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Authors: W Hunter Lesser
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deception. Pressing on to the burned bridges over Buffalo Creek, Kelley's Federals were greeted by armed citizens who exposed a number of secessionists for arrest. The vandalized bridges proved to be of iron; flames had destroyed only the wooden sills and crossties. Repair crews set to work with a vengeance. Within forty-eight hours of departure, Kelley's men had secured the tracks to Fairmont. 145
The Confederates at Grafton were thrown into a dither—the enemy was collecting in force on the railroad not twenty miles away. On May 28, with no hope of reinforcement, Colonel Porterfield ordered his 550 men to withdraw. News of the evacuation spurred Colonel Kelley forward. With a full brigade behind him, Kelley steamed into Grafton on the afternoon of May 30 without firing a shot. 146
The advance from Parkersburg did not match Kelley's pace. Colonel Steedman's Fourteenth Ohio Infantry moved with all the caution McClellan had ordered. The Northwestern Virginia Railroad led them through a maze of wooded hills, deep cuts, and tunnels by the score—every turn a likely point of ambush. Vandalized bridges caused further delay. Steedman's force took four days to make the eighty-mile trip by rail, not reaching Clarksburg until the afternoon of May 30. The advance would have taken longer had not a dashing volunteer aide-de-camp named Frederick Lander intervened. When an Indiana colonel at Parkersburg refused to move his regiment for fear of a collision, Lander boarded the engine himself and reached Grafton on June 2 without incident. 147
Cheered by the news, General McClellan cabled the War Department from his Cincinnati headquarters: “It is a source of very great satisfaction to me that we have occupied Grafton without the sacrifice of a single life.” Next was to drive Rebel forces across the Alleghenies, freeing Western Virginia of their influence. McClellan fixed his gaze on Colonel Porterfield's Confederates, at a place called Philippi. 148
PART II
FIRST CLASH
OF ARMIES
CHAPTER 7
LET THIS LINE BE
DRAWN BETWEEN US
“ There is no man within the limits of this State that is more thoroughly convinced than I am…of the necessity of this separation. There is no power on earth that can prevent it.”
—John Carlile, Virginia Unionist
Steamboats chugged across the Ohio River. Packed aboard were Federal soldiers of Indiana and Ohio, in bright new uniforms of wool and burnished brass. They were bound for Western Virginia—the seat of war.
Loyal Virginians mustered into service to join them. Many would guard the vital Baltimore and Ohio Railroad—General McClellan's lifeline into Western Virginia. A scarcity of wagons and teams made it difficult to move far beyond the rails. The troops remained idle at Philippi for more than a month. Bemoaned Whitelaw Reid, “[I]t is certain that had the reinforcements and supplies…been sent forward…at the proper time, our forces, instead of lying at Philippi…would have driven every rebel in arms [out of] Northwestern Virginia.” 188
Meanwhile, Federal soldiers picked wild strawberries and roamed the hills in quest of the elusive secessionists—now known derisively as “secesh.” They viewed the land, if not its people, withfavor. “We are in the midst of a most splendid country,” marveled an Ohio soldier. “The Tygart's is indeed a beautiful valley,” wrote another, “nestling under the shelter of the Alleghenies, and hemmed in by crested mountains covered with rich forests of oak, chestnut, pine, beech, and a score of other varieties.” 189
The scenery intoxicated a young private named Ambrose Bierce. One of ten children—all with names beginning with the letter “A”—the nineteen-year-old Bierce possessed a tall, muscular frame, squarish jaw, deep-set blue eyes, and undulating golden hair. To escape work as an Elkhart, Indiana, grocery and restaurant clerk, he had joined the Ninth Indiana Infantry. Bierce had a keen eye and a gifted
The Confederates at Grafton were thrown into a dither—the enemy was collecting in force on the railroad not twenty miles away. On May 28, with no hope of reinforcement, Colonel Porterfield ordered his 550 men to withdraw. News of the evacuation spurred Colonel Kelley forward. With a full brigade behind him, Kelley steamed into Grafton on the afternoon of May 30 without firing a shot. 146
The advance from Parkersburg did not match Kelley's pace. Colonel Steedman's Fourteenth Ohio Infantry moved with all the caution McClellan had ordered. The Northwestern Virginia Railroad led them through a maze of wooded hills, deep cuts, and tunnels by the score—every turn a likely point of ambush. Vandalized bridges caused further delay. Steedman's force took four days to make the eighty-mile trip by rail, not reaching Clarksburg until the afternoon of May 30. The advance would have taken longer had not a dashing volunteer aide-de-camp named Frederick Lander intervened. When an Indiana colonel at Parkersburg refused to move his regiment for fear of a collision, Lander boarded the engine himself and reached Grafton on June 2 without incident. 147
Cheered by the news, General McClellan cabled the War Department from his Cincinnati headquarters: “It is a source of very great satisfaction to me that we have occupied Grafton without the sacrifice of a single life.” Next was to drive Rebel forces across the Alleghenies, freeing Western Virginia of their influence. McClellan fixed his gaze on Colonel Porterfield's Confederates, at a place called Philippi. 148
PART II
FIRST CLASH
OF ARMIES
CHAPTER 7
LET THIS LINE BE
DRAWN BETWEEN US
“ There is no man within the limits of this State that is more thoroughly convinced than I am…of the necessity of this separation. There is no power on earth that can prevent it.”
—John Carlile, Virginia Unionist
Steamboats chugged across the Ohio River. Packed aboard were Federal soldiers of Indiana and Ohio, in bright new uniforms of wool and burnished brass. They were bound for Western Virginia—the seat of war.
Loyal Virginians mustered into service to join them. Many would guard the vital Baltimore and Ohio Railroad—General McClellan's lifeline into Western Virginia. A scarcity of wagons and teams made it difficult to move far beyond the rails. The troops remained idle at Philippi for more than a month. Bemoaned Whitelaw Reid, “[I]t is certain that had the reinforcements and supplies…been sent forward…at the proper time, our forces, instead of lying at Philippi…would have driven every rebel in arms [out of] Northwestern Virginia.” 188
Meanwhile, Federal soldiers picked wild strawberries and roamed the hills in quest of the elusive secessionists—now known derisively as “secesh.” They viewed the land, if not its people, withfavor. “We are in the midst of a most splendid country,” marveled an Ohio soldier. “The Tygart's is indeed a beautiful valley,” wrote another, “nestling under the shelter of the Alleghenies, and hemmed in by crested mountains covered with rich forests of oak, chestnut, pine, beech, and a score of other varieties.” 189
The scenery intoxicated a young private named Ambrose Bierce. One of ten children—all with names beginning with the letter “A”—the nineteen-year-old Bierce possessed a tall, muscular frame, squarish jaw, deep-set blue eyes, and undulating golden hair. To escape work as an Elkhart, Indiana, grocery and restaurant clerk, he had joined the Ninth Indiana Infantry. Bierce had a keen eye and a gifted
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