Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes

Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes
	Part of the American Civil War
Date	August 26, 1861
Location	Nicholas County, Virginia (now West Virginia)38°14′06″N 80°56′06″W / 38.23500°N 80.93500°W
Result	Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Erastus Tyler	John B. Floyd
Strength
Approximately 1,000 men	2,000 men[better source needed]
Casualties and losses
15 killed; 20 wounded; 38 captured	40

The Battle of Kessler's Cross Lanes, also known as the Battle of Cross Lanes, took place on August 26, 1861 in Nicholas County, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War.^[3]

Battle

Map of Kessler's Cross Lanes Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

On August 26, Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, commanding Confederate forces in the Kanawha Valley, crossed the Gauley River to attack Col. Erastus Tyler's 7th Ohio Infantry Regiment encamped at Kessler's Cross Lanes. The Union forces were surprised and routed and the regiment was defeated with severe loss. The two wings of Tyler's line retreated in opposite directions.^[4] Throughout the rout and carnage Major Jack Casement, at the head of Tyler's left wing, commenced a retrograde march through Confederate territory over mountain ranges to the Elk River and what is now the Town of Clendenin and then on to Charleston, West Virginia without the capture of a man.^[4]

Floyd then withdrew to the river and took up a defensive position at Carnifex Ferry. During the month, Gen. Robert E. Lee arrived in western Virginia and attempted to coordinate the forces of Brig. Gens. Floyd, Henry A. Wise, Col. Douglas Micklich and William W. Loring.

References

^ Rushmore G. Horton (1867). A youth's history of the great Civil War in the United States from 1861 to 1865. Van Evrie, Horton & Co. p. 150.
^ Stan Cohen (August 1982). The Civil War in West Virginia: a pictorial history. Pictorial Histories Pub. Co. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-933126-17-6. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
^ "Kessler's Cross Lanes". CWSAC Battle Summaries. National Park Service. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Upton, H. Taylor. (1910). History of the Western Reserve. Chicago, New York: The Lewis publishing company. Vol II, page 805 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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[Horton1867-1] Rushmore G. Horton (1867). A youth's history of the great Civil War in the United States from 1861 to 1865. Van Evrie, Horton & Co. p. 150.

[Cohen1982-2] Stan Cohen (August 1982). The Civil War in West Virginia: a pictorial history. Pictorial Histories Pub. Co. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-933126-17-6. Retrieved 20 January 2013.

[CWSAC_Kessler's_Cross_Lanes-3] "Kessler's Cross Lanes". CWSAC Battle Summaries. National Park Service. Retrieved January 16, 2017.

[Upton-4] Upton, H. Taylor. (1910). History of the Western Reserve. Chicago, New York: The Lewis publishing company. Vol II, page 805 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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