Battle of Carnifex Ferry took place on September 10, 1861, in Nicholas County, Virginia (now West Virginia), as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the Civil War. The battle resulted in a Union victory that contributed to the eventual Confederate withdrawal from western Virginia. The campaign helped pave the way for the subsequent creation of the separate state of West Virginia.
In late August 1861, Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd crossed the Gauley River and surprised the 7th Ohio Infantry under Col. Erastus Tyler at Keslers Cross Lanes. Outnumbered, Tyler’s inexperienced men were routed, and Floyd camped near Carnifex Ferry. The Confederates began throwing up entrenchments on the Henry Patterson farm (located on the rim of the Gauley River Canyon about one mile from the ferry crossing).
Concerned about Floyd’s drive to reclaim the Kanawha Valley, Union Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans led three brigades of infantry southward from Clarksburg to support Tyler’s regrouped regiment. Moving into position on the afternoon of September 10, Rosecrans advanced against Floyd’s campsite and attacked. Fighting raged for several hours until darkness finally halted the bloodshed. The strength of Rosecrans’s artillery proved to be problematic, and Floyd decided to retreat that night across the ferry to the south side of the Gauley River. He subsequently moved eastward to Meadow Bluff near Lewisburg.
The State of West Virginia acquired the Patterson farm and surrounding battlefield in 1935 which became the present State Park.Metal Detectors are not allowed inside the park.
Features and Park Facilities
Patterson House Museum
Three overlooks of the Gauley River
Four reservable shelters
Hiking
Trails
Softball and Volleyball
Playground equipment
Restrooms
Horsehoe pits
Picnic facilities with tables and grills
Location:
N 38° 12.412 W 080° 56.342
17S E 505337 N 4228769
From Rt. 19, south of Summersville, take Rt. 129 west for approximately 5 miles to left turn on Carnifex Ferry Road. It’s then 1 mile to park.
Address
1194 Carnifex Ferry Rd.
Summersville, WV 26651
Phone: 304-872-0825
visit
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