Corricks Ford Battlefield
First to Fall
"How gallantly he died in the discharge of his duty."
President Jefferson Davis CSA
On July 13, 1861, some 3,500 Confederate soldiers under Gen. Robert S. Garnett crossed Shavers Fork here while chased by Union forces in a desperate bid to stall the enemy, Gen. Garnett posted ten sharpshooters of the 23rd Virginia Infantry behind driftwood along the riverbank.
The general remained here as bullets hissed across the stream. As Garnett turned to give an order, a ball struck him and he toppled from his horse. Federal skirmishers splashed across the ford and found his body among the wildflowers. Robert Garnett was the first general killed during the Civil War.
"A stampede occurred, and our little band rushed across the river, and found the General in the throes of death.. we only paused for a moment and dashed on, horror struck by the deed we had committed."
Henry Wheeler, 7th Indiana Infantry USA
Marker is on Main Street (U.S. 219), on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
