PG 8 CIVIL WAR COMES TO - TopicsExpress

PG 8 CIVIL WAR COMES TO COAL RIVER 1861-1864 The majority of the citizens of Raleigh County favored the South during the war, but it was not because of slavery. There were only seven men who owned slaves out of the 1765 people who lived here in 1850. Altogether they owned only twenty-three slaves. By 1860 there were still only 40 slaves in Raleigh County. The only slave owner on Coal River was Lemuel Jarrell of Clear Fork who owned two slaves, a 76 year old woman and 35 year old man. Even though slavery was not a question in Raleigh County, sentiment was with the South. It is noted that thirty Raleigh County soldiers died for the South, while only three died for the North. Several hundred Raleigh County soldiers fought in the war altogether. The main reasons for their feelings for the south was probably due to the background of the settlers. Most of Raleigh Countys settlers came from Virginia and their relatives were still there. It is only natural when that they sided with their families who were at that time living in the same state. Marsh Fork and Clear Fork Districts were evidently an exception to the general pro-confederate feeling for an old newspaper states that John Thompson of dry Creek was the only man in his neighborhood of Confederate sentiment. Abraham Lincoln was a member of the Republican party and the Yankees stayed with their party while the Democrats care little for Honest Abe. Even today Marsh Fork is one of the few places in Raleigh County where the Republicans come close to equaling the number of Democrats. When fighting broke out between the North and South in 1861, General Alfred Beckley (the founder of Beckley) began to organize a Cobnfederate army; together with Gen. A.A. Chapman, they had about 2,000 soldiers in the Beckley pg 9 area in June, 1861. Patrols from the area scouted the surrounding countryside in search of horses, beef, guns, and other war materials. Marsh Fork with its Yankee sentiment was probably a favorite foraging ground. It is known that on September 15, 1861, Col. Lucius Davis was in Beckley with four companies of calvary after just returning from an operating against the Federals on Coal River. On April 4, 1862 Gen. Beckley was captured and his militia was disbanned. At the end of 1861, Raleigh, Fayette, and lower Kanawah County were under the control of the Union Armies. By March, 1862, Lt. Col. Rutherford B. Hayes (later President of the United States) had nine companies of Yankee soldiers in his command in Beckley. One of these soldiers was private William B. McKinney, who also later became president. April 3,1862, was election day to determine if there would be a new state called West Virginia. With the Federals control of the state and federal soldiers standing threatingly at every pollingplace, it may not have been the fairest of elections. The Major action in Raleigh County for most of the next year was with bushwhakers. The Yankees had left Beckley and were engaged with Rebel forces in the Princeton area. On May 21,1863, theYankees came in contact with the Southern forces near Fayetteville, and the Rebels retreate d to Beckley where they set up their artillery near the court house. The Federal forces then set up their artillery on Maxwell Hill and began bombarding the town. 3 The first shell struck and killed a little girl who was playing nearby. The Confederate soon retreated to Camp Piney (near Beckley) and the Federals returned to their camp near Fayetteville. 3 Beckleys 200 citizens had abandoned the town.