West Virginia Women Spies and Scouts in the Civil War

Introduction: West Virginia's Civil War Divided Loyalties

The Civil War of the United States will more than likely always be remembered as one of the most tumultuous events — and time periods — in the history of this country. More so than any other region during this particular epoch, West Virginia embodied the violent dichotomy that characterized the nation during those fateful years of 1861 to 1865. It should be remembered that during this time frame, West Virginia had not yet achieved its own statehood and was still very much considered an integral component of Virginia proper, which was inextricably linked to the Confederacy in virtually all ways at the onset of the armed conflict. Yet a rash, unpredictable series of events would rapidly overtake the state in the war's early stages and render it in the possession of the Union for the duration of the war, thereby leaving it — and its western region in particular — in the throes of a dogged conflict of resistance most ardently demonstrated by an unlikely hero: the West Virginian woman.

To properly understand the extremist measures of resistance which Western Virginia and its assortment of heroines repeatedly mounted for the greater part of the Civil War, it becomes necessary to chronicle Virginia's capture and unwilling participation as a Union loyalist territory as early as 1861. Virginia played a large role in many of the opening salvos of this martial affair — significantly, it did so as a Confederate partisan. On April 17, 1861, a mere five days after the Civil War commenced at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Virginia militia contested possession of the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry by engaging Union forces (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Additionally, West Virginia in particular facilitated much of the state's early involvement in the Civil War by supplying troops for the Confederate forces, and served as the site of what many consider to be the initial land battle of the war, which took place on June 3, 1861, when Colonel Benjamin F. Kelley and the First Virginia Provisional Regiment (later known as the First West Virginia Infantry) clashed — unsuccessfully — with Union forces led by General George B. McClellan (West Virginia Division of Culture and History).

Military Campaigns and the Confederate Resistance Movement

The proclivity towards defeat would characterize much of Virginia's involvement, overtly at least, at the Civil War's onset. Similar defeats were suffered at Rich Mountain in mid-July when Union General William S. Rosecrans succeeded in ousting Confederate forces, primarily headed by General Robert S. Garnett, from Laurel Hill. The most decisive encounter, which would primarily decide the fate of the majority of the northern territory in what is today known as West Virginia, began on July 14th when Confederate efforts were again defeated, this time at Corrick's Ford. That victory also gave Unionists valuable control of key transportation routes, making it increasingly difficult to supply Confederate forces. The Union's triumph in West Virginia was completed by the end of the summer of 1861 when it emerged victorious at the Battle of Carnifex Ferry, successfully delivering Kanawha Valley and the rest of the northern portion of West Virginia under its control.

Due to the fall of West Virginia and its subsequent occupation by Union troops for the vast majority of the Civil War, a zeitgeist of resentment and sedition was instilled among its citizens. These thoughts and feelings were largely exacerbated by the fact that many common citizens who endured this unwilling occupation had relatives and friends actively fighting against the Union forces in the Civil War and in other parts of Virginia. The efforts mentioned in the latter case were frequently spearheaded by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, whose military campaigns were glorified and revered throughout much of West Virginia as efforts to actively "liberate" it from Union capture. Many of Jackson's overt, martial efforts would directly inspire and fuel sentiments attributed to the covert methods of resistance taken up by West Virginian women. Both Jackson's successes and his defeats served as motivation for seditious acts committed by West Virginia's citizens.

His activities in the Shenandoah Valley were particularly followed and even aided by West Virginian supporters. Jackson enjoyed a considerable amount of success in his initial forays in Virginia, culminating in a spring campaign that advanced as far as Bolivar Heights, located west of Harpers Ferry. Along the way he managed to triumph in the Battle of Winchester, occupy the county seat of Franklin, force Union General John C. Frémont to flee from McDowell into Pendleton County, and capture the small town of Romney — effectively blockading portions of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a crucial junction for Union supplies (West Virginia Division of Culture and History).

While Jackson's campaign throughout the Shenandoah Valley served as a figurehead upon which civilian patterns of resistance were based, other forms of revolt in West Virginia also fueled such sentiment. Unionist forces prevented the Confederacy from controlling portions of West Virginia for any significant length of time, but they were unable to prevent a series of relatively minor raids in the area — all of which merely aided the spirit of resistance so influential to civilians living in the region. One of the most successful of these raids was led by Albert Gallatin Jenkins of Cabell County, who succeeded in summoning a force of approximately 550 men from Monroe County — not necessarily formal soldiers, but comprising a fair amount of civilian involvement — and capturing Glenville, Buckhannon, Ripley, Weston, and Spencer along the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike, all the way into Ohio (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Jenkins' triumph was largely attributed to the fact that Kanawha Valley was an area of weakness for Union forces during the summer of 1862, particularly in August, since they had devoted as many as 5,000 troops to the region of eastern Virginia leading up to the Second Battle of Bull Run.

Similar efforts to liberate West Virginia from Unionist control occurred in mid-September of 1862, some of which directly involved Jackson, who succeeded in capturing Martinsburg to the delight of many West Virginians. Jackson's victory at Martinsburg prompted him to attempt to reclaim Harpers Ferry, which was at the time occupied by a force of upwards of 12,000 men headed by General Dixon Miles. Jackson devised a three-pronged attack involving General Lafayette McLaws and General John G. Walker, who converged on the neighboring areas of Maryland Heights and Loudon Heights, respectively. Their success in these respective positions enabled Jackson to successfully reclaim Harpers Ferry from Miles, in one of the most triumphant moments of the Civil War for Western Virginian Confederate loyalists. The magnitude of this victory — and its resulting effect on the dedication to Unionist resistance of West Virginian civilians — should not be overlooked. There have been only two previous occasions, both of which occurred in World War II, in which larger United States armies were forced to surrender, at Bataan and Corregidor respectively (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Consequently, these triumphs sufficiently fueled the sentiment of resistance in West Virginia natives, a sentiment that would become manifested most dramatically — and perhaps most eloquently — by a number of remarkable women during the Civil War.