Battle of Fayetteville (1862)

Colonel Edward Siber, of the 37th Ohio Infantry Regiment, commanded the 1st Brigade.[19] Siber had over 20 years of service as a German soldier in Prussia and Brazil.[20] Siber's immediate superior, Colonel Lightburn, was not at the site of the battle.[21] In the battle, Siber's command consisted of:

• 

  A soldier from 34th Ohio Infantry
  34th Ohio Infantry Regiment was commanded by Colonel John T. Toland.[22] The regiment was organized by Colonel Abram S. Piatt, who resigned in 1862 after he was injured from a fall from his horse. The men wore distinctive zouave–styled uniforms in blue trimmed with red, and were known as "Piatt's Zouaves".[23] The regiment was considered rough and ruthless. Toland was not well-versed in military procedures, but he was fierce and brave.[22] Lieutenant Colonel Freeman E. Franklin commanded a detachment during the battle.[24]
• 37th Ohio Infantry Regiment consisted of men from German communities, and was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Louis von Blessing when Siber was commanding the brigade.[22] Captain William Weste, from Company C, commanded Siber's artillery, which consisted of four mountain howitzers and two smooth-bore field pieces.[8] During May, the regiment fought in the Battle of Princeton Court House.[25]
• During the battle, Colonel Lightburn sent two detachments to assist Siber. Three companies of the 4th Loyal Virginia Infantry were commanded by Captain John L. Vance.[26] Twenty-five men from the 2nd Loyal Virginia Cavalry were commanded by Major John J. Hoffman.[27][Note 3]

William W. Loring

Major General William W. Loring commanded the Department of Southwestern Virginia.[19] He also used the term "Department of Western Virginia", and called his command the "Army of Western Virginia".[29] He had been a soldier since the age of 14, was a sergeant at the age of 17, and fought in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican–American War.[30] Under his command for the Battle of Fayetteville were:

• The Second Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General John S. "Cerro Gordo" Williams.[31] He was a Mexican-American War veteran, and he earned his nickname for heroics at Cerro Gordo.[32] Under his command were the 26th Virginia Infantry Battalion (a.k.a. Edgar's Battalion) and the 45th Virginia Infantry Regiment.[33] For this battle, the 36th Virginia Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel John McCausland, was part of Williams' brigade.[33]
• The Third Brigade was commanded by Colonel Gabriel C. Wharton.[34] Normally, his command consisted of the 51st Virginia Infantry Regiment and the 30th Virginia Sharpshooters Battalion (a.k.a. Clarke's Battalion of Sharpshooters).[35] In this battle, his command also included the 22nd Virginia Infantry Regiment detached from the Second Brigade and the 23rd Virginia Infantry Battalion (a.k.a. Derrick's Battalion) detached from the First Brigade.[36][Note 4]
• A cavalry detachment was commanded by Major Logan H.N. Salyer. It included at least three companies normally part of a battalion commanded by William Henderson French, and may have been assisted by Thurmond's Partisan Rangers.[38] Although the three companies were part of the 8th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, they later became part of the 17th Virginia Cavalry Regiment.[39]
• King's Artillery Battalion (13th Battalion, Virginia Light Artillery) provided artillery support.[40] The battalion was led by Major John Floyd King. It consisted of Bryan's, Chapman's, Lowry's, Otey's, and Stamps' batteries of Virginia Light Artillery.[41] During the campaign, various batteries were usually assigned to a brigade. Usually, Otey's and Stamps' batteries were assigned to Williams, Chapman's to Wharton, and Echols used Bryan's and Lowry's batteries.[42] Each battery had two to five artillery pieces.[43]
• The First Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General John Echols. It consisted of the 50th and 63rd Virginia Infantry regiments for this battle.[40] This brigade arrived at the battlefield late, and did not participate in significant fighting—although some of its artillery was used.[44] It was involved in the pursuit afterwards.[45]

Gauley Bridge in 2008

Siber's brigade became nearly surrounded by a much larger force

Further up the road from Loring was Siber's brigade in Fayetteville. Siber's brigade consisted of the 34th and 37th Ohio infantry regiments, supported by six artillery pieces. Fortifications on three hills had been built during the previous winter, and Siber used them to defend his position.[8] Siber was worried about his right flank, and sent two companies from the 34th Ohio Infantry to Cassidy's Mill on Laurel Creek. These companies were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Freeman Franklin. Two more companies from the same regiment were sent to join Franklin after taking a different route. Wagon trains began moving supplies from Fayetteville to Gauley Bridge via Montgomery Ferry, and three companies from the 37th Ohio Infantry were sent south to reinforce pickets on the turnpike to Raleigh Court House.[24]

Around noon, Siber sent two companies from the 37th Ohio Infantry on a reconnaissance mission south on the road to Raleigh. About three miles (4.8 km) south of Fayetteville, the two Union companies ambushed Williams' advance guard—which consisted of Company B from the 26th Virginia Infantry Battalion. Although the Confederates drove the Union force back, they realized they were outnumbered and withdrew.[62] Williams advanced the brigade another two miles, and Union forces attacked again at 2:00 pm. This time, the Confederate advance, led by the 26th Virginia Infantry Battalion and the 45th Virginia Infantry Regiment, was temporarily stopped. Two Confederate artillery pieces were deployed, causing the Union soldiers to withdraw. Siber then called all troops back to the fortifications.[63] All of the Union fighters on this side of the battlefield were from the 37th Ohio Infantry.[64] However, three companies from the regiment, sent out hours earlier to reinforce pickets, were cut off from Fayetteville. They moved through the woods toward the New River, and did not return in time to fight in the battle.[24] During this time, Lightburn ordered three companies of the 4th Loyal Virginia Infantry to move from Gauley Bridge to support Siber at Fayetteville.[26]

Wharton's flanking brigade make contact with Siber around 2:15 pm. It had marched about 13 miles (21 km) over rough terrain, and was scattered and exhausted.[64] It arrived at Siber's right flank, but not behind him, and discovered Siber's artillery was well placed. Wharton decided to re-position his force so that it could cut off Siber's route of retreat along the pike north to Montgomery's Ferry.[65] His troops were placed parallel to the Kanawha–Fayette Pike, but did not expose themselves by being on the pike.[37]

John S. Williams

Two hills were between Williams' Confederates and Siber's Union soldiers. Williams sent four artillery pieces to the first hill, with Edgar's Battalion behind them. The 36th and 45th Virginia Infantry regiments were sent to Siber's right under the cover of woods. Both sides exchanged artillery fire. A 24 pounder howitzer, which had been brought forward earlier at double-quick pace from Echols' Brigade, was added to the artillery pieces on the hill.[44]

The first hill was about 550 yards (500 m) from the Union fortification, and Williams realized the distance was too far for effective firing. He ordered Edgar's Battalion to take the next hill and remain as artillery support.[66] Once the battalion was on the next hill, the artillery pieces moved up and joined them. This put them 300 yards (270 m) from the Union fortification, and the firing became more intense. During this time the 45th Virginia Infantry took casualties as part of the regiment was a diversion on the first hill, while the other portion of the regiment moved through the woods close to the other hill and about 100 yards (91 m) from the Union fortification.[67]

John Toland

The Union right and rear was protected by six companies from the 34th Ohio Infantry, and it used a howitzer to attack the Confederate flanking force before it had finalized its deployment in the woods. Concerned about being surrounded, Siber ordered Colonel John Toland to clear the road to Gauley and drive the enemy away from the woods along the road. This task was begun by two companies, led by Captain Henry C. Hatfield, who protected the supply wagons on the road. The other four companies were led by Toland himself, and they attacked the Confederates at the top of a steep hill.[68] Fighting in the open while the enemy was protected by the woods, the Union soldiers loaded their weapons while lying on the ground.[69]

The 51st Virginia Infantry provided much of the defense for the Confederates. Fighting continued for about 90 minutes before the Union companies withdrew to the east side of the road and relied more on their howitzers. After a total of three hours of fighting, the Confederate force was forced to conserve scarce ammunition.[69] Eventually Toland's men drove the Confederates off the hill, but the cost was high.[70] Hatfield was mortally wounded.[68] Toland was not injured, but had two horses shot from under him. Every company from the 350-man force of the 34th Ohio had casualties, and they totaled to roughly one third of Toland's partial regiment.[70][Note 7] Fighting ended shortly after dusk.[72]

The Confederate frontal attack included at least five charges across open fields against the fortified Union soldiers of the 37th Ohio Infantry. All of these charges were repulsed.[74] Just after sunset, the 37th Ohio counterattacked with bayonets and drove Williams' Confederate brigade back. This is thought to be the only bayonet charge ever carried out in Fayette County.[72] Outside of the battlefield, at 3:00 pm Lightburn had ordered his Second Brigade to concentrate at Gauley Bridge—but be ready to retreat if necessary. Five companies of the 47th Ohio Infantry Regiment were sent across the river to Cotton Mountain, where they could offer assistance if Siber needed to retreat.[74]

Lightburn also sent three companies from the 4th Loyal Virginia Infantry, and a small detachment from the 2nd Loyal Virginia Cavalry, to reinforce Siber.[75] The detachment of companies from the 4th West Virginia Infantry, led by Captain John L. Vance, arrived just after sunset. About the same time, Freeman's Laurel Creek detachment also returned—adding four more companies to Siber's force at Fayetteville. The 25-man detachment from the 2nd Loyal Virginia Cavalry, commanded by Major John J. Hoffman, arrived around 8:00 pm. An hour later, all fighting ended, and both armies were in the same positions they had been since late afternoon.[76]

At Siber's front, the Confederate brigades commanded by Williams and Echols rested with their weapons nearby.[35] Two pieces of siege artillery were being readied to use on the forward fortification.[77] Loring planned to resume the frontal attack on the next day.[78] At Siber's rear, Wharton's brigade was extremely low on ammunition, and waited for its supply to be replenished.[79] Further north, the small Confederate cavalry force originally sent to cut communications had fled Cotton Hill because of Union infantry arriving in the area. The cavalrymen were cut off from their return route up Laurel Creek, and took a long route through the woods to return to Williams and Loring at the front.[72]

Later in the night, Siber considered withdrawing via a small road that led to the New River. His men could then march to Gauley Bridge on the east side of the river. This idea was rejected because the road was too small and crossing the river would be difficult without any watercraft.[80] Late that evening, Hoffman's cavalry was sent to Loup Creek to block and guard roads that led to the Kanawha River.[78] Between 1:00 and 2:00 am on September 11, Siber began to withdraw using the Cotton Hill route to the Kanawha River that had been used by Captain Vance hours earlier.[81] Vance led the retreat for the first two miles (3.2 km), observing a few Confederate soldiers but no shooting. Vance's detachment then waited on Siber's entire force and became the rearguard.[79] Leaving Fayetteville, the Union force had only one small skirmish as it headed north to Cotton Hill. This perplexed the Union soldiers, since they were not aware of the Confederate ammunition situation.[77]

Beginning of an Ohio newspaper article discussing the battle

On September 14, Loring sent a general order congratulating his army "on its successive victories over the enemy at Fayette Court-House, Cotton Hill, and Charleston."[94] The battle should be considered a Confederate victory, since the Union force was driven away from the battlefield. However, one historian wrote "Both armies had been bloodied, but neither defeated."[78] A newspaper thought Siber deserved a general's commission.[95] A sergeant from the Confederate Bryan's Battery observed that Siber's force of only one regiment [with three companies cut off from the main force] plus six companies of another, with six artillery pieces, held off 5,000 men assisted by 16 pieces of artillery. The soldier thought that either Siber deserves credit for one of the more "brilliant feats of the war" or the Confederates had one of the most "dismal failures".[95] Siber praised Colonel Toland in his September 24 report.[96]

Initially, newspaper reports were positive concerning Lightburn's decision to retreat. The Cleveland Morning Leader said, "The retreat was undoubtedly a masterly movement, and does great credit to Colonel Lightburn."[97] However, Cox later wrote a different perspective. He mentions that "...either of the brigades intrenched at Gauley Bridge could have laughed at Loring. The river would have been impassable, for all the ferry-boats were in the keeping of our men on the right bank, and Loring would not dare pass down the valley leaving a fortified post on the line of communications by which he must return."[98]

Exact numbers for the Union casualties are difficult to tabulate, since Union reporting is for the entire campaign instead of only the Battle of Fayetteville.[Note 8] Siber's report did not list casualties, although he wrote that the "losses of the Thirty-seventh Regiment in these combats were insignificant in proportion to those of the Thirty-fourth, by reason of their having occupied the breastworks."[100] Based on one historian's research, Union casualties were 16 killed, 67 wounded, 46 missing, 6 captured, and 2 died from disease.[101] This totals to 137, and includes figures for the 34th Ohio Infantry (less two wounded at Charleston), the 37th Ohio Infantry, and 1 killed from the 2nd Loyal Virginia Cavalry. The 34th Ohio Infantry, with an adjusted total of 108 casualties at Fayetteville, had by far the most casualties.[101][Note 9] Confederate casualties reported were 16 killed, four mortally wounded, and 28 wounded.[78] These figures are from Loring's medical director who reported on September 15, and it was noted that the count for wounded only included those that could no longer move with the army.[104] Historian Lowry's research finds at least 15 killed, 6 mortally wounded, 63 wounded, 4 who died from illness. A total of at least 88 casualties at Fayetteville.[105]