Virginia 9th Infantry Battalion (Confederate)

Philippi

Fighting at Philippi in Barbour County on June 3, 1861, was the first organized land battle of the war. Union troops had been ordered to the vicinity to secure the critical river crossings and rail junctions. Confederate units in the area recruiting troops for Southern service concentrated at Philippi as Union columns advanced from the north and west.READ MORE

Rich Mountain

Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia in June 1861. After their defeat by McClellan at Philippi, Confederate troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett had fortified two key mountain passes. The one furthest south, Camp Garnett, consisted of earth and log entrenchments overlooking the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike at Rich Mountain, just west of Beverly. On June 27th, McClellan moved his brigades of Ohio and Indiana soldiers from Clarksburg south aga…READ MORE

Greenbrier River

During the night of October 2-3, Union Brig. General Joseph Reynolds advanced with two brigades from Cheat Mountain to reconnoiter the Confederate position at Camp Bartow on the Greenbrier River. Reynolds drove in the Confederate pickets and opened fire with his artillery. After sporadic fighting and an abortive attempt to turn the Confederate's right flank, Reynolds withdrew back to Cheat Mountain. Interestingly, the following months saw reports from both sides heavily exaggerate the number of enemy losse…READ MORE