Forced Flight

By July 10, 1861, Federal cannons bombarded the interior of Camp Laurel Hill, and Confederates may have sought shelter among the nearby boulders. On July 11, General Garnett learned of defeat at Rich Mountain and, fearful of being trapped, ordered a midnight retreat. Tents were left standing and campfires burning to deceive the Federals as the Confederate army and its large wagon train slipped away. On July 13th, Federals caught up to the fleeing Confederates at Corricks Ford, twenty-five miles northeast. The Confederate wagons were lost at that river crossing, and General Garnett was killed, the first Civil War general to fall. Demoralized Confederate soldiers fled south to Highland County, Virginia, and western Virginia was now in Union hands.

West Virginia · United States