1862 – A Union soldier’s letter describing the short and important, but little-remembered, Confederate Kanawha Valley campaign that drove the Northern Army out of western Virginia and into Ohio

Item Details

Gallipolis, Ohio, 1862, Letter

Very Good

This six-page letter was written by S. B. Robinson while his regiment was reassembling at Gallipolis, Ohio. It describes the Union's hard-fought defense, but unsuccessful defense after which they were forced to abandon western Virginia for the safety of Ohio.

Robinson’s 90^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment did not participate in the Kanawha struggle as it had been engaged in defending Union sovereignty in Kentucky. However, he apparently met some of the withdrawing Union forces in Gallipolis and related their description of the campaign.

<p style="margin-left:5%; margin-right:10%;">“We received orders for this place. We thought at first we would have to walk [from Kentucky] but the old Colonel pressed some thing [and received] boats. There is about nine thousand men here and six pieces of artillery. I suppose you have heard of the battle we had in the Kanawha Valley. Our men were driven back but still it was a grand thing. They fought as they want at any turn in all round our men would as lay in ambush and when the rebels come around they turn and our men would fire and then at one time as the rebels were crossing Ganly Bridge our men placed the artillery they waited until a part of the men came across. They let into them killing them dead. There is no doubt but there was three hundred killed. I got this from one of the men that was in the fight. . ..” </p>

Within a fortnight, Robinson’s regiment had entered Kentucky, pursuing and ultimately defeating Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s force at the Battle of Perryville, thus ensuring that state remained in the Union.

The Confederate victory in western Virginia was short-lived as the region soon split from the state to form the new state of West Virginia.

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