The Civil War in Jefferson County, West Virginia
December 17, 1860 -- At a meeting at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town, citizens voted for its county delegates to support secession at the upcoming Virginia state convention in February 1861.
January 1861 -- The South Secedes: When Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president, the South Carolina legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union known as the United States of America. The Secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of six more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas -- and the threat of Secession by four more -- Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America.
February 1861-- The South Creates a Government: At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the seven seceding states created the Confederate Constitution, a document similar to the United States Constitution, but with greater stress on the autonomy of each state. Jefferson Davis was named provisional president of the Confederacy until elections could be held.
March 4 1861-- Lincoln's Inauguration: At Lincoln's inauguration the new president said he had no plans to end slavery in those states where it already existed, but he also said he would not accept secession. He hoped to resolve the national crisis without warfare.
April 1861 -- Attack on Fort Sumter: When President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid hostilities. South Carolina, however, feared a trick. On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The Garrison commander Anderson refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 p.m., April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War.
April 1861 - April 1865: The Civil War
[See the Chronology of Major Battles & Events in the adjacent column]
Harpers Ferry - Maryland Campaign (September 1862)
Description: Learning that the garrison at Harpers Ferry had not retreated after his incursion into Maryland, Lee decided to surround the force and capture it. He divided his army into four columns, three of which converged upon and invested Harpers Ferry. On September 15, after Confederate artillery was placed on the heights overlooking the town, Union commander Col. Miles surrendered the garrison of more than 12,000. Miles was mortally wounded by a last salvo fired from a battery on Loudoun Heights. Jackson took possession of Harpers Ferry, then led most of his soldiers to join with Lee at Sharpsburg. After paroling the prisoners at Harpers Ferry, A.P. Hill’s division arrived in time to save Lee’s army from near-defeat at Sharpsburg.
Shepherdstown & Boteler’s Ford - Maryland Campaign (September 1862)
Description: On September 19, a detachment of Porter’s V Corps pushed across the river at Boteler’s Ford, attacked the Confederate rearguard commanded by Brig. Gen. William Pendleton, and captured four guns. Early on the 20th, Porter pushed elements of two divisions across the Potomac to establish a bridgehead. Hill’s division counterattacked while many of the Federals were crossing and nearly annihilated the 118th Pennsylvania (the “Corn Exchange” Regiment), inflicting 269 casualties. This rearguard action discouraged Federal pursuit. On November 7, President Lincoln relieved McClellan of command because of his failure to follow up Gen. Robert E. Lee’s retreating army. Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside rose to command the Union army.
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Chronology of Jefferson County Civil War Battles & Events
1861, April 16 - Virginia Governor Henry Wise, John Imboden, Turner Ashby, Richard Ashby, Oliver Funsten, John Barbour, and John Harman met with Harpers Ferry Armory Superintendent Alfred Barbour to discuss how to capture the United States Armory in Jefferson County in the name of the Confederacy.
1861. April 17 - Harpers Ferry Armory Superintendent Alfred Barbour informed the employees that the state of Virginia would be taking over the armory, Jefferson County.
1861. April 18 - Union soldiers burned the United States Armory and Arsenal and Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, shortly before the town was captured by Confederate troops.
1861. April 27 - Thomas Jackson was appointed colonel of the Virginia Volunteers and ordered to guard Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, as his first role during the war.
1861. April 29. - Colonel Thomas J. Jackson took command of Confederate troops at Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County.
1861. May 15. - The Confederate War Department ordered Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston to take command of troops in and around Harpers Ferry (Jefferson County), which had been under the command of Colonel Thomas J. Jackson.
1861. May 24 - Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston succeeded Colonel Thomas J. Jackson as commander of troops at Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County. Shortly thereafter, Johnston began evacuating his troops from the town.
1861. June 13. - Confederate troops under Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston began destroying the Potomac River bridges at Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, prior to evacuation.
1861. June 16 - Confederate forces destroyed the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridge and evacuated the town of Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County. That same day, Union troops under General Robert Patterson crossed the Potomac River.
1861. June 19. - Confederate troops under General Thomas J. Jackson, with support from the cavalry of J. E. B. Stuart, captured Martinsburg (Berkeley County), destroying Baltimore and Ohio Railroad property and the Potomac River bridge at Shepherdstown (Jefferson County).
1861. July 1 - The Virginia Convention passed an ordinance providing for the payment of all laborers at the Harpers Ferry Armory, Jefferson County, who united with the Confederate States of America, for the work performed from February 20 to April 19, 1861.
1861. July 1 - The Virginia Convention passed an ordinance requiring paymster D. Murphy to pay all remaining public money at the Harpers Ferry Armory into the Virginia Treasury.
1861. October 11 - A skirmish was fought at Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County.
1861. October 16 - Union troops under Colonel John W. Geary fought to a draw in a skirmish against Confederate troops under Colonel Turner Ashby on Bolivar Heights near Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County.
1862. May 13 - The Reorganized Government of Virginia General Assembly approved the creation of the new state of West Virginia with 48 counties, with the possible inclusion of Jefferson County, Berkeley County, and Frederick County at a later time.
1862. May 28 - Confederate troops under Brigadier General Charles S. Winder defeated Union troops in a battle in Charles Town, Jefferson County. Following the defeat, Union troops evacuated Harpers Ferry, climaxing "Stonewall" Jackson's Valley Campaign.
1862. August 23 - Confederate soldiers Lieutenant George Baylor and Lieutenant Milton Rouss robbed a train and captured 8 Union soldiers on the Winchester and Potomac Railroad between Summit Point and Wade's Depot, Jefferson County. They made it back to their unit in Winchester, VA, without being captured or injured.
1862. September 13 - Confederate troops defeated Union troops in a skirmish about a mile west of Charles Town, Jefferson County, prior to the siege of Harpers Ferry and the Battle of Antietam.
1862. September 14 - Confederate troops under Major General "Stonewall" Jackson arrived at Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, in preparation for the siege, prior to the Battle of Antietam.
1862. September 15 - Confederate troops under Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson began the siege of Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County. The following day, the Union commander Colonel Dixon Miles surrendered shortly before being killed. The Confederate forces captured over 12,000 Union troops still ranking as the third largest surrender of a United States army in history.
1862. September 19 - A large portion of the Union Army was involved in military operations on Bolivar Heights, Jefferson County, following the Battle of Antietam, MD.
1862. September 20 - Confederate troops under General A. P. Hill routed Union troops in a skirmish at Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, following the Battle of Antietam. Read more about the "Battle at Shepherdstown".
1862. September 21 - A skirmish took place at Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County. Union forces recaptured the town and began establishing more permanent fortifications than previously existed.
1862. October 1 - A skirmish was fought in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County.
1862. October 6 - Union Cavalry fought a skirmish with Confederate troops at Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1862. October 16 - Union troops under General McClellan captured Charles Town, Jefferson County. That evening, Confederate cavalry troops under Major General J. E. B. Stuart defeated Union troops under Brigadier General A. A. Humphreys in a skirmish south of Kearneysville, Jefferson County.
1862. October 24 - Union troops under Captain William Cogswell killed the famous Confederate scout Redmond Burke and captured his two sons in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County.
1862. November 9 - Union troops under Brigadier General John W. Geary defeated Confederate troops at Rippon, Jefferson County, and drove them back to Berryville, VA.
1862. November 15 - A skirmish was fought at Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County.
1862. December 2 - A skirmish was fought a Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1862. December 20 - A skirmish was fought at Halltown, Jefferson County.
1863. February 12 - Confederate and Union forces fought skirmishes at Summit Point and Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1863. February 4 - The Reorganized Government of Virginia passed act authorizing Jefferson County voters to decide whether to be included in West Virginia.
1863. May 15 - Confederate raiders captured 53 Union soldiers and 75 horses in Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1863. July 15 - Union and Confederate forces fought skirmishes at Halltown, Jefferson County. That same day, Union forces defeated Confederate forces in a skirmish at Shepherdstown, Jefferson County.
1863. July 16 - Confederate forces under Brigadier General Fitzhugh Lee and Colonel John R. Chambliss defeated Union forces in a skirmish at Kearneysville, Jefferson County.
1863. September 15 - Union forces defeated Confederate forces in a skirmish at Middleway, Jefferson County.
1863. October 7 - Confederate forces defeated Union forces in a skirmish a few miles east of Summit Point, Jefferson County.
1863. October 8 - A skirmish was fought at Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1863. October 18 - A skirmish was fought at Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1863. November 2 - Jefferson County was transferred from Virginia to West Virginia by an act of the West Virginia Legislature.
1863. November 22 - A skirmish was fought at Halltown, Jefferson County.
1864. February 11 - Confederate raiders robbed a train with Union soldiers on board on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Brown's Shop between Kearneysville and Duffields, Jefferson County.
1864. March 10 - Confederate Lieutenant A. E. Richards led a raid on Union pickets in the Kabletown area, Jefferson County.
1864. June 29 - Confederate troops under Colonel John Mosby broke through Union lines at Charles Town and raided Union soldiers stationed on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Duffields Depot, Jefferson County, capturing 50 soldiers, robbing the stores, and cutting the Union telegraph line.
1864. July 2 - A skirmish was fought at Bolivar Heights, Jefferson County.
1864. July 3 - Confederate forces under Major General Robert Ransom defeated Union forces under Colonel James A. Mulligan at Leetown, Jefferson County. The same day, Confederate troops forced Union troops to retreat from Martinsburg, Berkeley County.
1864. July 4 - Confederate forces defeated Union troops on Bolivar Heights, Jefferson County, forcing federal troops to abandoned Harpers Ferry for the first time since September 1862.
1864. July 7 - After three days of fighting, Union troops forced Confederate troops from Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County.
1864. July 17 - Union forces destroyed the houses and estate of Andrew Hunter, the prosecuting attorney in the John Brown trial of 1859, in Charles Town, Jefferson County. The orders were given by Hunter's cousin General David Hunter, who was stationed at Harpers Ferry at the time.
1864. August 15 - A skirmish was fought at Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1864. August 21 - The Federal forces of General Philip H. Sheridan were defeated by Confederate forces under General Jubal A. Early at Cameron's Depot, Jefferson County.
1864. August 22 - A minor skirmish was fought between Union forces under General Philip Sheridan and Confederate forces under General Jubal Early at Halltown, Jefferson County.
1864. August 25 - Confederate cavalry under General Jubal Early defeated the Union cavalry divisions of Wesley Merritt and J. H. Wilson between Leetown and Kearneysville, Jefferson County. Following this victory, Early's cavalry then defeated Union cavalry under Major General George Custer at Shepherdstown, Jefferson County.
1864. August 26 - Union and Confederate forces fought a minor skirmish at Shepherdstown, Jefferson County. That night, Union troops under Major General George Crook broke through the Confederate line of General R. H. Anderson near Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1864. August 28 - Union cavalry under General Wesley Merritt defeated Confederate cavalry under General L. L. Lomax near Leetown, Jefferson County.
1864. August 29 - A skirmish between Union forces under General Wesley Merritt and Confederate forces under Major Generals Stephen Ramseur and John B. Gordon occurred on August 29, at Duffield Station and Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1864. October 14 - Confederate raiders under Lieutenant Colonel John Mosby robbed a train near Shenandoah Junction, Jefferson County, carrying Union paymaster officers and $168,000.
1864. November 22 - Confederate troops under Lieutenant George Baylor of Charles Town defeated Union troops in a skirmish at Keyes' Ford, Jefferson County.
1864. November 29 - Confederate troops under Lieutenant George Baylor of Charles Town defeated Union troops in a skirmish at Charles Town, Jefferson County.
1865. January 26 - The West Virginia Legislature voted to move the Jefferson County seat from Charles Town to Shepherdstown in order to provide protection by federal troops located along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
1865. February 3 - Confederate troops derailed a train on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Keyes' Ford, Jefferson County.
1865. February 24 - Jefferson County native John Yates Beall was executed at Governor's Island, NY, for being a Confederate spy.
1865. February 27 - The governor approved a joint resolution removing Tenth Judicial Circuit Court Judge John W. Kennedy from office for the following disloyal actions to the United States: denouncement of Abraham Lincon in Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County in 1861; appointment of Confederate Daniel Sheet as Jefferson County sheriff and for support of him at a convention in Harpers Ferry in 1864; appointment of Confederate Thomas Hollis as Berkeley County sheriff in 1864; and denouncement of the Reorganized Government of Virginia in Wheeling in 1863.
1865. April 6 - Confederate troops under Captain George Baylor of Charles Town defeated Union troops in a skirmish at Keyes' Switch, present-day Millville, Jefferson County.
1865, April 9 - Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse: General Lee's troops were soon surrounded, and on April 7, Grant called upon Lee to surrender. On April 9, the two commanders met at Appomattox Courthouse, and agreed on the terms of surrender. Lee's men were sent home on parole -- soldiers with their horses, and officers with their side arms. All other equipment was surrendered.
1865, April - The Assassination of President Lincoln: On April 14, as President Lincoln was watching a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., he was shot by John Wilkes Booth, an actor from Maryland obsessed with avenging the Confederate defeat. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth escaped to Virginia. Eleven days later, cornered in a burning barn, Booth was fatally shot by a Union soldier. Nine other people were involved in the assassination; four were hanged, four imprisoned, and one acquitted.
1865, April-May - Final Surrenders among Remaining Confederate Troops: Remaining Confederate troops were defeated between the end of April and the end of May. Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia on May 10.
1865. October 12 - With the use of federal troops, Governor Boreman disrupted an election for delegates to attend the Virginia General Assembly in Jefferson County.
1865. December 20 - The United States Senate Committee on Territories favorably approved the transfer of Jefferson County and Berkeley County from Virginia to West Virginia.
1866. February 6 - The United States House of Representatives approved the transfer of Jefferson County and Berkeley County from Virginia to West Virginia.
1866. March 10 - The United States Congress approved the transfer of Jefferson County and Berkeley County into West Virginia.