May 18-19, 1863 - Battle of Fayetteville

May 18-19, 1863


Battle of Fayetteville (AKA Fayetteville '63)


Fayetteville, WV


Col. C.B. White

vs.

Gen. John McCausland


* Of course, we won't confuse this minor battle with the larger one a year earlier. But Lord know how we won't confuse it with the "Battle of Fayetteville (1863)" that takes places in Arkansas just a month earlier, though I prefer to call that one "action" at Fayetteville - to differentiate it from the "skirmish" that occurs there in August. Sometimes it can feel like I am the only one identifying these things. Like, is WV's "Battle" of Fayetteville (1863) mentioned as such anywhere besides these markers? Let me know in the comments, Chat. 

* And yes - here was "the first use of indirect artillery fire in modern military history."   

* While in the neighborhood I got to cross "the longest steel span in the western hemisphere...the third highest bridge in the United States."


Somebody's house. 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=217549

Indirect Firing


Nearby on May 19-20, 1863, Corp. Milton W. Humphreys, gunner in Bryan's Battery, 13th Virginia Light Artillery, C.S.A., made first use of indirect artillery fire in warfare. Target was Union fort in Fayetteville.
 
Erected 1979 by West Virginia Department of Culture and History.


Fayetteville again - see 1862

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=55815

Fayetteville


In the attack on Federal forces here, 1863. Milton W. Humphreys, the educator and soldier, gunner of Bryan's Battery, 13th Virginia Light Artillery, C.S.A., first used “indirect firing,” now in universal military use.



https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=120516


Battle of Fayetteville (1863)


On May 19, 1863, Confederate forces under Gen. John McCausland tried to retake Fayetteville form the Union army., which had previously routed Gen. Loring's troops. While the resulting Confederate loss to Federal soldiers under Col. C.B. White was largely unremarkable, the battle is notable due to the first use of indirect artillery fire in modern military history.
 
Erected 2016 by West Virginia Archives & History.

*

This crazy-ass bridge was nearby - one of the most horrifying things I have ever driven on. This is one of the tallest bridges in the world, that isn't in China. That's the New River Gorge Bridge. Not for the feint of heart. And apparently they open it for walk-ons once a year in October. 







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