Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
165 YEARS AGO: Robert E. Lee seeks to unify Confederate forces in western Virginia, but internal divisions and rivalries among commanders hinder cooperation. Various independent commands operate without collaboration, resulting in ineffective resistance against Federal forces in the Kanawha Valley.
165 YEARS AGO: In western Virginia, a Federal force looks to clear Confederates out of the Great Kanawha Valley while Confederates try to coordinate and consolidate their forces.
165 YEARS AGO: In northwestern Virginia, one Confederate commander surrenders his force, and another becomes the first general killed in action.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: A detachment of George B. McClellan’s Federal army attacks an isolated portion of Robert S. Garnett’s Confederate army near Beverly in northwestern Virginia.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Heavy skirmishing erupts at the foot of Laurel Hill as George B. McClellan’s Federals prepared to attack Robert S. Garnett’s Confederate defenders. Garnett expresses doubt about his capability to defend against the advancing enemy, as McClellan strategizes for an impending battle at Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain.
165 YEARS AGO: Various detachments of Federal and Confederate forces maneuver toward a confrontation in Unionist western Virginia.