The American Civil War - Chronologically

Oct. 26, 1861 Wire Bridge Engagement  (Outside) Romney, West[ern] Virginia Gen. Benjamin F. Kelley  and Col. Thomas Johns, 2nd Regiment Potomac Home Brigade vs Maj. Gen. Jackson (114th and 77th VA Militia)  * Why, yes- this is the same Gen. Kelley that later gets kidnapped from Cumberland https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=81399 Wire Bridge Engagement Federal Attack on Romney On October 24, 1861, Union Gen. Winfield Scott ordered Gen. Benjamin F. Kelley to strengthen his position at New Creek Station (present-day Keyser) on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and then march to Romney and occupy the town. Situated on the North Western Turnpike and the largest town in the South Branch Valley, Romney had strategic importance. Kelley planned a two-pronged attack for October 26. He led the main force from the west on the turnpike, while Col. Thomas Johns, 2nd Regiment Potomac Home Brigade, attacked from the north. Johns was to push across the Wire Bridge here , march south, and strike ...

Oct. 21, 1861 The Battle of Ball's Bluff Harrison's Island Loudoun County, VA Union Charles P. Stone defeated by vs. Confederate Nathan G. Evans * "last major action in the East for the first year of the war." It wasn't even supposed to be a battle. McClellan was just probing Virginia, peeking over the line from Maryland. They were trying to see who or what was in Leesburg, VA. So Capt. Chase Philbrick crossed the river and thought he saw a little camp worth attacking - but he got more than he bargained for and didn't leave and escape route. Brigadier General Charles Pomeroy Stone, a sitting U.S. Senator, got killed trying to help him out.  Ball's Bluff is a pretty important battle early in the war, though it is largely forgotten today. It was a major blunder that got blamed on McClellan and others, largely Stone. And although it was called a Union slaughter at the the time, it was a picnic compared to later battles. A U.S. Senator died here! Coming only a...

Oct. 3, 1861 Battle of Greenbrier River; or Battle of Camp Bartow Bartow, Pocahontas County, [West] Virginia  Brig. Gen. Joseph Reynolds (aka the Reynolds that survives the war) - the 24th, 25th, and 32nd Ohio Infantry; the 7th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 17th Indiana Infantry; Battery G, 4th U.S. Artillery, commanded by Captain Albion Howe; Loomis' Battery; Battery A, 1st West Virginia Light Artillery Regiment; and parts of Robinson's Ohio Cavalry; Greenfield's Pennsylvania Cavalry, and Bracken's Independent Company Indiana Cavalry, Company K, 1st Indiana Cavalry. vs. Brig. Gen. Henry Jackson (aka Not-that-Jackson) - the 1st Georgia Infantry (Ramsey's)[4] and the 12th Georgia Infantry under Colonel Edward Johnson; the 23d, 44th, and a battalion of the 25th Virginia Infantry under Lieutenant Colonel George Hansbrough; the 3d Arkansas Infantry under Colonel Albert Rust; the 31st Virginia Infantry, Anderson's, and Shumaker's Batteries, and a part of the Church...

Oct 1 & 2, 1861 Confederate planning in Fairfax Fairfax Court House, VA  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6259 " This building is on the National Register of Historic Places. George and Martha Washington’s wills were recorded here and still remain in this complex. Confederate President Jefferson Davis reviewed strategy in the tavern across the street with his generals on October 1 and 2, 1861." * * * October 1st, 1861 The Fanny Salvo, North Carolina, in Dare County; Cape Hatteras National Seashore * First Capture of a Federal Vessel During the Civil War * I drove to coastal NC looking for 1861 sites [Summer 2025] and was excited to score this "first" - but the marker was gone when I got there! A new one was posted with Civil War-adjacent information. Information from both below. * The Mosquito Fleet makes an appearance at  the Battle of Roanoke Island   Photographed by Kevin W., June 23, 2009 - it is gone The Fanny First Capture of a Federal Vessel During the Civil ...

Sept. 23, 1861 Gen. Kelley pursues Confederates to Romney Romney, WV * Also home to one of the first ever Confederate monuments - Stump is on it (see Feb. 5, 1865) General B.F. Kelley ( 4th Ohio Volunteer Infantry) vs. 77th Virginia Militia Here's Romney Town Hall - and the former site of the historical marker I drove there to see. That was basically the theme of my visit to Romney, as is too often the case with markers in West Virginia. The contents of one missing sign are archived online and thus reprinted below.  Romney In The Civil War Strategic Location on the Turnpike Romney experienced many troop movements and skirmishes during the course of the war because of its location on the vitally important North Western Turnpike. The road linked Winchester, near the northern end of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, with Parkersburg on the Ohio River. The earliest engagement fought here occurred on [see also] June 13, 1861, when a Federal force under Col. Lewis Wallace stormed the covere...