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July 13, 1861: Battle of Corrick's Ford

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On July 13, 1861, the Battle of Corrick’s Ford was fought in Tucker County. After the Confederate defeat at Rich Mountain in neighboring Randolph County two days earlier, General Robert Garnett pulled his men back to present-day Elkins along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike.

There, Garnett received bad intelligence that Union forces controlled the town of Beverly, located just to the south, so he turned his troops to the northeast.

Union Brigadier General Thomas Morris chased Garnett’s men to Shavers Fork in Tucker County and overtook them on July 13 at Kalers Ford.

The two sides fought a running battle down Shavers Fork to First and Second Corrick’s Ford, where the Southerners’ wagons bogged down in the mud and sand. At the second crossing, Robert Garnett was killed, making him the first general to die in battle during the Civil War. The Union forces captured a large number of Confederate soldiers and their baggage train at Corrick’s Ford. The remnants of the Southern troops eventually found their way to Monterey, Virginia. The Confederates never again controlled that portion of Western Virginia for more than a few days.