A Confederate victory that expelled Union forces from the Kanawha River Valley in western Virginia during the 1862 Kanawha Valley Campaign.
Key Facts
- Date
- September 13, 1862
- Confederate Commander
- Maj. Gen. William W. Loring
- Union Commander
- Col. Joseph A. J. Lightburn
- Captured supplies value (1862)
- $1,000,000
- Union wagons of supplies retreated
- 700 wagons
- Campaign outcome
- Union forces driven from Kanawha River Valley
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following a Confederate victory at the Battle of Fayetteville on September 10, 1862, Major General William W. Loring pursued Union forces under Colonel Joseph Lightburn down the Kanawha River as part of the Kanawha Valley Campaign, aiming to reclaim the valley for the Confederacy.
On the morning of September 13, Loring's forces caught Lightburn's command at Charleston. The engagement consisted largely of an artillery duel. Lightburn withdrew his troops to the west side of the Elk River and burned a bridge to slow Confederate pursuit, before retreating toward Ohio with 700 wagons of supplies.
Loring occupied Charleston, claimed over $1,000,000 in captured supplies, and saved nearby salt-mines. However, he conducted little pursuit and soon offended Confederate leadership, being replaced within four weeks. Union forces under Jacob Cox returned in October and expelled Confederate troops from the valley by November.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Maj. Gen. William W. Loring.
Side B
1 belligerent
Col. Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn.