Carnifex Ferry
N 38° 12.412 W 080° 56.342
17S E 505337 N 4228769
A historical marker located within Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park, about one mile south of Keslers Cross Lanes, WV.
Waymark Code: WM64F9
Location: West Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 03/31/2009
Views: 10
The Battle of Carnifex Ferry took place on September 10, 1861, in Nicholas County, Virginia (now West Virginia), as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the Civil War. The battle resulted in a Union victory that contributed to the eventual Confederate withdrawal from western Virginia. The campaign helped pave the way for the subsequent creation of the separate state of West Virginia.
In late August 1861, Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd crossed the Gauley River and surprised the 7th Ohio Infantry under Col. Erastus Tyler at Keslers Cross Lanes. Outnumbered, Tyler's inexperienced men were routed, and Floyd camped near Carnifex Ferry. The Confederates began throwing up entrenchments on the Henry Patterson farm (located on the rim of the Gauley River Canyon about one mile from the ferry crossing).
Concerned about Floyd's drive to reclaim the Kanawha Valley, Union Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans led three brigades of infantry southward from Clarksburg to support Tyler's regrouped regiment. Moving into position on the afternoon of September 10, Rosecrans advanced against Floyd's campsite and attacked. Fighting raged for several hours until darkness finally halted the bloodshed. The strength of Rosecrans's artillery proved to be problematic, and Floyd decided to retreat that night across the ferry to the south side of the Gauley River. He subsequently moved eastward to Meadow Bluff near Lewisburg.
The State of West Virginia acquired the Patterson farm and surrounding battlefield in 1935 which became the present State Park.
This historical marker was placed in 1972 by the West Virginia Department of Archives and History.
Marker Title: Carnifex Ferry
Marker Location: Just south of the parking lot in the center of the picnic/playground area.
County or Independent City: Nicholas County
Web Site: [Web Link]
Marker Program Sponsor: West Virginia Department of Archives and History
Marker Number: Not listed
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