Rosecrans at Rich Mountain

Early in the American Civil War, on July 11, 1861, near Rich Mountain, Virginia, a Northern army led by General George McClellan faced a Southern army led by General Robert Garnett. The Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike and two Appalachian mountain routes were being guarded by the Confederacy in order to prevent the breakaway of counties in northwest Virginia. General William Rosencrans led a brigade of soldiers that McClellan dispatched to flank the Confederates. After doing so, Rosecrans carried out the directive to attack.

Veteran John Beatty wrote in his 1879 autobiography The Citizen Soldier that McClellan and his troops could hear the fighting taking place in the enemy's rear and that they were waiting for McClellan to give the command to press the attack home. McClellan, however, opted against making such an assault because he thought Rosencrans was hopelessly damaged. In reality, the southerners had been routed, and Rosencrans' brigade had taken half of their force.

Date: July 11, 1861