The Battle of Corrick's Ford took place on July 13, 1861, on the Cheat River in western Virginia (now the state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

) as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. By later standards the battle was a minor skirmish. Often considered a final part of the

Battle of Rich Mountain The Battle of Rich Mountain took place on July 11, 1861, in Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. Background Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed c ...

, it was the end of a series of battles between the forces of Union Maj. Gen.

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...

and Confederate Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett.

Battle

McClellan had defeated part of Garnett's force on July 11, 1861, at the

. On hearing of the defeat, Garnett fell back toward Virginia with approximately 4,500 men around midnight that night. He began to march towards Beverly, but received false information that McClellan's men occupied the town. The Confederates backtracked, abandoned the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike at Leadsville, and crossed

Cheat Mountain Cheat Mountain is an exceptionally high and rugged ridge situated in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is about long (north to south) and more than five miles (8 km) wide at its widest. Its highest point is at its so ...

into the Cheat River Valley. Union Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris pursued them with his Indiana brigade. Around noon on July 13, Morris overtook Garnett's rear guard at Corrick's Ford on the Cheat River, and attacked the retreating Confederates. Garnett personally directed the rear guard of the Confederate skirmishers in order to delay the Union attack. He soon withdrew to another ford a mile or two farther away. The running skirmish resumed and as Garnett again prepared to retreat, a Union volley killed him instantly. The Confederates fled, abandoning their dead commander, one cannon, and nearly 40 wagons. A friend in the Union Army recovered Garnett's body after the battle. He was the first general officer killed in the Civil War. Control of western Virginia was now firmly in Union hands and it stayed that way for the rest of the war. The campaign propelled Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan to command of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

Memorials

Two monuments mark the Battle of Corricks Ford. A six-ton boulder affixed with a bronze plaque was dedicated in 1926 and later moved to a site which is now along US Route 219. Another monument to the battle was unveiled at the courthouse in 1938.

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 Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, through the acquisition of battlefield lan ...

(a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved of the battlefield.

References

External links

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Corricks Ford Battlefield Park

Corricks Ford Battlefield Master Plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corrick's Ford, Battle Of 1861 in Virginia Western Virginia campaign Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Union victories of the American Civil War Tucker County, West Virginia, in the American Civil War 1861 in the American Civil War Battles of the American Civil War in West Virginia July 1861