Mount Vernon News
 
 

By Mount Vernon News
October 7, 2011 11:16 am EDT

 

The battle of Carnifex Ferry in West Virginia took place Sept. 10-12, 1861, when forces under Gen. William S. Rosecrans caught a smaller Confederate force under Gen. John Floyd on the west side of the Gauley River.

Since this happened just as the Sept. 10 issue of the Democratic Banner would have been on the news stands, readers of the Banner didn’t find out the details until Sept. 17. They probably looked first to see if Companies A and B of the 4th Ohio Volunteers were involved in the fight, since the 4th was part of Rosecrans’ force, specifically the 3rd Brigade.

However, it was at Pendleton, W.Va., and may have been involved in a small action at or near Petersburg, W.Va., on Sept. 7 and 12.

The Banner published a report issued Sept. 12, which said that a Rebel force under John B. Floyd, 5,000 men (probably about half that), were entrenched “in a powerful position on top of a mountain at Carrick’s (Carnifex) Ferry on the west side of the Gauley River.”


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