July- Oct. 1861- Kanawha Valley Campaign: Gauley Bridge, WV; Hawk's Nest; Imboden's Contentment & Tyree Tavern; "Traveler"
September 3, 1861
Skirmish at Gauley Bridge
Gauley Bridge, WV
McClellan: Gen. Jacob Cox (awaiting reinforcements from Rosecrans)> Col. Erasmus Tyler (7th OH)
vs.
Lee: (former VA Governor and Secretary of War) John B. Floyd / (also a former VA Governor and Floyd's rival) General Henry Wise > Gen. Henry Heth
* "A minor battle during the military campaign that secured Union occupation of West Virginia at the start of the American Civil War. "
* "During the Civil War, the bridge was hotly contested as the Confederate and Union troops tried to gain a hold on the upper Kanawha River valley. From 1861 through 1862, Gauley Bridge changed hands three times until the confederate troops were pushed southeast into Greenbrier County. As troops battled over possession of the bridge, it was burned, rebuilt and burned again."
* "The town achieved notoriety during the 1930s with the nearby construction of the Hawks Nest Dam and Tunnel. It was during the Great Depression and hundreds of unemployed workers, many of them Blacks from the South, swarmed into Gauley Bridge for the construction jobs. The tunnel was driven three miles through Gauley Mountain, and tunnel workers almost immediately began to sicken and die. The cause was silicosis, a disease well known in Europe but not in the United States at that time. The death toll has been estimated at more than 750, making the Hawks Nest Disaster among the worst industrial accidents in U.S. history."
* Oddly, Gauley Bridge only became an incorporated municipality in 1978.
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| [half of a] Military reconnaissance in the vicinity of Gauley Bridge, Department of western Virginia, Brig. Genl. W. S. Rosecrans, comd'g., Sept. 11th to Nov. 15, 1861 |
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| An excellent overview of this 1861 Kanawha Valley Campaign, from https://civilwartraveler.blog/2023/06/28/kanawha-valley-campaign-of-1861-gauley-bridge-and-hawks-nest/ |
Good morning, West Virginia! Right before Gauley Bridge...
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=50397 |
Located across Kanawha River from this point was Civil War camp for Union Army, 1862-64. Site had 56 cabins and parade grounds for 23rd Ohio Vol. Inf. commanded by Col. Rutherford B. Hayes and Lt. William McKinley, future United States presidents.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=242422 |
Gauley Bridge
Gateway to the Kanawha Valley
—West Virginia Civil War Trails—
Smoke filled the sky over Gauley Bridge on July 26, 1861, as Confederate Gen. Henry B. Wise's soldiers torched the Kanawha River bridge that stood on the piers directly in front of you. That destruction, however, did not prevent Union Gen. Jacob Cox and his 3,000 men from capturing the eastern gateway to the Kanawha Valley a few days later.
Cox's men constructed a wire suspension bridge by early 1862, and Union forces occupied the area until September, when Confederate Gen. William W. Loring drove out the Union garrison. Loring destroyed the second bridge on September 11. The Confederates soon abandoned the Kanawha Valley, however, and it remained in Union hands until the end of the war.
In 1861, Gen. Jacob D. Cox wrote, "nothing could be more romantically beautiful than the situation of the post at Gauley Bridge."
Courtesy Library of Congress
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20818 |
Here New and Gauley rivers unite to form Great Kanawha River. Piers still stand of old bridge destroyed by the Confederate troops in 1861. Here Thomas Dunn English, author of the ballad, "Ben Bolt," wrote "Gauley River".
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| Nearby, Cathedral Falls BTW |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=138027 |
Christopher Q. Tompkins
Born 1813 in Matthews County, VA. Tompkins was an 1836 graduate of West Point. A prominent industrial businessman in the Kanawha Valley before the Civil War, from May to November 1861 he was colonel of the Confederate 22nd Virginia Infantry. Resigning his commission, he moved to Richmond and used his knowledge to aid war manufacturing efforts. He died May 1877 in Richmond.
Gauley Mount
Located 3 miles east of Gauley Bridge, Gauley Mount was home to Christopher and Ellen Tompkins. Except for a brief period in 1862, the estate served as a major Union encampment during the Civil War, with Ellen and the children there through late 1861. Gen. Floyd’s decision to fire artillery at the camp in 1861 led Col. Tompkins to resign from the 22nd Virginia Infantry.
* ohhh trouble in paradise, eh? That's the first, I've heard of this...Here's more. A LOT more, with impressive quotes and photographs. And a briefer account of Camp Tompkins, with photos; the Kanawha Riflemen were there, with their commander Patton, as seen at Scary Creek, just upriver and a few days away from this incident.
Let's just continue to head down the valley, following the river.
"Cox knew that Floyd was headed his way. On the 20th [of Aug. 1861] the 11th OH skirmished with a detachment of Wise’s men at Hawks Nest. Private James Roach became the first man killed in the Civil War from the 11th OH."
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=20675 |
Once called Marshall’s Pillar for Chief Justice John Marshall, who came here, 1812. U.S. engineers declare the New River Canyon, 585 feet deep, surpasses the famed Royal Gorge. Tunnel for river makes vast water power here.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=34417 |
Construction of nearby tunnel, diverting waters of New R. through Gauley Mt. for hydroelectric power, resulted in state’s worst industrial disaster. Silica rock dust caused 109 admitted deaths in mostly black, migrant underground work force of 3,000. Congressional hearing placed toll at 476 for 1930-35. Tragedy brought recognition of acute silicosis as occupational lung disease and compensation legislation to protect workers.
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| The New River from Hawks Nest |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=34421 |
Mouth of the great Hawk's Nest Tunnel, three miles long, which diverts water of New River from its five-mile long gorge. The tunnel, a mile of which is through solid rock, and a 50-foot dam give waterfall of 160 feet for electric power.
"Another skirmish was fought near here at Piggott’s Mill. The 11th OH lured a 175-man detachment of Albert Gallatin Jenkins’ Rebel cavalry into an ambush. Jenkins advanced along the Sunday Road in the direction of Gauley Bridge. Colonel Joesph Frizell and his men his along the woods at a road near Hawks Nest. When the Rebels rode between the Yankees they opened fire. One Confederate was killed and 16 wounded. Two of the wounded were taken prisoner. General Jenkins was almost captured when he was shot from his horse."
* * *
While we are in the neighborhood, heading towards the campaign climax at Carnifex Ferry, let's visit the home of a notorious Confederate raider*. Unplanned bonus material!
*Or his brother, whatever. It's a house on the Civil War trails, OK.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=50392 |
Built, 1830, on the old James River and Kanawha Turnpike. Restored antebellum home of Colonel George W. Imboden, on General Lee's staff, C.S.A. Property and headquarters of the Fayette County Historical Society, organized in 1926.
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| A traitor's house. |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=34371 |
After the Civil War, George W. Imboden lived here with his wife, Mary Tyree, the daughter of William Tyree of Tyree Tavern [see below!]. When the war began, Imboden enlisted in the Staunton Artillery in Augusta County, Virginia, where he then resided. He subsequently became colonel of the 18th Virginia Cavalry when it was organized in December 1862. The regiment was assigned to the brigade of his better-known brother, Gen. John D. Imboden, and served in West Virginia, on the Gettysburg Campaign, and in the 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaigns.
George Imboden married Angia M. Dickinson after his wife Mary died, and they added one room to the house and extended the front porch, Angia Imboden named the place Contentment.
During the Civil War, an elderly couple named Woolwine occupied the house, which was constructed about 1830 and had six rooms. An attached kitchen burned and was not rebuilt.
The Imboden brothers promoted the industrial development of both Virginias. George Imboden served as director of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company, while John Imboden traveled to England to secure investments in area coal mining. Between 1870 and his death in 1922, George Imboden served in the West Virginia House of Delegates (1876), as president of the Fayette County Commission (1881-1885), as first mayor of Ansted (1891-1892)— he also laid out the streets—as town recorder (1891-1907) and as president of the National Bank of Ansted. When he died, he was buried in Westlake Cemetery in his Confederate uniform.
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| Museum: closed |
*****
Also: I missed the cemetery, but Jackson's Mother is buried here. Whoop-dee-doo. (Pics of her grave/monument in link)
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=34376 |
In Westlake Cemetery is the grave of the mother of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The monument at the grave was placed by Captain Thomas Ranson, who had fought in Jackson's old brigade in the War between the States.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=59937 |
Tyree Tavern
Confederate and Union Headquarters
During his and Gen. Henry Alexander Wise’s unsuccessful Kanawha Valley campaign, Confederate Gen. John B. Floyd made his headquarters here, August 17-18, 1861, while Wise camped on the top of Big Sewell Mountain. In 1862, according to an inscription carved over the front door, the tavern was “Headquarters of the Chicago Gray Dragoons". The original Chicago Dragoons enlisted in April 1861 for three months and were sent to West Virginia in June. Most of the men returned to Chicago when their enlistments expired, but their captain, Charles W. Barker, recruited two companies called the McClellan Dragoons. After November 1862, they became Cos. H and I, 12 Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. Besides serving as a headquarters for both sides during the war, according to local tradition, the Tyree Tavern also served as a hospital.
William Tyree, the owner of the tavern, was captain of Co. C, 22nd Regiment Virginia Infantry (CS), also known as the 1st Kanawha Regiment. Two of his sons, Andrew and Joseph Tyree, served in his company. The regiment was organized in July 1861 and saw action at Carnifex Ferry and Droop Mountain. It took part in many of the battles in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia before disbanding in the spring of 1865.
(Top Sidebar):
Thomas J. Jackson, later nicknamed Stonewall, stayed here in August 1855, hoping to visit his mother's grave in Westlake Cemetery. William Tyree, who had attended her burial, took him there. However, the grave was unmarked, and Jackson was not sure he saw the spot.
(Lower Sidebar):
This building may be the oldest structure standing in Fayette County. Charles Skaggs received a patent for 400 acres here in 1792, and his sons Joseph Skaggs may have built the earliest portion then. George Hunter bought the property later then sold it to William Tyree in 1834. Located midway between Charleston and Lewisburg on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike, the tavern was sometimes called the Halfway House. As recently as 1927, the wife of Tyree's son Joseph operated the tavern. It is a private residence today.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=252549 |
Regular stop on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. The original building, dating from before the Revolution, was rebuilt by William Tyree, 1810. During the winter of 1861-62, it was headquarters for Chicago Gray Dragoons.
* * *
While Floyd was there, Wise was over here, prepping for the battle with Cox that never materialized
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=34430 |
Sandstone formation at 2510 feet is landmark known for view of Sewell Mt. range to SE. Known as "Rock of Eyes" by Native Americans and dubbed "Spy Rock" by Civil War soldiers. Sept. 1861, Gen. J.D. Cox and 5,000 Union soldiers camped here to oppose Gen. Robert E. Lee at Sewell Mt. Site of Col. Geo. Alderson farm and tollgate on James River and Kanawha Turnpike, 1834-73. Source for name of Lookout.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=138108 |
Southwest is the Old Stone House, built, 1824, by Richard Tyree on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. It was visited by Jackson, Clay, Webster, Benton, and other notables. Here Matthew Fontaine Maury wrote his book on navigation.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=138110 |
Sewell Mountain Campaign
From August to October 1861, about 17,000 Union and Confederate troops operated near the Sewell Mountain area. Waiting for a major battle that never came, many soldiers died of disease caused by foul weather. Excessive rainfall hampered the long supply lines of both sides and ultimately forced Union Gen. Rosecrans to withdraw his troops back toward the Kanawha Valley.
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=164702 Near here, at highest point on the Midland Trail, Gen. Robert E. Lee had headquarters during his campaign in West Virginia in 1861. His famous war horse “Traveler,” was brought to him here from the Andrew Johnston farm in Greenbrier County. And here's the rock, that marks where a tree once stood, under which Lee pitched his tent. Boy, am I glad I found this rock. |
Thank you and good night, WV.
(Now only Kessler Cross Keys and Carnifex Ferry remain)
Sources:
https://civilwartraveler.blog/2023/06/28/kanawha-valley-campaign-of-1861-gauley-bridge-and-hawks-nest/
https://www.nps.gov/places/gauley-bridge.htm
https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/entries/2034
Rickard, J (17 January 2007), Skirmish at Gauley Bridge, 3 September 1861 , https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_gauley_bridge.html
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