Battle at Camp Allegheny

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Battle at Camp Allegheny
Part of: American Civil War
date December 13, 1861
place Pocahontas County , West Virginia , USA
output draw
Parties to the conflict

United States 34United States United States

States of America Confederate 1861-4Confederate States of America Confederate States of America

Commander
Robert H. Milroy
Edward Johnson
Troop strength
1,900
1,200
losses
137 killed
: 20
wounded: 107
missing / captured: 10
146 killed
: 20
wounded: 98
missing / captured: 28
Operations in Western Virginia

The Camp Allegheny Battle , also known as the Allegheny Mountain Battle , was a Civil War battle in the course of operations in western Virginia . It took place on December 13, 1861.

After Camp Bartow on the Greenbrier River had been abandoned in November 1861 , the Confederates built Camp Allegheny with a moat and palisade on the summit of Allegheny Mountain at 1,350 meters on the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike . The command was Colonel Edward "Allegheny" Johnson.

The new commander of the Northerners , Brigadier General Robert H. Milroy , marched first to Camp Bartow and intended from there to attack Camp Allegheny from two sides simultaneously with two attack wedges. He personally led the stronger part.

When he reached the summit from the north, he ran into the security of the camp and was immediately involved in a battle. The Union's second attack wedge, led by Colonel Moody, was delayed considerably, so that Milroy could not attack in a coordinated manner. In addition, he only had artillerymen without guns because he wanted to capture the Confederate guns and then use them against the Confederates.

Using all his strength, Johnson managed to repel Milroy's attack from the north and then Moody's attack from the south. Milroy's troops again avoided going to the Cheat Mountain Summit Fort.

The heights in western Virginia were inhospitable and desolate and hostile to life for the soldiers deployed there, especially in the harsh winter of 1861/1862. Measles , pneumonia and a host of other illnesses resulted in more deaths than the actual fighting. Not least because of these adverse living conditions, both forts were abandoned in April 1862. With that, the Union had achieved its goal of evicting Confederate troops from the territory of West Virginia. By the end of the Civil War, West Virginia had not been entered by any Confederate troops , with the exception of a few raiding parties.

literature

  • United States. War Dept .: The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Vol. V , Govt. Print. Off., Washington 1880–1901 online here

Web links

Commons : Battle of Camp Allegheny  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Union losses. Cornell University Library, January 12, 2017, accessed June 2, 2018 (Official Records, Vol. 5, p. 457).
  2. ↑ Confederate losses. Cornell University Library, January 12, 2017, accessed June 2, 2018 (Official Records, Vol. 5, p. 468).
  3. ↑ Milroys report. Cornell University Library, January 12, 2017, accessed June 2, 2018 (English, Official Records, Vol. 51, Part 1, pp. 51ff).
  4. ↑ Johnson's report. Cornell University Library, January 12, 2017, accessed June 2, 2018 (Official Records, Vol. 5, pp. 460ff).

Coordinates: 38 ° 28 '22.1 "  N , 79 ° 43' 48.7"  W.