OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Federals win a minor victory that clears Confederates out of the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia and secures the railroad line between Washington and the West.
Category: West Virginia
The Western Virginia Incursion Begins
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: George B. McClellan orders Federal troops across the Ohio River to begin anticipated incursion into predominantly Unionist western Virginia.
An Uneasy Hold on Harpers Ferry
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Robert E. Lee directs Thomas J. Jackson to assemble Confederate troops at strategic Harpers Ferry, Va. Command then shifts from Jackson to Joseph E. Johnston, who soon learns that the place is highly vulnerable to attack.
Where Unyielding Patriotism Rallied
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Confederates keep a tenuous hold on hostile northwestern Virginia while Unionists consider seceding from the rest of the state.
The Moorefield Engagement
Federal cavalry intercepts a Confederate detachment that had just finished raiding through Maryland and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Philip Sheridan takes command of Federals in the Valley and starts planning to take on Jubal Early’s Confederates.
Confederates Forage in West Virginia
Confederate forces scour the Shenandoah Valley and West Virginia to feed the armies despite severe winter conditions, while Federals in the region begin panicking at their presence.