The First Battle of Saltville (October 2, 1864) was fought near the town of

Saltville, Virginia Saltville is a town in Smyth and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 2,077 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a compon ...

, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. The battle over an important

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

saltworks in town was fought by both regular and

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

units against regular

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troops, which included two of the few

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cavalry units of the United States Colored Troops. The Union troops were led by Brig. Gen. Stephen G. Burbridge, then commander of US forces in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Confederates murdered both black and white wounded soldiers after the battle, in what has been called the Saltville Massacre.Encyclopedia Virginia: "Saltville During the Civil War"
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Saltville Massacre

The battle was a Confederate victory. It has become known primarily for the Confederate massacre afterward of both white and black wounded Union troops. Both Confederate soldiers and irregular guerrilla forces under the notorious

Champ Ferguson Samuel "Champ" Ferguson (November 29, 1821 – October 20, 1865) was a notorious Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War. He claimed to have killed over 100 Union soldiers and pro-Union civilians. He was arrested, tried, and execut ...

murdered white and black Union soldiers, on the battlefield and later some wounded who were being treated at the field hospital set up at nearby

Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry College (E&H or Emory) is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Virginia. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College is ...

. A Union surgeon reported that 5–7 black soldiers and Elza Smith, a white lieutenant, were murdered at the hospital. Ferguson was tried after the war in Nashville,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, for these and other non-military killings. He was found guilty and executed on October 29, 1865. Confederate

Brig. Gen. Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Felix Huston Robertson had bragged to another officer that "he had killed nearly all the Negroes.""Was there a Saltville Massacre in 1864?" David Brown's analysis
William C. Davis, in his book ''An Honorable Defeat. The Last Days of the Confederate Government'' (2001), says that Robertson personally "join(ed) in the act of villainy", although he escaped prosecution. When General Robert E. Lee learned of Robertson's conduct, he communicated to General

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

, Commander of the

Department of East Tennessee and West Virginia The Department of East Tennessee and West Virginia was a Confederate Army command in the Trans-Allegheny Theater during the American Civil War. This department existed in two previous forms during the war. Department of Southwestern Virginia Or ...

, his dismay "that a general officer should have been guilty of the crime you mention" and instructed Breckinridge to "prefer charges against him and bring him to trial." Estimates of the number of men massacred at Saltville vary, with most sources indicating around fifty casualties. Thomas Mays, in his book ''The Saltville Massacre'' (1995), argued that 46 Union soldiers were killed. An analysis of the National Archives records by Bryce Suderow, Phyllis Brown, and David Brown concluded that 45–50 members of the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 6th U.S. Colored Cavalry (USCC) were murdered by Confederates. William Marvel had earlier analyzed the same records and concluded in 1991 that "Five black soldiers, wounded and helpless were definitely murdered at Saltville on October 3, and as many as seven more may have suffered the same fate there that day." He said as many as two dozen Union men may have been murdered.

Second battle

The Second Battle of Saltville took place two months later at Saltville.

Battlefield preservation

The

Civil War Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. T ...

(a division of the

American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization ( 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. Th ...

) and its partners have acquired and preserved of the Saltville battlefields.

"Saved Land" webpage. Accessed May 29, 2018.

References

External links

"Saltville, Virginia"
Coverage by ''Harper's Weekly''; continue

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saltville I, Battle Of Battles of the Western Theater of the American Civil War Confederate victories of the American Civil War African Americans in the American Civil War Battle of Saltville I Battle of Saltville I Battles of the American Civil War in Virginia Conflicts in 1864 1864 in Virginia Confederate war crimes October 1864 events

Saltville Massacre

Second battle

Battlefield preservation

See also

References

Further reading

External links