Date and Location
- September 6–16, 1862
- Western Virginia (modern-day West Virginia)
Timeline of the Kanawha Valley Campaign
These are the main battles and events of the Kanawha Valley Campaign in order.
August 11, 1862
Union officials transferred Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox and roughly 5,000 soldiers from his Kanawha Division to eastern Virginia, leaving the Kanawha Valley dangerously under-defended.
August 22, 1862
Confederate Major General William Wing Loring, commanding Department of Southwestern Virginia, ordered Brigadier General Albert Jenkins to lead a cavalry raid into the Kanawha Valley, south of Charleston.
When Jenkins returned, he confirmed reports that the Union garrison protecting the valley had recently been cut in half, from 10,000 to 5,000 soldiers, commanded by Colonel Joseph A. J. Lightburn.
September 6, 1862
Sensing an opportunity to restore Confederate control of the Kanawha Valley, Loring led about 5,000 Confederate soldiers northwest from Narrows, Virginia toward the Kanawha River.
September 10, 1862
Loring’s troops engaged Union soldiers and drove them away from Fayetteville, Virginia.
September 13, 1862
The Kanawha Valley Campaign reached its zenith as Loring recaptured Charleston, Virginia following a spirited artillery engagement at the Battle of Charleston.
September 16, 1862
Loring soldiers forced Lightburn’s retreating Federals troops out of Virginia and across the Ohio River at Ravenswood, Virginia (now West Virginia).
Principal Union Commanders
- Colonel Joseph A. J. Lightburn
Principal Confederate Commanders
- Major General William Wing Loring
Union Forces Engaged
- Department of the Ohio
Confederate Forces Engaged
- Department of Southwestern Virginia
Number of Union Soldiers Engaged
- 5,000
Number of Confederate Soldiers Engaged:
- 5,000
Estimated Union Casualties
- 310 (25 killed, 95 wounded, and 190 missing/captured).
Estimated Confederate Casualties
- 97 (eight killed and 89 wounded)
Result
- Confederate victory
Impact of the Kanawha Valley Campaign
- Despite losing the Battle of Charleston, Union officials credited Lightburn with saving a huge supply train valued in excess of one million dollars.
- On October 15, 1862, Confederate officials relieved Loring from his command.
- Loring was replaced with General John Echols, who was unable to halt the reoccupation of the Kanawha Valley by an overwhelming Federal force led by Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox, who had returned to the area.
- By November, Union forces regained control of the Kanawha Valley and western Virginia.