Battle of Laurel Hill
Tempest on the Turnpike
Union and Confederate forces clashed along the Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike (the narrow paved road in the foreground) on July 7-11, 1861. Union General Morris was ordered to "amuse" General Garnett at Laurel Hill - to make him believe the main attack would come here. Meanwhile, Major General George McClellan flanked the Confederates 20 miles south at Rich Mountain.
Spirited skirmishing took place among these hills. Union General Morris found it hard to restrain his troops. The Confederates fought with equal enthusiasm. Many deeds of bravery were witnessed here - the baptism of fire for both armies.
"The whistling of musket balls and the peculiar note of the Minnie projectiles as they rush madly past on their errand of death is a frightful sound to the recruit who for the first time hears it."
Col. William B. Taliaferro, 23rd Virginia Infantry C.S.A.
"I can say with truth that when called out to meet the enemy I am perfectly cool and deliberate."
John B. Pendleton, 23rd Virginia Infantry C.S.A.
"A few dozen of us, who had been swapping shots with the enemies' skirmishers, grew tired of the resultless battle, and by a common impulse - and I think without orders or officers - ran forward into the woods and attacked the Confederate works. We did well enough considering the hopeless folly of the movement, but we came out of the woods faster than we went in - a good deal."
Ambrose Bierce, 9th Indiana Infantry U.S.A.
Marker can be reached from Laurel Mountain Road (County Route 15), on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
