Burning Springs Oil Field - Burning Springs WV - Battlefields on Waymarking.com

Burning Springs Oil Field "...drank all the whiskey and burned all the oil"— Jones-Imboden Raid —(side bar)
On April 20, 1863, Confederate Gens. William E. “Grumble” Jones and John D. Imboden began a raid from Virginia through present-day West Virginia on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Taking separate routes, they later reported that they marched 1,100 miles, fought several engagement, captured 700 Federals, seized about 1,200 horses and 4,000 cattle, and burned 4 turnpike bridges, more than 20 railroad bridges, 2 trains, and 150,000 barrels of oil. Most bridges were soon repaired. Confederate losses were slight. By May 26, both commands had returned to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

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On May 9, 1863, Confederate Gen. William E. “Grumble” Jones led his cavalrymen here to Burning Springs (Oiltown) before continuing southeast. His men set the oil fields afire, and the burning oil turned the Little Kanawha River into a sheet of flames for eight miles. The light from the fire was visible in Parkersburg, forty-two miles away. One witness remarked that Jones’s Confederates “ate all the food, drank all the whiskey and burned all the oil.” Jones reported that “all the oil, the tanks, barrels, engines for pumping, engine-houses, and wagons—in a word, everything used for raising, holding or sending it off was burned. …Men of experience estimated the oil destroyed at 150,000 barrels.” Jones’s raid caused delegates to West Virginia’s first nominating convention, held in Parkersburg, to flee briefly for fear he would attack the city.

Jones’s raid was not the only engagement here. As the first oil field boomtown in the nation, producing oil primarily for the lubrication of machinery, the military importance of the site was obvious. After Union Gen. George B. McClellan occupied Parkersburg in May 1861, he sent troops here to drive off Confederate guerrillas. This engagement, which occurred on June 19, was the first of several fights here. In May 1862, Confederate guerrillas attacked nearby Fort Hill, Col. John C. Rathbone, 11th West Virginia Infantry (US), whose family owned the oil field, had posted a detachment to protect it, but it was driven off and the fort was burned.

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(lower left) Burning Springs Oil Field afire Courtesy Oil and Gas Museum
(upper right) Gen. William E. Jones Courtesy West Virginia State Archives
Col. John C. Rathbone Courtesy Oil and Gas Museum

Another historical marker is also attached: Rathbone Well-The first well in West Virginia drilled solely for petroleum was located near the mouth of Burning Springs Run. The well was drilled with a “spring pole” by the Rathbones and others from Parkersburg, begun in 1859 completed May 1860. Produced at the rate of 100 barrels per day. In 1863 General Jones commanding Confederate forces set fire to the oil stored in tanks, barrels and boats, destroying in a day an estimated 300,000 barrels of oil.

Name of Battle: Destruction at Burning Springs (Oiltown) Name of War: U.S. Civil War Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 05/09/1863 Entrance Fee: Not Listed Parking: Not Listed Date of Battle (End): Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.

In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/16/2021 Don.Morfe visited it