Jones-Imboden Raid
Between April 24 and May 22, 1863, Confederate cavalry under
Generals William E. "Grumble" Jones and John D. Imboden carried the
Civil War into north- central West Virginia. Their goals were to
disrupt the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Oakland, Maryland, and
at Grafton, cut telegraph communication, and weaken federal control
in the area.
The Confederates made a two-prong attack, with Imboden riding
from Staunton through Beverly to Buckhannon with 3,365 men. Jones
led 2,100 men through Petersburg and Moorefield, skirmished at
Greenland Gap in Hardy County, then was repulsed at Rowlesburg. He
fell upon Morgantown, April 28, capturing supplies and many horses,
including those of curiosity-seekers who came to town to learn what
the excitement was. One of the Confederate raiders, future
Postmaster General William Lyne Wilson, later returned to
Morgantown as president of West Virginia University.
On April 29, at Fairmont, Jones waged the largest battle ever
fought in that part of the state against a force of 500 regulars,
home guards, and volunteers. There was some civilian involvement on
both sides of the fight. The Confederates prevailed, burning the
personal library of Francis H. Pierpont, governor of the Restored
Government of Virginia, and exploding an iron railroad bridge
across the Monongahela River. Jones linked up with Imboden at
Buckhannon, skirmishing along the way, and together they moved to
Weston. Jones continued west to Burning Springs, where he set fire
to an estimated 150,000 barrels of oil and the producing wells,
sending a sheet of flame floating down the Little Kanawha
River.
Imboden, later associated with his brother, George, in the
development of West Virginia coal mining, said in his report that
the raiders covered 700 miles, fought two battles and several
skirmishes, and captured nearly 700 prisoners, 1,000 cattle, and
1,200 horses. In addition to the oil, they burned 16 railroad
bridges and a tunnel, two trains of cars and several boats.
However, the damages were short-lived, and the Confederates never
seriously threatened the area again.