Battle of Fayetteville - Fayetteville WV - Battlefields on Waymarking.com

TEXT of West Virginia Civil War Trails historical marker:
Battle of Fayetteville-Defense and Retreat--
During the Civil War, Fort Scammon stood in front of you on the hill behind the courthouse. There, on September 10, 1862, Union Col. Edward Siber and the 1,500 men of his 37th Ohio Infantry defended Fayetteville against Confederate Gen. William Loring’s 5,000-man army. Loring planned to occupy this area after learning in August that Federal troops were being transferred to eastern Virginia. The Kanawha River Valley north of here was strategically important to each side for defending southern West Virginia and as a staging area for attacks into the Ohio River Valley and northern West Virginia.

The action began at dawn two miles south on the Raleigh Road (present-day Nickelville Road) when Union pickets fired on Loring’s vanguard, then fell back fighting to Fort Beauford, half a mile south of here. Loring sent two regiments on a 13-mile flanking march to attack Fort Scammon from the west, and then continued the advance toward Fayetteville. Just short of Fort Beauford, and under a scathing artillery fire, he sent two other regiments against the eastern side of the fort.

In mid-afternoon, Siber charged Loring’s left flank three times with half his force but failed to dislodge the Confederates. Ten miles northwest at Gauley Bridge, meanwhile, Union Col. Joseph A.J. Lightburn heard the cannons and sent three regiments as reinforcements, but they arrived as Siber retreated to the Kanawha Valley. By September 16, the Federals had retreated all the way to Ohio. Confederate forces remained here until mid-October, then marched to Virginia and never again occupied this area.

LOCATION: Marker is in Fayetteville, West Virginia, in Fayette County. Marker is at the intersection of North Court Street (State Highway 16) and Wiseman Avenue, on the right when traveling north on North Court Street. This marker is on the Courthouse lawn. Marker is at or near this postal address: 310 North Court Street, Fayetteville WV 25840, United States of America.

Also attached are photos of two West Virginia State markers. One is Fayetteville and the other is Indirect Firing.

Name of Battle: Battle of Fayetteville Name of War: U.S. Civil War Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 09/10/1862 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.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/21/2023 pelorousjack visited it 10/16/2021 Don.Morfe visited it

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