The Flags They Fought and Died For
"Philippi Battle Flag"
This flag, from the Rebmaster's files, measures
about 8 feet by 20 feet, and is on display at the West Virginia
Cultural Center, Capitol Annex, Charleston, West Virginia. This
is all the information that I have on this flag. If anyone has
more information, please send it to me at confedgray@access.mountain.net.
Battle of Philippi, The First
Land Battle of the War Between the States
Sometime in May, 1861, Col. George Porterfield,
a Confederate commander, had been sent to Grafton by Gen. Robert
E. Lee to attempt to take control of the B&O Railroad. Unsuccessful
in the attempt and faced with a superior Union force, Col. Porterfield
and his forces retreated to Philippi, Barbour County, Virginia
(now West Virginia). On June 3, 1861, Federal forces under Col.
(later General) Benjamin F. Kelley caught up with the Southern
forces and routed them. The retreat was so fast that the Battle
of Philippi has often been called the "Philippi Races."
Most historians have designated this slight engagement as the
First Land Battle of the War Between the States.
No one was killed in this slight engagement and
only a few were wounded including Col. Kelley who recovered. Besides
being noted as the place of the First Land Battle of the War Between
the States, Philippi has the dubious distinction of being the
site of the first amputation of the war. James E. Hanger, a Confederate
cavalryman from Waynesboro, Virginia, was wounded by the first
shell fired from the Federal artillery. Captured by the enemy,
his leg was amputated to save his life. While a prisoner, he designed
and built an artificial leg for himself and other wounded. After
two months as prisoner of war, he was exchanged. The Confederate
government then commissioned him to construct artificial limbs
for other soldiers. After the war, he founded the J. E. Hanger
Orthopedic Company, which is still in business today.
More Western Virginia Battles
On August 3, 1861, General Robert E. Lee came to
Western Virginia to make his plans for the campaign to drive the
Union forces from the area. Plagued by heavy rainfall and outbreaks
of epidemics of such diseases as measles, the campaign ultimately
failed to defeat the Yankees. Blame for this cannot rest at the
doorstep of General Lee, but more likely would rest with the failure
of the subordinate officers to cooperate and give him their full
support. A constant quarrel raged between General John Floyd and
General Henry Wise, with Wise constantly criticizing General Floyd
to General Lee. The obstinacy, continual infighting, and general
cantankerousness of these officers did as much, if not more, than
the enemy to defeat General Lee.
One of the decisive battles fought for the control
of Western Virginia was at Carnifex Ferry on September 10, 1861.
General Floyd had had extensive fortifications constructed on
a jagged strip of land formed by a bend in the Galley River and
considered these fortifications sufficient to withstand any advance
by the Union troops.
On August 31, over 6,000 Union troops under the
command of General Jacob Cox marched south from Clarksburg to
attack the Confederate position in the Kanawha Valley. On September
10, these Union troops engaged in a day-long battle with approximately
2,000 Confederate forces. Repeated attempts by Federal troops
failed to defeat the outnumbered Confederates and control of the
Kanawha Valley seemed firmly in Confederate hands. However, doing
that night, General Floyd decided to conduct a "retrograde
movement" south to Greenbrier County.
Then General Wise, under the command of General
Floyd, was ordered to retreat to Big Sewell Mountain. Arguments
continued to rage between Floyd and Wise, with Wise finally being
ordered back to Richmond. Some have said that the word battle
between Wise and Floyd was as intense as that waged between the
North and South. Finally on September 29th, General Lee consolidated
Confederate Forces at Big Sewell. An indecisive confrontation
between Union General William S. Rosecrans and General Lee settled
nothing and Rosecrans withdrew. Cold weather and a threatened
attack on Staunton prevented General Lee from pressing the advantage.
The Western Virginia campaign, memorable for the
ultimate loss of the area by the Confederacy and the ultimate
control of the Kanawha Valley and much of Western Virginia by
the Union, was memorable for another event.
During General Lee's stay at Big Sewell Mountain,
he saw a young horse, which had been raised at Blue Sulfur Springs.
Impressed with the horse, he bought it and had it delivered to
him in his new post in South Carolina in December. This four-year-old
gray gelding was soon to be remembered forever as the beloved
and famous "Traveler."
Wise's Retreat
Gen. Henry Wise's retreat from the Kanawha Valley
was not popular with his own troops. Many of them felt that he
should have stayed and fought. Some of this dissatisfaction can
be shown in this poem written by a first sergeant in the 8th Virginia
Cavalry (CSA) to a Miss Sallie Young in Teays Valley, Putnam County.
Note how he describes Generals Floyd, Wise and Albert G. Jenkins
as "traitors." (This poem taken from the Roy Bird Cook
Collection at the West Virginia Department of Archives.)
WISE'S RETREAT FROM HAWK'S NEST
Should old acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind
To think old Wise had run away
And left one hog behind
He stole away the last old goose
He eat the ....* cow
He did not spare the .....* horse
But left one poor old sow
He used up all the oats and corn
He fed up all the hay
And when the eleventh came in sight
Old Wise he ran away
He ran so fast he could not stop
For valley and for hill
He had no time to call around
To pay his washing bill
And when old Gabriel blow his horn
And the devil claim his own
May he throw wide his arms
To welcome old Wise home
And when he takes old Wise below
With Jenkins and his host
May he, with fear and trembling
No longer swear and boast
When Floyd comes home to meet him
Which he is sure to do
May the devil and his angels
Put both the traitors through
But, good devil, be you careful
And give them all they need
Or, by the great old Moses
They'll get mad and secede
Watch Floyd in every moment
Be sure to guard him well
For if you don't be careful
He'll steal Wise out of hell.
* Illegible
If you can't hear the song being played in the background
or if the music stops abruptly, click here
Back
to Introduction Page
