Battle of Guyandotte WV

Concerning Guyandotte Some Facts – Additional Particulars of the Battle

Ironton Register, Thursday, November 21, 1861

“This is all true as it is strange;
“Nay, it is ten times true;
for truth is truth
To the end of reckoning.”

Violent were Guyandotte’s men, and taunting was its women. The tone of its society was up to the South Carolina pitch – the “ladies” active in rebel work, bitterly reviling Union people, and refusing to recognize former friends, guilty of nothing but adherence to the government that gave them birth. Month after month, rebel flags were flaunted insultingly, and secession troops were displayed. The place was too hot to hold Union men. Some left, some were driven out, and others were browbeaten into silence.

Guyandotte’s machinations hath kept the border in constant alarm; its people hath sown to the wind, and already reaped the whirlwind – some of its citizens gone to a rebel’s grave, sixteen of the more prominent ones prisoners of the United States, “to answer;” their residences and houses of business in ashes; their families cast out!

That citizens in the late “massacre” fired from their houses upon our men seem to be well attested – at least from J. W. Hite’s (now prisoner at Columbus), and our men say that the Scott women fired upon them! E. A. Smith (prisoner) is reported seen in the streets with a revolver firing on our men.

John S. Everett, who lives below the Guyandotte river, on that side, with his gun in hand, was active in shooting men as they came to the shore to swim across. Capt. Wm. Turner, an old and responsible citizen of Wayne county, a very candid man, was in the fight and escaped by mounting his horse, dashing through their lines, but was obliged to abandon his horse at the bank of the river; he was for a long time lying in the mud at the water’s edge and in the water with a part of his face out in the shade of a tree, while they were searching for him.

He heard them shout across: “John, Oh John Everett, shoot them d—d devils coming out of the water there,” and two guns went off. “There’s another just out behind the tree there.” “Oh, I’ve sunk that d–d Yankee.” Another was shot while crawling in the mud, near where Turner lay concealed in the water, and there was a yell: “I’ve got one of the d–d dad’s scalps and a first-rate Enfield rifle.” Turner afterward swam the river and gave us some of these items.

A reliable citizen of Cabell county reports that he heard the rebels boast, on the return to Barboursville, that they had thrown eight or nine wounded men off the bridge into the river.

When the rebel cavalry left Guyandotte, twenty-one secession women, all with their secession aprons on, paraded and cheered the victors.

The Guerrilla Cavalry that fell upon Col. Whaley and the Union forces under his command – some 150 men – quartered in Guyandotte, Sunday night, November 10, 1861, numbered 1200 strong, as we are reliably and conclusively “posted.” Col. John Clarkson of Charleston, and Col. A. G. Jenkins, of Green Bottom, Clarkson as the senior officer.

They swept down the Guyandotte valley, the object being the plunder and arrest of Union men, and particularly to capture and destroy the camp of Col. Zeigler’s 5th Virginia regiment, at Ceredo, and plunder the town of Catlettsburg, Ky., two miles below – knowing that the greater part of Col. Zeigler’s regiment was absent, on the Kanawha.

Sunday, on the way down, learning of the condition of things in Guyandotte, that some hundreds of Enfield rifles and a supposed considerable sum of money were to be had there, they concluded to stop, as it was almost in their way, and first destroy Col. Whaley’s camp; but the job was far more difficult than they had anticipated, they met with a hot reception, although taking the little band there by surprise; the alarm was given to Col. Ziegler, and the 1,200 cowards (we judge from their poor work at fighting in Guyandotte) were afraid to proceed to the attack of the 300 at Ceredo.

Monday morning, Col. Zeigler landed at Guyandotte with force, not one-fourth, all told, of that of the rebel cavalry, which incontinently fled at the sight of the steamboat bearing Zeigler.

Before leaving, they plundered the store of Wm. Dowthit, a Union man of Guyandotte, took him and his son prisoner; also Dr. Rouse, a citizen, Albert White.

Of Col. Whaley’s men, they took about 50 prisoners – we have no list and can give only:

• Dr. Jona Morris, Surgeon,
• Thomas Ross,
• Jacob Black,
• Hamilton Smith of Ironton, as we stated last week;
• Col. Whaley (escaped the second night after leaving Guyandotte);
• Capt. Uriah Payne, of this county (not wounded as reported);
• also of this county, W. U. Payne, Henry Crawford (had shot off),
• Charles W. Markins*,
• Eben Markins*,
• John Clark,
• S. R. Clark (son of M. T. Clark) – have been unable to get other names from this county,
• Jas. E. Wood, late of Guyandotte (hand shot off);
• T. J. Hayslip and
• D. A. Johnston,
• two Smiths (sons of Dudley),
• two by the name of Felix (both, we believe, wounded), and
• Hilbruner, all of Cabell Co., Va.;
• Theodore Ray,
• Tuitt Ray,
• Hugh Carter,
• Henry Stevens*,
• Lewis Plyburn*, all of Wayne Co., Va;
• Thomas and Pollock of Higginsport, Brown Co., O.; of the cavalry (detachment from Col. Zeigler’s regiment)
• Frank Adams,
• Berry Bias,
• Wm. Bias,
• R. S. Bias,
• Jas. Dunkel,
• Jos. Eggers,
• Sam’l Wade,
• Jas. Hall,
• Wm. McClure,
• Alex. Newman,
• Jas. W. Patett;
• John Lawson and
• Thos. Berrage of Gallipolis and buying wheat at Guyandotte released 40 miles from that place.

These are the names of those reported to us as prisoners; others are among them, but we have not the names; the four marked with a * are probably prisoners but should, as far as we know, be called “missing.”

At Barboursville, they took John W. Alford, candidate for the Legislature of Kanawha, Thos. Kyle, Morey, and Fraddle also plundered the store of Matthew Thompson and took him prisoner. Eight miles above Barboursville, they took a man named Henchman. And when they arrived at Chapmanville, Logan county, Tuesday night, they had altogether about 90 prisoners. The Secessionists of the region had arrested many Union men and had them bound and ready for the return of the rebel Calvary! They captured at Guyandotte 98 Enfield rifles and 32 horses, but themselves lost in the fight 19 horses.

Of their men, they lost 11 killed, about 18 wounded, and two have since died. Capt. Huddleston, Kanawha Rangers, was the Captain killed and buried at Ceredo. The Captain of the Rockbridge Rangers was mortally wounded and in a dying condition on Tuesday night.

The dead of the Union men, as far as we can learn, are

• James Massie,
• Wm. Vittito,
• Pleasant Lunsford of this county.
• John Malloy, and
• Dr. G. B. Bailey, of Portsmouth – the foregoing printed last week;
• Jos. Adkins was shot on the bridge and thrown into the river;
• John A. Huggins and
• Henry Eaches were shot while swimming the Guyandotte river – the above three from this county;
• John Holland (cavalry) was supposed to be killed; also
• Geo. Sines, and
• D. C. Bragg, of this county, and
• Thos. Burk, of Wayne Co., Va., has since died.

On leaving Guyandotte, Col. Jenkins remarked to be a reliable citizen there: “We did not make much by coming; the losses are about equal!” He made the same remark again in the hearing of Col. Whaley before he escaped. Henry Clay Pate, of Kansas notoriety, was there as a Captain, and he and his men captured Col. Whaley.

Col. Whaley made his escape near Chapmanville, Logan Co., about 60 miles above Guyandotte. He was sleeping in bed with Capt. Witcher is in a room with eight soldiers, one sitting at the foot of the bed with a gun. It was about 3 a.m. when all the guards had fallen asleep that he slipped out, taking the Capt. Witcher’s hat, but without a coat or blanket.

He was pursued and wandered for two days in the hills without food and badly chilled. He swam the Guyandotte river once and got only about 18 miles away in two days. He finally arrived at Catlettsburg Saturday night. We gather some of the above items from him.