Kessler's Cross Lanes
Civil War West Virginia

American Civil War
August 26, 1861

On August 26, Brigadier General John Floyd, commanding Confederate forces in the Kanawha Valley, crossed the Gauley River to attack Col. Erastus Tyler's 7th Ohio Regiment encamped at Kessler's Cross Lanes.

The Union forces were surprised and routed. Floyd then withdrew to the river and took up a defensive position at Carnifex Ferry.

During the month, General Robert E. Lee arrived in western Virginia and attempted to coordinate the forces of Brigadier Gens. Floyd, Henry Wise, and William W. Loring.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Nicholas County

Campaign: Operations in Western Virginia (June-December 1861) next battle in campaign    previous battle in campaign

Date(s): August 26, 1861

Principal Commanders: Col. Erastus Tyler [US]; Brigadier General John Floyd [CS]

Forces Engaged: Brigades

Estimated Casualties: 285 total (US 245; CS 40)


Robert E. Lee
This book not only offers concise detail but also gives terrific insight into the state of the Union and Confederacy during Lee's life. Lee was truly a one of kind gentleman and American, and had Virginia not been in the south or neutral, he ultimately would have led the Union forces.

Lee Vs. McClellan: The First Campaign
An interesting account of the struggle for western Virginia in 1861. It follows that year's rolls of Generals McClellan and Lee; the former using the successes of the campaign to further his reputation and career, and the latter struggling to straighten out a quagmire and failing to do so. 		West Virginia State Battle Map
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Battle at Bull Run: A History of the First Major Campaign of the Civil War
The battle, was unique in the Civil War in that no general on either side had ever exercised high command in combat. July 21, 1861 would demonstrate that careers devoted to theoretical studies of warfare provided poor indicators of success in combat.
American Civil War Book Titles

The Civil War Papers Of George B. Mcclellan: Selected Correspondence, 1860-1865
General-in-chief of the entire Union army at one point, he led the Army of the Potomac through the disaster at Antietam Creek, was subsequently dismissed by Lincoln, and then ran against him in the 1864 presidential campaign. This collection of McClellan's candid letters about himself, his motivations, and his intentions
Six Years of Hell: Harpers Ferry During the Civil War
While Harpers Ferry was an important location during the Civil War, in most Civil War books it's a sideshow of something larger. John Brown's raid, Lee's invasions of 1862 & 1863 as well as Early's 1864 raid are all covered in depth
Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired with John Brown
The story of how Brown was covertly aided by a circle of prosperous and privileged Northeasterners who supplied him with money and weapons, and, before the raid, even hid him in their homes while authorities sought Brown on a murder charge. These men called themselves the Secret Six.
Images of the Civil War in West Virginia
Iimages of West Virginia made during the time of the Civil War. Includes photographs, sketches, hand-drawn maps of battle fields and camps, and drawings fromn newspapers of the day. The book arranges material by type of image

Meteor of War: The John Brown Story
Students have already been taught that John Brown was at best a well-meaning madman. This book shows the various John Browns of history and myth, so that, whether you agree with the actions of Brown, you will at least understand them better and see him as a complex and human individual
The Perfect Steel Trap: Harpers Ferry 1859
Eye-witness accounts of the John Brown insurrection from people like Lee, Brown's family, and ordinary citizens. The information has been gathered by two of the raiders who escaped and live to tell about it Owen Brown and Osborne Anderson. The preparations, the raid, the trials, the executions and the aftermath of the event
Clash of Loyalties: A Border County in the Civil War West Virginia and Appalachia
The story of one county in the mountainous Northwest of Virginia, is a telling microcosm of the deep divisions which both caused the war and were caused by it. With a meticulous examination of census and military records this is a compelling account of the passion and violence which tore apart Barbour County and the Nation


Rebels At The Gate
The dramatic story of the first Union victories of the Civil War and the events that caused Virginians to divide their state. In a defiant act to sustain President Lincoln's war effort, Virginia Unionists created their own state government in 1861-destined to become the new state of West Virginia. Their actions blocked what should have been Confederate control of the territory and closed one of their key gateways to the Union states

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.
Civil War Journal
Collector's Edition 4-DVD Set
Made exclusively for Books Are Fun. Discs include: · Stonewall Jackson · Sherman and the March to the Sea · West Point Classmates-Civil War Enemies · Robert E. Lee · Battle of 1st Bull Run · The 54th Massachusetts · John Brown s War · Destiny at Fort Sumter
The Civil War in Virginia
Virginia was the arena where North and South fought many of their bloodiest battles. the program gives a full account of the events that took place describing in detail the history of the American Civil War in Virginia

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
The Blue and the Gray
The Complete Miniseries
The Civil War proved a backdrop for this 1982 miniseries. Complete and uncut three disc set. Two families divided by the War Between the States. A Southerner caught when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper. He finds himself  where history's in the making from the Battle of Bull Run to Abraham Lincoln's assassination
Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.
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