really, all of them) a work in progress. This could be my absolute favorite Civil War moment right here: the days the war came closest to where I live and work today. And Gilmor is a bastard of a villain just short of Lee. OK, maybe not on the same scale as Lee, but he's still an a-hole. Fittingly, though disappointingly, he becomes the Chief of Police in Baltimore after the war - and he fires on some striking railroad workers.  There is some irony in knowing that the street named for him is in West Baltimore's Sandown-Winchester neighborhood - epicenter of the 2015 Baltimore uprising. Gilmor Homes, an undeniably notorious housing project in the same area, also bore his name.  From Brett W. Spaulding's Last Ch...
Read more

Nov. 28, 1864 - Capture of New Creek

Image
Nov. 28, 1864 Capture of New Creek New Creek aka Keyser, WV Col. George R. Latham @ Fort Fuller  vs. Confederates under Gen. Thomas Rosser "On November 28, 1864, Confederates under Gen. Thomas Rosser rode to New Creek, where a sizeable Union force commanded by Col. George R. Latham occupied Fort Fuller . With several of the Confederates wearing enemy uniforms, the attack was a complete surprise. More than 700 Union soldiers were captured, along with horses and artillery. A vast amount of supplies was destroyed." https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=152788 Keyser. Between 1861–1865, Keyser, then New Creek, was sought by the North and South. It changed hands fourteen times. Fort Fuller, where Potomac State Collect stands, was supported by a series of forts girding the town. Averell’s Raid. Here in 1863 General W. W. Averell started the Federal cavalry raid to Salem, Virginia, and then back into this State. This is among the great exploits of the War. Many of his troopers were from Wes...
Read more

July 6, 1863 -Battle of Hagerstown

Image
July 6, 1863 The Battle of Hagerstown -  AKA The Battle of Williamsport, or Falling Waters (Again), but really those are three different things, and all conflated with the retreat after Gettysburg . This is sometimes called "the First" Battle of Hagerstown, and that actually makes some sense. Neither Wikipedia nor even the American Battlefield Trust will deign to give this important battle its own page :(   Hagerstown, MD (Washington County)  Meade (Brig. Gen Judson Kilpatrick [why is he sometimes listed as Hugh Kilpatrick? Same guy?]; Capt. Ulric Dahlgren*; 18th PA Cavalry)  vs Lee (Col. John Chambliss's 9th VA Cavalry come in south of town, while the 10th formed a barricade in the streets; Capt. Frank Bond; Hammond Dorsey @ Public Square;  NC Cavalry under Gen Beverly Robertson; JEB Stuart shows up late) * Intense urban warfare, in a rainstorm: flipped the wagons for barricades at the intersection of what is now/still Baltimore and South Potomac Stre...
Read more