Battle of Philippi June 3, 1861, re-enactment Blue and Gray Reunion

16thVA

First Sergeant
Joined
Dec 8, 2008
Location
Philadelphia
PHILIPPI — Gun powder, smoke, reenactors and spectators blanketed downtown Philippi Sunday for the reenactment of the Battle of Philippi as part of the 30th Blue and Gray Reunion.
According to Kevin Skaggs, portraying Col. Benjamin Franklin Kelley of the Virginia Foot Regimen, The Battle of Philippi was the first land battle of the Civil War and set in motion the events that eventually lead to the creation of the Mountain State as it is known today.
"This allowed the Union side to take control of the northwestern part of Virginia and extend their influence further south into what is present day West Virginia," he said.

In 1861, Skaggs said the Confederates that were in Philippi were responsible for the burning of two bridges on the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad. Maj. Gen. George McClellan, who was in charge of the union occupied areas ordered Kelley and his men to repair the bridges.
While there, Kelley, along with modifications from Brig. Gen. Robert Morris, devised a double envelopment plan where two wings of union soldiers, one lead by Kelley and the other by Col. Ebenezer Dumont with a combined force of about 3,200 fully equipped men, would storm the town from two separate directions and overtake the roughy 700 ill-prepared secessionists.
"The signal for the battle to begin was a pistol shot," he said.


https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/...cle_ebc24b91-aab3-5c4d-8a3f-eb4f1a82c143.html
 
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