Rich Mountain was a Civil War engagement fought in West Virginia, 1861. It was a Union victory.
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia in June 1861. On June 27, he moved his divisions from Clarksburg south against Lt. Col. John Pegram's Confederates, reaching the vicinity of Rich Mountain on July 9. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. T.A. Morris's Union brigade marched from Philippi to confront Brig. Gen. R.S. Garnett's command at Laurel Hill. On July 11, Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans led a reinforced brigade by a mountain path to seize the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in Pegram's rear. A sharp two-hour fight ensued in which the Confederates were split in two. Half escaped to Beverly, but Pegram and the others surrendered on July 13. Hearing of Pegram's defeat, Garnett abandoned Laurel Hill. The Federals pursued, and, during fighting at Corrick's Ford on July 13, Garnett was killed. On July 22, McClellan was ordered to Washington, and Rosecrans assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia. Union victory at Rich Mountain was instrumental in propelling McClellan to command of the Army of the Potomac.
On July 11, 1861, Union and Confederate forces clashed near Rich Mountain in Randolph County, Virginia, in territory that would later become West Virginia. This engagement formed part of the broader Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War.
In June 1861, command of Union troops operating in western Virginia fell to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. Beginning on June 27, he pushed his divisions southward from Clarksburg, targeting Lt. Col. John Pegram's Confederate force, and by July 9 his men had arrived near Rich Mountain. At the same time, Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris took his Union brigade from Philippi to challenge Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett's troops stationed at Laurel Hill. Then, over July 10 and 11, Brig. Gen. William Rosecrans guided a strengthened brigade along a mountain route in order to capture the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike behind Pegram's position.
General Thomas A. Morris led a Union force of roughly 4000 men against the Confederates commanded by General Garnett, beginning operations near Laurel Mountain on July 7. Within days the two sides settled into a tense deadlock atop Laurel Hill following limited skirmishing. Both armies endured sporadic sniping and artillery exchanges while foul weather added to the misery. The tenacity of the defense led Morris to believe he was up against the bulk of the Confederate army in that area. By July 11, word reached Garnett that Union troops had executed a flanking movement near Rich Mountain, prompting him to pull his men back from Laurel Mountain. To mask this withdrawal, the 44th Virginia Infantry received orders to hold along the Beverly Road, engaging the Federals just enough to simulate an ongoing assault. As General William Rosecrans's brigade closed in from the south, Garnett gave up the Beverly Road position entirely and fell back toward Corrick's Ford along the Cheat River. It was there that he lost his life.
Meanwhile, at Rich Mountain, the Confederate troops under Pegram found themselves badly outnumbered by the force McClellan personally directed. Even so, their entrenched position was formidable enough, combined with the inexperience of his own men, that McClellan chose to open with an artillery bombardment rather than risk an immediate infantry assault. A local youth, David Hart, showed up at Rosecrans's encampment claiming he could guide troops around to strike the Confederate rear, and he was promised a hundred dollars in gold for the service. McClellan gave his consent for Hart to lead Rosecrans's 1,900 man brigade through the forest.
When word reached Garnett that Pegram had been beaten, he pulled his men off Laurel Mountain in chaos. Federal troops chased after them, and amid the clash at Corrick's Ford on July 13, Garnett fell dead, becoming the conflict's first general officer to die in combat. Command shifted on July 22, when McClellan received orders to head to Washington and Rosecrans took over Union forces operating in western Virginia. News of the triumph at Rich Mountain sparked jubilant celebrations in the north and played a key role in elevating McClellan to lead the Army of the Potomac. Yet the outcome was not without friction: after Rich Mountain, Morris failed to catch the retreating Confederates at Laurel Mountain before they made it across Shavers' fork, and McClellan, in his message to Washington, harshly faulted Morris for the delay.
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