The following army units were involved in the Battle of White Sulphur Springs on August 26 and 27, 1863, in the American Civil War. Although the battle took place near White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, it has also been called the Battle of Rocky Gap, the Battle of Dry Creek, the Battle of Howard's Creek, and the Battle of the Lawbooks. A Confederate Army force led by Colonel George S. Patton Sr. successfully repelled a Union Army brigade led by Brigadier General William W. Averell.
The Union Army units, and their commanders, are listed first. The Confederate Army units, and their commanders, follow. Most of the men on both sides were from West Virginia and Virginia units, and some of the Confederates were from Greenbrier County, where the battle took place.
Cpt Paul von Köenig, Aide-de-camp, detached from 68th New York Infantry Regiment (k)
== Other Union forces not at White Sulphur Springs ==
This portion of Averell's 4th Separate Brigade remained near Huntersville after the town was captured by Averell.
Col George S. Patton Sr., acting commander in absence of BG John Echols
== Additional Confederate forces not in the battle ==
Jackson's Brigade was not directly involved in the Battle of White Sulphur Springs. The brigade was involved in the pursuit of Averell when Averell was moving south. A week prior to the Battle of White Sulphur Springs, Averell captured Jackson's Camp Northwest near Huntersville, West Virginia, and Jackson fled the area. Averell destroyed the camp's commissary, blacksmith shops, and equipment, while keeping items such as canteens, stretchers, and hospital supplies. After the Battle of White Sulphur Springs, Jackson's pursuit of Averell was described as "halfhearted and not well managed".
The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the deadliest conflict in American history, killing an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians. The Confederate States of America, formed by eleven seceding Southern states, faced the Union in four years of warfare across 23 states and territories. Major engagements included First and Second Bull Run, Antietam (the bloodiest single day in American history, September 17, 1862), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), Vicksburg (surrendered July 4, 1863), and Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas (1864–1865). President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, transforming the war's stated purpose to include the abolition of slavery and enabling the enlistment of approximately 180,000 Black men in the United States Colored Troops. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The war resolved the question of secession and ended American slavery, though Reconstruction would face sustained resistance in its attempt to secure civil rights for formerly enslaved people.
This page covers Confederate Cavalry Skirmish near White Springs. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside historic sites, land records, and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
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