Battle of Bulltown
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Bulltown was a small skirmish fought during the American Civil War
near Bulltown
in Braxton County, West Virginia on October 13, 1863.
, led a raiding party of 800 men into central West Virginia
to capture the strategic "fort" at Bulltown
which overlooked an important crossing of the Little Kanawha River
. The goal was to cut Federal communications between the Greenbrier and Kanawha Valleys.
The Union
garrison of roughly 400 men was commanded by Captain William Mattingly. The Union troops manned a "fort" of makeshift log barricades and shallow trenches which can still be seen today.
advanced at 4:30am on October 13. They quickly captured the Federal picketts and would have taken the garrison by surprise but one Confederate, whether due to excitement or nervousness, fired his gun and alerted the Union troops.
The Confederates advanced against the fort and a drawn out skirmish lasted until about 4:30pm, almost twelve hours after the battle began. Twice, Jackson sent a flag of truce with a surrender to demand to which Captain Mattingly replied "I will fight until Hell freezes over and then fight on the ice".
Jackson eventually retreated back towards the Greenbrier Valley. Casualties were very light considering the length of the battle. On the Union side there were no fatalities. Captain Mattingly was wounded in the thigh and there were some other slight wounds in the Federal camp. the Confederates lost 8 killed and a like number wounded.
One civilian, Moses Cunningham, who owned the farm on which the majority of the battle took place, was wounded when he ran out of his house shouting "Hurrah for Jeff Davis".
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
near Bulltown
Bulltown, West Virginia
Bulltown is a former settlement in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States.-Geography:Bulltown is located at . It is a part of the Little Kanawha River Valley watershed. Bulltown Historical District contains the Burnsville Lake Wildlife Management Area in which Bulltown sets...
in Braxton County, West Virginia on October 13, 1863.
Background
In the fall of 1863, William L. "Mudwall" Jackson, the cousin of "Stonewall" JacksonStonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
, led a raiding party of 800 men into central West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
to capture the strategic "fort" at Bulltown
Bulltown, West Virginia
Bulltown is a former settlement in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States.-Geography:Bulltown is located at . It is a part of the Little Kanawha River Valley watershed. Bulltown Historical District contains the Burnsville Lake Wildlife Management Area in which Bulltown sets...
which overlooked an important crossing of the Little Kanawha River
Little Kanawha River
The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 169 mi long, in western West Virginia in the United States. Via the Ohio, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 2,320 mi² on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau...
. The goal was to cut Federal communications between the Greenbrier and Kanawha Valleys.
The Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
garrison of roughly 400 men was commanded by Captain William Mattingly. The Union troops manned a "fort" of makeshift log barricades and shallow trenches which can still be seen today.
Battle
Jackson approached Bulltown secretly. He divided his forces in an attempt to converge on the Union position from two different directions. The ConfederatesConfederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
advanced at 4:30am on October 13. They quickly captured the Federal picketts and would have taken the garrison by surprise but one Confederate, whether due to excitement or nervousness, fired his gun and alerted the Union troops.
The Confederates advanced against the fort and a drawn out skirmish lasted until about 4:30pm, almost twelve hours after the battle began. Twice, Jackson sent a flag of truce with a surrender to demand to which Captain Mattingly replied "I will fight until Hell freezes over and then fight on the ice".
Jackson eventually retreated back towards the Greenbrier Valley. Casualties were very light considering the length of the battle. On the Union side there were no fatalities. Captain Mattingly was wounded in the thigh and there were some other slight wounds in the Federal camp. the Confederates lost 8 killed and a like number wounded.
One civilian, Moses Cunningham, who owned the farm on which the majority of the battle took place, was wounded when he ran out of his house shouting "Hurrah for Jeff Davis".
Aftermath
The battle was the last significant Confederate offensive in West Virginia and the Confederate goals of disrupting the Federal communications were thwarted.See also
- Burnsville LakeBurnsville LakeBurnsville Lake is both a recreational and flood control reservoir on Little Kanawha River located southeast of Burnsville in Braxton County, West Virginia. Burnsville Lake was authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1938....
, a reservoir impounding the Little Kanawha River at Bulltown - Union Civil War FortificationUnion Civil War FortificationUnion Civil War Fortification, also known as Bulltown Civil War Site, is a historic archaeological site located near Napier, Braxton County, West Virginia. The site relates to the American Civil War Battle of Bulltown, that took place on October 13, 1863. During test excavations in the 1970s,...
, listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1984.