Campaign in the Snow
Jackson Captures Bath and Romney
The summer of 1861 had been disastrous for Confederate arms in western Virginia (present day West Virginia) and by the New Year the Virginia counties west of the Alleghenies were on the road to statehood. On January 1, 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, with 8,500 men and 26 cannons, began a winter campaign to disrupt Federal control. By seizing the county seats of Bath (present-day Berkeley Springs) and Romney, he could threaten Cumberland, Maryland, and advance toward Parkersburg along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Jackson’s forces suffered terribly from freezing rain and snow, and an estimated 2,000 soldiers fell, not to bullets, but to sickness and disease. Jackson seized Bath after three running battles and shelling Hancock, Maryland, across the Potomac River. Advancing on Romney, Jackson’s men suffered the worst day of the campaign on January 7, hauling guns and wagons up icy roads and suffering broken arms and legs.
The Federal garrison evacuated Romney on January 10, as the frozen, weary Confederates approached. They entered unopposed on January 14. While the campaign had been a success, illness rendered many men unfit for further service. Squabbles between Jackson and his subordinates—Gens. William W. Loring and Richard B. Garnett---divided and demoralized the command. Abandoning plans to attack Cumberland and move farther west, on January 23, Jackson marched the Stonewall Brigade back to Winchester. Confederate authorities then ordered him to evacuate Loring’s brigades from Romney, rendering a month of privation and hard-won gains for naught.
"I don't think I was ever more disgusted with the war than then. During this trip my patriotism has at times been put to very severe tests & I am sorry to say has sometimes been at very low ebb." - Confederate Pvt. Randolph Fairfax, Rockbridge Light Artillery
Marker is at the intersection of Fairfax Street and North Washington Street (West Virginia Highway 9) on Fairfax Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
