Battle at Philippi
| date | June 3, 1861 |
|---|---|
| place | Barbour County , West Virginia , USA |
| Exit | Union victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
|
~ 3,000
|
~ 1,000
|
| losses | |
|
4th
|
15th
|
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The battle at Philippi , also known as the Philippi Races , took place during the American Civil War on June 3, 1861 in the small town of Philippi in western Virginia . The skirmish was an important step for western Virginia on the road to secession from the Commonwealth of Virginia and entry into the Union . After the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, it marked the first significant clash between parts of both armies in the eastern theater of war.
prehistory
After the war began, Major General McClellan had been appointed in command of the Ohio Military District. He planned an offensive through western Virginia that could potentially end with the capture of the Confederate capital, Richmond , Virginia. His immediate goals were on the one hand to occupy the area in western Virginia to protect the population set for the Union, and on the other hand to keep the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad open as the main supply line of the Union to the west. On May 26, he ordered Brigadier General Thomas A. Morris and 3,000 men to take the offensive in western Virginia.
On May 30th the two columns reached the area around Grafton . On June 2, both of them left Grafton on a railroad transport to begin a movement to encircle the 800 Confederate recruits stationed in Philippi under the command of Colonel George A. Porterfield. The approach took place during the night in pouring rain and low temperatures. The attack should begin before dawn. The start of the attack was coordinated by firing a pistol.
course
The approach of the Union soldiers was not noticed by the southerners because they had waived security posts due to the bad weather. However, a sympathizer had noticed the Union soldiers, sent her son to the Confederate camp and, when he was arrested by Union soldiers, fired her pistol at the soldiers. This shot was understood as an order to attack.
The Union artillery opened fire and woke the sleeping southerners. They took up arms at their ready, fired at the Union soldiers and fled south through Philippi from the approaching superior force, sometimes wearing their nightwear . There they were not received by the soldiers of the Union's left attack column, because they got lost in the pitch-dark night and were still approaching the city from the north. The commander of this column was seriously wounded while trying to pursue the fleeing southerners. There were no casualties on either side. Two Confederate soldiers had limbs amputated due to severe injuries. These were the first amputations of the civil war.
consequences
General McClellan already showed two characteristics that later characterized him: he overestimated the strength of the enemy - he stated in his report that 2,000 insurgents had fled Philippi - and it was not his fault that the Confederates failed captured for having no cavalry support.
The completely taken by surprise southerners finally had to move to Beverly via Huttonsville. The battle was given the name “Philippi Races” by the northerners because the poorly armed southerners ran away through the town like rabbits. It had two results that were important for the further course of the civil war:
On the one entered General McClellan in the spotlight of political Washington and the other on June 11 in Wheeling (now West Virginia), the foundation of the " Restored Government of Virginia ," the restored government of Virginia . This declared Virginia's exit from the Union illegal and rejoined the Union. The Union recognized this area increase, and the area of western Virginia formed the US state of West Virginia from June 20, 1863 .
literature
- United States. War Dept .: The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies , Govt. Print. Off., Washington 1880-1901 (English).
- James M. McPherson : Battle Cry of Freedom . Oxford University Press, New York 1988, ISBN 0-19-503863-0 (English).
- James M. McPherson (Editor): The Atlas of the Civil War . Philadelphia 2005, ISBN 0-7624-2356-0 (English).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Robert U. Johnson, Clarence C. Buel (Ed.): Battles and Leaders of the Civil War , Volume 1, p. 124f: Strength of Union Troops (English).
- ^ The War of the Rebellion , Series I, Volume II, p. 70: Strength of the Confederate .
-
↑ a b The War of the Rebellion , Series I, Volume II, p. 67f: losses .
Troop strengths and losses are also different in the official information. - ^ The West Virginia Encyclopedia - Battle of Philippi : Amputation .
- ^ The War of the Rebellion , Series I, Volume II, p. 65: McClellan's report .
Coordinates: 39 ° 9 ′ N , 80 ° 2 ′ W