On April 20, 1863, Confederate generals William E. "Grumble" Jones and John D. Imboden began a raid from Virginia through present-day West Virginia against the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Traveling by separate routes, they later reported marching 1,100 miles, fighting several engagements, capturing 700 Federals, seizing about 1,200 horses and 4,000 cattle, and burning 4 turnpike bridges, more than 20 railroad bridges, 2 trains, and 150,000 barrels of oil; most bridges were soon repaired, Confederate losses were slight, and by May 26 both commands had returned to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. On May 6, 1863, Jones led his wing of cavalrymen to Harrisville from Weston, where near the western end of town his men exchanged shots with the Harrisville Home Guard, which then fled. The Home Guard, composed of 75 older men and young boys, maintained control of the town during the war, and although Jones's men captured many of its members as they fled, they soon released them because the fast-moving raiders did not wish to be encumbered with prisoners. After gaining control of Harrisville, the Confederates badly damaged the printing shop and Pierpoint's store, wrecked the U.S. Post Office, and threw needed postage stamps into the mud and trampled them before moving on to destroy Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tunnels and bridges in Ritchie County. The Harrisville Baptist Church minutes for May 9 recorded that the church failed to meet because a raid of Rebel cavalry, supposed to number 1,500, entered Harrisville at noon on Thursday. The Confederates raided present-day West Virginia to recruit new troops, collect cattle and horses, and destroy railroad bridges and tunnels, and at Cairo in Richie County Jones's men captured a Federal garrison stationed there to guard the railroad.