— Ch. 1 · Strategic Context And Objectives —
Battle of Philippi (1861).
~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
On the 13th of May 1861, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of the Department of the Ohio from his headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. His immediate goal was to push Confederate forces out of northwestern Virginia before they could organize a defense. The region contained the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a critical supply line for the Union war effort. McClellan ordered Col. Benjamin Franklin Kelley to advance from Wheeling toward Fairmont to secure bridges over the Monongahela River. He also directed Col. James Irvine with the 16th Ohio Infantry to support this movement. By May 30, Union troops had seized Grafton, an important railroad junction located about ten miles south of Fairmont. This position gave them control over the rail lines running through the mountains. McClellan later told Winfield Scott that he used western Virginia regiments to avoid claims of interference in Virginia affairs. He noted that most of these troops were actually from Pennsylvania and Ohio rather than Virginia itself.
The Double Envelopment Plan
Col. Kelley devised a two-prong attack against the Confederate force stationed at Philippi on the 2nd of June 1861. The principal advance included 1,600 men led by Kelley himself, plus six companies of his own regiment and nine companies of the 9th Indiana Infantry under Col. Robert H. Milroy. To deceive the enemy, they departed by train to the east before marching south on a back road. Meanwhile, the 7th Indiana under Col. Ebenezer Dumont moved directly south from Webster along the Turnpike. A second column of 1,400 men under Col. Dumont included the 6th Indiana and the 14th Ohio. These forces aimed to execute a double envelopment of the outnumbered Confederates. On June 3, both Union columns arrived at Philippi before dawn following an overnight march in rainy weather. Morris had planned a predawn assault to be signaled by a pistol shot. The green Confederate volunteers failed to establish picket lines for perimeter security. They chose instead to escape the cold rain and stay inside their tents.